06/18/18 06/18/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! kids not to tell give up. we're all human and deserve to be loved and cared for. >> this is not who we are or who we should be. the thing is, there is one person who has the absolute ability to change this right now, and that is president donald trump.

amy: on father's day, democratic lawmakers joined hundreds who protested outside child detention centers along the texas-border where families have been separated under trump's new policy zero tolerance policy. we will speak withth the whistlebeblower, a yououth care a a detentiont center for unaccomompanied migrt children run by the non-profit southwest key programs, which also runs thehe 1500-person facility in browownsvilllle anda proposeded "ba j jail" in hohou, 27 sheltlters in total.. davidson quit s job lastst week after r he says southwhwest key forced him to tell children, who were separated from their mother and then from their siblings, not to hug. then to yemen, where a saudi-led coalition has s launchched an all-out offensive against the key port city of hodeidah, where more most humanitarian supplies pass through, forcing many residents to flee their homes.

me, my kids, my siblinings, mother, father, my cousins, the whole village will stop at all must have a list went back with the elderly. the children could not take it. those who died died, knows he survived survivived. i in who were killed are refrigerator at the hohospital.. amy: as humanitarian organizations warn of a catastrophe for a quarter of a million civilians living in hodeidah amid a conflict that has already killed 15,000 civilians, we'll speak with yemeni scholar, shireen --shireen al-adeimi whose recent , report is headlined "attack on yemen port shows u.s.-backed coalition willing to use starvation as a weapon." all of that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. outrage is mounting over the trump administration's practice of separating immigrant children fromom theirir parents at the u.s.-mexico border as partrt of

the crackdown against immigrants and asylum seekers. "the a associated press" reports nenearly 2000 children have been separateted from their parenents since apapril 19. "the new york times" is repoporting some parents have bn dedeported without their childl, and with no ininformatioion abot how the family will be reunited. on fririday, vice presesident me pence was interrupted by opponents of family separation during a speech in columbus, ohio. vice pres. pence: including our historic tax cuts. let's hear it for america first policies that brought alall of s here together today. i am here -- i am here today first and foremost -- foremost torst and say thank you. youk you to all must all of -- almost all of you.

amy: people were yelling "why are you ripping children from their families?" over the weekend, there were protests nationwide. in texas congressman beto , o'rourke and former el paso county judge veronica escobar helped lead a march to a newly opened tent city where migrant children are being held. hundreds of protesters also met at a family processing center in mcallen, texas, where nearly -- hundreds more protested in houston outside a homeless shelter with a government plans to attain hundreds of separated children. meanwhile in new jersey, a group of democratic lawmakers visited a private immigrant detention facility in elizabeth to speak with asylum seeking parents held there after they were separated from their children. this all comes as in south texas, at least five people died when an suv carrying a dozen sunday undocumented immigrants crashed after a high speed chase with border patrol agents

. we will have more knowledge the protest and growing outrage over the family detention and separation of children from their families after headlines. we will speak with the whistleblower who quit his job at a tucson detention center fronted, need minors and separated children -- unaccompanied minors and separated children. in afghanistan, civilians celebrated an unprecedented three-day ceasefire between the afghan government and the taliban during the weekend's eid celebrations. it was the first nationwide lull in hostilities between the two parties since the u.s. invasion of afghanistan in 2001. over the weekend, taliban and government fighters celebrated the ceasefire and gathered for joint festivities marking the end of ramadan. despite the ceasefire, there were at least two major suicide bombings by isis militants, including a car bombing targeting a gathering of taliban and afghan soldiers eastern city of nangarhar that killed 26 people. the taliban said sunday it will not exextend t the ceasefire. in yemen, there are reports that

hundreds of fighters have been killed and more than 4000 civilians haveve been forced to flee their homes since the u.s.-backed saudi-led coalition launched an all-out offensive against the key port city of hodeidah nearly one week ago. early this morning, coalition aircraft bombarded hodeidah's main airport, wounding dozens and preveventing a aid organizas from reaching parts of t the ci. this is yehihia tanani, who was forced to flee with his family. >> me, my kids, my siblilings, the wholeather, village slept but almost half of us went back with the elderly. the children could not take it. those who died, died. those who survived, surviveded. those who were killed are in a refrigerator in the hospital. we know of 10 to 15 bodies in the refrigerators, and we do not know who our enemy is. amy: international groups hahave warneded the u.s.-backed offense to seizeze the key porort city f hodeidah well exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in yemen, which is already experiencing

the world's worst cholera epidemic, with more than 1 million people afflicted and with millions more on the brink of famine. we'll have e more on yemen later in the broadcast. in nigeria, at least 31 people were killed in twin suicide bomb attacks in the northeast state of borno. the suspected boko haram attack targeted people returning from eid celebrations sunday night. india is facing its worst water shortage crisis in history. that's according to a new report from an indian government policy think tank, which says as many as 200,000 people die in india every year from a lack of access to clean water. the report also says 600 million people in india are facing acute water shortages and that 21 indian citities are expected to run out t of groundwater b by 2. in colombia, right-wing politician ivan duque has won sunday's contentious presidential runoff, beating out his left-leaning challenger gustavo petro in an election that will determine the future of colombia's historic peace

deal with the farc. duque was handpicked by former right-wing president alvaro uribe. duque has vowed to roll back key parts of the peace deal. he's also opposed to drug legalization. in spain, about 600 refugees have finally disembarked in the port cityy of valencia afterer being stranded at sea for over a week when n the new right-wing italian governmentnt blocked thm from arriving in italy. on sunday, pope francis demanded a global pact to protect refugees. be worldednesday will refugee day, promoted by the united nations to draw attention to what our brothers, who were forced to flee their land because of complex and persecution, lived through often with great anxiety and suffering. this day falls on the wake of consultations between governments for the adoption of a global pact and refugees that is due to be adopted within the year. a packed for safe, orderly, and

regular migration. amy: israel has introduced new legislation to make it illegal for human rights groups to film israeli soldiers in order to document human rights violations. the proposed law would criminalizing both filming and publishing footage, with a maximum five-year prison sentence. this is amit gilutz with the human rights group b'tselem. >> the problblem is not the documentation, but with reality itself. the reality which israel is holding finally peoplple with no -- tical

and in pennsylvania, move member debbie africa has been granted parole and was released from prison after a decades-long campaign to win her freedom. debbie africa was imprisoned for nearly 40 years after being arrested during a massive police raid on philadelphia move house in 1978, during which one police officer was killed.

at the time of her arrest, she was 22 years old and was 8.5 months pregnant with her son mike jr. after her release saturday, debbie africa reunited with her son mike for the first time outside prison walls i in their entire lives. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to protests that have erupted nationwide against the trump administration's new policy of separating children from their parents at the u.s.-mexico border. most of the parents apprehended by customs and border patrol are now charged with criminal entry, and in many cases, criminal re-entry, then taken to a jail or prison to serve their time before they are sent to an immigrant detention center. in the meantime, their children are being sesent to shelelters d foster care programs around the country. "the assocociated press" reports that between april 19 and may 31, nearly 2000 children werere separated from their parents. former first lady laura bush

noted in a "washington p pt" op-e-ed sunday that "more than 0 of t the childldren are youngern 4 years old." lauraa busush condemned the pros of separating children from their parents. on friday, busush's fellow rerepublican, vice presisident e pence, was interrupted by opponents ofof family separation during a speech in columumbus, ohio. they yelled "why are you ripping children from their families?" vice pres. pence: let's hear for america first policies that brought all of us here together today. i am here today first and foremost -- i am your today first and foremost to say thank you.

thank you to almost all of you. amy: meanwhile on saturday, trump tried to blame the widely condemned family separation practice on democrats, tweeting -- "democrats can fix their forced family breakup at the border by working with republicans on new legislation." trump is set to meet tuesday with republican lawmakers to discuss the so-called compromised desk compromise immigration bill. some democratic lawmakers responded sunday by joining father's day protests that took place at detention centers across the country. in texas congressman b beto , o'rorourke and former el pasao county judge veronica escobar helped lead a march to a newly opened tent city where migrant children are being held. hundreds of protesters also met at a family processing center in mcallen, texas, where nearly half of all of the children have been removed from their parents. they were joined by obama's former secretary of housing and

urban development, julian castro. during the rally, castro and a 12-year-old girl named leah tried to deliver stuffed animals and letters to the children in the processing center, but no one came out to take them. where crimes against humanity are being committed. this is the scene of the crime. >> good afternoon. happy father's day. as we look around here at this vigil today, we see people of different backgrounds. against theited zero tolerance policy of family separation. we're here today because what the government is engaging in amounts to state-sponsored child abuse. this is not who we are or who we should be. the thing is, there is one person who has the absolute ability to change this right now, and that is president donald trump. ththis is president trump's new policy.

his administration has acknowledged that. his attotorney general h has brd about thatat. he can change it.. >> i want to tell kids at the border and all of the country not to give up and fight for their families. and deserve to be loved and cared for. we are children. has t to stop separating us from our parents. i wantnt to give up fighting for the right to stay with my dad. i'm not asking for a favor. it is my right as a child to live in peace with my father. families belong together. [cheers] amy: other democratic lawmakers were in mcallen, texas to tour , sunday the processing center, including senator jeff merkley and senator chris van hollen. merkley. first,>> i am here at the first

place where those a broht by buses her they are ccked in. there e a seri of room withthat paratete womenen childrenmen with children. therare no m with chdren he at the ment. we are n sure whthat is because we know there are lotot of men cssing g e border with children. is i is ross t t border. here they come. frfromere theyo toto t larger prococsing cenr we were at earlie weannot t rget despite all of ththe bururearatic c owcharts, th is abouchildreneing separated from theirir families when their families are seeking asylum from persecution abroad. whoalked to one of the moms has been separated from her daughter. the mom and daughter had asked for asylum. now the mom is being prosecuted as a criminal and will be separated from her daughter. this is a deliberate and inhumane policy, and we're here

to say -- amy: meanwhile, in new jersey, a group of democratic lawmakers visited a private immigrant detention facility in the town of elizabeth to speak with asylum-seeking parents held there after they were separated from their children. they were forced to wait for more than an hour to enter for their scheduled meeting at the facility run by core civic, formerly corrections corporation of america. this is new jersey congressman bill pascrell speaking during an exchange between the officials and a local police officer. >> this is ridiculous. we have the approval to go in there. it isn't that we don't have -- >> with the 45 minutes. >> [inaudible]ot wait. >> no. when they get here, are they going to let us in? >> yes. >> apparently so.

>> no, we are entitled to go in. amy: that was in new jersey. on sunday, in houston, people marched in the rain outside a former warehehouse and homeless shelter where the government plans to detain hundreds of separated children, including many who are so-called "tender age," children who are younger than 12 years old. the lease for that so-called "baby jail" in houston is with southwest key, the same non-profit that operates 27 facilities in california, arizona, and texas, including the 1500-bed facility in brownsville that senator merkley was previously denied entry to. heldis 1500 children being

there. southwest key also runs the facility where o our next guest worked until last week. when we come back, we will talk with the whistleblower, a youth care worker who quit the .etention center quit after he w was childreneparate the from their families not to hug. we will be back with them in a minute. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynowow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as oututrage is over the trump administration's practice of separating immigrant children from their parents of the u.s.-mexico border as part of the crackdown against immigrants and asylum-seekers, the associatate press reporting eary 2000 children have been separated from their parents since april 19. "the new york times" reporting some have been dorted without their children and no information about how the family will be reunited. we're going to look now a southwest key, the nonprofit that operates 27 facilities in

california, arizona, and texas, includine brownsviville facilility that holds 150500 r meley was previsly nt t wewe'oioingo tucson, arizizona, whistleblower tucsonon detention centeter for ununaccompanieied minors run bye nonprofit southwest key programs. it also runs the brownsville facility in ththe proposed baby jail in houstonon, 27 facilities and all. antar davidson quit after he was to tell the children who were separated from their parents not to. can you tell us what you quit your job last week at go >> take you first and foremost for having me on the show. i want to clarify a little but the timeline of events. told tot night i was tell them not to hug, i reached

out to original director who shirt me the next morning that things would change, things would be different. more brazilians came. i found it extremely difficult. i tried to help through the organization. i tried to talk to people. despite being a brazilian citizen of a they did not allow me to help. they were blocking the at every turn. requested time off, a week off to process what i had gone through. , dr. to that, the ceo sanchez, made his rounds and began asking for money. after they denied my leave request, it was then that i made a i put in my resignation as contractor subject or. amy: i donon't understand what u said. you said he was asking for money? >> yes.

basically they called mandatory meetings at our facility, three different meetings, and he initially said they need 500 more people. they're going to drop the ratio from one to five to one t to the for the tender age kids. then they would have more staff to take care of those younger kids. 500 new employees he said we needed. story about a minor who would come into a facility with very thick acne and how he felt so that, despite making $1 million plus between him and his wife and federal tax dollars, he said he felt so bad that he could not do anythg for this child with acne and then he proceeded to basically present ththis employee giving progogram w where employees a ad ststaff were u urged to give $1f every payeck k or a one-timee contribution of $240.

he then had a second s speaker reininforce ththe policicy while papassing around d papers for pe to sign n ay their chehecks. i defininitely want toto clarify thatat despite, of course, t the acututproblems o of the zero tolelerance popolicy, bubut alse shshould not let the ceo off the hohook who iss been makingng a million dollars plus for the past five years off the detention of children, of immigrant children. amy: you talk about speaking portuguese. your brazilian. talk about the moment where you are with these children that so disturbed you. descriribe the scene. >> well, it was pretty much a day of being shown a very uncompassionate organization --iming to be a nonprofit humanitarian nonprofit. the children were separated from their mother. the next day at 2:00 in the

morning, they left i believe a facility in texas and arrived at 9:30 and tucson, not having slept the entire night. they were showered, fed, they went through the intake process. my shift started at 1:30. i eventually was able to start talking to them. initially he understood because no one spoke portuguese and there is a phone translation service, but it does not work very well. the oldest brother as soon as i started speaking portuguese, burst out crying. he explained he thought his mom had disappeared. in brazil them up when the government tells you that someone is disappeared, it has a different connotation than it does here. it essentially means they aree dead. i had toto affirm dam his mom ws not d dead andd thehen basically proceed to try to explain to him , with no clear answewers, where his s mom was, w what kind of idedea, the- we add d no case m managers had n no idea.

afafter that, i i was to t to pervisise them in n a classroom. a brother was 16 and hihis sistr was 10, and the younger b brothr was eight, along with a five-year-old guatemalan girl who came with her from texas and had made friends with the sister. they had begun asking me, about 4:00 in the afternoon, to sleep. they had been separated from their mom. i requested from the management if i could get beds for them so they could sleep. they told me negative. didn't really give me a reason. essentially, i was forced to make to sweep the floor to a space for them to sleep on the floor, to which i felt extremely disgusted. that was only the beginning. after having asked them to sleep on the floor, i went on to teach my class which i've been doing a southwest key, then later on in the evening -- it was not until

8:00 the kids were assigned rooms. in spapanish and english, they were trying to explain to the kids they would all then be separated, the brother -- all three of the siblings in different rooms. they responded to this by basically clinging to each other and crying. i was called on the radio and told over the radio, antar, tell them they cannot hug. i said, i don't know that i'm going to do that, but i am on my way. i arrived to the scene. the three siblings were clutching each other for dear life, tears streaming down her face. i approached the oldest brother and i say in portuguese, bro, you got to be strong. he turns to me with tears streaming down his face and says, how can i be strong? look at my brother and sister. they are trying to separate us again. put my head down.

i did not know what to respond to -- amy: how old are these children? was 16.ldest brother the sister was 10. the under brother was eight. at that moment, the shift leader ran up to me and aggressively , tell them they cannot hug. this is also in front of other children and employees watching this. she screams at me to tell them they're not allowed to hug. that is the roulette southwest key. i'm looking at these kids, it is the two little siblings, you know, thinking there one to be ripped from their brother's arms and their brother cryrying becae he cannot do anything necessarily. i told her would youou tell me o dodo that, i told her, i'm sorr, but as a human being, that is not something i can do. you're welcome to do it yourself, to which she replied, first that she would report me to the supervisor and then she

went directly to them and said, you're not allowed to hug. he looks at me with tears streaming down his face with utter disbelief that what happened. it was at that moment i realized if i were to continue with southwest key, at least here in this facility, that i would be told a do things that were against what i am now sing from the response of the world is humans the code of all morality. i tried to make internal change. i contacted the regional director. i noticed it wasn't going anywhere after three or four days. i requested my time off. i stated i needed to processes and traumatizing events. i was denied after two days. after that is when i handed in my resignation as a to thentious objector direction the organization was taking. amy: i want to turn to a statement posted on youtube by the state senator you work for, arizona state representative

pamela powers hahannley. >> i'm the ranking memberer of e health committttee. hear childommittee we safety bills all the time. i believe legislators should be allowed in the facility in tucson to see the children. at least 300 are being detained in tucson. amy: antar davidson, your field director for arizona state representative p pamela powers hannley. she is not been allowed to totor the facility where you work, even a she's the wrecking democrat on the health committee? >> yep. and that illustrates the main problem with these facilities. despite being highly paid by american tax dollars, they remain entirely clandestine. i also want to take this opportunity to give a strong thank you to senator merkley. when i heard what happened to him, i felt extremely empowered and that led to me deciding to stand up. the main problem with these detention centers is their lack

of transparency, which allows them to basically turn it into a prison. , i want to get your reaction to southwest key's spokeswoman cindy casares, who responded to concerns about whether the non-profit is prprepared to housuse children o have been separated from their parents at the border and are coping with trauma. she said -- "our staff have great expertise in dealing with this population. we have very high professional development standards. we cannot operate if we do not have the legally mandated number of staff required. for the last 20 years we hire staff that have a child care or social work background to be prepared to support the developmental and emotional needs of all children who arrive to our facility." antar davidson, is that your assessment? f facility, not the case.

i can personally -- i was personally asked by shift supervisor if i could work six days a week for the next foreseeable future. we were asked every single day 1010 people stay over time, can five pupils day. most of the people -- we had one week of training. most of the employees were formally working in restaurants, formally working in construction workers. i think one of the main things, as much as this is about the children, this is a labor issue. southwest key to great profit, has mostly open to shelters and loki -- low income latino committees were workers are more willing to take, basasically, $5 an hour, which is what we take and no benefits, and basically not speak out and not unionize. the main problem is, this is a federal responsibility and people who undertake federal responsibilities should receive federal level support. i am sure perhaps in other

facilities it is different, but i'm partially, in tucson, that was not the case, and i believe according to other articles and things comoming out, that is not the case what they are saying. amy: antar davidson, since attorney general jeff sessions made his announcement -- it is quite stunning what is taken place. president trump says it is not his fault, but the democrats. the attorney general explicitly made this announcement of zero tolerance. i mean, the chief of staff kelly used to be head of department of homeland security said this, as well as other top aides of trump. it trump is saying it is not his responsibility. there has been in increased flow of people in the children, into these facilities. to that.t speak i was not necessarily in the upper management. what i can thehey is i wouldld -

i personally, having had my experience, , would be more than happy to speak to president trump or attorney general jeff sessions and regard to how these policies had effect on the ground level. again, i would like to point out that this is -- basically, a bad program that was broken by horrible idea, horrible new plan. so there has been a very great effect by the zero tolerance policy. however, prior to this, we're not talking about an organization that was good. we're talking about an organization for the past five years has made millions of dollars -- -- thed your response nonprofit you work for, southwest key, open and what they're calling a baby jail in houston, the mayor was protesting, the former police chief was prprotesting yesterday in the pouring rain. the lease of a former homeless shelter in houston by the nonprofit you work for, southwest key, to use this jail,

separating children at a t tendr age of 10 or below. 10 or younger. >> f follow the money. there is going to be -- i promise you there will be millions made in various people's hands. what is perhaps most insidious about this. this is an organization that presents a off as doing a humanitarian deed and this andd that. this is a federal levevel responsisibility they are taking onon at great cost. you need to do o it right. ththis. something you should lad yourseself, esespecially if yo'e making a a lotf momoney. there's a lolot ofoneyey being made o off this situtuation. itit is important hohold allll f those people accountablele and s a nation shohow we did integrate people, provide quality mental health services, particularly because these children are being reunified and placed into public schools. if we turn these facilities into prisons, if we do not provide the proper education for them,

upon rina vacation, we're basically creating a prison the public school pipeline. that will be detrimental to everyone. amy: antar davidson, thank you for being with us, a whistleblower who quit his job last week as a youth care worker at the estrella del norte facility for a economy minors and separated children. this one in tucson, arizona. run by southwest key programs, which also runs a 1500-child facility in texas. davidson is also field director for arizona state representative pamela powers hannley. wehis is democracy now! as continue to look in the growing outrage of president trump policy of separating immigrant children from their parents. we turn to the political showdown in washington. on saturday, president trump try to blame the widely c condemned family separation practice on democrats, tweeting --

on thursday, house republicans introduced a so-called compromise immigration bill. the plan includes the promise of a $25 billion for trump's border wall and is being touted as one for democrats to agree to pass legislation that would stop the separation of families. for more on what the democrats might do now as they condemn the trump administration state policy of separating families at the border, we're joined by renee feltz, democracy now! correspondent and producer who has long reported on the criminalalization o of the busis of detention and just came back from south texas. it is great to be speaking to you again. tweet andtrump in speak into reporters has that it is the democrats f fault, the democrats fault as everyone is shouting back, but you have instituted the zero tolerance policy. close trump is trying to say this is not their policy come

the democrats made as to it. stephen miller is saying it is our policy. krista neilson is saying, we're not doing it. attorney general jeff sessions is saying, god was is to do it. that is where we are in terms of the responsibility. as a reporter i've been following the money with the business of detention. under the obama administration for some time here on democracy now! many reporters like myself are calling or recalling this history family detention under previous a ministrations. not so much to toot our own horn and so we are right, but more to say this is how democrats have previously compromised on the issue of how we handle the surge of migrants coming to our country to seek asylum. openedd president obama detention centers for families. his approach was to keep the moms with the children.

although, there was some consideration at that time of separating families, but they did not t really go that route. in many cases s we was he the father maybe sepeparated while t motherer and child would be held in these facilities. there are other examples of how democrats have overseen the separation of families. for example, we saw with people who are characterized as a criminal elite, people who had a green card or a legal ability to stay in the country but committed an offense, if they committed a crime that was used to say your citizenship potential is revoked and now we can do for you from the country. we have interviewed many people including one he was deported from the u.s. from haiti recently. issues withent -- president obama. and separated from his young children. his daughter was also on our program. we have also seen democrats never passed a different action for childhood arrivals. we saw separation under daca as

well. what we will see is the issue of family separation coming up in the 2020 democratic primaries. we saw a lot of democrats coming to shelters and things like that. the question is, what will democrats do now, especially the so-called compromise legislation president trump will meet with democrats -- i'm sorry, republicans about this week. amy: lasted trump said he did not support the republican legislation, and in the white house walked that back. i want to go to homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen tweeted sunday that press and advocacy groups have misreported on thehe new zero tolerance policy, saying -- "as i have said many times before, if you are seeking asylum for your family, there is no reason to break the law and illegally cross between ports of entry." i want to turn to an asylum seeker named michael, from honduras, who spoke to democracy now! last weekend after he had been camped out on the bridge at the u.s. port of entry in mcallen, texas, waiting to be allowed to request asylum. he have been waiting seven days

at this point. in my country, they were tryingo o convce m me go toto the businesses and askoror ney.y. toy went to my hoe e and y force me to extort people. i had a vi, , but iwas expired w w wanto mamake new one and theyolold me shohoulcome b bk later. if i had waited for it, i would not be telngng the story because theyouould have killed me. i came fm m my house last monday anand myom c cald leononas a and told me they try to pi me a begin and take me. i left honduras reree wes agago. i've been on theididge for seven days. if they give me asyl, , i wi workardd and go on. i will try to bring my family with me because they are also in danger. amy: this is very interesting. you have cures to nielsen saying all we're asking is to go to the ports of entry. if the ports of entry, you found -- you're just there on the bridge. you found they were being told, the people were coming forward them a but they could not go over the bridge. the port of entry there told this is the only place they can

legally come across. >> that is right. there seems to be a policy were the customs and border patrol officers are stationed in the middle of the bridge at these ports of entry were u.s. meets mexico. they're refusing to allow people to even walk down the u.s. part of the sidewalk to get to the building where there is the port of entry where they can make their request. we just heard from michael, a young man saying he is fleeing essentially gang violence. we assume attorney general jeff sessions saying that is no longer going to be accepted as a reason to seek asylum, as well as women who suffer domestic violence. wet are we going to say when look at what happens after democrats and republicans are done being outraged about the separation of young children from their parents, what about slightly older children such as michael, 17? what about children 10 or 11? many my going to be characterized as potential recruits for ms-13, who president has spoken out against widely.

will the democrats compromise and say we can agree to put these kids into these juvenile detention centers, essentially, or will they claim these young children should also be capped with their parents in terms of keeping families together? lonely talk about following the money, some are asking if democrats regain control of the house later this year, will they consider abolish ice? is there so unhappy with ice, will they cut off the funds? amy: more than 1000 health officials have signed a letter condemning the new practice of separating nearly all children from their parents at the border. the doctor, professor of counseling at university of texas ririo grde vallecampmpus, alalong e e bord in n brnsvillll >> the facthat kids are being forcibly sararated fm their parent has so much to do with the traumahat theyre

experiencingndnd thawillll he a ge efffft on eir behavior inhemmediate futur in the near fure, andn the long-ter to thinkur government is putting kidshroughghhis kind ofof traumat -- and is trtrmatic --- experience to send aessage to people who arere fleeing their countrie n not o ofheir o o choice, butor --i ownurvival, is amounts to torture. amy: "amounts to torture." professor of counseling at the university of texas rio grande valley campus along the border in brownsville. renee, you just look to her. >> she is pointing out the trauma children are facing. we are for there is a failure to train people in the shelters to help the kids deal with that trauma. we are going to see these kids

enenter our public schools witht any counseling, without enough counseling people would say. that is a concern people have. we may also see if this goes forward, a change that republican say would stop the separation of families. but in fact, it could be worse. they can live the 20 day limit currently in place for families to be detained and make it so they could be detained without any limits. that is a major concern people have about the compromise legislation going forward and the type of trauma children coululd face not only y from spinning days or weeks in detention, but potentially months and even as long as a be reunited wait to with their sponsors or loved ones and family members here in the united states. you forwant to thank your continue reporting underreporting over the years. tomorrow we will continue this conversation with pramila jayapal, the washington congress state, willington be in our studio here in new york.

she herself went to a prison in washington to speak with mothers who have been separated from their children, sent up from the mexico border. democracy now! correspondent renee feltz and producer, long reported on the criminalization of immigrants, family detention, and the business of detention. this is democracy now! when we come back, we talk about yemen. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. returned to yemen where there are reports that hundreds of fighters have been killed and more than 4000 civilians have fled their homes since the u.s.-backed coalition led by saududi arabia and the united ab emirates has launched an all-out offensive against the key port city of hodeidah last week. early this morning, coalition aircraft bombarded hodeidah's main airport, wounding dozens and preventing aid organizations from reaching parts of the city. this is a father who was displaced from hodeidah. people were stuck and could not leave. they told us that some humanitarian organizizations are going to send buses, but then they said no buses could come in or out so we started walking on foot during our children, sitting once in a while for rest while the apaches hohovered aboe us. we were scared not knowing

whether we would be shot or not. amy: hodeidah has been under siege for six days, as saudi and united arab emirates f forces attempt to force houthi rebels to give up their control of the vital port city. the attatack is expected t to be bibiggest battle yet i in thee three-year conflict between the u.s.-led conflict and d houthi rebels. the uniteded nations e envoy to yemen martin griffitiths has ben in the capital sana'a working towards negotiating the withdrawal of houthi rebels from hodeidah, leaving the port under the admiministrative control of the u.n. he is due to report to the u.n. security council later today . meanwhile, the united nations says nearly 8.5 million yemenis are on the verge of f famine, wh deaths setet to rise if shipmens of food and medicine t through e port come to a halt. more than 70% of humanitarian supplies and 90% of commercial supplies to all of yemen pass through ththis port city of hodeidah. the inteternational l committeef the red cross is calling for humanitarian assisistance in the region. >> today we're at the point where catastrophic is becoming

an understatement. what we need to do today is to open the airport at least for the humanitarian reasons, for ththe people who need to evacuae who are sick and wounded to be able to o leave. we can no longer afford to close this country so much for the yemenis. we cannot keep the yemenis hostage. amy: the conflict has already killed 15,000 civilians, sparked the world's worst cholera epidemic with more than one million suffering from cholera, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. for more, we go to speak with shireen al-adeimi, a yemeni student. she just completed her doctoral degree at harvard university. her recent piece for in these times is headlined "attack on yemen port shows u.s.-backed coalition willing to use starvavation as a weapon." welcome back to democracy now! talk about what is happening right now in your country of yemen, in hodeidah. >> take you so much for having me back. what is happening in hodeida is

the worst-case scenario being played out. over the last three years since this attack began on yemen, -- if there were any redline strong, that would have been hodeidah. any kind of disruption to the aid coming in through the port of hodeidah is the stararvationf millions of yemenis, 8.4 million are on the verge of starvation people, 80%20 to me of the population are relying on humanitarian aid coming in through this port. s control thehouthi ands, -- they've controlling what comomes through the port. the attack on the city right now led by the united arab emirates shows there are no more red lines in yemen, that civilian lives no longer matter. there's not even a pretense of civilian lives of importance in yemen. about whatu talk

this port city, why it is so significant? example, the saudi ambassador to yemen tweeting saturdrday -- "today the uae ambassador to ksa and myself met with a number of ambassadors of countries to riyadh. we stressed that the hodeidah port remains open and will become a vital lifeline to yemenis rather than a source of illegal revenue and smuggled iranian weapons to the houthi." >> there's no evidence to back up any of those statements. for the last three years we've been hearing that iran is involved in yemen, smuggling weapons to yemenis to the port of hodeidah. there is zero evidence any of this has been taken place. there is a land, air, and sea blockade by the united states, united arab emirates, saudi arabia and the coalition of countries. and somehowow iranians are supppposed to have magically transported some e missiles to

yemen. there's no evidence to what he is saying. it is part of the same talking points there in yemen to deter iranian influence, again, withthout any substantial evidee to back up what they are saying. that is the claim. s arey that houthi preventing aid, that makes no sense and saudis are controlling what comes in and out of the country. november, people starved to death. that was in response to supposed iranian missiles coming into yemen even though a you and reports the ----u.n. missiles that came out of yemen to saudi arabia were not from iran and had more american ports that iranian parts. this is what we have been hearing for three years but there is not any evidence to support what they're saying. amy: earlier r this month you tweeted a list of dozens of senators who endorsed continuing support for u.s. -- continuing

u.s. support for saudi arabia in yemen. you wrote -- "on the 15th anniversary of the #iraqwar, these 55 senators voted to continue waging war on #yemen they voted to continue starving millions to death. they voted to continue bombing yemenis with u.s. bombs, dropped by saudi-purchased us jets, refueled midair by the u.s. army. #sjres54." could you explain senate -- whahat senate r resolution 54 called for in what you feel needs to happen right now? >> it was such an incredible opportunity to once and for extra kate the u.s. from what they're doing in yemen, from helping the saudi arabians wage this war on a country that does not pose any threat to saudi arabia, the u.s. them or any country. it was a civil war they got themselves involved in. sjres54, the senators that sanders,d it, bernie mike lee, if they voted in favor of this bill, the u.s. hahad to legally than remove themselves.

we know there is u.s. special forces on the ground helping with this mission. it did not go through. they ended up voting to table it will stop those 55 senators voted to table the bill. they did not end up voting on it. here was his incredible warrtunity to end the because given how involved the u.s. is in yemen and how dependent the saudi-led coalition is on the support of the united states, this war cannot continue beingng waged mh longer without u.s. support. amy: you are saying the u.u.s. s facilitating this war. >> absolutely. in yemen, this is seen as a u.s.-saudi led war. their relying on u.s. intelligence, even right now in fromdah, after pleas certain senators for the u.s. to not help the saudi arabians and the varieties tried to seize

hodeidah for they ended up agreeing to provide airstrike targeting. we're helping them along the way. refueling jets midair. we are advising their soldiers. we are providing all sorts of assistance to the saudi arabian army. without the u.s., the saudis, they don't manufacture their own weapons without u.s. support and weaponry they cannot continue to wage this war. we are very much entrenched in this war. i think right now what needs to happen is another pushed by the congress, to invoke the war powers resolution to try to once and for all end any kind of involvement in this war because we are entrenching ourselves more and more apparent war crimes. these are the words of senator chris murphy who is saying there's a u.s. imprint on every war crime that takes place in yemen. ands not just the saudis him are righties. amy: i want to and with the

words of pope francis whoo appealed for peace in yemen as the saudi-led coalition continued its assault on hodeidah. he was speaking to tens of thousands of people in st. peter's square in his weekly sunday address. >> i follow with concerning traumatic say to people of yemen are exhausted by years of conflict. appeal to spend no effort to urgently bring the parties involved to the negotiating table. and to avoid a worsening of the already tragic humanitarian situation. amy: that is the pope on sunday. your final comment? >> i hope your audience listening and realizes how much we have been involved in this country in this war on yemen. it is an unjust war. we have no business being there. i hope that would call the senators, urge them to end this war i'm yemen. amy: we have to o leave it ther. shireen al-adeimi, a yemeni scholar, just completed her doctoral degree at harvard university.

speaking out about the role of the u.s. in the saudi-led war in yemen. that does it for our show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]çç