June 20, 2010

Broadcast Date: 
Jun 20 2010

City Council member Brad Lander on how to preserve a progressive New York City; Alto Arizona organizes against SB 1070, Arizona's draconian anti-immigration law; plus, a rare U.S. Supreme Court decision that benefits immigrants.

Episode segments
  • Preserving a Progressive New York City
    New York Politics, Health Care, Education
    Brad Lander is a member of the New York City Council and co-chair of the newly formed progressive caucus.
    Esther Kaplan

    New York City is reeling from the one-two punch of the Great Recession and  New York State's budget crisis.  Severe cuts are in the offing for a wide range of essential services-- education,  libraries,  public pools,  adult literacy classes,  senior centers, fire companies. We talk with Brad Lander about what these cuts mean for our City and some revenue generating measures that should be (but aren't currently) on the table.

  • Israel Plans Its Own Commission of Inquiry
    Israeli Politics, Israel/Palestine, Occupation
    Richard Silverstein's blog is Tikkun Olam
    Esther Kaplan

    Israel's internal commission of inquiry into the attack on the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, "lacks adequate international weight to make the panel credible," according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Blogger Richard Silverstein talks with Beyond the Pale about why, from the commission chair, Justice Yaakov Tirkel, to its "independent" international observer, David Trimble , "the fix is in."

  • Organizing Against Arizon's SB 1070 Anti-Immigration Legislation
    National Politics, Domestic Policy, Civil Rights
    Pablo Alvarado is Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
    Esther Kaplan

    On July 14th, Arizona will become the first state to require that immigrants carry identity documents showing that they are in the U.S. legally.  Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network talks with us about Alto Arizona, the national campaign to resist SB1070 and efforts to craft a more just and humane immigration policy.

  • U.S. Supreme Court Decision Aids Green Card Holders
    National Politics, Domestic Policy, Civil Rights
    Benita Jain is an immigration lawyer and Co-Director of the Immigrant Defense Project.
    Esther Kaplan

    The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act placed thousands of immigrant green card holders at risk for deportation because of minor criminal convictions.  But this June, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder,  held that a lawful permanent resident who is convicted of minor drug possession offenses does not warrant classification as having been convicted of an "aggravated felony" and thus cannot be deported without an opportunity to make a case for why he should be allowed to remain in the United States. We talk with Benita Jain about the impact of the 1996 law on thousands of immigrants and their families and why this decision is so important.