Border Crisis, Mexican Election, Poor People’s Campaign

As Trump Border Crisis Continues, For-Profit Private Prison Companies Lobby for Harsh Policies
Interview with Karina Moreno, assistant professor with Long Island University’s School of Business, Public Administration and Information Sciences, conducted by Scott Harris

After weeks of growing outrage, protests and government agency confusion, President Trump issued an executive order on June 20, reversing the policy he initiated to separate children from their immigrant parents seeking asylum or refuge in the U.S. However, only about 500 children have been reunited with their parents in the week after the executive order, leaving over 1,500 families still separated. Disturbingly, there are signs that both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) still do not have a viable plan in place to locate and bring children back to their mothers and fathers. Story continues
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Polls: Mexicans Ready for Change Will Elect Progressive Candidate Lopez Obrador President
Interview with Laura Carlsen, director of the Americas Program with the Center for International Policy, conducted by Scott Harris

The people of Mexico, angry about a political elite that they believe has done little or nothing to address the critical issues of a weak economy, rampant corruption and drug violence, appear ready to shake up the status quo and elect progressive candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador president of the nation in a Sunday, July 1, vote. Some 18,000 other federal, state and municipal offices will also be filled that day, making this year’s election the largest in Mexico’s history. It’s also been Mexico’s most violent election cycle, with more than 120 candidates having been murdered since September 2017. Story continues

Thousands Gather at Poor People’s Campaign Rally, Vowing to Continue Fight for Social Justice
Excerpt of speech by the Rev. William Barber at June 23 march and rally in Washington, D.C., recorded and produced by Melinda Tuhus

After six consecutive Mondays of “moral witness” in almost 40 states across the U.S., more than 1,000 local activists were arrested in civil disobedience actions as they rallied for an intersectional approach to the nation’s problems as part of the new Poor People’s Campaign. This year’s campaign comes 50 years after the action Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was organizing when he was assassinated in 1968. In addition to King’s original “triple threats” of protest targets of systemic racism, poverty and militarism, this year organizers added two additional threats — ecological devastation and our distorted national morality. Story continues
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This week’s summary of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon
Teachers and parents in Puerto Rico won a brief reprieve as a judge blocked the government’s move to close nine public schools in the island’s northeast and rural districts. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ravaged by Hurricane Maria and a decadelong debt crisis, has ordered the closure of 25 percent of all public schools on the island due to falling enrollment. It’s estimated that the planned closures will displace 60,000 students. (“Puerto Rico Looks at School Reform,” Christian Science Monitor, April 17, 2018; “Judge Halts 9 School Closures in Puerto Rico,” AP, June 12, 2018; “Puerto Rico’s Schools Are in Tumult, and not Just because of Hurricane Maria,” New York Times, June 1, 2018 )
In response to Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, congressional Republicans have turned their attention to environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, alleging that they may be advancing the interests of Russia and China. (“Is that Environmental Group a Pawn of Beijing? Nonprofits Wary of Being Branded ‘Foreign Agents,” Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2018)
Canada will become the second nation in the world after Uruguay, to legalize marijuana this October. The move is a major victory for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who says that undercutting the black market for the drug through taxation and limiting sales to government stores is among his goals. (“Senate Passes Pot Bill, Paving Way for Legal Cannabis in 8 to 12 Weeks,” CBC, June 19, 2018; “Canada Just Legalized Marijuana. That Has Big Implications for US Drug Policy,” Vox, June 21, 2018; “Canadians Brace for Cultural Changes as Marijuana Becomes Legal,” New York Times, June 20, 2018)

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