04/18/22 04/18/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we were forced out of the al-aqsa mosque and then jewish settler started to enter. after we saw two groups, we started to chant and the israel i forces tried to detain me. amy: israeli forces raided the al-aqsa mosque for the second

time in three days comment during worshipers from the third holiest site in islam. 19 palestinians were injured. we will go to jerusalem for an update from israeli researcher as well as palestinian writer and poet mohammed el-kurd. then republican-led states are enacting a wave of new abortion restrictions, with four more states just last week -- tennessee, florida, kentucky, and oklahoma. >> i promised oklahomans i would sign every pro-life bill that hit my desk, and that is what we're doing here today. amy: we'll speak with "washington post" reporter caroline kitchener about the attacks on abortion in republican-led states, while democratic governors in maryland and michigan seek to expand access. and immigrants rights advocates celebrate a win after some 40,000 cameroonians become eligible for temporary protective status.

>> these conflicts have cost the lives and displacement of thousands. some were founded here in unit state seeking refuge and freedom. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the russian military says it has launched hundreds of strikes across ukraine over the past 24 hours. russia claims it has destroyed 16 ukrainian military facilities in overnight strikes. in western ukraine, at least seven people died earlier today after russian missile strikes in the city of lviv. one blast shattered windows of a hotel housing evacuees from other parts of ukraine who had fled to lviv for safety. on sunday, five people died in a rocket attack in central

kharkiv, ukraine's second largest city. the strikes comes as russia is escalating its offensive in the donbas region of eastern ukraine. russian troops have entered the town of kreminna. in the besieged city of mariupol, ukrainian soldiers rejected a russian ultimatum sunday surrender their arms or be eliminated. russia has seized most of the strategically located port city, but some ukrainian fighters have refused to lay down their arms. during an interview with cnn, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy said no one knows how many have people have died in mariupol. >> no one knows how many people died among the silly population. if anyone gives you a figure, it will be a total lie. hundreds of thousands were evacuated. tens of thousands were forced to evacuate in the direction of the russian federation and we do not know where they are. they left no document trail.

among them are several thousands of children. we want to know what happened to them. unfortunately, there isn't any information on this. amy: on sunday, austria's chancellor karl nehammer said russian president vladimir putin believes he is winning the war. the austrian chancellor met with putin in moscow last week. during the meeting, putin defended his invasion of ukraine saying it was necessary for russia's security. on sunday, pope francis called for peace in ukraine. he said the world is marking a "easter of war." >> peace upon torment ukraine. cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged. on this terrible night of suffering and death, may a new dawn of hope soon arrive.

let there be a decision for peace. may there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering. please, please, let us not get used toward. let us commit ourselves to imploring peace from our balconies and in our streets. middle leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace. amy: during his easter address, the pope also warned about nuclear war and called for peace in jerusalem. the pope's remarks came as israeli forces raided the al-aqsa mosque in occupied east jerusalem for the second time in three days, clearing worshippers from the third-holiest site in islam. 19 palestinians were injured sunday, some of them hit by rubber-coated steel bullets. over 150 palestinians were arrested in another raid on the mosque friday. to protest israel's violent crackdn, the united arab list political party has suspended its participation in israel's coalition government led by prime minister naftali bennett,

who has already lost his majority last week. we'll go to jerusalem after headlines. we will speak with at palestinian activist and an israeli researcher. u.s. and south korean officials are expressing concern that north korea may soon resume nuclear weapons testing. on saturday, north korean leader kim jong-un personally oversaw a test of a new type of guided weapon that could be used to deliver a tactical nuclear warhead. meanwhile, the united states and south korea are beginning nine days of joint military drills. north korea has condemned the drills saying they are a rehearsal for war. in south carolina, nine people were injured on sunday as gun shots rang out at a nightclub in the town of furman. it was the second mass shooting in south carolina over the weekend, following a saturday shootout at a shopping mall in columbia that left 14 people injured.

meanwhile, police in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, are searching for suspects who opened fire on a party at an airbnb property early sunday, killing two 17-year-olds and injuring at least a dozen other people. pittsburgh officials say as many as 200 people were attending the party, many of them underage, when multiple assailants fired at least 90 rounds from handguns and at least one rifle. among the injured were people who leapt from tall windows to escape the violence. in south africa, the death toll from last week's devastating floods has risen to 443. dozens of people are still missing in the kwazulu-natal province where heavy rains triggered massive flooding and mudslides. tens of thousands of people have been left homeless. scores of hospitals and more than 500 schools have been destroyed in what's being described as one of south africa's worst natural disasters. south african president cyril ramaphosa has directly linked the floods to the climate emergency.

devastated areas included umlazi, a township near durban. >> what makes me angry is this situation is that was happening. it keeps destroying oppositions that we work hard for all the time. there are no jobs as it is. our possessions keep getting destroyed continuou floods that should be addressed by authorities so you end up hopeless because no one comes back to give your report on plans to resolve the situations in the floods keep coming back to destroy asked. amy: the biden administration said friday it will resume selling leases for oil and gas drilling on public lands. as part of its plan, the interior department will increase the royalty rate for new leases by about 50%. climate action groups say the move is dangerously out of step with u.s. commitments to curb emissions under the paris climate accord. the sunrise movement responded in a statement -- "the fact of the matter is that more drilling won't solve high

gas prices right now -- so why is biden breaking his campaign promise to stop drilling on public lands?" activists with extinction rebellion held civil disobedience actions in cities around the world over the weekend to demand governments follow through on pledges to curb emissions and stop using fossil fuels. here in new york, over a dozen people were arrested saturday as they blocked a busy manhattan intersection near the historic flatiron buildin in france, extinction rebellion activists forced the closure of a main central square in paris saturday, chaining themselves together by the neck using bicycle locks. the protesters say neither of the remaining candidates in france's run-off presidential election will help prevent climate catastrophe. >> of course we are rising up against the far right who values are violent and unacceptable for us and against a candidate for five years cast to ecology issue aside and lied. the incoming president mccrone

promised us to act for the climate. he claims to be the champion of the climate. you put in place a citizens conventions of citizens could give suggestions that will allow for greenhouse gas reductions by 40% in 2030 and in the end, nothing was done. amy: salvage crews in the mediterranean are racing to prevent an environmental disaster after a tanker carrying as much as 1000 tons of diesel fuel sank off tunisia's southeastern coast on saturday. it is tunisia's largest maritime oil disaster since 2018, when a collision between a tunisian tanker and a cyprus-flagged ship spilled hundreds of tons of fuel into the sea. in china, nearly 400 million are now living under a full or partial lockdown as china attempts to stop the spread of covid-19. in shanghai, local authorities have reported the deaths of three people with covid, the first since the city was locked down in march.

in other pandemic news, philadelphia has reinstated -- philadelphia's reinstat indoor masmandate goes into effect today. over a dozen local binesses anresidents have sued the city over the mask mandate. or sue the state of pennsylvania. tension is escalating along the afghanistan-pakistan border. on saturday pakistani airstrikes inside afghanistan killed at least 45 people. this came two days after pakistan said militants based in afghanistan killed seven pakistani soldiers in north waziristan. pakistan has accused the taliban-led government in afghanistan of allowing armed militants to use the country as a base to carry out attacks against pakistan. "the wall street journal" is reporting saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman personally helped force yemeni president abed rabbo mansour hadi to resign earlier this month,

handing over power to a new presidential council. one saudi official told "the journal" the former yemeni president is now effectively under house arrest in riyadh and his communications have been restricted. houthi rebels have refused to recognize the new presidential council. over the past six years, the u.n. estimates the u.s.-backed saudi war in yemen has killed nearly 400,000 people, many from hunger. at least 35 migrants are presumed dead after a small wooden boat capsized off the coast of libya. according to the international organization for migration, at least 476 migrants have died attempting to reach europe in -- across the central mediterranean since january. the iom said -- "the continued loss of life in the mediterranean must not be normalized, human lives are the cost of inaction." here in the united states, border authorities arrested

about 210,000 migrants trying to cross the u.s.-mexican border during the month of march. that is the highest monthly arrest total in 20 years. roughly half of the migrants were expelled under the trump-era title 42 pandemic rule, which blocks people from seeking asylum at the border. president biden has vowed to lift title 42 next month, but the decision has prompted an outcry from republican and some democratic lawmakers. meanwhile, the department of homeland security has granted temporary protected status to cameroonians living in the united states for the first time. we will have more on this story later in the program. the world's richest man elon musk is facing a new obstacle in his bid to buy twitter. on friday, twitter's board of directors adopted what's known as a "poison pill" to thwart musk's $43 billion hostile takeover. the move could allow existing twitter shareholders to buy

additional shares at a discounted price. this would dilute musk's stake in twitter and make it more expensive for him to buy the company. and the pioneering mexican human rights activist rosario ibarra has died at the age of 95. after her son was forcibly disappeared in 1975, she founded the eureka committee of the disappeared. ibarra would later become the first woman to run for president of mexico. mexico's national human rights commission described her as a "pioneer in the defense of human rights, peace, and democracy in mexico." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, an occupied east durres alum, israeli forces raided the al-aqsa mosque for the seco time in three days, clearing worshipers from the

third holiest site in islam. 19 palestinians were injured on sunday. we will also look at the increasing number of abortion bans around the country. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "everyland" by the palestinian jordanian electronic music group 47 soul. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in occupied east jerusalem, where israeli forces raided the al-aqsa mosque for the second time in three days, clearing worshippers from the third-holiest in islam. 19alestinians were injured, some were hit by the rubber-coated steel bullets.

over 150 palestinians were injured in another right at the mosque friday. on sunday, palestinians described how israeli police blocked their access to the al-aqsa mosque compound. >> we were forced out of the al-aqsa mosque after the dawn prayer and the jewish settlers started to enter. after we saw two groups of them, we started to chant and the israeli forces tried to detain me. they are invading in big numbers. during this holiday, it is known every year the jewish visitors invade the al-aqsa mosque. i'm calling on everyone to come and support us. amy: to protest israel's violent crackdown, the united arab list political party has suspended its participation in israel's coalition government led by prime minister naftali bennett, who lost his majority last week. for more, we're joined by mohammed el-kurd palestinian

, writer and poet and the palestine correspondent for the nation magazine. welcome back to democracy now! can you describe the series of events this weekend that have led to almost 170, if not more, palestinians being injured at al-aqsa? >> absolutely. thank you for hang me. over the weekend, starting on friday, must 500 palestinians were arrested by the occupation authority from al-aqsa mosque and 170 we injured. several of whom were in critical condition and several who were targeted by design. some had their cameras broken. this is not particularly unique incident. violence is the norm in occupied jerusalem.

we see this kind of escalation and violation happen constantly but it is particularly alarming, attempt tinstall a new status quo, so much of the one in hebron where palestinian muslims are forced to share their mosque, their 900 mosque with jewish settlers. it should raise eyebrows because al-aqsa and -- one of the remaining public spaces [indiscernible] al-aqsa is the third holiest site in islam but it is a social site, a political site, i swear i as a teenager used to go and studfor my tests. if we are robbed from that, in our native city, we have no more public spaces left. amy: can you talk about what led

up to what took place this weekend? >> there is a bunch of jewish groups, some of whom have fantasies of demolishing al-aqsa and installing a temple on top of it. we are calling for invasions of -- some were saying if you sacrifice a goat on the temple mount, you got some money as a reward. understand the israeli authorities are in partnership, inclusion, so they have made the situation easy for them but in no way -- this is something we see all the time. inks were becoming a lot more visible. it is an opportunity for

journalists, particularly western media, to scrub this objectively because we have been saying a lot of -- same describing the clashes, as if there is no nuclear state using these against worshipers. a mako can you talk about the far right jewish group return to temple mount that offered a reward to anyone who sacrifice a goat inside the al-aqsa mosque? >> i think the adjective here is fanatic. this is a group with some kind of religious fantasies that they are trying really hard to fulfill. to that it is an awakening of ritual. there sacrificing this animal on al-aqsa cop on or what they call the temple mount.

i don't know much about that group, particularly, but i know -- i would not call it far right. it is not a fringe group. this is an idea shared widely by settlers in jerusalem in which they want to dismantle al-aqsa and what to install a new status quo in which there is no more al-aqsa or muslim palestinians can only attend it and began it during certain times of the day. amy: can you talk about the media describing what is taking place as clashes? >> absolutely. it is as though we not sing dozens and dozens of video of israeli occupatn forces breaking windows of the mosque, as if we are not sing videos of them targeting children and beating them with batons or targeting journalists and beating them with batons.

to set up a false equivalence in which we are referring to these raids, these violations, clear violations as clashes, we are not being objective journalists. we are simply being mouthpieces for the israeli government, parroting the official israeli narrative. this has happened -- this has happened all the time. i invite journalists to take the opportunity to be objective and refer to an refer to it as such, to refer to dozens of soldiers using batons and rubber bullets and tear gas against unarmed civilians as such. there are no clashes in which the powers are not equal. amy: can you talk about the numbers of israelis and palestinians who have died in the last few weeks? >> i am not aware of the numbers, but i know in the past

three days alone, over a dozen palestinians were killed. a mother of six who was partially blind was shot down in the street for no reason other than "looking suspicious." i know young palestinians in a refugee camp have been shot and killed the past few days. i know a palestinian lawyer has been killed by the israeli occupation forces as he took his nieces and nephews tschool. i understand palestinian death is a common occurrence that does not raise anybody's eyebrows in western media. and that disparity is rysh o e e statistics show who the true victim of systemic material violence, violence backed by the

judicial system is the palestinians because we continue living under 70 years of blind criminalization, murders in the streets that robs us of our homes, that exiles us, keeps us in an open air prison. amy: i was wondering if you could talk more about the israel i raids. i'm looking at a "new york times" piece that says israeli forces have carried out a widespread campaign of raids into towns and cities across the west bank in response to a wave of recent palestinian attacks inside israel that have killed 14 people. at least 14 palestinians have been killed by israeli forces since the beginning of ramadan april 2, including a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed on sunday during one of the israeli raids in janine. mohammed el-kurd? >> the positioning of these raids some kind of retaliation is dishonest because these raids

happen whether or not palestinians commit any acts. these raids are by design part ofi's colonial violence against palestinians. i know this because we see every single day, if you look at posting new media, follow on social media company seevery simultaneous are raids -- it is only when israelis are affected come only when israelis, their sense of peace is disturbed that we have international eyes looking at the situation. amy: i would just be about your community sheikh jarrah where you have been detained as you fight to prevent homeless from being demolished there, including fighting against being forced out of your own. you and your twin sister were arrested and detained last year and a campaign to prevent the

forced expulsion of palestinians . in february, you wrote about the israeli member of parliament who decided to move his office from the knesset, from the israeli parliament, to a yard in sheikh jarrah? >> absolutely. it sounds like a bizarre circus, a politician decides to move his office into someone's backyard, but this has happened way so many times more than i can count. many other politicians have set up makeshift offices on our streets for purely political gain. it is a performance, a spectacle in which there hoping to attain some type of political popularity. this is happening -- the same politician has now decided to move his "office" from our neighbor's backyard in sheikh

jarrah to damascus. people are being attacked forcibly taking up space. i want to note this is happening in response to commity organizing in sheikh jarrah or al-aqsa mosque. on saturday and friday we have seen israeli forces attack with batons and tear gas, people with bruised eyes because of the rubber bullets. the 500 palestinians arrested, palestinian drivers were summoned to take them to detention centers. many walked away from their buses, declined to do so -- fearing no consequences.

we also saw there were hundreds of palestinians waiting outside the jail cells -- joe houses and bailing out random palestinians and taking them back home, sometimes hours away from jerusalem. this kind of community eight is also empowering and we have not seen much in american media. amy: i want to ask about the journalists that have been attacked covering al-aqsa. in ukraine, we're hearing about one journalist after another being injured, being killed. and the whole discussion by the ukrainian president zelenskyy deeply concerned by what he talks about, the occupied territories. i was wondering if you could make some comparisons. i am using the journalists as an example, but that journalist support committee documented he's really attacks on

photojournalists, and a third unnamed female photojournalist by jewish soldiers at al-aqsa. can you describe what happened and talk about the comparison as we wrap up? >> the attacks on journalists are as routine as it gets. this is a part of the israeli colonial establishment to attack journalists. if you not only resist, but merely attempt to document our violations, our crimes, then you're going to be punished. this is also outside of just physical attacks on journalists. we are sitting sanctions on palestinian journalists in many western countries. faced with accusations of bigotry. this is the same kind of attacks we are saying -- saying on social media and elsewhere. i'm not particularly interested

in making comparisons. i think everybody -- anybody with any critical thinking skills is able to look at the better contrast in which how ukrainian resistance has been met whereas palestinian resistance has been vilified. i think anybody's able to look at how rapidly the world responded to the russian occupation versus the 70 years of ongoing colonization that no one has batted and i to. amy: mohammed el-kurd, that you for being with us, palestinian writer and poet, and t palestine correspondent for the nation magazine. he is the author of a volume of poetry titled "rifqa." next up, republican-let states are enacting a wave of new abortion bans with four more states doing this just last week. stay with us.

♪♪ [music break]

amy: "home soon" by cameroonian-american musician vagabon. later in the broadcast, we will talk about cameroonians getting tps after a multiyear fight. first, we look now at how republican-led states are enacting a wave of new abortion restrictions, with four more states added just last week -- tennessee, florida, kentucky, and oklahoma. on tuesday, oklahoma's republican governor kevin stitt signed a bill that makes performing an abortion illegal, with an exception only in the case of a medical emergency. >> i promised oklahomans would sign every pro-life bill that hit my desk. that is what we're are doing here today. we want oklahoma to be the most pro-life state in the country.

we want to outlaw abortion in the state of oklahoma. amy: this comes after florida's republican governor ron desantis signed a bill banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, effectively outline the procedure. it's modeled after a mississippi abortion law that the supreme court is currently weighing and which could essentially undo roe v. wade. meanwhile in kentucky, the republican-led legislature voted to enact a similar law that has no exceptions for people who become pregnant by rape or incest. kentucky also banned abortion pills by mail, as did the tennessee republican-led house, in a bill passed thursday. meanwhile, democrat-led states like maryland and michigan are trying to expand access. for more, we're joined by caroline kitchener, national political reporter at the "washington post" where she covers abortion. her latest piece is headlined

"republicans enacting a wave of new abortion restrictions." give us a lay of the land in the united states in this lead up to the supreme court decision in june that could lead to the overturning of roe v. wade. the numbers are astounding of states that have introduced virtual abortion bans, evein the lasteek almost one a day. >> it is hard to keep track. they're doing the same thing all across the country and a republican-led states. a really important point to make is we have seen as in past years , but the past couple of years we have seen repuican-led legislatures rushing to enact extreme abortion legislation but this year is different because it actually seems like some of the most extreme, most sweeping

bills that really wipe out abortion access could actually take effect. and in the past, the kinds of bans have been blocked by the courts consistently. texas has this law that has been in place in september and supreme court is potentially poised to overturn roe. the stakes feel different this year for the kinds of legislation we are saying. amy: just described each situation. each ban. last week, for example, an oklahoma, describe what kevin stitt sighed as he said we are trying to outlaw abortion, oklahoma. >> oklahoma is really want to watch. it is one i have been paying attention to most closely because there are several bans moving through that are really concerning to abortion providers. there was the one that was gned by thgovernor last week that is a total ban. it would make seeking abortion

punishable by up to 10 years in prison by doctors who perform the abortion. but there are two others that could take effect early this week and those two i am watching very closely because i like the ban signed last week, these two could take effect with the governor's signature. that means abortion could be banned in oklahoma, this could take effect as early as this week. that is particularly significant for oklahoma because as well as affecting oklahoma patients who are trying to get abortions in the state, it also has a huge impact on patients from texas who have been coming to oklahoma more than any other state since her own abortion ban took effect in september. amy: talk about this. i don't think people realize in this country that we are talking about really internal refugees, people who have to go from state

to state like texas to oklahoma. you have really documented this, the number of hours that they have to go -- and of course, people with less means, particularly affecting communities of color, cannot afford either to take a plane or drive hours or days to get to an abortion clinic. >> absolutely. two weeks ago i was in a clinic in san antonio, texas, where abortion is banned after six weeks of pregnancy. i was in a complication room when -- i will always remember this. this woman was getting her ultrasound and the doctor told her, i'm very sry, we ca see a cardiac activity on the screen. that means you're too far along to get an abortion in texas. she just starts crying because -- he refers her to oklahoma,

but that is a nine-hour drive for her. i don't know what her situation was but you have to consider taking time off work, paying for hotels, paying for child care. for so many people, that is, like you said, not an option. amy: so you have the border state texas, people what to oklahoma but now it is virtually banned. talk about the fines and imprisonment people who perform abortions face. >> it is different state-by-state but in this oklahoma bill -- i should say the law that is be signed obama doesn't take effect until this summer. that one would make it a crime to perform abortion punishable up to 10 years in prison. we are saying different things across the state like in texas, there is only civil penalties. you can only get sued rather than actually going to prison.

i think it is fairly likely if the supreme court does decide to overturn or significantly rollback roe in the decision affected the summer, i think this quite likely we will see more of this criminalization. amy: and in kentucky, yet the democratic governor, governor beshear, vetoing the abortion ban and now is veto this past week was overturned by the kentucky legislature. talk about what has been past eir. >> kentucky was when i think initially did not get as much media coverage as some of the others because it wasn't an all-out ban. the bill is really sweeping package of restrictions that clinics have come out and said -- the two clinics in the state,

they're oy two, have said, look, with all of these restrictions, it is impossible for us to providebortion. abortions have not been happening since that took place last week. that one wasn't an all-out ban but in effect, it has the same effect. we will s what is going to happen. that law has been challenged. we will see how that plays out in the courts. amy: i want to go back to texas where the starr county district attorney said last week he would drop charges against lizelle herrera, a 26-year-old latina woman who was arrested on murder charges, accused of causing the "death of an individual through a self-induced abortion." her arrest triggered mass outrage and reproductive justice advocates quickly mobilized

across texas to raise money for her $500,000 bond. she was released from jail saturday evening, hours after activists with the rio grande valley-based la frontera fund held a protest outside the starr county jail in the state capital austin. this is one of the organizers. >> should have been filled with our fury. not just in texas, but all over this country. that should have been filled with people raising hell, refusing to let these fascist politicians go on with business as usual. untracked overturn roe v. wade -- the supreme court is on track to overturn roe v. wade and there will be no rights for legal abortion in this country a new -- [indiscernible] the status of women across in

this country. amy: because of the public outcry, she was released and the local prosecutor dropped the charges. you had a fascinating exposé that just came out last week. talk about the prosecur involved and who he is. >> the first thing i want to say, my first instinct when i heard about this was, what is going on? what is the law they're basing this arrest on? a lot of people heard texas come heard abortion, people being arrested for an abortion company thought about the abortion law thats been in place there since september. but you cannot arrest somebody -- it deals with civil liability. it only is against the people who perform th abortion, not who got the abortion. what is going on? there is a law in texas statute

that says you cannot charge somebody -- you cannot charge a pregnant mother with woman for aborting her pregnancy. we really wanted to dig into the system -- district attorney and figure out what is going on here. it is still hard to say. we don't have any great answers but i what we learned from sources under the legal community in starr county, it seems like this is the case -- a democratic d.a. in a democratic county who acted much to peacefully and really did not know the law and was eager to make a splash before his reelection. is hard to say what happened here. i think the important point to make is this individual case could have huge sweeping effects on how pients you'd abortions,

especially in the o grande valley, feel about it. i talked to abortion providers who were concerned the patients were going to see this headline, woman arrested for murder for having an abortion, and it would be too scared to seek medical attention and to scared to talk with these providers honestly about what happened in the situation. we definitely could be seeing more of this kind of thing down the road depending on how the supreme court rules. amy: i want to underscore what you found in or scoop that the lawyer in south texas who represented lizelle herrera's husband in divorce proceedings filed on april 7, the same day she was arrested for murder, is one of five prosecutors who works in the das office that charged her with murder? yes. so that moment is the same.

she works in the district attorney's office and she was representing lizelle herrera's husband. i don't have much more beyo that that i can share with you, bu certainly, we spoke to legal experts who were concerned about the conflict of interest. amy: caroline kitchener, i would -- good about the attempt to curtail access to the morning-after pill, the abortion pill. >> we are saying that all across the country. the fda in december announced they were taking away a lot of the restrictions that have limited distribution of the abortion pill saying you can do it by mail, by telehealth. republican legislators i have talked to were upset about that and wanted o use this legislative session to take more sweeping action specifically

against the pillow and medication abortion. so we have been saying that -- kentucky has been taking the most extreme action so far. amy: interestingly what happened in southern texas, going back to the case of lizelle hernandez, happening in the district of henry cuellar, who i believe is the only or one of the only antiabortion democrats and there is a runoff election where he is up against jessica cisneros in a very close runoff election for congress that is taking place, what, may 24. the signifance of this? >> he was the onlhouse democrats to vote against the protection act in september that was a bill that would have classified roe into law was not he voted against it and now this is this happening and happening in texas were abortion has been

banned after six weeks. that race is one to watch to see how our people responding these kinds of laws, how democrats are responding to these kinds of laws, and how that will play out. amy: a correction, the name of the woman who was released in the murd charges dropped is lizelle herrera. caroline kitchener, thank you for being with us. thank you for your reporting. national political reporter at "the washington post" where her most recent piece we will link to is "republicans enacting a wave of new abortion restrictions." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's show with a rare victory for human rights. facing mounting pressure from immigrant justice advocates, the biden administration has granted temporary protected status, or tps, to cameroonians living in the united states. an estimated 40,000 cameroonians are eligible to apply for the

relief, which would protect them -- shield them from deportation and grant them permission to work in the u.s. for at least 18 months. in a statement, homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas said -- "the united states recognizes the ongoing armed conflict in cameroon, and we will provide temporary protection to those in need." cameroonian advocates and supporters have been fighting for years for this protection, denouncing the u.s. government for deporting asylum seekers to cameroon as the country reels from an ongoing armed conflict. deportees have faced serious including torture, rape, and violations including torture, rape, and arbitrary arrests. in february, human rights watch released a report tracing the whereabouts of at least 80 cameroonians deported from the u.s. between 2019 and 2021, despite saying they feed for their lives.

>> at the end of it all, it was just a motive to extort money from my family because we had pay a ransom of 2 million francs, which is about $4000 u.s. amy: many of the asylum seekers also accused immigration and customs enforcement, ice, of medical neglect and gross mistreatment while in custody. black immigrant justice advocates have condemned the racist u.s. immigration system that realizes haitians cameroonians, and asylum seekers , from other african nations while welcoming white ukrainian refugees with open arms as they flee russia's invasion. in a statement, the undocublack network said -- "at a time when the discourse around the moral obligation to welcome those fleeing conflict zones has taken center stage, the continued deportation of cameroonians to an active war zone felt especially cruel." while joining us now from irvine, california, by daniel tse, co-founder of the cameroon

advocacy network. welcome to democracy now! this is such a significant win because cameroonians and allies have been fighting for this for years. do you believe this came because of the clear double standard that came out when the u.s. granted ukrainians temporary protected status and cameroonians is that what about us? close thank you so much. first of all, our prayers to the families of north carolina and people across the was an the world who are seeing an escalation of violence and 70 atrocities around the world. -- so many atrocities around the world. the secretary of the homeland security [indiscernible]

we have been advocating for years for tps to to long-lasting sociopolitical tension and conflicts going on right now. 4.4 million people -- the administration to quickly protection to our committee members from ukraine afghanistan . we stand in solidarity with them but that protection was supposed to be for everybody who is experiencing the situation. america this is so significant -- amy: this is so significant what is taking place, th level of your group another cameroonian and allied groups advocacy. but, daniel, if you could tell us your own story. you were imprisoned in the

united states for a year as you file for political asylum? >> yes. i came to the united states as a refugee and asylum seeker about three years ago and i have been to the system. i know what people are facing because i have been through it. it is personal to me. amy: what happens to the many cameroonians and what number do you have on the cameroonians who have been deported? we just talked about what happens to them when they -- some of them when they go back to cameroon. two they get to apply again? can they fly back into the united states? close we have to be clear because it is image people like to put out there but it -- the protection is only for those who

are here present in the united states as of friday the 15th. the 40,000 people are seeking protection to live dignified lives to prevent them from deportation, to provide for themselves and have opportunities to give back to the community. it is only for cameroonians who are present in the united states. as you mentioned, we are pleading and begging -- a recent report in collaboration with human rights watch documented in 2020 this deported -- [indiscernible]

this is why we are crying. the conditions back home are terrible. we don't know if those deported are still alive today. we are praying do not deport these people because they will be treated as such. those are present -- amy: ukrainians re granted temporary protected status, what, the 30,00living in the united states, about a week after russia invaded. you have been fighting for this for years for cameroonians. talk about what they face at home. >> so cameroon, we have been fighting for so many years.

advocates have been fighting for 60 years. [indiscernible] formed as a priory for tps for cameroon. so much violence and human rights violations out of meroon right now. but those who don't know, majority of the country's french -speaking. there's been so much conflict that has impacted the region as a result over a million people have been internally displaced while thousands have fled the country. the key crisis i would love to highlight, what we call that anglophone crisis.

or than 400,000 people internally and so much vlence does clashes against groups -- complete danger. so much violence. people are being displaced, killing innocent kids going to school. across incomes. crackdown from people to speak freely. gross human rights violations. amy: can you talk about cameroonians you said being abused by ice guards and also bein forced to sign consent for deportation papers, daniel? >> the system has been noted for

so much violence. was leaked of how a migrant was being tortured severely by detention officers. last year during the deportatns going to cameroon, we were able to talk to some of the people who are on the flight how ice forced them to sign deportation papers. fingerprints put on e documents were false. they wereut in a position -- put out a report that exposes this treatment. people were being brutally forced to sign deportation -- like amy: we have five seconds. >> [indiscernible]

nobody wants to be in detention. ice forced people. amy: i want to thank you so much for being what this and congratulations on your victory for cameroonians getting úúñçñqñqñqñqññññ#ñ#ww

ñ?ñ? ♪♪♪ lisa millar: for years, it's been an open secret. vincent doyle: as long as you have priests, you will have children of catholic priests. lisa: catholic priests who've broken their vow of celibacy to become fathers. michael patrick: i knew he was a priest when i was a child, but i couldn't tell them that i knew because i was a big secret. lisa: we talk to the children who've been pressured to stay quiet and suffered in silence. sarah thomas: this is just the tip of the iceberg, what we know at the moment. i think priests'hildren as a group want to be acknowledged. they want to be on the map. they exist. they're not collateral damage. lisa: some are speaking out for the very first time.