02/09/21 02/09/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> following the despicable attack on january 6, there must be truth and accountability if we are going to move forward, he'll, and bring our country to once again. amy: the historic second impeachment trial of donald trump begins today for inciting the deadly january 6 insurrection at the u.s.

capitol. we will get the latest. then where is the vaccine for ableism? we will speak to two disability rights actists about growing calls to prioritize giving covid vaccines to people with physical and mental disabilities. amy: then the united states has just deported 72 people to haiti, including a two-month-old baby and 21 other children despite president biden's vow to halt deportations for 100 days. >> we are calling on president biden to stop thdeportation of haitians in the middle of the -- draconian practice cannot continue. amy: all that and more, coming

up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. the historic second impeachment trial of donald trump begins today in the senate. the proceedings will decide whether to hold trump accountable for inciting the deadly insurrection on the u.s. capitol on january 6, which was aimed at stopping lawmakers from counting the electoral college votes. tuesday's debate will focus on the constitutionality of impeaching a former president. the trump defense team is relying heavily on a law review article by michigan state university professor brian kalt, whose work was cited 15 times in a legal brief filed by trump's lawyers on monday. but kalt told npr his work is being misrepresented. >> the three places where they

said i said something in effect i said the opposite. amy: lawyers for the defense also plan to argue trump was exercising his first amendment rights when he made comments like these to the thousands of people who rallied outside the white house on the day of the failed insurrection. pres. trump: we fight like hell. if you don't fight like hell, pp you're not going have a country anymore. amy: house impeachment managers and trump's defense lawyers will each be given 16 hours over two days to make their arguments. the trial could end early next week if witnesses are not called. after headlines, we'll get the latest on trump's second impeachment trial. georgia's republican secretary of state has opened an inquiry into donald trump's attempts to overturn joe biden's election victory in georgia. legal scholars say trump violated at least three federal and state election laws with comments like these made during an hour-long conference call with secretary brad raffensperger on january 2. pres. trump: i just want to find

11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state. amy: following an investigation, georgia's republican-controlled state board of elections will determine whether to refer the case to georgia's attorney general for prosecution. more than 1500 people died of covid-19 across the united states monday, though the number of daily confirmed infections fell below 100,000 for the first time since november. top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci said monday daily u.s. vaccinations -- now averaging nearly 1.5 million shots per day -- should continue to increase as spring approaches and more doses become available. >> get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we possible can. that is the best defense against the evolution of variants. amy: fauci rejected a call by

one of president biden' coronavirus advisers to delay the second dose of two-dose vaccinations in order to get more people partially vaccinated sooner. meanwhile, transpoation seetary pete buttigieg says the u.s. is considering a plan that would require all u.s. domestic airline passengers show a negative coronavirus test result before boarding flights. buttigieg himself went into quarantine monday after he reported close contact with a security guard who tested positive for coronavirus. texas republican congressmember ron wright has died of complications from covid-19. two weeks after he and his wife are both hospitalized with the disease in dallas. just four days ago, congressmember wright blasted teachers' unions and democrats for delaying the return of students to in-person classes, tweeting -- "the cdc says schools can safely re-open if proper precautions are taken.

what are we waiting for?" congressmember wright is the second person elected to the 117th congress to die of covid-19 after 41-year-old louisiana republican luke letlow succumbed to the disease in december before he could take office for what would have been his freshman term. here in new york, senate majority leader chuck schumer and congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez said monday the federal emergency management administration will help pay for covid-related funeral and burial costs for low-income families. ocasio-cortez says families can apply for up to $7000 in fema funds. >> when you suddenly lived a -- lose a loved one, your talking about an expense up $4000, 5000 dollars, $10,000. with covid, families also are having to pay the storage of the bodies of their own loved ones.

this is wrong. amy: meanwhile, is revealed residents of a state run nursing home or given experimental covid-19 treatments without the knowledge of their families. residents of the st. albans new york state veterans' home were administered a cocktail of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin despite safety warnings and doubts about the drugs' efficacy. the senate has confirmed president biden's pick to head the department of veterans affairs. denis mcdonough is just the second non-veteran to lead the v.a. he previously served as president barack obama's chief of staff and as deputy national security advisor. in immigration news, the biden administration is reviewing the deportations of veterans and their families that took place under trump. the white house and in a statement "the administration grayson enforcement will focus on those national security

public safety threats, not military families, service members, veterans." immigrant justice advocates have long warned these guidelines continue to criminalize undocumented people and asylum seekers, and continue to give ice wide prosecutorial discretion on who gets deported. this comes as activists are denouncing the ongoing mass deportations of haitian asylum seekers. the biden administration had temporarily suspended removal flights to haiti friday. on monday, the guardian reports over 70 haitian asylum seekers were deported, including over 20 babies and children. advocate and executive director of the haitian bridge alliance guerline jozef tweeted -- "we didn't vote and made all the sacrifices to elect joe biden and kamala harris so they can continue trump's draconian, cruel, evil and inhumane practices." guerline jozef will join us for more on the fight against these deportations later in the broadcast. in colombia, president iván

duke harry announced monday venezuelan asylum seekers will be given protected status for up to 10 years. granting them permission to work in excess to social services. in new york, reuters reports a recent federal court filing has confirmed right-wing honduran president juan orlando hernández is being investigated by u.s. authorities for his possible involvement in drug trafficking. federal prosecutors accuse hernández of using law enforcement and the military to protect drug traffickers. hernández reportedly accepted millions of dollars in exchange, promising traffickers they wouldn't be prosecuted or extradited to the u.s. he has remained at key u.s. ally despite long-standing positions of corruion, human rights abuses, and involvement with drug cartels. in mexico, authorities have identified the remains of nine other victims -- all guatemalan -- who were among 19 people killed in a massacre in the

northern state of tamaulipas. of the 16 victims idtified so far, two were mexican and 14 guatemalan. the 19 bodies were found shot and charred in a town near the u.s.-mexico border in january. a dozen mexican state police were arrested last week for their possible involvement in the massacre. and in chicago, the former longtime president of the chicago teachers union karen lewis has died. she was 67 years old. karen lewis had been battling brain cancer since 2014. she stepped down from her position at ctu due to her health four years later. this is karen lewis in a 2010 interview with democracy now! >> i think anybody will argue with that, that the system is broken. it has not basically changed since the 1900s -- 1800s, for that matter. as a result, it has never been

able to absorb real innovation. the problem is it is just a lot easier to test, test, test children. curriculum has narrowed in chicago. if you look at the average day for an elementary school kid, it is reading, reading, reading, math, math, math. kids are bored to tears. they are hating school at an early age. there is no joy or passion. the results show that. amy: karen lewis' death comes as some 25,000 members of the chicago teachers union vote today on whether to approve a plan to return to in-person learning during the pandemic. union members have been on the cusp of striking over coronavirus safety concerns. see our interviews with karen lewis, go to democracynow.org. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report.

i'm amy goodman in new york joined by my co-host juan gonzález in new brunswick, new jersey. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: history is beg made today. the second impeachment trial of the u.s. president, a former president donald trump, begins today in the senate. since the founding of the united states, the senate has conducted just three other presidential beach meant trials -- andrew johnson in 1868, bill clinton in 1999, and donald trump in 2020. trump is the first president to face an impeachment trial after leaving office. the house impeached trump a week before his term ended for inciting the deadly insurrection on the u.s. capitol on january 6 which was aimed at stopping lawmakers from counting the -- certifying the electoral college votes. trump's defense team claims it

is unconstitutional to try a former president but the argument has been rejected by many constitutional law experts including the prominent conservative lawyer charles cooper. in a piece in "the wall street journal," cooper wrote -- "it defies logic to suggest that the senate is prohibited from trying and convicting former officeholders." trump's defense team also claims the former president did not "direct anyone to commit unlawful actions." on monday, senate majority leader chuck schumer defended the impeachment process. >> a president cannot simply resign to avoid accountability for an impeachable offense. nor can they escape judgment by waiting until the final few weeks in office to betray our country. the impeachment powers assigned to the congress by the constitution cannot be defeated by a president who decides to run away or trashes our

democracy on the way out the door. ultimately, senators will decide on the one true question at stake in this trial -- is donald trump guilty of inciting a violent mob against the united states? a mob whose purpose was to interfere with the constitutional process of counting electoral votes and ensuring a peaceful transfer of power. amy: the senate trial will begin today at 1:00 p.m. and we will be livestreaming it at democracynow.org. for the next week or as long as it takes. today's session will focus on the constitutionality of the senate trying former the president. then beginning on wednesday, house impeachment managers and trump's defense lawyers will each be given 16 hours over two days to make their arguments. the trial could end early next

week. it remains unclear if witnesses will be called. we are joined by alan hirsch, chair of the justice and law studies program at williams college in massachusetts. he is the author of several books, including "a short history of presidential election crises" and "impeaching the president: past, present, and future." professor, it is great to have you with us. what stands out about this historic impeachment trial that begins today? >> well, and income as you said today is going to be devoted to the question of whether the senate even has the authority to conduct the trial. the republicans claiming -- trump's attorneys claiming they lacked jurisdiction. so if 51 senators said the senate has jurisdiction -- which is almost sure to happen -- the trial will continue. it will reach the merits starting tomorrow. however, unless two thirds

majority, 67, find they have jurisdiction, there's no chance of trump being convicted. so we have a situation where if 35 republican senators or more claim the senate lacks jurisdiction, the trial will go on but it will be alice in wonderland, verdict first and trl later. it is really crucial what happens in the next day. juan: professor, what about this issue of whether the senate can legally try a after leaving office? what is your reading of the law? >> i am with the overwhelming majority of scholars who believe that of course the senate can conduct this trial, that otherwise you would be giving president get out of resign the office or run out the clock.

the senate would have no authority to do anything and he could run for office again. that seems completely contrary to public policy and commonsense. the other thing i would emphasize, people on the others say, how can you impeach a president that is not in office? the truth is, he was impeached when he was in office. now the russian is whether you can conduct the trial of a president who has been impeached while in office. i think you might be able to make the argument that when the president is out of office he is not subject to impeachment. i don't think it is a strong argument, but the argument that a president who has already been impeached can leave through resignation or term ending and not be subject to legal processes and then be free to run again really makes very little sense to me. juan: what is your sense of the kind of evidence that the house managers will present during the trial?

the reaction of witnesses from what you can tell? >> amy mentioned there had bn three impeachment trials most of the only one in which there were live witnesses was andrew johnson's trial. printed really be a fact-finding body, really do need witnesses. having said that, if you read the house managers brief, and i recommend that you do because it really is a terrific, thorough piece of work. you will see the trump team is going have a tough time defending, particularly with respect to h he conducted himself once the capitol had been storm. his lawyers will be able to make a semi-reasonable argument that nothing he said explicitly incited the insurrection, that he did not intend to incite the insurrection. these arguments are at least colorable. but how they defend him for sitting back after the capitol admin stormed when he is being

urged by multiple people to take action and allegedly he is watching tevision and seemingly pleased with what is going on, he really seems to me -- because going to be a case of trying to defend the indefensible. but having said tha and there i, or listeners, nor the senate should take as gospel what is in the house managers brief. this is why you have a trial. in order to establish what trump was doing, that is not going to be on tape. we will see his speech on january 6. we will seeeople storming the capitol. we will even see some of them saying they are following trump's wishes. but we won't see trump doing nothing as the capitol is being stormed. we won't see conversations in which he says "let's let her go for a whe, i am pleased." witnesses could establish that is what happened. that is where i believe witnesses could be most pote. although, the last i heard, senator schumer does not want to call it mrs.. i hope they reconsider that deal.

amy: this is the key point. i am sure many people who deeply care about civil liberties and free speech are concerned that if someone says something and then someone else goes and commits a violent act and says it was because of what this guy said, that that is -- they're concerned about making those links. but the point he said in his speech, "i am going to be marching with you," of course he then scurried back to the white house with safety in the oval office, and watched what happened, are we going to learn about these conversations? republican after republican, calling him, told he would not take the calls, begging him to say something but he did not just say anything, he did issue a statement despite the fact is defense lawyers are not going to say he was horrified by the violence committed. in fact, he did make a statement

at the time was how the desecration of the capitol. he called them patriots and said "i love you." >> i am in agreement. as i said, i think that is the most vulnerable aspect of his behavior. i would also add, there will be arguments there is not a direct enough link between his words and the mob's actions. even if that were true -- and that is debatable -- this is not a criminal trial. no one has to prove yond a reasonable doubt he had the state of mind to incite the mob or anything like that. this is an impeachment. this is a judgment about whether this president is unfit for office based on having committed improper offenses against society itself. i personally think it is very coming very difficult to defend the president's behavior as not rising to the level of an impeachable offense. juan: professor, what about the impact of the trial and -- on

the trump base's his continued hold over the republican party? because, clearly, a lot of these republicans who make voting not to convict him will possibly are dealing with the reality that they're going to have to face his influence on the party in upcoming elections. >> i think that is on the nose, even on the politic aspectsf it are beyond my alleyway. what i will say is the trial has a two-part function. one is to see this person n be disqualified from ofce based on his manifest on fitness stemming from his attack on democracy but the other ishe effect on the public. the public will watch th trial. if it does chip away at support from his base,, effectively disqualify him from future office even if it does not foally do so. amy: we will leave it there for now but of course we are

continuing to cover this and democracy now! will be running the impeachment trial of donald trump gavel to gavel at democracynow.org beginning at 1:00 today. alan hirsch, thank you for being with us, chair of the justice and law studies program at williams college. author of several books, including "a short history of presidential election crises" and "impeaching the president: past, present, and future." this is democracy now! when we come back, where's the vaccine for ableism? we will speak to two disability rights activists about growing calls to prioritize giving covid vaccines to people with physical and mental disabilities. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: blind malian musical duo amadou & mariam performing "femmes du monde" here in our

democracy now! studio. they met at a school for the blind. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. as the u.s. death toll from covid-19 tops 465,000, we look now at the devastating impact the pandemic has had on disabled people. many states have failed to prioritize giving vaccines to people with serious physical or developmental disabilities even though studies have shown disabled people are two to three times more likely to die from covid. california has faced intense criticism for recently switching to a largely age-based vaccine rollout, leaving out many younger disabled residents with serious medical conditions. there is also confusion in many states over what medical conditions qualify for prioritized access to the vaccines. on the international front,

the united nations high commissioner for human rights, michelle bachelet, recently appeared on al jazeera and spoke out about the pandemic's impact on the disabled. >> we know that people living with disabilities usually -- they have already unequal condions and areiscrimined and at makeshem more likely to be exposed to the virus and less liky to be treated. in many countries, the biest amountf people who have died of covid-19 are people living with disabilities. amy: we are joined now by two guests. joining us from oakland, california, is rabbi elliot kukla, who offers spiritual care to those who are ill, dying, or bereaved at the bay area jewish healing center in san francisco. he is a disability rights activist who is working on a book about being chronically ill in a time of planetary crisis. his recent "new york times" op-ed is headlined "where's the vaccine for ableism?"

rabbi kukla is also the first openly transgender person. and in san francisco is alice wong, founder of the disability visibility project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture. alice wong is also the host of the podcast disability visibility and the editor of the new book "disability visibility: first-person stories from the twenty-first century," an anthology of essays by people who have disabilities. we welcome you both to democracy now! alice wong, let's begin with you. you use an electric wheelchair. you are on a ventilator but you are not prioritized in california for getting the vaccine?

>> they are vaccinating people in 1a. people over 65, essential workers. the governor on january 25 announced -- that really, really

angry. i created a hasht because i really need people to understand that -- when we think about high-risk, we often think about older people, people in long-term care facilities. but there are a lot of people with disabilities who are chronically ill, people in all age groups. people need to understand the disastrous impact of this change. [indiscernible]

juan: ♪♪ [music break] alice wong, there are people with developmental disabilities of all ages and the vaccine rollout. could you talk about what are the differences in some states, and which ones you think are doing a better job? quote i think some states are doing a little better job but the question is [indiscernible] there's a lot of question as who they define as high risk. a lot of states are relying on the cdc's list. the cdc has a tradition of

groups that are high-risk for covid-19 is not comprehensive. states are not using this for the eligibility criteria and other states are increasing, adding specific disabilities as well. this leaves a l of people o.de especiallyeople with undiagnosed diseases. there is an excellent article published a few days ago that talks about this whole idea of this list because, you know, disabled people are -- not everybody has a diagnosis and

not everyone has access to a primary care doctor. a lot of states that are prioritizing disabled people, they have to provide proof and verification. another barrier. juan: i like to bring rabbi elliot kukla into the conversation. we suggest from the outset disabled people have been marginalized in response to the pandemic. then you explain what you see as happening and also, especially what is happening to those who are disabled in long-term care facilities? >> yes, thank you for asking about that. a lot of my work is sving people in ng-term care in all sorts of facilities. really from the beginning of the pandemic, the messaging was

"don't worry, the only peopl who will die or become seriously sickre elders and disabled people and people with higher weights." in other words, no big loss. anyone who is less disposable will be fine so you should not worry. pretty much across the board was the messaging at the beginning of the pandemic. and that uerstanding has really led theesponsto the pandemic, this feeling of ing disposable. even from the very beginning before there were even medical shortages, there was a threat of medical rationing to elders and people with disabilities. and the pandemic -- the epicenter has been long-term care. more than one third of covid deaths have happened in nursing

homes, which has been something that located in nursing homes felt le an inevitability to me from the way things were playing out from the beginning and really unbearable to watch play out. a lot of it has to do with so many systemic injustices coming together in this one location from lack of government oversight to poor infection control to the fact that longerm care in its very structure is kind of a pandemic waiting to happen. it is set up in such a way that because of less and less public funding and more and more need to worry about profits, most long-term care facilities depend on not very well-paid staff,

largely people of color who are exposed to some of the biggest health risks in society. as 've sn, most of the people who staff nursing homes often don't have adequate sick leave or are often working audible jobs to make ends meet. that's working multiple jobs to make ends meet. often living at home with people who are also in high risk jobs and people who are essentially exposed to some of the highest health risks in society due to racism and poverty are in this role of caring up clo to the most high-risk people, which is really a position that makes both the staff and the residents , by design, by the very structure of these institutions in society, disposable. makes both parties disposable.

that is really systems that are very large, very deep ageism and ableism and racism that is deep within the structure of how we think about those things of society. amy: i would like to turn to the new democratic congress member from new york mondai jones speaking on the house floor last week. >> now millions of americans are out of work. we must remember it is people with disabilities, people of color, especially women of color, who have been the hardest hit. as members of congress, we must do all we can to ensure everyone -- and i mean everyone -- can live in dignity. that is why support the national purchaser act -- apprenticeship act that will create access for all which i'm proud have co-authored with my colleague alma ams. this wl help remove racist and

ablest barriers to employment from our national apprenticeship system because everyone deserves a good paying job no matter your race or your ability. amy: so that is congressmember mondaire jones of new york. alice wong, if you could respond to this? also, if you could take us for your attempt to get a vaccine. >> yeah, i'm so delighted that the representative -- for what it is. people do not know what ableism is. if they hear about it -- [indiscernible]

i'm like, don't really understand at all. ableism is systemic. it divides people. i have been really nervous. being the high-risk disabled person. he's a ventilator to breathe. i have respiratory failure. if i get the virus, i will not survive. that is a certainty. so i have done everything within my power to stay safe.

again, with so many people, there is only so much you can do. i have not left my house one time only in october to get the flu shot. there are so many people in this country and everywhere that are biding their time. i thought, ok, [indiscernible] but at least i am prioritized. but then that's completely wiped

off the states website. basically a betrayal by the state. we were told to be patient and wait our turn. i called around, i asked my pharmacist. i was doing -- i talked to my doctor. there is no clear idea to where i have access. i also to highlight in terms of the long-term care workers, they're people like me with disabilities that have attended

-- attendants that help us with daily activities. it is impossible to cial distance. i rely on people to help me get up every day. i have cse contact with them. there is absolutely no way to social distance. there are a lot of people in the workforce that are absolutely essential. in san francisco, at least, they are getting access to the vaccine. my two attended who her by family members got vaccinated -- attendants who are my family members got vaccinated, but i have not.

that is not justice. juan: i want to ask rabbi kukla, you've noted the disabled people are prioritized group and most current vaccine distributions "we often end up at the back of the line, even though we are three times more likely to have chronic conditions that put us at higher risk of dying of covid-19." from your perspective, how does that happen? how do disabled people end up pushed to the back of the line? >> ihink it is basically ableism. basically since the beginning of this pandemic, it has been clear that disabled lives simply do't matter as much. the message, or may not a double message, maybe it is the simple message, that although disabl people have been threatened with medical rationing since the beginning,

at although we are considered so high-risk that potentially w can't get medical care if we do get covered because we mht not be savable, at the same time we are being told that we need to wait for a vaccine -- which really is communicating a lac of prioritizing our lives. if we are so high-risk we can't get medical care, but at the same time we are being told that we a not gting a vaccine right away. that double message or singular message is one of lack of value. and that has really continued throughout the pandemic. it is not felt so much like hard decisions are being made in terms of weighing her decisions and sometimes disabled people end up at the bottom, so much as disabled people have been easy to expand with since the

beginning of the pandemic and all sorts of places when it has come to medical rationing, vaccines, and when it has come to the sort of public health messaging that we don't need to worry as much sense disabled people, elders, higher weight people will be the ones to carry the brunt of this virus. amy: i was wondering, alice wong, if you lived in new york, if you would have better access? recently, the governor expanded the list of people who a prioritized, actually enumerating issues that people face, for example, if you have cancer, current or in remission, including 9/11 lady cancers -- related cancers, pulmonary, asthma, cystic fibrosis,

intellectual and developmental disabilities including down syndrome, heart conditions including but not limited to heart failure, coronary artery disease, hypertension, immunocompromised, weakened immune system, immune deficiencies, hiv, sub steroids -- it goes on from there. it is very specific. even as i'm reading this i'm wondering, how do people know this? and how do peoe even get to vaccine sites? you have not love, said but for a flu shot once since last march, so you have almost been at home. year. would you fall into category in a different state where in california you just cannot get to the front of the line? >> that is the road question, right?

ableism. why do disabled people have to prove or identify the disability and in order to be prioritized? i understand the need to do tt and the need to have a list, but it really lays out -- leaves out a lot of people are justified as i am. that is the real question, do the people in power -- talking about ableism. also about a question of pow and political representation. who in the newsom administration are the major decision-makers --

this is something that really weighs on my mind. disposable because we are just not seen as part of -- just somebody that is respected by being themselves. this has made it so difficult, the fact that each state, even each county, is left to kd of have their own list. i think this disparity is really unfair and troubles me greatly. i want to live but i want all of us to live. i think we should not have digital hurdles to just get through the door to say we are

high-risk. amy: i want to thank you so much for taking this time. alice wong is a disability rights activist. she is with the disability visibility project, host of the podcast disability visibility and the editor of the new book "disability visibility: first-person stories from the twenty-first century," an anthology of essays by people . she speaking to a ventilator and uses an electric wheelchair. we also want to think rabbi elliot kukla offers spiritual care to those who are ill, dying at the bay area jewish healing center. he is also chronically ill and a disability activist. we will link to his piece in a book within your times" "where's the vaccine for ableism?"

when we come back, most people heard president biden say there was a moratorium on deportations -- on most deportations. so how is it possible in the last few days, more than 70 people, more than 20 of them infants and children, were deported to haiti? stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "rise up" by haitian musician paul beaubrun. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. president biden ordered a 100-day moratorium on deportations as one of his first acts in office.

but on monday, u.s. immigration and customs enforcement, or ice, deported at least 72 people to haiti. those deported included a two-month-old baby and 21 other babies and children -- which seems to contradict the order by a federal judge in that blocked the moratorium but left in place instructions that only the most serious immigration cases should be subject to deportation. "the guardian" reports the adults and children were deported on two flights to the haitian capital port-au-prince as the country faces an increase in political violence and protests against the haitian president's u.s.-backed resumes which have been ongoing for months. mostly from haiti and african countries including a man named pierrilus who was deported to haiti. mondaire jones had previously worked successfully stopping the

deportation by the trump administration before biden was sworn in last tuesday, mondaire jones tweeted " 3:00 a.m., my at staff woke up to an urgent call. suddenly, and in the dead of night, ice was set to deport rockland county's beloved paul pierrilus to haiti, a country where he has never been." monday's deportations to haiti came after ice had just suspended deportation flights to haiti on friday following pressure from immigrant justice advocates, including our guest guerline jozef, co-founder and executivdirect of the haitian bridge alliance, an immigrant support group. she is joining us from orange county, california, not far from the border. welcome to democracy now! can you explain what st happened? how does a two-month-old, a number of babies and overall more than 70 people, get reported to haiti after the moratorium of biden's is put

into effect? is ice going rogue or is this part of a biden-harris plan? >> thank you for having us. we're all in disbelief of what we are witnessg right now i the united states to see how we contin to witns the se for conan -- draconian, inhumane process that president trump left behind. yesterday, there were 200 deportation flights to hai. the first one caring abo 72 people. out of those 72 people included 22 children and we saw as young as two months old. we are loong at children years oldn the middle of developmt where we shoulbe providing protection for those people, but we are sending them

into a burning house. literally there is a house burning and we sending pregnant women and children into the burning house. an: guerline jozef, apparently ice is using a controversial statute, title 42, more than 70 years old a the trump administration for started using it. what is title 42? >> title2 they're using right now because of the pandemic. but the reality is, those people are testing negative for covid-19, so therefore it is a excuse to continue toeport pele. as youentioned earlier, under the moratorium from th president cannot provide provision or relief and protection for those most vulnerable people that happened at the border r the past four years waiting for a chance to

ask for asylum, understanding trump completely destroyed t immigration syem, cometely trapped people at e u.s.-mexicoorder, forcing ople to literal die. understand black immigrants are the st vulnerae, the most glected group ofmmigrants. this haso stop. we can no longer stand by and watch people's lives been destroyed. we are asking and demanding that all deportation flights stop immediately. juan: is it your sense that ice is acting on its own or that the biden administration, officials who have come into homeland security and to ice, the newly appointed officials, are aware of this? >> i cannot speak on behalf of

ice or the government nor the administration, but what i can say is we saw th pain, we hear it in the voices of the cldren and those immignts. we do not know what is going on. we do not know what the relationship is. but what we are seeing is unacceptable. we are asking for president bide for thedministration to do what needs to be done. ice needs to listen to what the administration and the secretary are instructing them to do, righ theyannot just decide to go and do whatever they nt. we understand under presidt ump, the boldness it took for them to get the immiation system. we understand the boldness it took to literal uplifthis dracian process. so now we ar asking to build better.

we are asking for relief and protecti for the people. whatever it is the relationship it might be between ice and the adminisation, we want this be e calyst that we move forward. we are als asking the haitian government to not accept the deportation flights. as you mention, we have paul pierris. i was the phone with him and s attorney and a staffer when they came to take them. i was on the phone hearing his voice. attorney telling him to please, please go with tm beuse they wanted to remove him forcibly whe he was on the phone. his attorney did not receive a note saying he was being moved we only found out because we were on the phone wi him when they came to get him.

amy: juan and i met in haiti covering the u.s.-backed who's there. finally, guerline joze, what people are being deported to in haiti? >> right now we are in the middle of a major uprising. 're worried we might end up with a bloody massacre. on one side we have the opposition in the diaspora in u.s. covid stati based on the constitution, the president should have left on sunday february 7. the president is saying, no his term ends next year. right nowe are asking for protection. the deportions cannot continue to happen in the middle of a major cris in haiti. as you mentioned, we continue to see over and over the neglect, the lack of respect for life on both sides. we are asking for that to be

stopped. amy: guerline jozef, co-founder and executive director of haitian bridge alliance. democracy now! will be live streaming the senate impeachment trial of donald trump gobble gobble starting at 1:00 eastern time today. democracy now! is looking for feedba