Fears grow that coronavirus is taking hold among immigrants in US custody as three children test positive
wsws.org | 2020-03-28
Adult and child detainees living in cramped quarters, herded into cafeterias and denied basic sanitation are facing the very real possibility of an escalated rate of contagion.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/28/chil…

Webinar: Coronavirus: Time to End US Sanctions on Iran
Peace Action Massachusetts | indybay.org | 2020-03-28
Online webinar via ZOOM…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/25/18831820.php

DOJ Seeks to Exploit Coronavirus Emergency to Detain People Indefinitely
Marjorie Cohn | zcomm.org | 2020-03-28
Throughout U.S. history, presidents have exploited national emergencies to exceed their constitutional powers…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/doj-seeks-to-exploit-coronavirus-emergency-to-detain-people-indefinitely/

Know Your Rights during COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
National Lawyers Guild | indybay.org | 2020-03-28
While the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates public health measures to reduce the impact of the virus on our communities and health care systems, we must be vigilant and resist authoritarian and violent tendencies.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/28/18831875.php

Migrants in California Are Unprotected Against Covid-19 Effects
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-27
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) Friday denounced that migrants in California are at greater risk of contracting Covid-19 because they lack legal protections. | RELATED: | US Senate Passes $2 Trillion Bill to Front COVID-19 Crisis | A survey of 1,222 Latin Americans, which this NGO carried out between March 12 and 14, revealed that the Covid-19 has worsened the situation of immigrants. | For this reason, CHIRLA asked the Californian authorities to include immigran…
telesurenglish.net/news/us–immigrants-in-california-alone-facing-covid-19-20200327-0006.html

With a Quarter of the World's Population Under US Sanctions, Countries Appeal to UN to Intervene
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-27
Eight countries, representing around one-quarter of all humanity, say that Washington's actions are undermining their response to the COVID–19 pandemic sweeping the planet.
mintpressnews.com/coronavirus-quarter-worlds-population-under-us-sanctions-appeal-to-un/266096/

US Senators Request to Ease Sanctions Against Venezuela, Iran
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-27
U.S. Senator Christopher Murphy and 10 other lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin urging them to alleviate the sanctions that the U.S. keeps against Iran and Venezuela amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | The U.S. Harasses Venezuela Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic | "We are writing to express…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Senators-Request-to-Ease-Sanctions-Against-Venezuela-Iran-20200327-0002.html

Covid-19: UN Chief Appeals for Solidarity With Developing World
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-27
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday appealed for solidarity with developing countries in stemming the COVID-19 pandemic. | He argued that the international community will be helping itself by helping developing countries deal with the crisis. | RELATED: | US Senators Request to Ease Sanctions Against Venezuela, Iran | If one looks at what has happened until now with COVID-19, the main crisis, with one or two exceptions, has occurred in countries that have huge capacit…
telesurenglish.net/news/Covid-19-UN-Chief-Appeals-for-Solidarity-With-Developing-World-20200327-0011.html

B'Tselem: "During the Coronavirus crisis, Israel confiscates tents designated for clinic in the Northern West Bank"
BIICFHRIOT | imemc.org | 2020-03-27
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights In The Occupied Territories (B'Tselem): Communities Facing Expulsion: On Thursday, 26 March 2020, at around 7:…
imemc.org/article/btselem-during-the-coronavirus-crisis-israel-confiscates-tents-designated-for-clinic-in-the-northern-west-bank/

Protect 'healthcare heroes' from COVID-19, urges UN rights expert
news.un.org | 2020-03-27
States and business leaders must step up efforts to ensure that the selfless doctors, nurses, first-responders and other medical professionals working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic receive adequate protective equipment, a UN rights expert said on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060502

Asylum Seekers Stranded in Mexico Face a New Danger: COVID-19
Ashoka Mukpo | aclu.org | 2020-03-26
Since the Trump administration first unrolled its policy of forcing migrants to wait in Mexico for their asylum hearings, advocates have been warning that the practice places them in danger. Now, the global coronavirus outbreak is putting an exclamation point on those warnings and adding a new, frightening layer of risk into the lives of asylum…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/asylum-seekers-stranded-in-mexico-face-a-new-danger-covid-19

Colombian prisoners ask for medical help and receive bullets
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-26
The National Prison Movement (Movimiento Nacional Carcelario) and other prisoner rights groups called a demonstration in Colombian prisons on March 21, to protest the lack of protection against the COVID-19 virus and the general lack of decent healthcare in the Colombian prisons. Twelve Colombian prisons answered the call for a 'cacerolazo,' a protest where one bangs on pots and pans to make enough noise so that the protest is heard. | The protest in the prison Carcel Nacional Modelo de Bogotá began at 9 p.m. on March 21. The prisoners were mostly on lockdown in their cells and began banging on their pots and pan…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/26/colombia…

PCHR Calls upon Palestinian Government to Find Mechanisms to Protect and Support the Poor and Low-Income Families in light of the State of Emergency in the Gaza Strip
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-03-26
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) follows up on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip in light of the state of emergency announced to limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). PCHR warns of catastrophic deterioration in the living conditions of the Gaza Strip population if the state of …
imemc.org/article/pchr-calls-upon-palestinian-government-to-find-mechanisms-to-protect-and-support-the-poor-and-low-income-families-in-light-of-the-state-of-emergency-in-the-gaza-strip/

Now Is the Time to Cancel Sanctions on Iran
Brian Cloughley | iranian.com | 2020-03-26
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has often declared that he considers himself to be a devout evangelical Christian, and in November 2019 told the New York Times Magazine that the Bible "informs everything I do." Given that his religious convictions are based on the Bible, he is doubtless familiar with the command from Philippians 2: 4 that everyone should "look not …
iranian.com/2020/03/25/now-is-the-time-to-cancel-sanctions-on-iran/

SPLC and allies seek federal court injunction in system-wide suit to protect people detained by ICE from contracting COVID-19
splcenter.org | 2020-03-25
The SPLC and its allies asked a federal court today to issue a preliminary injunction requiring that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) take immediate steps to protect people in its custody, particularly those who have medical conditions making them more susceptible to serious illness and death from COVID-19.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/25/splc-and-allies-seek-federal-court-injunction-system-wide-suit-protect-people-detained-ice

UN rights chief urges quick action by governments to prevent devastating impact of COVID-19 in places of detention
news.un.org | 2020-03-25
COVID-19 has begun to strike in prisons, jails and immigration detention centres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned on Wednesday, as she urged Governments "not to forget hose behind bars" and to protect those working in closed facilities in their overall efforts to contain the pandemic…
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060252

Deflection: Pompeo Issues '5 Facts' Claiming Iran Exported COVID-19 To "At Least 5 Countries"
Zero Hedge | iranian.com | 2020-03-25
As even Britain is urging its close US ally to moderate its stance on Iran sanctions as the Mideast country's death toll surges from the coronavirus pandemic, the Washington-Tehran tit-for-tat exchanges and blame game over Covid-19 continues unabated. Yesterday Pompeo issued a new list of five allegations of how Iran's leaders have handled the outbreak. Notably, this featured the …
iranian.com/2020/03/24/deflection-pompeo-issues-5-facts-claiming-iran-exported-covid-19-to-at-least-5-countries/

"Humanitarian Solidarity": Even Under U.S. Sanctions, Cuba Sends Doctor Brigade to Italy and More
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-24
As Italy's death toll soars past 6,000, Cuba has sent medical brigades to combat COVID-19. Cuba has also deployed doctors to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada. "The arrival of a medical brigade from Cuba to Italy is pretty historic. You have a leading European nation accepting support in the form of a medical team from a small Caribbean island," says our guest, Peter Kornbluh, director of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. "It just goes to the history of Cuba's deep and long-lasting commitment to humanitarian solidarity with other cou…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/24/cuba_medi…

Business as Usual: Coronavirus, Iran and US Sanctions
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-24
Never discount the importance of venality in international relations. While pandemics should provide the glue for a unified front in response

UK, Europe & IMF Ramp Up Pressure For Trump To Ease Sanctions On Virus-Ravaged Iran
Zero Hedge | iranian.com | 2020-03-24
Reports and in some cases video began emerging last week of mass shipments of humanitarian supplies being halted and grounded by skittish EU countries worried about violating US-led sanctions on Iran. This as Iranian leaders have lashed out at Washington for ensuring a worsening coronavirus death toll through its "inhuman" sanctions. But the White House has also …
iranian.com/2020/03/23/uk-europe-imf-ramp-up-pressure-for-trump-to-ease-sanctions-on-virus-ravaged-iran/

Defectors Tell of Torture and Forced Sterilization in Militant Iranian Cult
The Intercept | iranian.com | 2020-03-24
Interviews with defectors, including several who held senior positions, offer the most detailed account to date of what life was like inside the MEK. Read the full story here.
iranian.com/2020/03/24/defectors-tell-of-torture-and-forced-sterilization-in-militant-iranian-cult/

Former ICE Director: Release Immigrants from Detention or COVID-19 Will Spread Like Wildfire Inside
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-23
Alarm is growing about the safety of more than 37,000 people held in immigrant detention centers and private jails that contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, where it is nearly impossible for them to avoid close contact to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Nearly half of those detained by ICE are accused of no crime other than civil immigration violations. Immigrants at three jails in New Jersey are now on hunger strikes over unsanitary conditions that put them at high risk during the pandemic.‚Ä®‚Ä® We hear from a detained person on hunger strike and speak wit…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/23/ice_dente…

Trump intensifies murderous Iran sanctions during COVID-19 crisis
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-23
As Iran struggles to contain COVID-19, the US has imposed new sanctions that further weaken the Iranian economy and health…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/23/trump-intensifies-murderous-iran-sanctions-during-covid-19-crisis/

This is No Time to Play Politics with our Democracy
Sonia Gill | aclu.org | 2020-03-23
Update 03/27/2020: Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus package intended to address the broad impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. While it included $400 million for states to expand access to the ballot for eligible voters, as outlined in this blog, more can and must be done to safeguard our democracy. , , To ensure elections proceed and eligible Americans can vote, any federal legislative package addressing the impact of COVID-19 on our elections must include an immediate, substantial infusion of federal funding and federal requirements for no-excuse mail-in absentee voting and early in-person voting.
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/this-is-no-time-to-play-politics-with-our-democracy

Punishing sanctions against Iran are turning the coronavirus pandemic into a massacre
Massoud Shadjareh | iranian.com | 2020-03-23
Coronavirus is a crisis. In Iran, it's a massacre – because of Trump's sanctions. Even before COVID-19, these sanctions were recognised by Human Rights Watch as undermining access to healthcare. The virus has taken lives globally but in Iran it has been particularly shocking, with hospital beds in parking lots and mass graves visible from space. Hundreds of lives have been …
iranian.com/2020/03/23/punishing-sanctions-against-iran-are-turning-the-coronavirus-pandemic-into-a-massacre/

Pakistan PM once again asks Trump to lift Iran sanctions
IRNA | iranian.com | 2020-03-22
Prime Minister of Pakistan who believes that US sanctions against Iran are cruel and unfair has once again called upon Donald Trump to lift economic sanctions from the Islamic Republic. Imran Khan in a tweet on Sunday said the people of Iran are facing untold suffering as sanctions are crippling Iran's efforts to fight COVID19. …
iranian.com/2020/03/22/pakistan-pm-once-again-asks-trump-to-lift-iran-sanctions/

How the ACLU Organized to end Racial Profiling on Greyhound Buses
Andrea Flores | aclu.org | 2020-03-20
Two years ago, the ACLU set a clear goal: push Greyhound to refuse Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers access to their buses to conduct warrantless searches. As part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, CBP officers were targeting bus passengers around the country, boarding their buses to racially profile, harass, and too often, detain people who they suspected of being undocumented. Of course, you can't tell someone's immigration status by how they look or sound

Expert: US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during pandemic could be genocidal
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-20
Intensified US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during the COVID-19 pandemic could amount to genocide, a former UN expert warns. Iran…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/20/expert-us-sanctions-on-iran-venezuela-during-pandemic-could-be-genocidal/

Grassroots effort sponsored by SPLC protects voting rights for hundreds across South Florida
splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
Clutching a clipboard full of voter registration forms under his arm, Marq Mitchell knocked on the front door of a small, beige, stucco house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/20/grassroots-effort-sponsored-splc-protects-voting-rights-hundreds-across-south-florida

Fight To Vote: Florida man's voting rights restored by Amendment 4
splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
Abdul Yaw Akachi was talking to his neighbors one sunny day in Florida when a voting rights advocate walked up to him.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/24/fight-vote-florida-mans-voting-rights-restored-amendment-4

We Know Prisons Need COVID-19 Plans, but our Arizona Prison Tour Suggests it's not Happening
Corene Kendrick | aclu.org | 2020-03-19
Earlier this month, the Prison Law Office and the ACLU National Prison Project filed an emergency motion in federal court in Phoenix. The motion asks the judge to order the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) to consult with a correctional health care expert to develop a plan to prevent, manage, and treat any COVID-19 outbreaks in the state's 10 prisons. You might think this is an obvious request, but we've spent the last decade observing the Arizona pri…
aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/we-know-prisons-need-covid-19-plans-our-arizona-prison-tour-suggests-its-not-happening

The Military Should not be Searching Cars or Checking Documents at the Border
Shaw Drake | aclu.org | 2020-03-18
There's an old saying that goes, "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." This adage is especially applicable to the Trump administration's approach toward border policy, which is ever more militarized. On March 6th, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials announced that the Department of Defense would deploy 160 active-duty troops to ports of entry at the border

[Correspondence] COVID-19 battle during the toughest sanctions against Iran
Amirhossein Takian, Azam Raoofi, Sara Kazempour-Ardebili | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly throughout the world. WHO declared the outbreak a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.1 In Iran, the first official announcement of deaths from COVID-19 was made on Feb 19, 2020. As of March 16, 2020, 14‚Äà991 people have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and 853 people have died from COVID-19. 4996 people have recovered.2…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30668-1/fulltext?rss=yes

SPLC offices, Civil Rights Memorial Center close
splcenter.org | 2020-03-14
Our work continues with fervor and is needed more now than ever.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/20/splc-offices-civil-rights-memorial-center-close

No, Venezuela does not have a six child per family policy
Joe Emersberger | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
I respect UK journalist Andrew Buncombe. As I noted for FAIR last year, he was one of the few corporate journalists who reported on a study linking Trump's financial sanctions on Venezuela to thousands of deaths by the end of 2018. Since 2018, Trump has repeatedly intensified the sanctions and threatened Venezuela with military action, Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/no-venezuela-does-not-have-a-six-child-per-family-policy/

Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group Presents "Make the Family Great Again" Petition to U.S. State Department Commission
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2020-03-13
Anti-LGBTQ hate group Ruth Institute presented a "Make the Family Great Again" petition to the State Department at its Commission on Unalienable Rights meeting Feb. 21.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/16/anti-lgbtq-hate-group-presents-make-family-great-again-petition-us-state-department

This Law Makes Voting Nearly Impossible for Native Americans in Montana
Alora Thomas-Lundborg | aclu.org | 2020-03-12
Voting has never been easy for Native Americans living on rural reservations in Montana, which are often geographically isolated, with limited access to postal service and transportation. The passage of the Montana Ballot Interference Prevention Act (BIPA) has made these obstacles even greater, severely inhibiting Native Americans' access to the ballot. That's why we're suing. | In a state where the majority of individuals vote | by mail, rural tribal communities often work with get-out-the-vote organizer…
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/this-law-makes-voting-nearly-impossible-for-native-americans-in-montana

[Commentary] Women and girls' health agency: Operationalizing the "Can-Act-Resist" of the women's empowerment process
Anita Raj | thelancet.com | 2020-03-04
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Bejing Declaration and Platform for Action