[captioning made possible by democracy now!] ♪ amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> -- that created slavery and put us in a brutal system that we're still struggling to get up from under today. we are here because the history of jim crow is obviously still

alive. amy: a political crisis grows in virginia as the states's top three elected officials all face potential career ending controversies, all democrats. the governor and attorney general have both admitted to once wearing blackface. meanwhile, the lieutenant governor is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2004. we will get the latest. then the trump organization has fired at least 18 undocumented workers across its golf courses. morales, a victorina guatemalan-born housekeeper who made the bed of donald trump. that was at the bedminster golf course in new jersey. she is risking deportation by speaking out about how the trump national golf club helped her and other undocumented workers falsified their papers to work for donald trump. translator: yes, of course, the

supervisor told me i had to do the papers over again and make a new id to keep working there. amy: we will speak to victorina morales and democratic congresswoman bonnie watson coleman of new jersey, who invited victorina to the state of the union on tuesday. all that and more coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. virginia's political crisis deepened wednesday with the state's top three elected officials, all democrats, facing scandals that threaten to upend their careers and virginia's democratic leadership. on wednesday, the woman who accused lieutenant governor justin fairfax of sexual assault came forward and identified herself as dr. vanessa tyson, an associate professor at scripps college in california. in a statement released through her law firm, tyson detailed a 2004 encounter at the democratic

national convention in boston where she said fairfax forced her to perform oral sex. fairfax has denied the allegation of sexual assault, saying the encounter was consensual. meanwhile, virginia's attorney general mark herring resigned from his role as co-chair of the democratic attorneys general association after admitting he wore blackface at a party in the 1980's as an undergraduate at the university of virginia. his admission came just days after a racist photo emerged showing governor ralph northam's 1984 medical school yearbook page depicting a man wearing ackface posing nt t to a m wearing a ku klux klan outfit. northam initially apologized for the picture but later said he was not either of the two men in the photo, while admitting to using blackface on one another occasion that same year. if governor northam, fairfax, and herring were to all step

down, the next in succession for virginia governor is house of delegates speaker kirk cox, a conservative anti-choice republican. we'll have more on virginia's political crisis after headlines. in climate news, newly released data show 2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record, continuing a trend that has seen the past five years become the five warmest since reliable measurements began more than a century-and-a-half ago. gavin schmidt, director of nasa's goddard institute for space studies, says it's part of a trend that's poised to see the planet become much hotter. a planet that is four or five degrees warmer than now? we have not seen that on earth since about 3 million years ago. icehat point it was not any level was and sea about 25 meters high.

that was a very different planet. amy: wednesday's climate report came as two house committees held simultaneous hearings to discuss the climate crisis. they were the first such meetings on capitol hill in six years. meanwhile, house democratic s convened a hearing on gun violence wednesday, the first in more than eight years, since before the sandy hook school massacre of 2012. wednesday's hearing examined house resolution 8, a bill to expand background checks to include all firearms purchases. the proceedings grew contentious after florida republican congressmember matt gaetz, an ally of president trump, argued undocumented immigrants pose more of a threat to the u.s. than gun violence. 8 would not have stopped many of f the circumstances i raised, but a wall, this barrier on the southern border, may have, and that is what we're fighting for. >> [inaudible]

>> gentleman will suspend. amy: congressmember gaetz's comments sparked protests in the committee room by manuel oliver and fred guttenberg, two parents who lost children to the massacre at marjory stoneman douglas high school. gaetz responded to the protests by demanding the parents be banneded from the e hearing. to see our interviews with manual oliver and fred guttenberg, go to democracynow.org. elsewhere on capitol hill, a bill was announced wednesdsday that would reqequire president trump to removeve u.s. armed forces from the saudi-i-led warn yemen, which has sparked what the united nationsns calls the world's worst humanitarian crisisis in a a half a centuryr. the bill's sponsor, member ro congress statement,d in a

"more than 14 million yemenis, half the country, are on the brink of famine, and at least 85,000 children have already died from hunger and disease as a result of the war. let's end american complicity in the atrocities in yemen." in moscow, peace talks b between the taliban and prominent afghgn politicians wrapapped up wednesy with parties agreeing to a road map for ending the u.s.-led war in afghanistan, now in its 18th year, the longest war in u.s. history. the government of afghan president, ashraf ghani, did not attend the talks, which did not reach h consensus on a timeline for the u.s. to withdraw. this is the taliban's chchief negotiator. >> we are e in negotiation with the american side. saying amamican forceces should go ouout as soon n as possible. ,t is not agreed upon so far but we're negotiating. amy: a taliban official said the trump administration has agreed to pull half of all u.s. troops out of afghanistan by the end of april, though a pentagon spokesperson later denied the military has received orders to

begin a withdrawal. in honduras, prosecutors have presented evidence urging a former energy company executive with masterminding the murder of an environmental activivist, who was shot dead in her home in march 2016. the assassination came as she led a campaign against a major dam beingctric constructed on a digit this land. , athe time of her death former military intelligence officers was said to have provided logistics and resources to at least one of the seven men convicted in november of carrying out the assassination. back in the united states, new has recalledor most of her state's national guard troops from the u.u.s.-mexico border,r, where ty had been stationed by her atublican predecessor

president trump's behalf. trump'ss a a rebuke of board policy to coincide the state of the union address when she tweeted a previsly a ne videfrom her successful 2018 gubernatoriacacampai. new mexico 4 49th in employment and 50th in school. wewe havto m makchangege order t rove tional grd troopfrom the borderame daysfter therump ministration ordered the pentagon to send more than 3700 and additional troops to the border. among the latest to deploy are 250 soldiers sent to eagle pass, texas, across the rio grande from a mexican border town where a caravan of some 1,800 asylum-seekers arrived this week. customs and border protection says its agents can process fewer than 20 asylum claims a

day at eagle pass. the supreme court is poised to decide today whether a restrictive louisiana anti-abortion law can take effect in a case the could determine whether millions of women will have continued access to abortions. the louisiana law, passed in 2014, requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinics. pro-choice groups call such statutes trap laws, or targeted regulation of abortion providers. they say the louisiana law would leave the state with just a single doctor legally allowed to perform abortions. in 2016, the supreme court struck down a nearly identical texas law in a 5-4 ruling. the now-retired justice kennedy ruled with the majority in that decision. he has since been replaced by justice brett kavanaugh. in texas, civil rights groups are suing to block a republican-led purge of voting

say could see thousands of naturalized citizens wrongfully barred from voting in the next election. four texas-based nonprofits say the secretary of state and the texas department of public safety unlawfully sought to suppress the vote of immigrants by flagging tens of thousands of registered voters who declared they were not u.s. citizens when obtaining a driver's license. the groups say most, if not all, of those flagged were later naturalized. chiraag bains, director of legal strategies at demos said, "the secretary of state is intentionally targeting new americans and people of color in order to decrease minority voter participation in flagrant violation of the constitution and the voting rights act." the trump administration unveiled plans on wednesday to dramatically roll back restrictions against hate lenders who charge predatory interest rates. the plan would revoke an obama-era rule that requires payday lenders verify that borrowers have the ability to pay back their loans, which often carry annual interest

rates of nearly 400%, about 20 times the typical credit card interest rate. critics say the plan by the consumer financial protection bureau would accomplish the opposite of what the agency was created to do when it was founded in 2011, trapping consumers in a cycle of debt. from four, teachers charter schools are striking to demand a pay raise, smaller class sizes, and additional school support staffff. meanwhile, public school teachers in oakland, california, voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, which could start as soon as the end of next week. and the legendary music producer and political activist izzy young has died. from his music store and performance space, the folklore center in new york city's greenwich village, izzy young spent decades nurturing some of the biggest names in american folk music, including pete seeger, joan baez, muddy waters, joni mitchell, and patti smith. this is izzy young introducing a young bob dylan in may of 1962 on his folk music show on new york city's pacifica station

wbai. bob dylan for the song saying "the answer is glowing in ththe wind." song, the topic is building a cause. ♪ roads must a man walk down man?e he is called a and how many seas --♪ and bobt was izzy young dylan in 1962. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, and those are

the headlines. this is the war and peace report. i am amy goodman. >> welcome to our viewers. we begin today's show in virginia, where a reckoning about racism and sexual assault has left the state government in disarray, with virginia's top three elected officials, all democrats, facing political crisises that threateno o upend their careers and the state's democratic leadership. the controroversy at'enenveloped virginiaia since govovernor ralh nonortham admimitted to wewearig blackface last week took a shocking turn wednesday, when virginia attorney general mark herring also admitted to wearing blackface at a college party. just days prior, herring had called for governor northam to resign. the second in line, justin fairfax, is also embroiled in scandal after a woman who has accused him of sexual assault came forward wednesday with details of the encounter. governor northam has so far

thesed to step down after yearbook page was shown it he initially apologized a later said he was neither of the two men in the photo, that he did admit to wearing blackface on another occasion the same year. if all three of the democratic politicians resign, republican house speaker kirk cox is next in line to become governor. amy: virginia's attorney general mark herring resigned from his role as co-chair of the democratic attorneys general association wednesday after admitting he wore blackface at a party in the 1980's as an undergraduate at the university of virginia. in a statement, attorney general herring said he wore brown makeup and a wig to impersonate the rapper kurtis blow. he wrote, "that conduct clearly shows that, as a young man, i had a callous and inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others. it was really a minimization of both people of color, and a

minimization of a horrific history. i knew well even then." just hours later, the woman who accused lieutenant governor justin fairfax of sexual assault came forward. she identified herself as vanessa tyson, an associate professor at scripps college in california. in a statement, professor tyson detailed a 2004 encounter at the democratic national convention in boston where she said fairfax forced her to perform oral sex. tyson said, "what began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assaut. to be very clear, i did not want to engage in oral sex with mr. fairfax and i never gave any form of consent. quite the opposite." lieutenant governor fairfax has denied her account of what happened, saying "i have never done anything like what she suggests." fairfax had previously implied democratic virginia governor ralph northam's supporters might be behind a smear campaign to

prevent him from assuming the governorship. well, for more, we go now to raleigh, north carolina, where we're joined by khalilah brown-dean, an associate professor of political science at clinic he at quinnipiac university in connecticut. she is from lynchburg, virginia, and is a graduate of the university of virginia. her book titled "identity politics in the united states" it will be out later this year. professor khalilah brown-dean, welcome to democracy now! can you respond to what is happening in virginia, the place where you went to college? homee situation in my state, and i have a lot of family there. fofor genius is near and dear to me and alwlways will b be. but what is happening now is forcing people to decide how much progress has been made in that state, whether it is at the university of virginia and the

long history of tension over issues of race and racial representation or the latest allegations against the lieutenant governor. it is more than just about political party, it is more about how the state continues to govern moving forward. professor, it is also said that a lot of the history of virginia has been entirely forgotten, and that is part of the reason that these kinds of incidents and test these kinds have come about. can you elaborate? >> i grew up in a place called lynchburg, virginia, were both physical barriers and sexual barriers were very real. my hometown had a number of public swimming pools, and after made thosetion integrated, instead of allowing black and white children to swim together, the city filled the the andmming pool with

later concrete so no one would be able to swim. there were entire school districts that shut down for over a year, rather than medassets ofh the the browns the board of education decision to mandate integration of publilic schools. but we do not even have to go back that far, to the 1950's in 1960's. two years ago, a group of white supremacists converged in , chanting with tiki torches, "we will not be replaced." so the history from the founding of the commonwealth to these more recent incidences show that the issues of race, issues of this nation, and oututright violence continue. amy: the virginia legislative black caucus and civil rights groups have called on governor ontham to resign hear it wednesday, the naaaacp president ceo said attorney general mark herring should also step down. johnson was speaking on msnbc.

>> for african amemericans, thtt is domestic terrororism. it is s familiar to those of us who live in the south. edition not be tolerated. it t should not bee tolelerated. they have admitted to have dissipated in the activity. naacp president and ceo derrick johnson. do youor brown-dean, also think they should resign? and talk about the history of blackface and what it means. symbols are powerful. i spend yesterday at the international civil rights museum in greensboro, north carolina, and there is a display their about the history of blackface, the ways in whihich theater performers use these exaggerated caricatures of black not just communicate

there and humanity or to deny their humanity, but to also convey stereotypes about blacks being lazy, being ignorant, being happy to go around singing and dancing. that is damage, because when you make an entire group of people feel less than human, when you deny them protections of citizenship and create a situation where violence can fester, whether it is physical neglect, whether it is of educational opportunities, or an apology in the criminal justice system. i think it is good that ag herring has admitted to wrongdoing, but admitting to that does not mean he should not be held accountable to not just his constituents but to the people who look to him for fairness as attorney general. they both need to step down. the aunt that, we need to start having real conversations and actions about blackface, about

racial imagery. this is not just a virginia problem. this is a national problem. nermeen: there is a long tradition of u.s.-elected leaders participating in our promoting blackface. this is a clip of ronald reagan introducing a white p performern blackface i in the 1943 fililm, "this is the ay." i i was strolling out one evening by the silvery moon i could hear somebody singing a famililiar tune though i stopped a while to listen ♪ thahat a white perfrformer in blackckce i in te -- film being introduced by ronald reagan. professor, can you elaborate on this history and how it has gone rgely, untntil now, on reportt -

unremamarked upon? >> i thihink it depends on w whu are asking him whwhether it is remarked upon. spike lee has a film called "bamboozled" in which he looks at a number of different racial and ethnic backgrounds of performers. in some ways, they didn't stand themselves for the -- they distanced themselves for the -- thet -- it is discrimination they faced. it is s about boundaryry and inclususion. you have ted danson appearing at the friars club in blackfaface. and every year on college campuses, those of us who t teah young people hold our b breaths during halloloween a and hope someone e is not appearing in blackface in a costume or posting on snapchat oror instagm some sarcastic remark that is actually dangerous becauause it

undermines that safety. look, people canan learn and can grow from thosose mistakes. they can become more aware of history. but that growth should not come at the expense of public safety of people of color in this country. nermeen: it seems especially relevant, professor, that this is all unfolding in 2019, which of the400th anniversary first enslaved african arriving in virginia. but as you have suggested, this is not just a problem of virginia, it is a legacy that is all over the u.s. and has manifested in different ways. could you talk about that? >> sure. the 400th anniversary of enslaved africans arriving on the shores of virginia, and we are also in t the middle of blak historory month. what is dangerous is that too often people are willing to say

this is a problem of the south, and i live in the northeast, and i say people and the south may be more vocal about their views, maybe more direct, but we should not think that this kind of racial ignorance and racial animus is beholden to southern boundaries. yesterday, i was shown a picture of a cross burning as people stood around it in their klan hoods, and that was taken in 1984 in connecticut. so the same time that you see governor ralph northam appearing in blackface in terms of his college picture, this is burnings, the cross the racial imagery, the clear boundaries of inclusion. people the ways that targeted white ethnic immigrants in the north coming from places like ireland and italy, that same kind of boundary gets replicated across the u.s. and has not been erased, even if

people stopped talking about it. amy: of course, the same time that all of this is unfolding, mitch folder showing mcconnell posing in front of a large confederate flag has resurfaced. it first circulated in 2015 when he's getting some kind of honor from the sons of confederate veterans even in the early 1990's. but i want to john to the second in command, the second in charge in virginia. on wednesday, a woman accused lieutenant governor justin fairfax of sexual assault. the woman who accused him came forward and identified herself as vanessa tyson, an associate professor of scripps college in california. in a statement, professor tyson detailed a 2004 encounter at the democratic national convention in boston where she said fairfax forced her to perform oral sex. "what began as

consensual kissing quickly turned into sexual assault. to be clear, i did not want to engage in oral sex and never came -- never give form of consent or quite t the opposite" she said. governor justin fairfax denied the sexual assault allegation. >> the allegation is completely false, as is said in our statement. you will see the story is completely uncorroborated. the fact they would run that with allegations from 15 years ago tells you what this smear is all about. we have laid out the case and the facts. this person, a year ago, came to the "washington post" with the same allegation, and they investigated it for several months. the made the decision not to publish the story because it was not credible. what we know is that it is false and defamatory. this person then went into

hiding. then the second this issue came appear in virginia and there is a lot of media into june, it crops back up with the same allegation using others to get it out into the mainstream media. truth is 100% the on our side. and because that is urgiging a lieutenant governor justin fairfax denying a sexexual assat took place. ,rofessor khalilah brown-dean you know the accuser. is that right? >> i do. aboutan you talk to us professor tyson and her allegations? have you spoken to her about them?? to her about spoken this particular incident in terms of the latest coverage. what i do know is that she is a very reputable person. she is a tremendous scholar. she has a remarkable record, not just as a professor but as an advocate and public servant,

decades of advocating on behalf of victims of sexual violence. and also understanding how public policy can susupport people. what i also know from and this is a very difficult situation for everyone involved, there are no winners here. there are at least two families that are forever changed by this. and what i also think is important is that if you are going to be a public servant, you have an obligation to be accountable to the people that to are chosen to serve and allow the process to proceed with integrity and with a real genuine commitment to this. this should not be about political party, not just about people you like or politicians we want to send to high office. it is about the standard and how we promote the best interests of the people of virginia without creating sacrificial lambs in the meantime. nermeen: do you believe that he

should resign, the lieutenant governor of fairfax, in the wake of these allegations? >> i think you should resign. i think it is impossible for him to govern effectively with this cloud hovering over him and hovering over his administration. while we are dealing with the governor's blackface pictures, while we are dealing with these allegations against lieutenant governor fairfax, there are people in the commonwealth of virginia who are suffering the cause we are not addressing the very real public policy concerns that are happening. virginia is being hit with the opioid crisis. virgininia is trying to figure t how to properly educate e studes in public schools. issues around criminal justice reform and making sure that people are safe and have access to a fair and just process. so with the interest of the people of urging you to be , that resignation should

come. amy: you must the reeling, professor. you are a daughter of virginia. can you talk about your overall response and what you think virginia needs to do to moveve forward? if all three men are to step down, the house speaker, a conservative anti-choice republican, will then we come governor. >> i am saddened by what is happening in my home state. i am disgusted by what is happening in my home state. but i am far from surprised. i am a proud graduate of the university of virginia, and i have always known that tension between being on a campus that ,as created by thomas jefferson this wonderful american statesman, knowing that the grounds thatat i walked on every day contained the blood, sweat, and tears of enslaved africans, that while he was pending these

wonderful words to our founding document, he was holding people in the bondage of slavery and refusing to them at -- to emancipate them that is the history of my home state and affects everything that is happening. what is concerning me now is this has become a partisan witch hunt, or that is the perception. look, we need people and office who respect their voters, people in office who uphold the values that we want children and the commonwealth and across the country to grow up and emanate. i am less concerned with who we will send to the office of the governor, and i am more concerned about what the impact will be on the daily lives of people that i care about given that so much of my family is still in virginia. i do not think that these three highest ranking officials will all resign on the same day. so if the concerns about maintaining the balance of power that the voters want in, and that was a democratic-controlled

executive office, then there are ways to appoint people into activeositions in an role until the voters can have a say. amy: khalilah brown-dean, thank you so much for being with us, associate professor at quinnipiac university in connecticut. but she is from lynchburg, virginia, and a graduate of the university of virginia. we look forward to your book later this year, "identity politics in the united states." this is democracy now! when we come back, the former housekeeper of donald and a ivanka trump speaks out. at was undocumented and was bedminster and says her bosses helped cover up her illegal status. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "cry me a river" aiello fitzgerald. nermeen: democratic senator bob menendez is calling on the fbi and department of homeland security to investigate whether employees at trump's national golf clubs wrote the law by helping undocumented employees

obtain take workpapers. on monday, he called on the federal government to allow ofmer undocumented employees the trip properties to remain in the country while the investigation proceeds. this com as it is said t trtrp comny has fed at let 18ndocumend memberin the past aboonths from go cours. the have bn a seri of rerts abouthe clu's emoyment oworkers thout legal stus. am andy saerg,nd uncumented housekeer from guatala help expose at is happenin on the ump operties bspeakingn record to thenew york tim to a cok sh spentears makg donald trp's d and performg other duties and hisew jerseclub, even though she was undocumented. on tuesday, morale us had a chance to see her former boss in person when she attended the state of the union, where trump railed against undocumented incorrectly

suggesting undocumented immigrgrants threaten ececonomic well-being of americans. victory number i'll is attended the state of the union as a guest of new jersey democratic representative bonnie watson coleman. i spoke to both of them on wednesday, and i asked the congresswoman why she brought victorina to the state of the union. >> number one, she really is the honest face of immigrants, the hard-working, trustworthy, just wanting a better life for her family, not causing any trouble, paying her taxes, becoming a part of the community, and just doing her job. , i this is the real face believe, of immigrants, and even illegal immigrants seeking asylum or a better way of life here in the united states of america. contrasting that to what the president has said, that we should steer illegal

immigration, that we need to build a wall to keep them out, to keep us safe, made upon lies as to who they are and what they are. it shows the hypocrisy of donald trump, the president, and donald trump, the entrepreneur. he does the e entrepreneur not only hired undocumented immigrants, his organization found them documents that would be used to put into their file so that they could work there. he became until after a nominee for president that they decided that the documents they already had on behalf of these workers was not sufficient , so they arranged for them to get even better looking documents but were still frogging on. so he had this environment where he hired illegal immrants,

give themnoww benefs. heid not ge them a od lary. d the enronment ere was so hostilthat whethey complain about athingthey were bically td to shuup orou will t into tuble. in thdocument it is a hypocry of donald trump as president and the donald trump that still holds his interests in his businesses. morales, what was it like to be sitting there last night at the state of the union address, seeing her former boss, president trump, talking about undocumented immigrants? it is hypocrisy because he always talks badly about immigrants. he is a horrible

person. he is very aggressive concerning us. at least the that congress people listen to us. we are raising our voice. i think -- i thank them. they're good people. there are many people who love us. there are people who are helping us here at amy: can you tell us your story, victorina? tell us how you came to work at the bedminster golf course of president trump to clean his room, to make his bed. translator: ok, i came in 2013 to work in that place. at the beginning, when he was -- president, we saw him as

he s a good pson. times. tipped three an iade his d and clned his hotel made theed of t first lady barron's bed, hi son. i cleaned ivanka's house. ,nd when he became president that is when i saw his second face. he is a hypocrite, because we discovered his second face. he started talking badly about immigrants. that is why i am here showiningy face, because he says that we are liars, that we are rapists, thieves, and if that had been the case, i w would not be here. i worked for him for five years.

and he does not value the work of immigrants. amy: talk about your decision in december to come forward to the "new york times." thatlator: the decision is i got tired of the abuse, including there was a supervisor -- calledtreated us as stupid, said we were donkeys. she compared me with her dog. but she said her dog understood better english than i did. me.three times that pushed they were trying to hit me. and that is why i said, no, i have had enough. raised my voice. my lawyer heard me. and now you are listening to me, voice is being extended.

thank you so much. thank you for listening to me. i am an immigrant. i am undocumented. i am very y poor. can you describe what the working conditions were like at the bedminster golf club bebefore president trump ranan r presidenent and then when he was runny, as well as the time he was president -- did they change? translator: when he became president, that is when i saw saw howervisors -- we he was talking about us on tv. i thought that the supervisors there started treating us badly. they called us stupid, stupid immigrants. and they were using the same words he was using.

they did not have the education to treat us well, to respect us. he doesn't even respect himself. so of course he does not respect as immigrants. but thank you. amy: eric trump, president tweeted this week, we have tens of thousands of employees across our properties and a very strict hiring practice, if any employees submitted false documentation in attempt to circumvent the law, they will be terminated immediately. we take this issue very seriously. this is one of the reasons my father is fighting so hard for immigration reform. eric trumpis broken, said. can you respond to this? through translator: they don't you cannot hide it.

they are lying. we are here showing our face. it is a lie what they are saying. i am an i immigrant. i made my false documents right there. amy: if you can explain what you mean when you say, i did the paperwork, are you contending that it was the trump organization, president trump's business, that helped you to falsify papers? yes, oftranslator: course, the supervisor helped me. he told me that i had to do the papers over again and that i had to make a new id in order to be able to keep working there. took me to a

place, a they ma my fals pape tre. the pervisorook the picre. he toothe picturet laundry place. for $175.ed me and he told me, when he gave me them theents, hide cousin of a police seize them, they can arrest you. so this is the truth, this is what happened. we cannot go on lying. lying, thatt we are we are thieves, rapists. but, no, we are here to work, and they know that because we were there employees. say they arehy i hypocrites and that they are lying. they are the liars. amy: how many people would you

estimate at bedminster were undocumented? how many of the people who worked for donald trump? through translator: when the news came out in december, i stopped going to work because i was the one who gave the news. i was tired of being abused and said enough, enough of listening to him on tv, see how he treats us as immigrants. i am going to speak out and come forward and say that he is a liar, and that is why i am here showing my face, nothat he sees that we are liars. i am saying the truth. amy: did youou receive certificate from the white house for doing outstanding work for the president, cleaning his room? through translator: yes, i did, yes. i have the certificate.

it is a document they gave me work atng done the best the golf club of the president. yes, i have got that certificate. amy: you heard president trump talking about invaders coming in from over the border and his demand to build a wall over the border. what are your thoughts? through translator: yes, what i think is that he should stop talking about the wall. forward,people come because there are many people working for him. he has five clubs. they are undocumented. amy: and what do you think about eric trump saying, you know, some people just do not have papers and this happens in an organization that has thousands of workers?

how high of do you think the knowledge of your not having documents and others not having documents went in bedminster? through translator: yes, that information when very high because many people are coming forward. i was undocumented, and i was working there. are many people being fired who were undocumented and who were theing for him, because five clubs have been f firing people. amy: victorina morales, can you talk about when you came to the united states and why you left guatemala and how you made your way here? inough translator: i cam e 1999 from guatemala. i was with my parents there. i was seven years old when my father got killed.

and then i got married. my husband came in 1999 to this country. a year after he was here, he sent for me. , we sent money and made a house. they killed my father-in-law in front of my children. came to this country, it was 1999, and when i started working in bedminster for the in 2013. was til 2018 when i raised my voice because i i got tirired. and e. cololi want to turn backo bonnie watson coleman, the congress member of new jersey who invited a jury alice to the state of the union address. as you listen to victorina's

story, one you know well now, what are you calling for, as fellow new jersey senator bob menendez says that they will launch an investigation into the trumump organization's employmet practices -- what are you doing in the house? >> first of all, we have the same letter to the fbi seeking the same investigation, because there are many employment violations and other hostile work environment situations. there are legal situations regarding the procuring of fraudulent documents. is anina, right now, applicant for asylum. i do not know if she told you that. she is also a material witness, and we think that those issues will protect her from being deported or detained or anything of that nature. but this is not an isolated

incident in the trump enterprises. they knew what they were doing. they facilitated people getting, who were not documented, getting frfraudulent documents into the files. so it does n not matter what an eric trump or anybody else says right now, they very well knew, and they are lying if thehey are suggesting it any other way. more than 20 people have already been identified in the same situation as victorina, and there are probably many more, my understanding, to be identified. this is a pattern and practice of illegal emploloyment activits of creating a hostile environment. even more e than that, this is n illustration of using good, decent, hard-working, honest people as pawns for a wall on the border that will serve no

good interests, no service interests, and this is a justification for having shut down the government for five , keeping 800,000 people from getting their paychecks. this is just an illustration of the corrupt environment with which this administration's functioning. amy: that is new jersey hungers minor bonnie watson coleman and victorina morales, who worked for five years in bedminster under donald trump, and undocumented immigrant. more coming up. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

haines.r hell" by emily this is democracy now! nermeen: we just heard from victory number alice, and undocumented housekeeper who spent years working for donald trump at a golf club. she has risked her own deportation to publicly excuse employees atrump go clubs o brking the law by helping undocumented employees obtain safe workpapers. anibal're joined by romero, an immigration attorney representing several undocumented employees who worked at the trump national golf club, including victorina morales. so what are you doing? >> we have been in contact with the fbi and the new jersey attorney general's office. new york state authorities are also contacting me. i now represent 25 ex employees

of the trump national golf clubs in four different cities put it is my understanding that employees at five golf clubs have been let go. there is a difference between permanent employees and temporary employees. in november,ends and it is my understanding that many employees who are undocumented will not be returning to work next year. and because so they were seasonal? told.t is what i am at each golf club, approximately half of the stuff is undocumented, and most of the people i have spoken to, i have 25 clients but have spoken to more than 30, they say basically the way you get the job is that someone brings you in and you are told to go purchase fraudulent documents, and in some cases they were told if they do not find someone, they would help them find the person to buy the fraudulent documents, and then he started working there. and this did not start a couple

days ago. i have seen it go back as far as 2001, and these were trusted employees of the trump family. victorina morales worked directly for the president and for a ivanka trump. another employee worked directly for mr. eric trump. i have another employee in westchester who also had the keys to mr. eric trump's house. these people have been there for over 15, 16, 17 y years. and during the governmenent shutdown, they decide to let them go because victory number alice spoke in december. -- because victory number alice spoke in december. amy: can these people be deported? >> technically, yes. we are saying that each one of them, anyone who has worked for the trump organization as an undocumented immigrant is part ofof a multiststate federal conspiracy. so any attempt to try to remove them from the country could be obstruction of justice.

nermeen: what do you say to eric trump and others who have denied knowledge, saying they did not know they were undocumented? also, why did they get them papers? undocumentedot of workers of work without papers. >> my clients are saying that supervisors knew, managers knew, the general manager's new. whether president trump himself knew or present -- or eric trump knew, i do not know. i amam assuming investigators cn ask questions and we will get to the bottom of this. why they were asking for documents, i am not sure. i know there are a lot of undocumented immigrants who earned cash. in this case, i have seen business records, w-2's. when you look at these pay stubs, none of the undocumented immigrants have health insurance. according to what they are saying, health insurance was offered to other employees who were american citizens or legal permanent residents.

--sked if one of the dark one of the undocumented immigrants have health insurance or a 401(k) plan, why? he can as they knew they weree undocumented and they are not eligible for health insurance. and because much more vulnerable to threats. wasorina said d she threatened of deportation. >> for years she was told she could be deported if she spoke out. on a number of locations, she was physically assaulted by a supervisor. other housekeepers were assaulted. they took us up to the general manager, and they decided to do nothing. they would always say that it is a private golf club and no one will come in, don't worry, it will be ok. ina is applying for asylum or >> yes, she has a compelling asylum case. we're waiting for the hearing. we expect she will be granted asylum and will be a legal, permanent resident and one year. but there are 23 other clients

who are vulnerable, and they're are telling me that the temporary employees are terrified that they could get deported. they're talking about numbers in the hundreds. and become an your response to eric trump saying that we have thousands and thousands of workers, so we cannot know this stuff? >> the golf club roughly has about 100 employees, and workers say half of them were undocumented in westchester, and i would say the same for bedminster. i understand the organization might have dozens, but each one of the golf clubs that operate independently as roughly about 100 employees. so we are talking about 500 employees in five golf clubs, and half of them are possibly undocumented. we have not heard from other golf clubs and other parts of the united states. amy: congress is doing an investigation? >> yes, we were there last week and met with members of the house and met with senator booker of new jersey and also senator menendez.

i believe they are circulating a letter requesting a thorough invevestigation by the fbi and homeland security, but also protections for these workers. , thank you romero fo