12/20/21 12/20/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> urgent situation and we need to act urgently. we are seeing a substantial rise in the number of cases in a way we have not seen beasley. amy: the covid-19 omicron variant is raging across the country and the world. the united states is now averaging over 130,000 new covid cases a day, nearly double the

numbers just a month ago. scientists warn the united states could face a million cases a day by february. we will get the latest. then president biden's build backetter plan appears to be dead aer democratic senator joe manchin comes out against the plan to expand the nation's social safety net and combat the climate emergency. >> if i can't go home and explained to the people of west virginia, i cannot vote for it. and i cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. i just can't. i have tried everything humanly possible. i can't get there. amy: we will speak to congressmember jamaal bowman, just one of six progressive democrats in the house who voted against a separate bipartisan infrastructure bill, saying it and the build back better package should be coupled together due to a fear that only the smaller package would pass if they were voted on separately.

they werright. us, wepeak to migrant rightsctivist an montril. he hasust be gen thr yearof proction fr deportatn asart of settleme wh the u. govement. was depted to hti in 2018, but allowed to return to his family in new york in october. >> fighting to be with my kids. i only wanted to be with my kids. and now i get a second chance to be with them again. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the build back better bill is dead after joe manchin announced sunday he would not vote for president biden and democrats' signature piece of legislation, the almost $2 trillion package that would expand the social safety net and combat the climate emergency. >> if i can't go home and

explain it to the people of west virginia, i can't vote for. and i cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. i just can't. i have tried everything humanly possible. i can get there. amy: manchin chose to make his announcement on fox news which prompted swift combination from many, the white house essentially accused the west virginia conservative of being lying. the press secretary said his announcement "represents a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the president and the senator's colleagues in the house and senate." manchin reportedly refused to take a white house, for sinking the bill on tv. progressive lawmakers called out th manchin and democratic leadership are failing earlier this year to keep the bipartisan infrastructure about tied about on the build back better act. commerce member ilhan omar

tweeted -- senate majority leader chuck schumer has just announced senators will vote "very early in the new year" on build back better and vowed to keep trying to find a way forward. covid-19 surges have been reported in more countries as the omicron variant continues its rapid spread. here in the u.s., an average of 1300 people are still dying every day, with delta remaining the dominant variant for now. across the country, long lines formed at testing sites amid a wave of new infections and as people prepare for holiday travel and gatherings. meanwhile, a federal appeals

court reinstated the biden friday administration vaccine-or-testing mandate for companies with 100 or more workers. in medical news, moderna said lab tests showed its booster increases the level of omicron-fighting antibodies by around 37-fold. health officials are asking vaccinated people to get boosted as soon as possible in hopes of curbing the winter surge. this is dr. anthony fauci. >> we are going to see breakthrough infections. no doubt about that. the difference between vaccinated and boosted percent who has an infection and someone who has an infection who has never been vaccinated, major difference with regard to the risk of severity. amy: in other medical news, pfizer said friday its trials on 2-to-4 year olds generated a weaker immune response than expected. pfizer is expanding its clinical trials to see if overdose will produce -- if a third dose will

increase with results not expected for months. southwest airlines ceo gary kelly tested positive for the coronavirus just days after he testified unmasked at a senate hearing last week. kelly, who was seated next to other airline executives, can be seen in now widely circulated video coughing during his testimony in which he opposed mask mandates on airplanes. three democratic lawmakers announced this weekend they tested positive for coronavirus. senators elizabeth warren, cory booker, and congressman jason crow all reported mild covid-19 symptoms. all three were fully vaccinated and had received their booster shots. in international news, the netherlands is entering a strict lockdown through the yearend holidays to battle a surge of infections from the omicron variant. all bars, restaurants, gyms, theaters, hair salons, and non-essential shops will be closed until mid-january.

in britain, london mayor sadiq khan has declared a major incident and will invoke new emergency powers as the u.k. continues to shatter records for daily infections. israel has banned travel to the u.s. and a growing list of other celebration sunday with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets following the news. boric beat out right-wing candidate josé antonio kast, who conceded the runoff election sunday. at 35 years old, boric will become chile's youngest president. he has vowed to fight for progressive social reforms and overhaul the neoliberal economic policies left by the u.s.-backed dictatorship of general augusto pinochet. >> in the coming years, the

future of our country is at stake so i guarantee that i will be a president who cares for democracy does not risk it, listens more than he speaks, seeks unity, and attempts to reach the people daily. i will firmly fight against the privileges of a you and i will work every day for the quality of the chilean family. amy: gabriel boric will be sworn in as president in march. in the philippines, the death toll from super typhoon rai has reached 370. dozens are still missing as search and rescue operations continue. meanwhile, in malaysia, major floods have killed at least eight people and displaced tens of thousands after a month's worth of rain fell in just two days. many residents found themselves stranded after roads became inundated and were shut down. >> i have never experienced

floods this bad. usually, it is just small but this is the worst with cars and at the floodwater. amy: hong kong voters turned out in record low numbers for a legislative election held sunday, the first election under a draconian new law that only allows pro-beijing candidates to run for office. just 30% of hong kong's 4.4 million eligible voters cast ballots in the so-called patriots onlelection. >> there are no voices from the opposition side. if there even just some opposing opinions, they would send us to hong kong and china to indicate what hong kong people are thinking. but now there will not be much of the signals. amy: in sudan, hundreds of thousands of protesters marched to the presidential palace in the capital khartoum sunday demanding an end to military rule and the right to self-determination. they were met by heavy volleys of tear gas, stun grenades, and live ammunition fired by sudanese soldiers. protesters also took to the streets in cities across sudan, marking the third anniversary of the uprising tt toppled long-time dictator omar al-bashir.

the united nations human rights council is launching an international investigation into ethiopia's 13-month conflict that's left thousands of people dead and millions displaced. the resolution passed despite objections from the ethiopian government. the brutal conflict between northern tigrayan forces and the ethiopian government has led to a devastating humanitarian crisis, as well as likely war crimes and crimes against humanity. this comes as the ethiopian government has announced its army has recaptured several more towns from tigrayan rebels. the organization of islamic cooperation has vowed to establish a humanitarian trust fund for afghanistan in hopes of averting the worst of a humanitarian and economic crisis. the u.s. froze billions of dollars worth of aid and afghan assets after the august taliban takeover. pakistan hosted the major emergency summit of islamic states. this is pakistani prime minister imran khan speaking sunday.

>> i have to say, and i speak to the united states specifically, the taliban government for the afghan citizens, even if they have conflict with taliban for 40 yrs, 20 years, but [indiscernible] 40 million human beings. and that is very important that action is taken immediately. already we are late. amy: "the new york times" has obtained a trove of internal documents detailing how the u.s. military's air wars in the middle east have been marked by flawed intelligence, rushed and imprecise targeting, and the deaths of thousands of civilians -- many of them children. "the new york times" reports the 1300 documents on civilian casualties contra sharply with the u.s. government's image of precision warfare waged by

all-seeing drones. in one such attack, special operations forces reported killing 85 isis fighters in a july 2016 air raid in northern syria. in fact, the raid hit houses far from the front line, killing 120 villagers. a federal judge sentenced a january 6 rioter to over five years in prison, the longest sentence yet linked to the u.s. capitol insurrection. robert palmer attacked police officers with a fire extinguisher, a plank, and a long pole during the assault on the capitol. he was seen on video on the frontlines of the mob violence cheering on his fellow rioters while wearing a "florida for trump" hat and a jacket that looked like a u.s. flag. the senate confirmed rahm emanuel as ambassador to japan overnight friday, despite vocal opposition from progressives and activists over emanuel's cover-up of the police killing of 17-year-old laquan mcdonald while he was mayor of chicago in

2014. rahm emanuel was one of those -- after months of obstruction led by republican senator ted cruz. cruz held up the process until the senate agreed to vote on his bill imposing sanctions over the nord stream 2 pipeline, which runs from russia to germany. senate majority leader chuck schumer said saturday lawmakers would debate and vote on the sanctions by mid-january. an alabama court has expunged the juvenile court records of claudette colvin, an african-american woman who was just 15 years old when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white woman. on march 2, 1955, colvin boarded a montgomery city bus after school to head home. as it filled up, a white woman was left standing and the bus driver ordered claudette colvin

to get up and move to the back. she refused and was dragged off the bus in handcuffs. in 2013, claudette colvin recalled that day in an interview on democracy now! >> it felt like sojourner truth's hands were pushing me down on one shoulder and harriet tubman's hands were pushing me down on another shoulder and i could not move. and i yelled out, "it is my constitutional right." amy: her act of civil disobedience came nine months before rosa parks' arrest in a similar protest sparked the montgomery bus boycott, a landmark event in the civil rights movement. and former black panther russell "maroon" shoatz has died at the age of 78, less than two months after being let out of prison on compassionate release. shoatz was jailed in connection with a 1970 attack on a philadelphia police station and spent 22 of his nearly half century behind bars in solitary confinement, becoming an outspoken prison abolitionist.

and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president biden is preparing to address the nation on tuesday about the government's efforts to combat the covid-19 omicron variant, which is rapidly spreading across the united states and the world. the u.s. is now averaging over 130,000 new covid cases a day, nearly double e numbersf a month ago. new york state has set daily records on each of the past three days. outgoing nih director dr. francis collins warned the nation could see a million new cases a day by february. the new surge has led to many schos halting in-person classes and the postponement or cancellation of a number of professional sporting and entertainment events. long lines for covid tests were seen in many parts of the country ahead of the upcoming

holiday weekend. despite the new surge, many scientists have expressed hope the omicron variant will prove to be less dangerous than the delta variant, especially for individuals who have received a booster shot. earlier today, moderna announced its own internal studies show the vaccine booster considerably increases antibody levels against the omicron variant. dr. anthony fauci spoke on nbc's "meet the press" on sunday. he said omicron was raging through the world. >> the one thing that is very clear, and there is no doubt about this, this is an extra new capability of spreading. it's transmissibility capability, it is just raging through the world, really. if you look even here in the united rates, have some regions that start off with a few percent that are positive now going up to 30%, 40%, some places 50%. yes, there is this issue of whether or not it is or more or less severe.

the information we are getting from our south african colleagues still suggest that when you look at it totally, the hospitalization to case ratio is less and with delta. there seems to be less durability of symptomatology, less requirement for oxygen. but you have to be careful. that might be due to the fact there population has so much experience with prior infections that it might be underlying immunity that is making it look like it is less severe. amy: we go to atlanta, georgia, where we are joined by dr. carlos del rio. distinguished professor of medicine, epidemiology and global health at emory university. also the international secretary of the national academy of medicine and the former executive director of the national aids council of mexico. we welcome you to democracy now! why don't you start off by explaining what omicron is, how

serious it is for this country and around the world, and this issue of his incredible infectiousness. but on the other hand, whether in fact it makes people as sick as the delta variant. >> good morning. first of all, let me say this has been a grand pandemic. we're now in the second year, going to be starting our third year and there appears to be no end in sight. this virus has thrown a variety of curveballs at every step of the process. we develop vaccines. they were initially developed to combat the original strain, the wuhan strain. then over the course of the pandemic, we have seen different strains evolve that have been quite serious. first the alpha and then the delta and now the omicron strain. the delta strain is still an amazing problem globally. the great majority of

hospitalization cases and debts in our country continue to be caused by the delta strain. but we are seeing the omicron strain emerge and becoming the dominant variant in the next several weeks. what is happening? it is a respiratory virus and an rna virus that is producing mistakes which those mutations benefit the virus and others don't. the ones we worry about coming mutations that increase transmissibility, clinical severity, or increase what we call immune evasiveness. either from prior infection or from vaccine-induced unity. when a virus has some of those characteristics, the who positive area of concern. the most recent is omar on. we are still learning but omicron appears to be more transmissible than delta.

the original strain had what we call a reproductive number of 2.5 23. what that means is one person would affect two and half or three in each would infect to an have or three. if you did that 10 times, you would have a little over 9000 people infected. when we go to delta, delta appears to be having an rna of six to eight meaning one person infects six and each infects six. people put that into population after 10 cycles of transmission, of 30 million people infected. omicron appears to be two to three times more transmissible than delta so that would put omicron in the neighbor of measles. within are not a 15 to 18, everybody is going to get infected. you're going to be exposed because a decision will be everywhere. if you're going to be exposed at this point in time, you're

better off if you have been vaccinated and you have been boosted that if not because if you have not been vaccinated and boosted, you will get infected. even being vaccinated, of a chance of getting infected. as far as clinical severity, i would say i agree with dr. fauc it is too early to talk about whether it is more severe or less severe. even if less severe, if the numbers are really high, we still may see a lot of people in the hospital simply because of it being a numbers issue. amy: you have the south africa numbers, nursing perhaps it is less severe there because it is a much younger population and britain is reporting something different, but i wanted to ask about on television, all the networks -- you have the experts repeating what has to be done here. the basics, up to test, you have to vax, you have to wear our mask, socially distance, and be extremely careful. what is not added to the list

repeatedly is this issue of vaccinating the world. what has omicron taught us about -- it is not just a matter of altruism that you want people to be as safe as perhaps people are in the united states, though many who are unvaccinated are not safe, but that if someone is unsafe somewhere, or unsafe here ? >> we have seen this over and over. the omicron emergent, delta in india, low vaccination rates and high transmission you're going to see the various emerge. i think image of the right word. it is vaccinating the world. if we get vaccines to countries but don't have the infrastructure to get vaccines to people, you will do not have vaccinations. we need to do a better job. i'm surprised up to now there is still not national and international leadership to make

this happen. we need somebody in charge of making this happen on a global level and we need for our nation -- initially there were set up something called covax. covax has failed because there hasn't been support from the different nations, different organizations. we treat global vaccinations as charity. we have leftover vaccines -- was recently was in a bunch of vaccines, johnson & johnson vaccines to haiti and we were proud of tt. well, we did that and the state department made a big announcement about that. it was done the same day the cdc said johnson & johnson is not a good vaccine. at the end of the day, we're contradicting ourselves and our foreign policy on vaccines is not aligning what the reality is and what needs to happen. amy: an analysis published sunday by the financial times found wealthy countries have administered more covid boosters than the total number of all doses given so far in poorer

countries according to the countries as defined by the world bank where it is just under 11 shots per 100 people by any doses had been given to low income countries, something like nearly 16 booster doses per 100 people were administered across the world's 59 high-end come countries, dr. del rio. >> that is true. i think the disparities in this world are being seen in vaccinations. rich countries are hoarding vaccines and boosting but they're being myopic. they are not seem beyond their borders. when you're controlling a pandemic, have to look beyond our borders. this is a global issue. up we do not have a global of roche, we're never going to be this. amy: the issue of medicare for all at home, whether this would have made her could make for a future health care in this country, a massive difference?

this might go also to the issue of the unbelievable lack of testing available. i mean, we are in new york city. the lines are around lots everywhere for anyplace that is offering a test. that if you had medicare for all, for example, there would be more preventative care -- in this issue of whether tests should be available for free everywhere here? >> i think you're talking about important issues but i think there are a little bit separate from each other. medicare for all maybe one thing but this is not an issue of attic care. this is an issue about the government doing the right thing during the pandemic. setting up testing sites -- we have left a lot of things to the market. rapid test continues to be run by industry, by corporations that produce it and want to make a profit. this should have been taken over by the government like we have seen in the u.k. and other

places. rapid tests should be available foeveryonen the drugstore and supermarket that they can buy for a reasonable price, not the price we are currently paying. i boughtome rapid tests yesterday to use in my family gathering and i'm paying $25 for a package of two tests. that is something most people this country cannot afford. i should've been able to have get them for under five dollars. the reality for that to happen, the government should have stepped in. he did with vaccines. imagine of the vaccine approach has been that of the rapid test approach to the government said, well, by them and get reimbursed from your insurance company. i mentioned vaccines have been the same. yet to pay for it and then submit to your insurance. we never would've had the number of people vaccinated we currently have in the country. we have reached the number of vaccines we reached in this country because the vaccines are available and are free. we need that with rapid tests,

but we have not and i'm baffled. amy: let me go to white house press secretary jen psaki faced widespread criticism for her comments about making at-home covid tests available to all americans. >> look at what we have done over the course of time. we have quadrupled the size of our testing plan, cut the cost in this effort to push -- venture insurers are able to get your tests refund means 159 americans will be up to get free tests. >> why not just make them free? >> should we just send one to every american? >> maybe. >> then what happens if every american has one test? how much does that cost of what happens after that? >> all i know is other countries seem to be making them available and a greater oddities for less money. >> we share the same objective, which is to make them less expensive and more accessible. every country will do that differently. i am noting our tests go to the

fda approval process. that is not the same -- it does not work that way in every single country. amy: your response? >> yes, they have increased test capacity but the reality is it is still not sufficient. amy: i want to thank you so much for being with us, dr. carlos del rio, distinguished professor of medicine, epidemiology and global health at emory university, also the international secretary of the national academy of medicine. coming up, president biden's build back better plan appears to be dead after democratic senator joe manchin surprises the white house and comes out against the plan to expand the nation's social safety net and combat the climate crisis. he made the announcement on fox tv. we will speak with one of the six congress members who voted against the infrastructure bill saint if we do not tie it to build back better, build back better will die. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "el rey" by vicente fernandez. the legendary mexican singer recently passed away at the age of 81. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman.

president biden's signature to build back better package trillion dollar appears to be dead after democratic senator joe manchin of west virginia announced on sunday he would not support the plan to vastly expand the social safety net and combat the climate crisis. without manchin's vote, senate democrats do not appear to have a way to pass the legislation which has already been approved by the house. despite this, senate majority leader chuck schumer announced this morning plans to proceed with t vote in january. joe manchin made his announcement on fox news. >> the concerns i had and i still have these concerns and why am right now, the inflation i was concerned about is not transitory, it is real, it is harming every was a virginian, making it almost difficult for them to continue to go to their jobs. the cost of gasoline, the cost of groceries come the cost of utility bills -- all of these things are hitting in every aspect of their life. then you have the debt we are

carrying at $29 trillion and you have also the geopolitical unrest we have. you have the covid variant. and that is wreaking havoc again. people are concerned. i've been with my family. i know everyone is concerned. when you have these things coming at you the way they are now, i have always said this -- if i can't go home and explain it to the people of west virginia, i can't vote for. and i cannot vote to continue this piece of legislation. i just can't. i have tried every thing humanly possible and i can't get there. amy: senator joe manchin speaking on sunday on fox news. shocking the white house. in a statement, white house press secretary jen psaki said essentially manchin was lying, saying his comments were "at odds with his discussions this week with the president, with white house staff, and with his own public utterances." independent senator bernie sanders also criticized machin's decision. >> he is going to have to tell

the people of west virginia what he doesn't want to extend medicare to cover dental, hearing, and eyeglasses. i have been to west virginia number of times. it is a great state, beautiful people. but it is a state that is struggling. he is going to have to tell the people of west virginia why he is rejecting with the scientists of the world are telling us, that we have to have a transfer and energy system to protect our future generations from the devastation of climate change. what is going on in washington is the big money interests are supporting hundreds and ndreds of millions of dollars to make sure we continue to pay the hight prices in the world for prescription drugs if the rich do not start paying their fair share on taxes. i would've told we coul've had at least 50 democrats on board who'd had the ts to stand up for working families and take on the lobbyist and take on the special interest. amy: massachusetts

congressmember ayanna pressley responded sunday on cnn to condemn manchin. >> this is about joe manchin obstructing the people's agenda, torpedoing our opportunity to advance unprecedented advancement to address the hurt this pandemic-induced session as cause and to get this pandemic under control. amy: ayanna pressley was one of six progressive democrats in the house who voted against a separate infrastructure bill, saying it and the build back better package should have remained coupled together due to a fear that only the smaller package would pass if they were voted on separately. manchin's announcement proved the six progressive democrats to be correct. we are joined by another of those six democrats, congressmember jamal bowman of new york. welcome back to democracy now! can you respond to who manchin is beholden to hear? >> he is beholden to his donors.

he is beholden to dark money. he is beholden to special interest. and by dark money, we mean big donors that cannot be tracked or traced stop and special interest have been heavily involved in the negotiation process for build back better throughout this entire year. the pharmaceutical lobbyist have spent more money loving this year and it ever has in its history. hundreds of millions of dollars. senator manchin has raised more money this year than he ever has in his career. so has senator sinema, by the way. so we're not talking about senators who are responding to the needs of all. west virginia has the seventh highest child poverty rate in the country. west virginia has a horrible climate conditions that need to be addressed. senator manchin is not talking

about the people of west virginia or america, he is responding to big special interest and his donors. amy: congressmember bowman, it is often said he is the largest recipient of oil, gas, and call money of any senator in the country. but this point you're making about big pharma, on sunday, senator sanders accused manchin of not having the guts to take on pharmaceutical and other powerful special interest. manchin is long had his close relationship with big pharma. his daughter is the former president and ceo of the drug company mylan. during her time as ceo, she drew outrage when the company raised the price of its i've setting epipen used by millions rivers fiddle allergic reactions. she raised the cost of it by 400% most of she later received $31 million payout in her company gave massive contributions to her father, senator manchin.

can you talk specifically about this? in fact, manchin on fox talked about drug prices, even when he talked about killing the bill. >> we also have to consider the committees that are affiliated in the senate. his daughter increased her salary by 671%. this is a senator who believes this is ok, that this is business as usual and there is no problem at all with this family benefiting from investments in and payments from the pharmaceutical lobby. unfortunately, he is not the only one. many of my colleagues in the house and the senate think it is ok for big money to continue to control how congress behaves. this is capitali. many of my colleagues are capitalists and they celebrate this and they are completely ok

with this. they are ok with citizens united. there ok with corporations being designated as people and money and designated as free speech. this is the problem with washington. and as we build back better in an equitable way and work together to save our democracy, we have to look special interest and big money directly in the face and deal with it and change how we do business in washington. we cannot have a democracy with this level of inequality and this behavior happening in washington. we just had an insurrectio on january 6 partly because we have a system that allowed someone like donald trump to get to the white house in the first place. and now we are 20 believe people at least radicalized across the country ready to fight for their liberties and freedoms as white

nationalists. this is all connected and correlated and manchin is representative of all of that. as well as an old patriarchy that does it want to support women getting back to work, particularly women of color, does not want to support paid leave, does not want to support universal childcare, and all the things that would benefit historically marginalized and disenfranchised people. amy: let's talk about that. you tweeted -- "wow senator joe manchin, with all due respect, when you say you're a no on build back better -- is it you? or is it the special interest money." you talk about the no's he is saying to the face of your community. no horrible childcare, no payment, no immigration protection, no community violence and trauma intervention funding, no $35 month cap in insulin, no down payment

assistance, and beyond. they also want to read a number of the six congress members, this one place you and cori bush, who voted against separation of the bipartisan infrastructure bill from the build back better send this would never pass. she said -- "west virginia's 50th in childcare, 48 in employment, they support build back better by a 43 point margin. this has nothing to do the constituents of manchin, this is about the corruption and self-interest of a cold bearing ," ilhan omar tweeted. it 43% -- they support build back better, west virginians them up by a 43 point margin. that is counting on when he has the senators going back home and then voting on this, just announce before we which to broadcast, anyway on the senate floor. talk by the decision.

>> it is the right decision. i am happy this is happening. i wish they could return immediately but unfortunately, senators booker and warren have tested positive for covid so we wish them well and a full and speedy recovery. it is absolutely the right thing to do, get manchin on e record. it is one thing to talk the talk, but is he going to walk the walk and take that no vote in go home and explain that no bow? because at the end of the day, which virginia are watchg. they've been watching for some time. but now i think that a full understanding of who joe manchin is and what he represents and my hope is they hold him accountable for this in the next election. but also, before we get there, engage the senator, force them to listen to his constituents and those who are struggling the most as opposed to these lobbies continue to support him.

listen, we have to determine and identify w we are as a country and who we want to be. do we want to be the country o joe manchin and what he represents or the country of congress woman anna presley and alexandria ocasio-cortez and others are trying to move the country forward? it the country is ready to move forward, not just after trump, but in terms of levels of inequality and things that have persisted. manchin needs to get on board and the majority of the countries already there. amy: how is it just the six of you understood this could happen? human had the head of the progressive caucus john elledge by paul -- and others voting for the infrastructure bipartisan saying this will follow. they know joe manchin. what happened? even the white house was clearly caught off guard here. >> it is interesting because on that day, we were ready, all of

us, the entire focus was ready to vote for both bills together and pass bills the house. in the 11th hour, six of my colleagues pivoted and asked for a score that did not make any sense because we already knew the legislation was fully paid for. and once those six poted, it devastated the entire caucus. we all were completely devastated and the cbc was debating what we're going to do. the president called us and made a passionate plea for us to vote yes on this particular bill. and he all but promised he would be able to deliver manchin. as we can see, that has not happened. and for us -- i don't want to eak for the other five, but for myself, i just wanted to keep my word to the district. we had said for months we are

going to support both bills passing together. for me to than pivot and not do that would have been a slap in the face for my district, particularly those who have been marginalized for years, those in public housing who cannot afford childcare and are ready to deal with climate change. and we knew manchin, we felt strongly manchin would not supportbbb looking at the money that has come into kill bbb throw the. amy: the family of dr. martin luther king is calling for no celebration of martin luther king day this year and this voting rights legislation is passed. with manchin trying to doom the build back better, a lot of people are saying biden de-prioritized the whole issue of the voting rights bills before congress in order to push build back betternd now both are failing. your response? >> part of my frustration is

biden spent a lot of potical capital on the bipartisan infrastructure framework, even more so than bbb. that has passed. we passed before the people act out of the house back in march and the john lewis voting rights act a few months later. it is been in the senate for several months in the senate should have been working on this bill throughout the year. soor us to end 2021 without getting voting rights done is completely unacceptable. it is not just voting rights, by the way. immigration reform, commonsense gun reform, the women's health protection act from the george floyd justice in policing act, and many other sigture bills that america is demanding become law are sitting in the senate gathering dust. why? because there are a few senators and lobbies who do not support these bills. again, unacceptable.

we have to get voting rights done. we have to get bbb done because both are central to saving our democracy. amy: last to the senate parliamentarian rejected democrats third bid to include immigration reform in the build back better bill. the proposal included granting work permits and deportation protections to millions of people. the news prompted a swift rebuke -- response from immigrant justice advocates and democratic lawmakers. you in particular tweeted -- "the parliamentarian is not an elected official. their guidance is advisory not law. the republicans have fired the parliamentarian to pass their tax cuts for the wealthy. democrats must overrule the parliamentarian to pass immigration reform." can you speak further about this? >> absolutely rht. this also goes back to senator manchin. yes, we absolutely should overrule the parliamentarian. they are not an -- they are in

an advisory role. we can make the decision that is best for the peoples of the western is, we get 50 votes? because senator manchin has had on the record he does not want to go outside for around the parliamentarian. he is also said he does -- he is not committed to going round the libuster to get voting rights done. again, the entire country is held up by a single individual and everything that he represents. we have to get immigration reform done. i mean, our immigrants are the engine of our country. they were the essential workers that kept us afloat throughout this pandemic. they worked, they pay taxes, follow the law, they go to school, and they make our country rich and vibrant and thriving. for us to not eate a pathway for them is not acceptable. but press tonight even get the parole done is heartbreaking.

we have figure out how to have some form of immigration reform be a part of the build back better. amy: before we end, i would ask about your vote in september to approve the additional $1 billion in iron dome funding for the israeli military. this created a controversy within the democratic socialists of america which endorsed you last year. a number of chapters call for you to be spelled from the national organization. your response? >> well, you know, i've been working with dsa since that you build a better working relationship, a better understanding how we can work together to move our progressive agenda forward. i've been working with local and national dsa to make that happen. i'm thankful that the local and national dsa is been supportive. to the other segment of dsa, before commenting publicly on social media, reach out to our

offices come have a conversation in this figure out how to work together as opposed to just taking comments on social media. that doesn't get the movement going in the direction that we want it to go. we have to build a strong coalition on the left, strong coalition of progressives working toward common goals with a strategic plan. that is what i am open to doing. and hopefully come those other segments of dsa are open to doing the same things as well. amy: democratic congressmember jamaal bowman represents the 16th congressional district in new york. he is a former bronx middle school principal. coming up, we speak to immigrants rights leader jean montrevil who has just been given three years of protection from deportation as part of an unusual settlement with the u.s. government. he was supported to haiti in 2018 but allowed to return to his family in new york in october. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "pushin' against a stone" by valerie june. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's show with a story democracy now! has been following for years. the longtime immigrant rights leader jean montrevil has been given three years of deferred action that will allow him to remain in the united states to pursue a path to permanent status. jean montrevil was abruptly deported to haiti in 2018 but was allowed to return home to new york in october to reunite with his family. last week, he was granted three more years in the united states as a result of a settlement to a first amendment lawsuit he filed against the u.s. government. montrevil had argued federal immigration officials targeted him for deportation due to his activism, including his criticism of the trump administration's policies toward haiti. in a moment, we will be joined by jean montrevil. but first, i want to go back to october to hear him speak moments after landing at jfk aiort in n york whe he was greeteby suppoers.

>> aexcited to be witmy family the tripas ok. i havbeen usince 4:00 this moing. i havenot eaten nhing. seeingy family,y hope i fighti to be wh my kid -- my full fight, fhting to b withy kids now i get a seco chance be wi tm. amy: that is jean montrevil who joins us now i new york along with his lawyer alina das. she is the codirector of the immigrant rights clinic at nyu school of law and part of the legal team for jean. we welcome you both to democracy now! jean, we spoke you when you were deported to haiti, then you you return to new york. this is that when usual, how do you feel now, and expend with the decision was?

>> this is a big relief for me. i said the first 17 years, probably the first time i will be able to enjoy the holidays with my family without worrying about being detained and deported. the decision is huge. three years that i don't have to worry. i can have peace of my. the case is not over yet. we have to go and get permanent status. hopefully, i lawyers can help me do that. a great support team from my church. it is unbelievable. i am so happy right now. amy: alina das, take us through the legal story of jean montrevil. always want to say john because you're are haitian, but you call yourself jean. can you talk about what he is

gone through, how he was deported under trump and then brought back to the united states? >> sure. the deportation in 2018 is really a capstone of a series of injustices in genes case. that was based on retaliation. jean is a leader of our immigrant rights movement and for that, he was targeted. that is why we've filed a first amendment lawsuit suing the government because you can't choose who to depart based on the criticizing the government's duplication policy. the file that lawsuit and we been litigating ever since step i have to say this is a victory really for the power of organizing. the law is clear come has always been clear and on our side, but it is the power of organizing have brought the government to the negotiating table and gave us this possibility for jean to come back to the u.s. and now have three years deferred action. as jean mentioned, this is just

one of the injustices in his case. his deportations comes from a decades-old deportation order that was issued against him in a very unfair circumstance without due process. we are asking the government now to join us in reopening his case so that he can finally get his permanent resident and be on a path to citizenship. amy: how unusual is this? >> these days, victories are few and far between. so it feels very unusual. but we're hoping it is the start of a new chapter. we are asking this administration to fight for the exercise of positive discretion in many peoples cases. there are millions of immigrants like jean who just want to be their families, who want to live a life without fear of deportation. this administration has the power to exercise discretion in their cases as well, and we hope they will be using that discretion more boldly now. amy: jean, how do you feel about speaking out?

now you have three years here. we have been covering the plight of thousands of haitians who have tried to come into the united states come the famous story of the del rio bridge and haitians being whipped by border patrol, then the torrents jail in new mexico where the level of abuse of immigrants in the mass deportation -- your thoughts? >> i have been here for two months. i have to tell you, for my personal opinion, this country is in trouble because of immigrants -- mr. bowman wishes san, immigrants are the engine of this country. we are the backbone of this country. i cannot tell you how much now america is suffering. the service is dead, prices are

going up, and on that contribute to the lack of immigrants in this country. immigrants -- when you go to the grocery store, you buy food that used to pay two dollars four and now it is five dollars. i just expressed a couple of days ago, i went to the coffee shop, national coffee shop, and i got -- americans working there now, they don't give you good service. i am not a politician, but just to hear what representative bowman just said, it is a fact that america needs immigrants and they're paying a big price for it. it doesn't matter if you are for immigrants or not, we're all suffering because of the lack of immigrants in this country. americans should think twice.

it broke my heart, like i told you the last time, we need immigrants in this country. this is a country of immigrants. i am hoping by this case we will realize that and give these people a chance. amy: alina das. you mentioned the importance of organizing. we just got word a number of the haitian asylum-seekers intorrance and mexico have been released. you have said something like 1000 people may have been deported to to exercising the first amendment. can you talk about what happens next in jean's case and how you deal with all of these cases? >> the importance of organizing is incredible to our movement was dope we know what is happening inside the detention centers when emigrants feel they can speak out, but it is true. today, immigrants face retaliation if they speak outcome if they organize protests.

that is something we need to stop. now, thanks to people like jean, i recognize the importance of the first amendment. we've seen that in the most recent guidance and immigration officials should not retaliate against people for using and exercising their first amendment rights. but we have to see that principle be placed into action. emigrants who speak out should be protected. they should not be targets for enforcement. if they are in detention and there protesting the conditions of detention, they absolutely should be released. it is important for the entire american public to know what is happening in our immigration system. if immigrants can be silence for speaking out about their expanses, that will never happen. this is important not only for the immigrant communities, let our entire country. and for really protecting the values of our democracy. amy: jean, congratulations. welcome home, jean montrevil.

and alina das, jean's lawyer and co-director of the immigrant rights clinic at nyu school of law. that does it for our show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. ço

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