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Immigration Crackdown: 1,200 Undocumented Workers Detained
Across U.S.
Democracy Now! Interviews New Orleans Mayoral Candidates
Mitch Landrieu and Ray Nagin
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii
to Iraq
Immigration Crackdown: 1,200 Undocumented Workers
Detained Across U.S.
In what is being called one of the largest immigration crackdowns
in recent U.S. history, 1200 undocumented workers from 26
different states were rounded up and detained late Wednesday.
We take a look at the unprecedented immigration raids and
the ongoing struggle for immigrant rights. [includes rush
transcript]
We look at the ongoing struggle around immigration rights
in this country. On Wednesday evening, immigration authorities
rounded up almost 1,200 undocumented immigrants in 26 states
in what law enforcement officials say was the culmination
of a year-long criminal investigation. The authorities raided
the offices and plants of the company IFCO Systems North America
which is based in Houston, Texas and makes wooden pallets
and crates. Among those arrested were seven current and former
managers who were charged with conspiracy to transport, harbor
and encourage illegal immigrants to reside in the United States
for commercial and financial gain. The managers face up to
10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each undocumented
worker. Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff made the
announcement of the arrests yesterday morning.
- Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security speaking
April 20, 2006.
The arrests come on the heels of the massive rallies in support
of immigration rights that have taken place in the last month.
The rallies are a response to proposed federal legislation
that would turn millions of undocumented immigrants into criminals
and would fence off sections of the U.S border with Mexico.
In Chicago, which held some of the earliest protests, it is
estimated that up to 60 people were arrested last night in
the raids and were held at the Broadview Detention Facility
on the city's Southwest Side.
- Jorge Mujica, one of the lead organizers for the March
10 protest in Chicago that drew up to 300,000 people. A
former journalist and union organizer, Mujica has worked
for La Raza, Univision, and Telemundo, and has been involved
in union organizing in both the US and in Mexico.
Democracy Now! Interviews New Orleans Mayoral Candidates
Mitch Landrieu and Ray Nagin
On Saturday, New Orleans will hold a primary for what is
being considered the city's most important mayoral race ever.
Voting rights activists fear tens of thousands of Hurricane
Katrina evacuees living out of state will be unable to vote.
We speak with Mayor Ray Nagin and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu.
[includes rush
transcript]
On Saturday, New Orleans will hold a primary for what is
being considered the city's most important mayoral race ever.
Protests surrounding the vote have been taking place for
months. Voting rights activists fear tens of thousands of
Hurricane Katrina evacuees living out of state will be unable
to vote. Efforts were made to set up satellite voting locations
in cities like Houston or Atlanta but a federal judge rejected
the idea. Evacuees living out of state have been given two
options: attempt to vote by absentee ballot or spend hours
driving to a polling location inside Louisiana.
Two weeks ago, Democracy Now! traveled to New Orleans and
we caught up with Ray Nagin as well as one of his chief opponents,
Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. Landrieu is the brother of U.S. Senator
Mary Landrieu and the son of Moon Landrieu, the city's last
white mayor.
We asked Mayor Nagin about his concerns that the vast majority
of African American evacuees from New Orleans may not be able
to vote in the upcoming mayoral election.
- Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans.
Earlier this week the Army Corps of Engineers announced the
levees had been restored to pre-Katrina strength. But the
Corps admitted that armoring of the levees probably won't
take place until the end of the hurricane season.
While in New Orleans, we also caught up with Nagin's top
opponent, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. We spoke outside the historic
African-American church St. Augustine.
- Mitch Landrieu, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana.
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from
Hawaii to Iraq
Author Stephen Kinzer discusses his new book, "Overthrow:
America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq."
In it, he writes that the invasion of Iraq "was the culmination
of a 110-year period during which Americans overthrew fourteen
governments that displeased them for various ideological,
political, and economic reasons." [includes rush
transcript]
"The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was not an isolated episode.
It was the culmination of a 110-year period during which Americans
overthrew fourteen governments that displeased them for various
ideological, political, and economic reasons."
So writes author Stephen Kinzer in his new book "Overthrow:
America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq."
Kinzer writes that "The "regime change" in
Iraq seemed for a time -- a very short time -- to have worked.
It is now clear, however, that this operation has had terrible
unintended consequences. So have most of the other coups,
revolutions, and invasions that the United States has mounted
to depose governments it feared or mistrusted."
- Stephen Kinzer, author of "Overthrow: America's
Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq." He is
a former New York Times foreign correspondent and author
of several books, including "All the Shah's Men"
and "Bitter Fruit."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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