03/29/18 03/29/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> we believe kim's visit wiwill help the denuclearization of the korean peninsula and ensure peace of the peninsula and resolve problems regarding peninsula negotiations and discussions. amy: the leaders of north and south korea set a date to meet for the first time in more than a decade. the news comes after kim jong-un's surprise trip to china

this week to meet with the chinese president and ahead of planned talks with president trump in may, though no date or has been set. we will speak with tim shorrock who says subgrade president moon's gamble for peace with north korea has paid off. then in a democracy now! broadcast exclusive, we go to a manhattan unitarian church to speak with a guatemalan mother who has taken sanctuary there after living in this country for 13 years. she shares a secret she has held for years about what she says happened in 2005 when she was detained in texas. >> immigration agents took me to an office and sexually abused me . when the person who abused me right then and there, he said "i have your information. i have your information and i know where you are." that is why for many years i did

not speak out. amy: then we go to sacramento, california, where protests continue over the fatal police shooting of unarmed 22-year-old stephan clark, an african-american father of two who was gunned down in his grandmother's backyard. >> stephon clark! stephon clark! we will get an update from berry accius from sacramento. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the turmoil in the white house continues as president trump fired the secretary of veterans affairs, david shulkin and said he'd replace him with white house physician dr. ronny jackson, a rear admiral in the navy. dr. jackson has no experience running a large agency.

he is trump's doctor. the department of veterans affairs is the federal government's second largest department, with 360,000 employees. shulkin have been facing criticism for various ethics violations, including using taxpayer money to pay for his wife's airfare during a trip to europe last summer. in a "new york times" op-ed published wednesday, shulkin said he is actually being ousted because of his opposition to privatizing the veterans affairs agency. he wrote -- "they saw me as an obstacle to privatization who had to be removed. that is because i am convinced that privatization is a political issue aimed at rewarding select people and companies with profits, even if it undermines care for veveterans." in sacramento, california, the family of stephon clark is holding his funeral today, as massive protests continue against the police shooting that killed the unarmed african american man in his own -- his grandmother's backyard. he was shot by sacramento police 20 times on march 18. police first claimed he was

holding a gun. they later admitted they found only his cell phone near his body. on wednesday, white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders called his killing a local matter. >> certainly, a terrible incident. this is something that is a local matter and something thatt we feel shshould be left up to e local authorities at this point. amy: we will have momore on stephon clark's killing, and the protests demanding justice, later in the broadcast. the leaders of north and south korea have set the date for their upcoming high-level talks. the landmark summit between president moon jae-in and kim jong-un will be held on april 27 at freedom house on the southern side of the demilitarized zone. this comes after revelations that north korean leader kim jong-un traveled to beijing in an armored train to meet with chinese president jinping. it was the north korean leader's first foreign trip since taking office in 2011. during the four-day trip, the two leaders talked about denuclearization, with kim reportedly saying he was willing to give up north korea's nuclear weapons. kim is also slated to meet soon

with president trump, in what would be the first-ever meeting between a sitting u.s. president and a north korean leader. chopin has also offered to hold a summmmit with north korea. -- japan has also offefered hola summit with north korea. we'll have more on the developments on north korea after headlines. a federal judge has allowed a lawsuit against president trump to proceed, which is accusing him of flouting constitutional safeguards against corruption and illegally accepting gifts from foreign governments without congngressional approval. on wednesday, a maryland judge ruled against the justice department's request to throw out the case. it centers on the trump international hotel in washington. in his decision, the judge said the accusation that trump hotel is illegally accepting gifts from foreign governments is "bolstered by explicit statements from certain foreign government officials indicating that they are clearly choosing to stay at the president's hotel, because, as one representative of a foreign government has stated, they want him to know 'i love your new hotel'," the judge wrote.

"the new york times" is reporting that president trump's former lawyer john dowd repeatedly floated the idea of pardoning trump's former top advisers michael flynn and paul manafort, who are both under investigation by special counsel robert mueller. critics say the idea of the potential pardons could interfere with mueller's investigation, making the two men less likely to cooperate with the special counsel if they know trump will pardon them if they face charges for refusing to cooperate. "the new york times" reports legal experts are divided about whether such offers might constitute obstruction of justice. a federal judge in manhattan has denied a motion from saudi arabia to dismiss lawswsuits accusing the saudis of providing financial support to those responsible for the september 11 attacks. his decision wednesday means the lawsuit filed by the victim's family members can continue. the 9/11 attack was carried out by 19 hijackers, 15 of whom were from saudi arabia. the saudi government has long denied involvement in the attacks.

inin michigan, the lansing state journal has revealed michigan state university p paid a public relationons firm more e than a f million llllars monitor the cial mia accountof the female athtes comi forward to accusthe msand usa gymnasti team doct larry ssar of xual abuse the revetions thathe firm billedsu more th $500,00 for the month of january alone came only days after the former dean of michigan state university's osteopathic medical as beennassar's boss, charged with criminal sexual conduct, including harassing and physically assaulting his students. william strampel was also the longtime supervisor of dr. larry nassar, who has been convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of wowomen and girls.s. in venezuela, at least 68 people have died in a fire in a prison in the northern city of valencia. prison officials say the fire erupted during an uprising at the prison. throughout the day wednesday,

family members gathered outside the prison, demanding information about their loved ones. this is carmen caldera. >> they haven't told me anything. i want to know about my child. i don't have any information about him. we want information about our family members. we need information. look how desperate we are. amy: the ecuadorian government has cut off julian assange's internet access in the ecuadorian embassy of london, accusing assange of breaking an agreement not to issue statements that might interfere in the politics of other countries. the suspension of his internet came after assange challenged britain's accusationon that rusa was responsible for the poisoning of a russian spy and his daughter earlier this month. in a statatement, the ecuadodorn embassy said assange's s social media statements "put at risk the good relations ecuador maintains with the united kingdom, with the other states of the european union, and with other nations." puerto rico's governor

challenged puerto rico's unelected congressionally imposed fiscal control board in an impassioned speech wednesday from only hours after the board told the governor they were mandating additionally -- additional austerity measures, including cuts to the islsland's pensioion system.. he has repeaeatedly rejejected e idea of any y cuts to o the penn systemem. the e proposed a additionall austererity measuresome asas puerto r rico is still recoverig from hurricane maria. and the world's youngest nobel laureate, pakistani education activist malala yousafzai, has returned to pakistan for the first time after she was shot by the taliban for demanding education for girls. in 2012, yousafzai was shot in the head by a group of taliban gunman who boarded her school bus. she survived the serious wounds and now campaigns around the world for girls' educacation. during her f four-day trip backo pakistan, she is slated to m met with pakistan's prime minister and toto inaugurate a new girlss school.

this is malala speaking in islamabad, pakakistan, today. for the last five years, i have dreamed that i can set foot in my country. whenever i travel on a p plane, car, i see the cities of london, new york. i was told, just imagine you are in pakistan. you're traveling in islamamabad. it y you are in kararachi. it was never true. but now, today, i see. i'm very hapappy. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. it's official. the leaders of north and south korea announced today that they will hold a historic meeting on april 27, coming together for talks for the first time in more than a decade. the landmark meeting between south kokorean president moooon jae-inin and north korea's s kim jong-un will be held at freedom house on the southern side of the demilitarized zone.

the news comes after kim's surprise trip to china this week to meet with chinese president xi jinping in his first foreign trip since takaking office in 21 and his first meeting with another head of state. during the four-day trip, the two leaders discussed denuclearization, with kim reportedly saying he was willing to give up north korea's nuclear weapons. kim also invited president xi to visit pyongyang. onon wednesday, trump p tweeted- "received message last night from xi jinping of china that his meeting with kim jong un went very well and that kim looks forward to his meeting with me. in the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!" kim is due to meet sometime in -- soon with president trump, although a time and place have not been set for that summit. it what would be the first-ever meeting between a sitting u.s. president and a north korean leader. a recent poll shows two-thirds of americans support trump's plan to meet with kim jong-un. this is a senior chinese official speaking today after brbriefing south korean brieief

officicials on kim's visit. >> we believe kim's visit will help the denuclearization of the korean peninsula to ensure peace and security of the cream peninsula, and resolve albums regarding the peninsula through political negotiations and discussions. as iteanwhile, japan's has also begun talks with north korea. for more, we go to washington, d.c., where we are joined by tim shorrock, correspondent for the nation and the korea center for investigative journalism in seoul. his latest piece is headlined, "south korean president moon's gamble for peace with north korea has paid off." welcome back to democracy now! can you talk about this latest historic development? both the trip that kim jong-un took to china, the first since he has taken office come the first foreign trip, and ,two, that north korea and south korea will hold a summit? >> thahank you, amy.

sure. as you said, this is the first meeting between north korean and south korean leaders since 2007, so it is v very historic. it is part of the korea peace process that really has been controlled by the korea's since a began in early january when kim jong-un reached out to moon jae-in an offer to send a high-level delegation to the olympics and participate in the olympics. and since then, events have unfolded at a very rapid rate, to the surprise of m many americans, including many americans here in the media. the pace is hastening and it is happening. these meetings are going to take place. it is interesting g that two das ago, "the new york times" had a trumpet storory about what north korea supposedly having another reactor online that would be a problem and they said in the story, quoting u.s. officials that many people doubt thihis meeting will happen between trump and kim and with in 24 hours, trump pleaded that he is

looking for to the meeting. i think the media has been quite off on the story. it is a very significant meeting. koreas arethe two trying to resolve the situation and moon jae-in, as i pointed out in this article in the nation, has been working insidiously for the past and must to avoid a war, make sure there is no war in the korean peninsula, and develop a peace process where eventually, they do talk about denenuclearizatio. kim's trip to china was, as you say, his first trip abroad as north korean leader. china has been kind of sidelined in a way in this diplomacy just like the united states has been in a way. for all of last year, we heard from pundits and from the government and from trump himself that china has got to do more in china has to push north korea. in fact, there were even voices in washington saying, china should try to push for regime

change in north korea andnd ford i-4 i into denuclearization senate leadership out. this was all, you know, basically outsourcing or policy to china. but of course china is an old ally of north korea, and so kim jong-un went there to discuss what is going to be happening with these upcoming summits. i think you get chinese support. and i think chinese support, once you get to a peace process and perhaps a peace treaty, chinese guarantees of north korean security as part of that process could be very important. very obviously has a important role to play in all of this diplomacy. amy: tim, if you could talk about the meeting that was so well kept under wraps -- i mean, you have the president of north korea kim jong-un taking this for fourrain to china

days. and we only learn of it after. and then if you could say whether you believe that he is talking about abandoning nuclear weapons altogether or diminishing the supply? on the train, that is not unusual. the last time his father kim jong-il traveled to china, he went on the same train. that is what they take. it is not very far from north korea to beijing. that is really not unusual, and neither is the secrecy for that matter. usually these memeetings are announced after the north korean leader leaves. for one thing, all of the security -- well, north breeze leadership has been under threat -- north korea's leadership has been under threat, and to the recent past, so i do not blame them for taking high security measures.

second -- what was the second part of the question? amy: the issue -- >> d denuclearization.n. kim jong-un when he was in china, a purely said he wants a gradual process to talk about denuclearization. through the south korean delegation came to see him a few weeks ago, he said he would talk about denuclearization issues. some is going to be diplomacy that is involved here and there is some slight differences between south korea and the united states about what they mean by denuclearization and north korea. north korea built these weapons as a deterrent against the united states and has made that very clear. and the missiles as well. yearhey stopped short last they stopped testing before they reached the point where they actually had a weapon they could

place on an icbm that could go and enter the atmosphere. they stopped short of that and again passing the word that they were ready to talk. so they basically froze their testing in hopes of getting some negotiation. ist they have talked about there willing to talk about denuclearization, but they want the united states to show signs of itself dropping its hostile against north korea. that means ending weapons threats. north korea has been under the aim of u.s. nuclear weapons since the end of the korean war. they also would like to have the economic embargogo and honestly the sanctions lifted. that is what they see the hostile policy and they want to normalize relations with the united states, full economic diplomatic relations was up and

go south korea's minister said today the denuclearization of the korean peninsula as in the most important part of the agenda since the high-level talks of january 9 in the exchange visits between north and south korea envoys. that is the issue we will focus on for further discussion as well. but i also wanted to read a quote from president trump's pick for national security adviser who will take office april 9, apparently, and this -northbe before the u.s. korea summit, john bolton, who has repepeatedly pushed for a me forceful response against north korea. in an opinion piece in "the wall street journal" just last month headlined "the legal case for striking north korea first," bolton said a pre-emptive strike on north korea's arsenal would be a perfectly legitimate response to a threat to o the american mainland. he wrote -- "the threat is imminent, and the case against pre-emption rests on the misinterpretation of a standard that derives from pre-nuclear, pre-ballistic-missile times.

given the gaps in u.s. intelligence about north korea, we should not wait until the very last minute. that would risk striking after the north has deliverable nuclear weapons, a much more dangerous situatation." your comment on the significance of the elevation of the appointment of john bolton to be national security adviser -- which does not have to be apapproved by the senate? >> right. this guy is a very dangerous man. -- he has proposed at a massive attack on north korea very recently. his appointment, i think, is kind of trump's to have this kind of, you know, forceful advocate for a military force as part of these negotiations. kind of, good cop/bad cop routine. markss where the question

arise. he's when obviously -- he said this in recent days, he wants an immediate answer to north korea. are you going g to denuclearizer not? north korea is not going to just surrender. processt this phase where each side would give something, eventually, get to do negotiation. that is how the south korean president moon jae-in is also outlined it in mini speeches and discussions over the last year. in other words, denuclearization is the last step of a peace process. the first stop testing, first stop making them, then you move toward gradual building trust in various measures. not a is -- he is diplomat. he does that even like the idea of diplomacy. so that is what is dangerous. they could come in and say -- he could tell trump, well, ok, but try it. if the north koreans don't

immediately respond, then we will say these negotiations have not worked. we tried diplomacy, so let's go the military route. amy: before we wrap up, japan than they want a summit with north korea. >> well, able is trying badly to catch up. behind trump's hard-line. i think he is really desperate to get in on this kind of deal. is important that right now. i think the key is getting trump and kim to sit down and work out a process. they're not going to make some --e fran alliance in this grand alliance in this meeting, but they will set the stage for some long-term negotiations that i think it probably last a few months. not years, but months. i think a deal is possible, particularly with moon jae-in being at the head of it andd really driving this process. amy: i want to thank you so much t,im, for joining us. tim shorrock is a washington-based investigative

journalist. we will link to your latest piece "south korean president moon's gamble for peace with north korea has paid off." is democracy now!, org the world. peace report. we come back, we go to a unitarian church were a quad him allah mother who has lived in this country for over -- guatemalan mother who is liveve in this country for ovover 13 years, spills a secret that she is held for a long time, fearful to will be deported back to guatemala. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the e war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as turn now to a democracy now! broadcast exclusive interview with a guatemalan woman named aura hernandez, who has taken sanctuary in the fourth universalist society of new york. that is the unitarian church on manhattan'n's upper west side. she is there to avoid deportation to guatemala. she has been living in the united states for 13 years, and she's the mother of two u.s.-born children, 10-year-old victor daniel and 14-month-old

camila guadalupe. she entered sanctuary a few weeks ago to keep her family united as she continueues to fit her immigration case. today, her supporters with the new sanctuary coalition will be holding a silent jericho walk around trump international hotel at the foot of central park west and men will proceed to the fourth universalist society today, her supporters with the new sanctuary coalition will be where aura hernandez will speak out about a secret she's held for years. she says in 2005 when she first entered the united states, she was sexually abused while detained by y e border p patroln texas. she said the officer of used or threatened to confine her if she ever went public about the abuse. she has fought for your squirelly to obtain a new visa as a result of the sexual abuse. those e are for victims of certn crimeses to cooperate withuan forstmann. she says despite her cooooperatn with authorities, the department of homeland security has refused to certify her visa, meaning she could does has not yet been able to obtain protections to stay in the country. so now after being forced to

takes and sure to avoid her deportation, she is breaking her silence. on tuesday night, democracy now! producer laura and i sat down. we also reached out to customs and border patrol agency to invite them to join us today, but they declined. on tuesday night, we first spoke with the senior minister schuyler vogel began telling us how shortly after the congregation of his church voted to become a sanctuary church earlier this last year, their building was targeted for a hate crime. looks a few chapter we voted, our congregation discovered one morning that someone had vandalized our front doors. we're these beautiful wooden doors. someone carved swastikas and nazi hate speech on them. we do not know for sure the correlation, but is in second that only ay guess

few weeks after we got press for becoming a sanctuary congregation, that someone would do that. amy: who did it? did you find out? >> we did not. amy: as your decision got known some people would know you had voted to become a sanctuary church? >> some local news media. ironically, the vandalism profile the conveversation significantltly. it was a way for us and the community to really stand together and say, this is not ok. it corresponded with a large rise in hate crime across the city, but also the country. it was a few months after the november election and the president taking office. there was a lot a feeling that we were entering a new chapter and that it was a potentially scary one. it also if people with integrity and good conscience could come together, we could really make sure that people were safe and that justice and righteousness

were not going to be suppressed. this happen for us in a place that is our sacred space. we call the ininside of our chch building the sanctuary. to have this place that we associate with safety harmed inn , ask us and desesecrated to think deeply about who we are and what we stood for. and made us realize that if we're going to live according to our values and a time when people were being dehumanized and when our society was in real danger, we had to step up. amy: how have the police responded here in new york? new york city is supposedly a sanctuary city. the mayor has said the police will not cooperate with ice when they move in. so talk about what that has meant for y y and what it will memean for aura. >> we are cucurious about that going forward, particularly with aura. we have plans to reach out to the police to make sure they are aware this is happening and also

that we are protected ourselves. we don't know who harmed the congregation a year ago with the swastikas and hate speech. similarly, they are still out there. we want to make sure that the congregation is safe and that aura and her family are safe. we're going to be holding a forning for ourselves active shooters, training in case something like that happens . we know that gun violence is a problem in the united states and when other people who have a lot of anger and rage and hate toward people who are different than them take it out in these really violent and dangerous ways. we are not anticipatating that reaction, but we are wanting to be as prerepared and really stik about what is possible. being a sanctuary congregation involves risks, but our faith as to take risks -- calls us to take risks. amy: would you allow ice or police in if they demand to come in and take aura? >> no.

the point of sanctuary is that we are a sanctuary space. hasuldn't say any century does no century has been violated. should they be the first to break the long tradition of what we consider to be religious freedom, you hear a lot on the right about religious freedom of people of faith practicing their tradition. for us, religious freedom means the ability t to decide who coms in and out o of our sacred spac. we get to decide it. that is not the government's decision. amy: are you willing to be arrested? >> yes. amy: that was senior minister of the fourth universalist society of new york schuyler vogel. we then sat down with aura hernandez, the guatemalan mother who has taken century in the church.

she was holding her baby camilla as she slept. democracy now!'s laura gottesdiener and i conducted this first broadcast interview she has done. i began by asking aura how she knows that ice is trying to deport her. >> before i was in check in at immigration and emigration they told me that in 30 days i had to go back to my country. so i decided to confront the situation. that is why i know that i have two not hide myself, not hide myself but protect myself. protect my family and my children. , could you tell us a little bit about your family, about your two children?

i can see camilla they're sleeping in your lap. can you tell us about your children that you are here to protect? [translator] yes, i first child daniel and my daughter camilla were here. it is quite difficult for me. i have a child who is 10 years old and who knows that his mother is going through this situation. it is not easy for him. my daughter can't speak yet, but she feels that anguish that i feel of not knowing what is going to happen to us and the fear of saying "i can't go up to the window because i am scared to see. maybe they're going to be having me under surveillance. maybe they are checking on me to see how i might be careless. i might step out of the church and then they can arrest me." amy: can you talk about where

you came from, when you came to this country, how long you have lived here? ok will stuff i am from guatemala. i came here in 2005. i came fleeing from my country because of domestic violence. and i decided to come to this country to protect myself. i entered this country in 2005 and i practically did not want to come. i was forced to come here. amy: what was that journey like for you? what happened when you came over the border? >> [translator] i crossed the border, as i told you, in july. i took 22 days to travel from quite a mullah to the border of -- what a mullah to the border of mexico and the united states. , harlingen, texas

texas. 70 took me across on a raft. i crossed the river and walked about a kilometer and a was to attain by the border patrol. they detained me and they took me to detention center. at the detention center, well, i was there for three days. those days i had extremely bad experiences there. they treat me worse than an animal. it is so cold, it burns. so now i don't want my children to go through that. i don't want to go back. i want to have my family with me and protect them as best i can.

laura: aura, can you tell us a little bit more about the conditions inside the detention center? how were you treated? how did you feel about that treatment? i am going to] speak up to protect my family. and what i'm going to tell you right now is a difficult for me, but i have to tell you. i am going to say this because i don't want to stay silent. because that would mean that they won. and that is not the case. when i entered the detention center, they put us in a cell.

i was accompanied by my nephew. so it agent for the border patrol, the agents would take the information, began to insult me to tell me things like sexual things. i knew because of the experiences i have had since i was young that this was not going well, that this was going in a direction -- well, i practically knew where it was going. that immigration agent took me to an office and sexually abused me. amy: when he asked to have your nephew with you, he said no? nephewagegent -- well, i

was coming behind me on our wood to the office. when he realized my nephew was coming with me, he stopped too many said, not you. you go over there. i don't lead to come with. and he said, you stay there and i'm going to work with your aunt, otherwise you are not owing to get out of here. amy: how long were you held at this detention facility? how did you get out and where did you go, aura? after the person abused me, he sent me to a cell. i was in that cell for three days. but before that, he told me that since i did not cooperate with him, he wasn't going to let me go. so i spent three days in that

cell until another immigration agent saw that i was still in that situation at the detention center. and he asked me why i was in the cell, if i should have been released by then. and the person who took me out of the cell said, "ma'am, we're leaving." at that time, i thought something us was going to happen to me. when the agentnt took m me out f the cell, i did not know what was going to happen to me or my nephew until the person told me, -- well, they did not tell me anything. they took me in a patrol car and took me to a bus, transportation office. when i got out of the patrol car at the office, he said "welcome to the united states."

aura, did you face in the other threats while you were in detention? and given all of this, why have you chosen to speak out now? when the person who abused me right then and there he said "i have your information. i have your information and i know where you are." that is why for many years i did not speak out. my hushed up. they gave me some documents. what did i do with those documents? i put them in the dresser with everything that has happened to me. i wanted to leave all of that behind. i wanted to leave it in the past. but in 2013, i went back to that dark past feeling tormented.

one sunday i was headed to church and i was stopped by the police for a traffic violation. he reported me to immigration. he told me that i had a deportation order dating to 2005 for having failed to appear at immigration, at court. but i did not know that at the time. i did not want to knowow anythig about those documements. i k knew that those documents existed, but i did not want to review anything. mainly, i did not even know english at that time. in 2013, i looked for a lawyer. what struck him was that, well,

i told him that i did not want to talk the cuts something happened to me at the border. and this struck him. he asked me if i needed a psychologist in order to be able to speak. he helped me in that regard. and he told me there were possibilities of obtaining a u visa. amy: can you talk about today what it means to have been welcomed into this church, the unitarian church where you have taken sanctuary and how long you plan to stay here? >> [translator] how do i feel here in sanctuary? when i came heroes looking for help, protection. and i found good people. i found something that i did not find in my own church. i always had the church, but i did not have this in my

community of the church i went to regularly. and i came here and i found an affection that i thought did not exist. and so here i am. i would not say that i am happy, but i feel protected here. i feel that here i can raise up my voice, that i'm going to be old enough to be able to speak out -- bold enough to be able to speak out. i deserve a better life. i am my children, my family, we deserve it. because they take your freedom

away. they tell you you have to go. it is so easy to say and it does not matter. it is of no interest to me. they say just go. when they say go, it is as though they are, well, they are saying this to children, first of all, who are not to blame for anything. but they have rights. they have right and i have rights here as well. and they are trampling our rights. i am not just struggling with the situation under this administration. i have been struggling since 2013. before, not everything was said, but now they shamelessly tell you things from up on high there requiring me. they say to get rid of you.

i don't know how long i'm going to be here, but i am certain it is not going to be too long.g. i am g going to speak out. i am not going to let them get away with this any longer. amy: we just interviewed the senior minister here at the unitarian church, and he said he is willing to be arrested to protect you. what does that mean to you? there is noor] doubt that i did not make aa mistake coming here. it really makes me feel strong to know that a person who i just met, who just began have communication, and that he is capable of being arrested for me. well, that is priceless. and it pushes me to continue struggling just a here in this country because i deserve it. i think that all of these years that i have lived here and everything that has happened to

me, well, i think that i have rights and i have to stay here. i want to askd you, by speaking out, what do you hope will happen? what are you demanding? first is to get out of here. then i want to continue struggling because now i want more people to speak out about everything that has happened to them. and i hope -- and this is my goal -- that other persons will raise ththeir voices. that they can be bolder and not be fearful and not hide anymore as i did. to be fearful to go to the park with your children because you are scared they might arrest you, to be scared the slightest mistake you might make driving?

well, they can label you a criminal. that is what they are doing. their labeling you as a criminal -- they are labeling you as a criminal. what i want is to raise up my voice and that other people who are in the same situation as i am speak out and defend themselves. because what is going to get me out of here is raising mymy voi, not staying hushed up, and notot just wait for others to do things for me but rather i, myself, need to take the initiative to get out of fear i speaking and not staying hushed up. amy: your daughter camilla fewer holding who is sleeping in her lap, she is 14 months old and danny, your son, is 10. they are both u.s. citizens will stop what would happen to them and to you if you're deported to guatemala? >> [translator] if that

situation were to come to pass, then i would take my children with me. i would not take them with me. but if i took them to my country, then i am giving up. when they are adults, they would be able to come back. what do they even come back to? to clean dishes? they don't have english. there is education there. they can get an education there, but it is not like here. i think that is the right they have because of having been born in the united states. and i think it is not fair for them. they h have the same rights because they were born here. and what would happen to you, aura? deepest fearr] the i have here that makes me want to stay here is that if i go

back to my countntry, i might be assassininated. i might be murdered. that is why i'm struggling here because i don't want to take my daughter with me. i can't go back to my country. i can't. i am in danger of death, and that would mean the destruction of my family. i am in danger of being killed. amy: why do you think you would be killed? why do you think you would be assassinated? >> [translator] i can't tell you exactly who or why because that could put my family at risk. amy: finally, your thoughts on president trump? good question. i don't hate him because that would mean being bitter all the time. it i think his heart is very much bitter. we have to pray to god to soften

his heart because it is very hard. and it is not that we are asking for compassion, that is that the case. but he should hahave a softer heart. i can't really wish anything bad for a person who i don't even know, but he has done a lot of harm to me. i can't say that this or that should happen to him. no, i can't. because he is also a human being . and as a human being, i think that he loves his children. the only thing is that his heart is very hard and so i would ask god to soften his heart so that he not hate us so much. amy: that is aura hernandez, who fourthn sanctuary in the universalist society in new york city where she will l be holdina news conference today with her supporters after they take a silent walk from trump international hotel at columbus circle up to the church on the

upper west side overlooking central park. the unitarian church where she has taken refuge. a special thanks to the additional photos and laura gottesdiener. we will link to their story in the nation. we continue to cover the sanctuary movement around the country. we will also in charge of use with mothers and sanctuary in churches and carbondale and denver, colorado. we will be back in 30 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: "these stars collide" by mourning a a black star r here n ouour democracy now! stutudio. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we turn to sacramento, california, where protests continue ovever the fatal police shooting of 22-year-old stephon clark, an african-american father of two who was gunned down in his grandmother's backyard. at the time of the killing, officers were investigating a 911 call reporting someone in a hoodie in the neighborhood breaking the windows of cars. one video, taken from a police helicopter, shows thermal images of clark being pursued outside his home by two officers who draw their pistols on him. amy: another disturbing video from a body camera worn by one of the officers shows the moment clark is killed in a hail of 20

police bullets. amy: sacramento's police department says officers waited for about five minutes b before approaching clark to administer medical l attention after he was shot. the officers initially claimed they opened firere after clark advanced toward them holding a n objectct they believed was a gu. in a separate statement, t the department later said the officers believed at the timime that clalark wasololding a toolbabar. clark was found to have only a cell phone on him at the time of his death. on tuesday, hundreds of protesters disrupted the sacramento city council meeting, brothertephon clark' is who rushed into the council chamber and jumped onto the desk of mayor darrell steinberg. >> stephon clark! stephon clark! stephon clark! stephon clark!

amy: protests over the police shooting of stephon clark also took place in new york city's times square wednesday where 11 people were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, lord are in, and traffic violations. clark's funeral will be held today in sacrament to with the reverend al sharpton listed as one of the scheduled beakers. speak withe go to berry accius, founder of voice of the youth and a community activist in sacramento. talk about the latest news and what you understand took place, not to mention after the killing, after the police opened , why they then turned off the audio of their video cameras. >> first of alall, good morning. this is just a blatant show of excessive force that wewe are usually seeing here in sacramento thrououghout our natn of the sacrament of holy -- tvtv

taking the power to their ow youngngd nott giving this maman due procesess. the fact that when you see him mumuting the body camemera comel yoyou think in our mind is here comemes the cover-up. this young man should not have been assassinated, e executed in the back of his grandmothth's home. amy: can you expand whwhat happened on n march 18 come on susunday? >> from the video, seems like a young maman was goining home just police officers were on a hunt. the unfortunate ththing about ts area that stephon clark was living in is that this area is definitely overly policed. it is an oppressive area where therere is lack of resourceses,k of opportunities.. so when you have pololice offics that feel they c can do whatever they wantt t to, come e into a community, i in the psalmistst e maless and females are target practice.

what happened of this young man mesomething that in 2014, and another community leader said, sacramento, we have policing.oblem with we need help. only saw the uprising and ferguson. in 2014, i remember talking to my councilmembers saying we are one national moment from being ferguson. and here we are at this moment. we have been pushing for change. we have in for more transparency. we have been pushing foror more accountability. we are asking for justice for this young man it was executed. amy: i want to turn to stephon clark's longtime companion. she said she is struggling to help her heartbroken children process the death of their father. >> i have to wake up every morning to my kids asking me, where is daddy? let's go get d daddy. i tell them, daddy is always going to be with us. daddddy is in our hearts always and forever.

he will always be with us. don't forget that. even today, like, my son does not understand. he goes, daddy is in my titimin. -- t tummy.. and ago that a step on clark's longtime partner selena manning. can you explain what action the authorities are taking? sacramento has its first of american police chief. the attorney says he will investigate? >> that is all water under the brbridge. the unfortunate e thing abouout, as thehey put in, w we all knew there wawas when to o be a challelenging moment t and yeare are atat the moment of trututh. ththe understanding for us to sy we just have a blackface and that we're supposed to be ok with that,t, that is not e enou. what we're asking and ask lead toto manningng is that we now st looking at thihis police bill lf rights. this police bill of rights is allowing police o officers to

escape when they do things like that. it is not ababout having a p poe chief that h has a black face,et isis about systematic change. what we are demananding, what we're saying is people want change. that chahange has toomome when e look intoo the state levevel of what thihis police bill l of ri, how it continues too protect moment t likeers from this. the frustration of the cocommuny has bebeen bigger thanan the a l shootings of t the police e offs that t they do on ourr strtreet. it is bibigger than themem. it is about how arere we going o make trurue policy change? sacramento is s at a moment thtt we could leave the nion n in at oursivive move to look police bill of rights, c check t how police are conducting themselves, actually give mandatory drastic -- drug testing for its it is when they occur. i believe will we find out the polilice state of f mind, you ll bett let u us know what and why the police do things like this.

this has not been a problem that just h happened yesterday.y. this has b been historical. black people have been targeted draw the nation. " explain what happened at the city council meeting. >> emotion. rage. people being tired of bebeing tired.d. we have been at city hall, since 2014.. this is nonothing new. we have e been asking for true, true reform. if anything, we're asking for dismantling the system and having us, the people, be part of re-creating it. what happened was emotions, the situation that i believe could've been prevented -- no, i know could have been prevented. we have asked that we work with our police department as well as our city council folksks. we have not g got enough. so right now we're at thisis moment where we are saying, what dodo want to do, sacacramento? we're here to save sacramento. what are our city officials ready to do to help us save sacramento? amy: berry accius, zinke for

being with us. i ask you to stay for part two of a web exclusive a what happened in sacrament of, the killing of staff on clark. berry is founder of voice of the youth and a sacramento community activist. thanks f for j ♪

laura: what is next for health care? some huguge companieies have fld the idea of f setting g up thein clclosed system. we will speak with steffie woolhandler and benen palmquist. g grand idea. from brazil,t haiti, and the u.s. on what healthy communities need to thrive. more corporate controlol is nonn their list. comiming up on "the laura a flas show," for those who say cannot be done