05/17/19 05/17/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> under complete ban on abortion care means they're fearful of facing criminal penalties for providing this is her health care for their patients. amy: doctors in alabama could soon face life in prison for performing abortions after alabama's governor signed a law effectively banning abortion in

the state. we will go to huntsville to speak to one of the last doctors performing abortions in alabama. then we will look at a post-roe america would look like. the president trump overhauling the nation's immigration system to favor high skilled workers over i immigrantnts who hahave y ties to the united states. preses. trump: demococrats are proposing open borders, lower wages, and, frankly, lawless chaos. we're proposing an imimmigration planan that puputs the j jobs, , and safety of amameric workers first. amy: we will speak with two immigran r right activists who faceced possible deportation due to theirir activism. all that and more, coming up. wewelcome e to demococracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

president trump has unveiled plans for a new so-called merit-based immigration system that would prioritize highly-skilled and english-speaking workers, while further restricting asylum seekers and immigrants who have family living in the united states. trump announced his plan in the white house rose garden thursday. pres. trump: my plan expedites relieve for legitimate asylum-seekers by y screening ot the merititless claims. ifif you have e a prop claim, yu will quickckly be admdmitted. if youou don't, you will probaby be returnedd -- promptly be returned home. amy: many lawmakers call the plan short on specifics and a non-starter. this is washington state congressmember pramila jayapal. >> it does not include any protections for dreamers. it does not include any plan for the 11 million undocumented

immigrants that need a path to citizenship. it undermines the family immigration system that has been the cornerstone of our country's immigration policy. amy: this comes as senator lindsey graham has introduced a bill that would deny people the right to seek asylum at the u.s.-mexico border, forcing them instead to take their claims to u.s.s. consulates in t their hoe countries, even if their lives are in danger. senator graham's bill would also increase the number of days that migrant children could be detained to 100, five times the current limit. we'll have more on immigration later r in the broadcast. the guardian is reporting a top iranian general recently met with iraqi militias in baghdad and told them to "prepare for proxy war with the united states." it came as the pentagon reportedly drew up a plan to send as many as 120,000 troops to the middldle east to presidet trump decides to take military

actionon against iran. this comes as "the new york times" reports president trump has clashed with his cabinet and advisers in recent days over whether to attack iran. they cited an unnamed trump official who said trump poked fun at his national security advisor john bolton in a recent meeting with the words "if it was up to john, we would be in four wars now." in yemen, rescue workers pulled a bloodied young girl from the rubble of her home in sana'a thursday after an airstrike by the u.s.-backed, saudi-led coalition killed both her parents and all four of her siblings. the latest saudi-led strikes came as unicef, the united nations children's fund, warned four years of u.s.-backed saudi attack on yemen has left at least 7,300 children killed or seriously injured. this is unicef's executive director henrietta fore. >> each day, another eight children wilill be killed, injured, or recruited to the fighting.

and every 10 minutes, another child will dieie from preventabe cause. like a lack of food with 360,000 children suffering f from severe acute malnutrition. in fact, half of the children under five years old in yemen, there are 2.5 million children, are stunted. and stunting, as you know, is irreversible. yeyemen is a test of our humani. and right now we a are badly failing this test.t. police arrested four activists thursday inside the venezuelan embassy after they spent weeks occupying the building at the invitation of venezuela's government in order to prevent it from being taken over by venezuela's u.s.-backed opposition. the venezuelan government criticized the arrests, calling them a violation of the vienna treaty of 1961, which protects diplomatic missions around the world. this is codepink activist tighe barry.

>> if the embassy and washington, d.c., is taken, what says the embassy i in venezuelar the american embassssy in venezuela can be taken? which sets a pretext for war. amy: last month, democracy now! went inside the venezuelan embassy in washington,n, d.c. to see o our coverage, y you cao to democracynow.org. in brazil, tens of thousands of students, teachers, and researchers rallied in cities across brazil to protest government cuts to education. the far right president jair bolsonaro said he would slash funding to federal universities by about $1.8 billion, while freezing thousands of post-graduate scholarships. this is sao paolo student protester vania cristina. >> with these cuts to federal universities funding, we must make noise. people need to show the importance of science in ededucation. there is money for the militia, but not for education. people will fight for education.

amy: in mexico, police said they found the body of journalist francisco romero outside a bar in the caribbean coastal city of playa del carmen. romero's body reportedly showed signs of repeated blows and a gunshot wound, making him the sixth mexican journalist to be murdered this year. romero previously worked for a facebook news page where two other journalists ruben pat and , jose guadalupe, were murdered last year. tennessee,e, 68-year-old prisoner don johnson died thursday evening after prison officials strapped him to a gurney and injected him with a lethal chemical cocktail of three drugs. after the execution, johnson's lawyer told reporters she believes that the gurgling, gasping noises he made as he died showed he suffered excruciating pain. meanwhile, the state of alabama executed 41-year-old prisoner samra by lethal

injection thursday. samra was sentenced to death for his role in a quadruple murder in 1997 when he was 19 years old. the execution was carried out around 7:00 p.m., just hours after republican governor kay ivey denied samra's request for a reprieve. the denial came just one day after the governor, who calls are so pro-life, signed a near-total ban on abortion into law. the u.s. senate has confirmed louisiana lawyerer wendy vitters a federal district court judge. vitter has spoken frequently at anti-abortion rallies and has worked for years to defund planned parenthood. she once told the new orleans clarion herald that planned parenthood "kills over 150,000 females a year." vitter has also falsely linked abortions to breast cancer. in new york city, newly revealed text messages show a police commander shrugged off news about the death of african-american staten island resident eric garner in 2014 at the hands of a fellow officer as "not a big deal." the revelation thursday came

during an nypd disciplinary hearing for officer daniel pantaleo, who killed garner by putting him in a chokehold and refusing to let go even as garner gasped "i can't breathe" 11 times. a text message exchange between officers just after garner's death showed police lieutenant christopher bannon was warned garner had no pulse and was most likely doa, or dead on arrival. the commander responded, "not a big deal" and "we were effecting a a lawfulrrrrest." officer daniel pantaleo never faced criminal prosecution but has remained on the police force.e. he could lose his job if found guilty of violating nypd procedures, which ban the use of chokeholds. the father of u.s. treasury secretary steven mnuchin has completed the most expensive purchase of a living artist's work in u.s. history. robert mnuchin purchased jeff koons's 3-foot-tall metallic sculpture titled "rabbit" with an $80 million bid wednesday, though he paid over $91 million

after christie's auction house fees and taxes were added in. meanwhile, the trump administration has proposed redefining how the government calculates the poverty line, using a different measure of inflation. economists warn the switch to the so-called "chained consumer price index" would underestimate the impact of inflation on wages, gradually chipping away at benefits like food stamps, medicaid, and healthcare subsidies for millions of americans. new york state environmentalists arare celebrating after governor andrew cuomo blocked t the coconstruction of a $1 billion williams pipeline project, which would have carried fracked g gas from pennsylvania's shale fields under new york harbor. the decision came after new york's environmental agency ruled the pipeline threatened water quality with mercury and other toxic chemicals and would endanger marine life. and a federal judge in virginia has sent u.s. army whistleblower chelsea manning back to prison, after she refused a second

subpoena ordering her to testify to a grand jury. the order came just one week after manning was freed after spending 62 days behind bars for refusing to testify about her leak of hundndreds of thousandsf secret state department and pentagon documents to wikileaks, including evidence of u.s. war crimes. this is chelsea manning speaking to reporters just before shehe s taken into federal custody. >> jails and prisons exist as a stark institution. despite that, it does not disturbed me.r i mean, i have already been to jail. i have already been to prison. trying to coerce me with a grand jury subpoena is not going to work. amy: manning faces up to 18 additional months in prison and could be fined up to $1000 a day while she refuses to testify. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and

peace report. i'm amy goodman. the assault on reproductive rights continues to ratchet up as legislatures and republican governors around the country pass increasingly restrictive abortion laws. on wednesday, alabama governor kay ivey signed the nation's most restrictive abortion ban into law, effectively banning the procedure except in cases where a pregnant person's life is at serious risk. the law does not make exceptions in cases of rape or incest and doctors could face up to life in prison for performing abortions. last week, georgia enacted a law banning abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which often occurs at around six weeks into pregnancy, before many people even realize they are pregnant. similar bills have also been passed in iowa, kentucky, north dakota, ohio, and mississippi. just yesterday, missouri's republican-led senate passed a bill banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy. reproductive rights groups are challenging these laws in court.

for now, the bans have either been blocked or have not yet gone into effect. house speaker nancy pelosi responded to the abortion ban in alababama thursday and warned te country is heading down a dangerous path. >> have been dismantling and sabotaging and continue their attacks on health care, and now for women, specifically, as we have seen in alabama, heartbreaking and unconstitutional assault on basic reproductive freedoms. i don't to be a fearmonger, but i do believe they are trying to go on a path that will totally dismantle roe v. wade, and we have to be vigilant and express our concerns on this. and at thely grassroots level. amy: the architects and supporters of the bills are actually welcoming a court battle in the hopes that the fight will land in the supreme court and lead to the

overturning of roe v. wade, the landmark 1973 supreme court ruling that recognizes the constitutional right to an abortion. for more, we go to huntsville, alabama, where we're joined by dr. yashica robinson. dr. robinson is ththe medical director of the alabama women's centnter for reproductctive alternatives, one of only three clinics left in alabama that offer patients abortion services. she is one of only two abortitin providers living and working in alabama. under the new alabama law, she could spend the rest of her life in prison for doing her job. dr. yashica robinson, welcome to democracy now! thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule. first, respond to the passage of the almost total abortion ban in alabama. >> well, thank you for having me. with the passage of the near abortion here in

alabama, the initial response has just been very disheartening . i have seen many patients that have expressed anger, a lot of concern about how thihis is goig to affect access to care. and as a provider, i'm very concerned about how this will affect the care that i am able to provide for my patients. intoit has not gone effect. it would be six months. it is obviously going to be challenged in court. now about -- i mean, right if this were next year and the ban were in effect, governor ivey has signed off on it, you could go to jail for the rest of your life for performing the procedure. >> yes. that means that i will have to choose between my freedom and staying out of jail and doing what is best for my patients. that is going to be something that will make it more difficult for physicians to choose to come

to this area. alabama is an area that already of physicians and resources as far as care for patients. we are at have women traveling further and further to access the care theyy need.d. andd with the fear of criminal prosecution, there is no incentive for women were physicians who provide women's health care to come to this area. there is no physician that would want to have to choose between their own freedom and doing what is best for the patient. , it puts usndpoint in a catch 22. if we confirm to the law and abide by the law, we could still -- we could be faced with litigation from patients and their families if they are harmed. this puts us in the situation where we could be forced to let patients get near death, get very sick or ill, and potentially harmed before we could proceed comfortably with

what is doing best for women. with that being said, the iseption for health reasons not adequate. it is not appropriate when it comes to abortion access. amy: would you perform abortions anyway if this law were put into effect in alabama?? , as a women's health provider, i understand how important abortion excesses. i am always going to conform to the law. with that being said, i may be forced to travel to other areas to provide care for patients. but my hope would be that we can change the law to be sure that women continue to have access here in alabama. because otherwise, that means i will have to travel to be sure that women have access and to be able to continue to practice my trade and do what i feel so strongly is necessary for women. and that means women will have

to travel further and further. we already have patients that don't have an abortion clinic in their area. we have patience that are driving six and eight hours to get to us now. so if alabama continues to go down this path, it is going to place another obstacle in the way of women. and we already pay so many obstacles when it comes to health care here in the south. amy: i wanted to turn to alabama democratic state senator vivian figures, one o of just four womn in the alabama state senate, confronting republican senator clyde chambliss on the senate floor as lawmakers debated the bill. >> do you know what it is like to be raped? >> no, ma'am, i don't. >> do you know what it is like to have a relative commit incest on you? >> on me, no ma'am. >> yes, on you. ok. so that is one of those traumas

that a person experiences, just like that child experienced. and to take that choice away from that person who had such a traumatic act committed against the, to be left with residue of that person, if you will, to have to bring that child into this world and be reminded of that every single day. amy: alabama state senator figures also introduced an amendment that would criminalize vasectomies, arguing there are no laws regulating men's bodies. it was defeateted. talk about this, dr. yashica robinson, that this abortion ban was passed with no exception for rape or incest. >> first of all, just her words the other

representative about how he would feel or does he know what that feels like, she tried to bring it home, to bring a human aspect to it. i appreciate that. and his response, saying he did not know what it was like that still it was very clear that he was in support of this bill, was very troubling. an abortion provider, i understand that there are so many personal and medical reasons that go into why women choose abortion. and there is no way that we can know all of the personal things that are complicating a woman's life and that is affecting that decision. just as this senator said. but for him to still be in support of the bill, i feel like -- it was like an insult on

women, an insult on health care. it was very clear that it did not matter to them how this affected women. the only thing that was important was them achieving their political agenda. just sad for women in alabama. very sad. amy: you face more time in prison than a rapist. you would face life in prison. 99 years in prison, dr. robinson. >> yes. deal with thing i can say, it is really -- for me as a provider, itit causes a lot of anger. when you look at other areas of medicine, there is no other area of medicine where we have legislation like this that ---atens the position with

physiciann with criminal prosecution for simply doing their job. there is no other area of medicine that is regulated in such a way. have physicians to potentially be can allies with more time in prison that even a rapist is appalling. it is simply appalling. we know this is not what is best for women. it is more about our representatives and their personal moral objection to abortion care. amy: dr. yashica robinson, can you describe your day? you spend a lot of time delivering babies as an obstetrician/gynecologist. >> yes. i made the decision i wanted to be a women's health provider. and what that means is i have a commitment to taking care of

women throughout their pregnancies. i deliver babies. i provide prenatal care. but i do understand that pregnant women will choose to have deliveries and sometimes they may have to make the decision that that pregnancy will have to end in abortion. i understand that is part of and one of the essentntial services that women will need. and i respect that decision. i am happy to be with women no matter -- and be supportive of them no matter what that decision is for their pregnancy. amy: can you talk about the protests you face outside your clinic gap code how difficult it is for women going inside, making some very difficult decisions? that already know sometimes for women making the decision to have an abortion can be very difficult. they have already wrestled with

this prior to even presenting to our clinic. and then for their decision to be questioned once again, for them to be -- for them to be judged when they come in for care that they know is necessary for them at the time? it is just something that women should not face. and with me being someone who also takes care of women throughout their pregnancy, just because of other people's objection to abortion care and the fact that i am willing to take care of women here in the south in whatever way they need, my patients who come to the general practice, they are also faced with the same harassment. i mean, i have women who come in at eight and nine months pregnant who have protesters screaming and yelling at them. that should never happen.

it makes me think of a story where i had a young lady who came in. she was pregnant come in her third trimester. she can adjust for a routine prenatal visit. unfortunately, at the time that we evaluated her, we found shehe had our to have a fetal demise. her baby had already died in utero. this was a very desired pregnancy. and even that young lady a she left to go to the e hospital knowing she would deliver that day and that her baby was no longer alive, she still faced the same harassment. to talk to you about you facing life in prison for performing abortions if the ban went into effect. but also facing the endangerment .f your own life in this country, number of doctors and health practitioners have been killed for providing abortion. do you fear for your own life, for your family's life?

i think about my safety and i take mrs. there are precautions as much as i can. but if i am focused more on fear of harm to myself, i can't be focucused on my patience and the waway that i need. importante, it is so that you keep your head in the game, that you're focused on the person that is in front of you. we have to make split-second decisions all the time.. so i try my very best not to be distracted by that. i am a very spiritual person. i pray. --elieve the work i am doing -- iieve i am here because feel that god put me here for reasason because there arere soy womemen thatat need me.. so because i understand that i am doing work that i am supposed

to be doing, i feel i'm going to be protected. and if there comes a day that i am harmed because of it, it is a decision and a sacrifice that i know is necessary. in i guessss i just made thehe decision that i'm willing to accept that. amy: you have made a lot of very remarkable decisions in your ally. can you talk about growing up in alabama, having your kids at a very young age and how you fought to get an education and become a doctor? i come from a background, a very humble background. i just -- i did have my first son prior to finishing high school. was part of mother my motivation for going into abstract recs -- obstetrics and

gynecology. there are so many women here in very similart face situations. the teen pregnancy rate here is very high. i understand that education is one of those things that will help to bring us out of the poverty that can sometimes be associated with becoming a mom so early. women in similar situations needed to see someone that comes from a background just like there's who has been able to come out of that to continue to achieve goals, to not be ashamed of the decisions that we have made, and just to be motivated by that. because it is so easy for people do it,"you, "you can but if they see someone that looks like them, that comes from where they have come from, that has been able to do it also, i think that gives them extra motivation. amy: so you had two children

whwhen you were still in your teens. your two boys. -- you talk about deciding what made you decide to go in the medicine? one of the main things that motivated me was that when you become pregnant early in life, a to talk down tends to you. i experienced a lot of criticism and negative comments. and it was just important for me to be able to show them that, you know, the decision i made early on, the circumstances of my life don't really dictate what i can do. and i also wanted to be able -- i wanted my children to not be ashamed of the fact that i did become a mom so early. there are a lot of things that go into why young ladies in

situation like mine end up pregnant early on. , iny dr. yashica robinsonn the state senate when this bill was passed, it was 25 white men who passed this bill. can you talk about the impact of this on women in alabama you but particularly on women of color, like yourself? well, the impact of it is that we know that legislation like this affects women of color lowerose women from socioeconomic status the most. we know that those that have means will always have access to the care they need. and so the patients i serve,

those are good to be the ones most affected by this decision. representatives that voted in favor of this, none of them look like us. none of them represented us. it was all men, none of whom will ever know what it is like to carry a pregnancy or to have to make our decision to end a pregnancy. none of them were people of color that even know some of the things that we go through. coming from a background where you don't always have the finances that you need for just basic things in life and how that can really play a part in you having to make the decision not to have another baby. picture ofg at the those that voted for this b bill was about -- was enough to o cae outrage for women, especially

women of color. amy: cording to the cdc, alabama has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. it recorded 7.4 infant deaths per 1000 live births in 2017, the fifth highest rate in the u.s. the nationalal average w was 5.8 deaths per 1000 births. the year before, alabama had the country's worst infant mortality rate w with 9.1 deaths per 1000 live births. the significance of this, dr. robinson? alabama has so many things that we can address to make things better for women and babies. we have a very high maternal and infant mortality rate. and a lot of that goes -- a lot of that stems from the fact women do not have access to the health care that they need. many patients are not able to access health care or even

obtain insurance until they become pregnant. many women will only qualify for medicaid during their pregnancies. as a physician, i know that prior tog their health pregnancy would be best for both the patient and for her baby. that would be easy for you to understand it isis le patients that have hypertension -- diabeteses will stotop diabetes. if we could optimize those things before the diagnosis, we would have better outcomes as it relates to maternal and infant health. however, we have lawmakers that are focused on placing more restrictions on women's ask us -- access to health care as to focusing on ways to making access better. amy: your final thought, speaking to us from alabama, the state that might be really the testing ground for what happened

at the supreme court, this idea that this essentially a virtual ban on all abortion could make its way to the supreme court and of they in the climate supreme court t overturn roe v. wade, that it started in alabama. your thoughts, dr. yashica robinson, as one of only two alabama-based doctors who are performing abortion right now? is, you know, alabama, when it comes to the things that are really important, we can be last at so many things. like you said, our infant mortality rate, our cervical cancer rate, they are very high. and this is the one thing that we want to be first in. it is not something we want to brag about. my desire is to live in a society where women have access to the care they need, where

even insurance covers women for abortion care, and that having access to the care -- to health care message on health care, is not based off your zip code. i still remain hopeful and hope that as we move forward, we can look to do what is best for women and that we can achieve that ideal society. amy: dr. yashica robinson, thank you so much h for spending this time with us. dr. robinson is the medical director of the alabama women's center for reproductive alternatives, one of only three clinics left in alabama that offer patientsts abortion services. when we come back, people talk about what a post-roe country would look like. many abortion providers, women's rights activists, say in many parts of the country, it looks

like what is happening today around the country, even when roe v. wade is legal. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. supreme court justice stephen breyer issued what many considered a dire warning from the bench this week, implying roe v. wade come the landmark ruling that recognizes the constitutional right to abortion is in danger. he wrote "today's decision can only cause one to wonder which cases the court will overrule next." quote to turn now to a

from an unknown author that has gone viral on the internet after it was shared on social media by gloria steinem. maneads, "i want any young who buy a gun to be treated like young women who seek an abortion. think about it. a mandatory 48 hours waiting period, written permission from a parent or judge, no from a doctor proving he understands what he is about to do, time spent watching a video on individual and mass murders, traveling hundreds of miles at his own expense to the nearest gun shop, and walking through protesters will and folders of love ones killed by guns. protest are who call him a murderer. after all, it makes more sense to do this for young men seeking guns there for young women seeking an abortion. no young woman needing reproductive freedom has ever murdered a room full of strangers." we turn now to look at what a post-roe america would look like and how many people are already cut off from abortion access across the country.

in minneapolis, we're joined by martynce journalist robin author of "handbook for a , post-roe america," and co-author of the forthcoming book "the end of roe v. wade: inside the right's plan to destroy legal abortion." it is great to have you with us, robin. this idea of continually sayingg what would a post-roe look like, you pointed out it looks like many jurisdictions in america today. >> thank you so much for having me on, amy. as dr. robinson mentioned in her she is seeing what in alabama is the fact there are people already traveling six to eight hourss just to c come to r clinic in order to access care. that is what america looks like right now. for many people, you can say abortion is legal but it is so inaccessible that they might as well be living in a place where they just are not having legal abortions. amy: so can you take us through

-- right now people seem to be shocked by what is happening, this onslaught of fierce abortion bans around the country. but you have shown in your work that the groundwork has been laid for years. >> yes. obviously, ever since the being decided,e the antiabortion movement has bebeen trying to overturn it. it got very enthususiastic a abt it just after the 2010 election when they were able to sweep a and make themes republican strongholds. and through that, they were able to pass a number of model legislations that came through places like americans united for life, national right to life committee. these bills were small, incremental steps that were meant to try and take a challenge up to the supreme court to let them review roe v. wade. in 2011, we were seeing more

things that were like 20 week abortion bans or extending waiting periods to 48 or 72 hours. very incremental changes. at that point the antiabortion movement was not sure whether or not the court would actually so they just wanted to make small changes so they did not accidentally set off a case that would make a precedent that would make roe stronger. that changed after 2016. once the worm were appointed to the supreme court, especially justice kavanaugh replace justice anthonony kennedy who ws considereded the swing vote, thn it was all systems go. no longer were people worry they might accidentally uphold roe. that is what we have the new onslaught of heartbeat bans, total abortion bans, and things honestly unconstitutional. these bills were being 2012,uced act in 2011, 2013. it is just they were not passing

because at that time they were being opposed by antiabortion activists themselves as well. now antiabortion activist's are the ones enthusiastically supporting the harvey ban or total abortion ban and that is how things have switched over the last 10 years. amy: talk about states where abortion is effectively banned or will be soon, like talk about the legislation with missouri just passed. >> missouri is in the process of passing their own heartbeat van. it is slightly different from the others we have seen and that it has a next her two-week window on it all stop idea is abortion may not be banned until about eight weweeks after the lt menstrual period. however, in missouri, that is really not an additional window because missouri only has one abortion clinic in the entire state and that is in st. louis.

a 72 houri, it is wait in between visiting the clinic the first time and then visiting the clinic the second time. you have to wait 72 hours in between. and often because the way abortions are scheduled, you will end up waiting a week in between your first and second appointment. on top of that you have to be able to access an abortion appointment in the first place. when you add these layers upon layers of roadblocks, you have made abortion significantly impossible to obtain. so you effectively have outlawed it within that state, even though technically roe is intact legal.rtion is amy: how many states have only one clinic that provides abortion? >> i believe seven that just have one clinic. north dakota, south dakota, missouri, wyoming, west virginia, mississippi, and i'm probably missing one but i'm pretty sure there are s seven at this point. arkansas sometimes, but there is

one clinic that provides medicationon abortion but they only have one place that offers both medication and on medication. abortion is legal in all 50 states. is veryically, but it difficult for any person to access it. especially in a person who lives outside of these large cities where the abortion clinics are there. one thing people are not very clear about even in states where access is considered slightly better, maybe there are two or three or four abortion clinics in that state, often they are all located in the same city or the same two cities. in essence, is just as hard for person to get in because they will still have to travel, still do their waiting p period, still have all of these roadblocks they have to get through. they might as well just have one clinic. amy: robin marty, thank you for being with us. we will get back to you soon, freelance journalist, author of "handbook for a post-roe america," and co-author of the forthcoming book "the end of roe v. wade: inside the right's plan to destroy legal abortion."

this is democracy now! when we come back, we are immigration and the threats to around deportation. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. president trump unveiled plans for a new merit-based immigration system that would prioritize high-skilled workers, while further restricting immigrants who have family living in the united states. pres. trump: as a result of our broken rules, the annual green card flow is mostly low-wage and l low skilled. newcomers compete for jobs against the most vulnerable americans and put pressure on our social safety net and generous welfare progrgrams. only 12% of illegal immigrants are selelected based on skill or

based on merit. amy: although no legislative details for the plan have been revealed, trump's proposal is likely to hit a wall in congress, where the democratically-led house has repeatedly clashed with the trump administration over immigration policy. this is democratic congressmember pramila jayapal responding to trump's plan. >> it does not include any protections for dreamers. it does not include any plan for the 11 million undocumented immigrants that are in this country that need a path to citizenship. it undermines the family immigration system that has been the cornerstone of our country's immigration policy. onlyt sort of assumes that one high skilled set of workers are what the country needs, when we know the country desperately needs workers of all skill levels. so it is not a plan. it is another attempt to fund a vanity wall.l. amy: trump's immigration proposal comes after the administration purged top officials at the department of homeland security in recent weeks, reportedly as part of a

plan led by adviser stephen miller to steer the country towards even more hard-line immigration policies. for more, we're joined by two prominent and outspoken immigration activists who are fighting their own deportation. joining us in our new york studio, though she's usually based in seattle, is maru mora-villalpando, an activist with la resistencia and group mijente. ice moved to deport her last year even as her green card application is still pending, specifically noting her "extensive involvement in anti-ice protests and latino advocacy programs" and that she had "become a public figure." she is now part of a free speech lawsuit that aims to protect immigrants like herself. also with us, ravi ragbir, executive director of the new sanctuary coalition here in new york. last month, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of ragbir in his own free speech case, saying the first amendment bars ice from targeting activists for deportation based on their political speech.

welcome both of you back to democracy now! let me start by asking maru about this so-called proposal that trump worked on with his son-in-law am a the new york developer jared kushner, who is also working on a middlele east peace plan. republicans as well as democrats slammed it saying there is very little there and it does not of the 11issues million undocumented immigrants in this country, daca, people on the border, family separations. >> it is another white supremacist take on immigration. we are not surpriseded of this. but let's remember that bills in congress in the past, since 2007, have included a merit system. it is not brand-new. but what they're doing is going even harder on our communities.

i think it is just another step toward the war on immigrants. although, there might be some congressional people saying they are against these basics of the plan, we have seen even democrats have recently approved a bigger budget for ice. ice keeps asking for more money and they keep giving them more money. it is important to realize what they are presenting has been there before. the problem i see is it could somehow become -- since so much money has already been given to icee and we've seen those hard-line's they're setting up could be somehow implemented regardless of whwhat congress does. amy: ravi ragbir? >> his hypocrisy, because he himself is not merit to be in the office he is in right now, but if you look at the larger scope of it, it is part of the plan, when we talk about specificmigration from

countries. countries that don't have the resources because they have been raped by americans, taken away the resources, so they don't have the education process, have the higher skill level of people who can migrate and want to migrate. so it is deliberate. it is also the fact that he did not look at the 11 million is that he will now be a lot of focus on them to remove them. aboution ice, talking ethnic cleansing that this administration is focused on. it is a deliberate aspect of that plan. also remember, his daughter and son-in-law have been selling visas to people from other parts of the world. you can look at merit-based and it is follow the benjamins, baby, like omar said. selling visas,ay people paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a

asa, that they put money into development project, for example, and then they are given a green card? >> correct. it, it is aat million dollar industry. and then if you look at the merit-based on high skilled workers, they can add a lot more to that. i am seeing this as a deliberate about the money they can make through this process. amy: talk about your case. you have been fighting deportation for years. democracy now! was there when you were taken into custody, when you were held. you were released. but you have just won a free speeeech case. explain what happened. >> the court has recognized that there was virtually a shut against me, that they took me into custody and were

implementing my deportation because of the things that i've said in the things i have highlighted. i just mention this is about the money not only the president's family is going to make, i speak openly about how harshly this agency is. they even quoted some of the directors saying ravi is talked about ice is like the nazis, that we're moving toward a dark period of history where history is repeating itself. they don't like that because they know it is true. but they also want to avoid the publicity. so the case actually recognized the retaliation was evident, but it wasn't just about free speech. it is about the fact this jurisdiction stripping congress thatat takes awayy the restrictn of the court to adjudicate cases

like this. they have said the free speech trumps 52g. on that alone, it is a huge victory. many people are wondering? , what does it mean now? moved to deport you last or even azure green card application is still can it, specifically noting " extensive involvement in anti-ice protest and latino advocacy programs" and that you "became a public figure." you are also part of a free speech lawsuit. >> yes, we filed our lawsuit on behalf of the coalition of antiracist whites based in washington state. they support our work. our lawsuit where we argue is the chilling effect that these retaliation has on our groups. not only that we have to invest now the capacity and little

resources we have to fight the detention of people in washington state and a deportation, now some of those resources have to be used to kekeepe in the country this retaliation comes ainst oufrfreedoof spch, , itoes create a chillingffffect those that e part our gros or wan to b part of o groups. so we have seen pelele in r grps t thahave t tstep back becae ty are afraid they're going b be next. that is basally what we're arguing. ththe gornmementeeds t t stop retataation againstololitic didissidts because it does trump everything else that peopl want to be inlved, creates a vel of feaearhat is actually working in somininstans where ople at w wand to be public or wanted to support our work somehow, now they feel they should not because they could be next. amy: in vermont, another key free speech case but in 2018 by the farmworker organizing group migrant justice argues ice unlawfully surveilled, harassed,

detained there leading members. this is from a few years ago. they sought me out because of the work i'm doing to defend human life and not for anything else. whatathey wanteded to do was get into the communities and intimidate us that way, but they're not going to succeed. we will never stop defending human rights. aru, talk about what is happening now with you. how often do you have to go to court? do you fear every time you will be deported? hen we were covering ravi, was just going for routine check and when they took cam. >> we never know. when we go to court or go to action, we never know if ice is going to decide to put me into

detention. april 30 i had another court date. this was the third hearing i had had. u.s. citizen. in last or when she turned 21, she submitted an application for me. we're still waiting what is happening to the application. the day of my court date, we had -- amy: do you think it would improve your chances if you just stopped her activism? don't do this but i work because i want a green card. i do this work because i want everyone to not have to go through what we have seen families go through. if i had been quiet, i probably would have had a green card d a long time ago. but that is not the reason why i do this work. amy:r, where does your case stand now? >> we're not sure whether the government is going to appeal this. amy: how long have you lived here? >> just under 30 years.

i've the u.s. citizen daughter and wife. i would like to also mention itt in this administration, does not want to give green cards. i will say the system has been backlogged to stop the process of green cards, a people who don't speak up. so we have to challenge that. man make time to mention it is done only immigration activists, but scott warren's case will be heard -- you will be going to trial very soon. we n need to sign up against tht because he is an activist who protect more try to people on the border. in my case, we are waiting for the government. for that over the next 30 days. amy: and your reference to scott warren, leading water in the desert so margaret's don't die

in the desert along the border. we want to thank you for being with us, ravi ragbir and maru mora villalpando.