Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2026-05-08 Friday

Episode Date: May 8, 2026

Headlines for May 08, 2026; Trump Pushes to Take Over Elections, Punish His Enemies: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Reporter Ned Parker; Amid Growing Abuse at ICE Jails, Rep. Adelita Grijalva Calls to Shut Down Trump’s Detention Network; “They Don’t Care”: Trump’s Border Wall Construction Damages 1,000-Year-Old Sacred Indigenous Site; “Absolutely Vulnerable”: Over 20,000 Global South Ship Workers Stranded at Sea Due to Iran War

From Minneapolis and Chicago, this is Democracy Now. Reuters uncover efforts by elements of the federal government to probe the limits of state power and administering elections. This included investigations into the 2020 election efforts to inspect voting machines and investigations into voter fraud, hoping to find evidence of. non-citizens voted. With the November midterm elections less than six months away, President Trump's moving to take greater control over elections in at least eight states. We'll speak to investigative journalist Ned Parker. He also just won a Pulitzer Prize this week for his reporting on Trump's targeting of

political enemies. Then to Arizona Congressmember Adelita Grahava, this week she went inside two ice. jails. This is not about safety. It is about private businesses making a ton of money off the backs of our immigrant community. As a mom of three kids, I don't know how else to describe the look in other mom's eyes when they don't know what's going on with their babies. It's traumatizing. Dilley has to close, but so do all the other facilities. And we'll talk to an indigenous elder in Arizona, where construction crews building a second border wall have destroyed a portion of a 1,000-year-old Native American archaeological site in the Sonaran Desert.

Finally, to an often forgotten group of workers caught in the middle of the war on Iran, over 20,000 seafarers who've been stranded on ships for over two months. All that and more coming out. Welcome to Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman in Minneapolis. President Trump's insisted the ceasefire with Iran is holding after U.S. forces exchanged drone, missile, and gunfire with Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf. U.S. Central Command said it's responding to what it called unprovoked attacks,

while Iran said it had retaliated after U.S. Navy ships targeted an oil tanker in Iran's territorial waters. A spokesperson for Iran's armed forces said U.S. Air Force said U.S. Air Force. strikes hit civilian areas in southern Iran. Meanwhile, air defenses were activated in the capital Tehran, where multiple explosions were reported overnight. In a call with ABC, President Trump described the U.S. bombings as a love tap and insisted the ceasefire is still ongoing. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Arachir, G, condemned the attacks writing, quote, Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless moment.

military adventure, he said. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates says it intercepted several drones and missiles launched from Iran. A new report finds authorities in the UAE have arrested and deported up to 15,000 Pakistani workers, many of them Shia Muslims, without formal charge. New Lines magazine reports many of the workers were deported with little more than the clothes on their backs without being given the opportunity to withdraw money from banks or settle their financial affairs, even after spending years or decades working in the UAE. Meanwhile, an estimated 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Persian Gulf amidst the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

This is an Indian sailor who returned to India Thursday after he spent weeks trapped at an Iranian port while U.S. and Israeli missiles and drones exploded around his ship. We did not have internet and there was no way to communicate with our families back home. We were quite tense and our relatives also were under a lot of duress back home. Subsequently, even getting food became difficult. Around 200 people, Indians are still stranded there. Later in the broadcast, we'll speak with representatives of two maritime workers' unions. An Israeli airstrikes targeted an ambulance in southern Lebanon,

killing a paramedic and leaving another wounded. The killing was one of 12 reported by Lebanon. Health Ministry Thursday with two children among the dead. Meanwhile, Israel's issued forced evacuation orders to a dozen more villages in southern Lebanon. The UN warns over half of Lebanon's 5.8 million people are in need of humanitarian aid after Israeli strikes since March, killed at least 2,700 people and displaced over a million from their homes. The Trump administration's imposed more sanctions. against Cuba, ignoring warnings from the United Nations, which denounce the U.S. fuel blockade

on the island as energy starvation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday, the new sanctions target an enterprise group linked to the Cuban military that oversees significant portions of Cuba's economy. Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luis Anasya Lula de Silva met with President Trump at the White House Thursday. Lula later spoke from the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D.C., where he said Trump privately signaled he had no plans to launch a U.S. military operation on Cuba. If he needs help to discuss Cuba's situation, I am at his disposal, because I heard, if the translator is right, that he said he is not thinking of invading Cuba.

That was said by the interpreter, and I think it's a great sign. In Mali, at least 30 people were killed in a series of attacks reportedly carried out by Al Qaeda-affiliated fighters. This comes after armed Taurag separatists last month joined fighters with an al-Qaeda-linked affiliate in a massive coordinated attack on the capital of Bamako, as well as four other cities across Mali. Tennessee's Republican-dominated state legislature Thursday approved a new congressional map that breaks up a decades-old district in the majority black city of Memphis into three Republican-leaning districts. Governor Bill Lee promptly signed the legislation into law. Republicans believe the new map will help their party sweep all nine of Tennessee's house seats. The legislation passed after Democratic lawmakers linked arms and walked out of the Tennessee

House chamber as protesters shouted slogans including no Jim Crow and black voting. and black votes matter. Three protesters were arrested, including Kishon Pearson, the brother of state rep Justin Pearson. This follows last week's Supreme Court ruling gutting voting rights act protections for majority black districts. New York State is preparing to ban federal agents from wearing face masks as part of a sweeping package of immigration protections included in New York's budget deal announced Thursday. The measures would also prohibit state and local officials from collaborating with ICE, ban ICE from using New York jails to detain immigrants, and prohibit agents from searching hospitals, schools, and churches without a warrant signed by a judge. In response, Trump's so-called border czar, Tom Homan, threatened to flood New York and other cities and states nationwide with federal agents if they refused to collaborate with Trump's mass deportation campaign.

Holman spoke Tuesday from a border security expo in Phoenix, Arizona. So what's going to happen in places like New York and these other people that want to pass this ridiculous legislation not to work with us? We're going to flood the zone. You're going to see more ice agents you've ever seen before. So congratulations. Because when we send these teams out there, we'll find a bad guy, most times we do. And when we find a bad guy, he's with others. others who may not be a priority target, but they're in the country legally.

There weren't people who were looking for, but we found them during these operations. Well, guess what? They're coming to. An investigation by the guardians found during the first seven months of Trump's return to office, federal immigration agents arrested the parents of at least 27,000 children, including thousands of U.S. citizens. Advocates have warned of a new family separation crisis. that could be far worse than Trump's first term. In related news, an Arizona judge has ordered the expedited deportation of the parents of an 18-year-old with terminal cancer,

who for weeks has pleaded to reunite with his mom and dad. Kevin Gonzalez was born in Chicago and a stage four colon cancer. He left Chicago and returned to Mexico after his parents were detained while attempting to cross back into the United States after the request for a humanitarian visa was denied. The couple hopes to reunite with their son, who doesn't have much time to live, but have been held in ICE custody since mid-April. Illinois Congressmember Delia Ramirez,

who represents Chicago, advocated for Kevin's parents hearing to be fast-tracked in order for them to return to Mexico and reunite with their son in his final moments. A series of leaked audio recordings has revealed the United States and Israel with support of Honduras have been involved in a scheme targeting leftist governments in Latin America. The groundbreaking investigation was led by the news outlet, the audio, red and America Latina, and the website Honduras Gate. It exposes how former Honduran president, Juan Orlando Hernandez,

with the support of current Honduran conservative president Nasrias Fuhr, President Trump and Argentina's right-wing leader, Javier Milay, had conspired to disseminate fake news with the intention to destabilize the leftist governments of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Trump pardoned Juan Orlando Hernandez in December after he was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 45 years in a U.S. prison. This comes as the independent Central American outlet El Fado said Thursday, the assets of two of its staff members, including a bank account were frozen by the government of Salvador and president, Naïbe Buckele. Since Buckele came to power, El Fado has published massive investigations into allegations of corruption and the Buckele administration's relation with some of El Salvador's most powerful gangs. Several of El Fado's journalists have been forced into exile due to threats and

surveillance from Buckele's government. Elfado director, Carlos Dada, said, quote, these are not fiscal measures. They are political measures trying to silence us, unquote. In related news, the U.S. State Department's canceled the tourist visas of several board members of Costa Rica's leading national newspaper, La Nation, over its critical coverage of Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chavez, who's a close ally of President Trump. The newspapers reported on allegations of sexual harassment and illegal campaign finance. by Chavez. The UK's health security agency says it's identified another suspected case of Hanta virus in a British national who traveled on a luxury cruise ship hit by the virus.

Three people have died since April from the Honta virus outbreak aboard the MV Andeus. For others where confirmed cases remain hospitalized. Antivirus infections are often fatal in humans. The disease is usually spread by rodents, though in rare cases, can be transmitted among people. The World Health Organization's Director of Pandemic Preparedness tamped down concerns over a global public health emergency saying, quote, this is an outbreak on a ship and we do not anticipate a large epidemic, unquote. And the Shell Oil companies reported its highest profits in years after Trump's war of choice against Iran sent global oil prices skyrocketing. On Thursday's show reported $6.9 billion in profits during the first quarter, exceeding shareholder expectations. Collectively, the six largest European

fossil fuel companies reported $22 billion in profits during the first three months of this year. This comes as a new report by the Office of Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, finds the average U.S. family with two cars can expect to pay an extra $1,750 at the pump this year compared to what they were paying before the war. Meanwhile, U.S. auto loan debt has hit a record high of nearly $1.7 trillion. On Wednesday, President Trump's senior economic advisor, Kevin Hassett, boasted to Fox Business U.S. credit card spending is through the roof. In fact, I had the head of one of the big five banks in my office yesterday going through the credit card data. And just as Secretary Besant said, credit card spending is through the roof.

They're spending more on gasoline, but they're spending more on everything else, too. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman in Minneapolis with Juan Gonzalez in Chicago. Hi, Juan. Hi, Amy, and welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world. Well, Juan, I'm really looking forward to seeing you Saturday night at the music box, the theater in Chicago, where the film about democracy now, steal the story, please, is going to screen. And we'll be together doing the Q&A after with the film's directors, T. L.S. and Carl Dio.

On to today's headlines. Tennessee's Republican-dominated state legislature has approved a new congressional map to carve up the state's only black majority district in an effort to help Tennessee Republicans secure all nine house seats. Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee quickly signed the bill into law. Similar efforts to rapidly withdraw maps are underway across southern states following the Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights Act last week. The gerrymandering is just one part of a larger Republican push to overhaul the nation's electoral system. A new investigation by Reuters details how the Trump administration seeking to gain federal control over elections in at least eight states, using investigations, raids, and demands for access to balloting systems and voter ID records. We're joined now by Reuters investigative journalist Ned Parker.

earlier this week, he and his colleagues at Reuters won a Pulitzer Prize for documenting how President Trump has used the levers of government to punish his political enemies. Ned Parker, congratulations on the Pulitzer. We want to get to that investigative series that you did. But we want to begin with your latest investigation. It's headlined how Trump is moving to control U.S. elections, one state. at a time. Start off by just laying

out how he's doing this. Right. What we did in this piece is we really examined the ways that the federal government, the Trump administration, is probing the boundaries of state and local administration of elections

by doing things such as the raid in Fulton County, Georgia in January, having a senior justice department an official contact to election clerks in Missouri to see if he would, if they could get access to their voting machines. We've also found out about investigations in Ohio by Homeland Security into voter fraud. So there are things across the board, the questioning of the Secretary of State's office in Nevada by the FBI about data related to the 2020 election.

All of this I would describe as a probing by the first. federal government about what's possible, how much more they can exert power over states and localities regarding the coming election. And it's a black box, really, how far this goes. The election experts we spoke to, they really see this as a testing of the waters. And what comes next is really an open question. And Ned, President Trump has mentioned in the past trying to federalize elections, which are clearly always have been run at the state level. But what you're seeing is a state-by-state effort to basically go under the radar? Right. Well, what we did was we documented the eight states where there have been operations.

So this is everything from the raid in Fulton County, Georgia, ongoing federal investigations in Arizona into the 2020 election, a similar effort in Nevada. And then things like a former Trump administration official, now a lobbyist, who made calls to Republican clerks, county clerks in Colorado, representing himself as working on behalf of the White House, seeking access to voting machines. And in one case, a clerk from a large county, he said he received a call from a senior cyber defense official from Homeland Security to seek access to his county. voting machines and he said no when we asked the White House about this and Homeland Security while they said that they the White House declined to comment about the lobbyist and Homeland Security basically declined to answer about whether or not there was a call from a senior cyber defense official in their agency to this local county clerk who's Republican and what's

really interesting in all of this is that you see real pressure on on local officials, certainly state officials, but on local officials. And this cuts across the board. It's a nonpartisan issue. We're talking about Republican clerks, clerks who are Democrats, people who are independent, who administer elections. And as you said, elections have always been administered by state and local officials. And what we're seeing is, is the Trump administration in some ways is seeking to relitigate the 2020 election. And they're also seeking to impose federal authority over the administration of elections, and this is the local issues we're talking about, and then things like the Trump administration's executive orders, seeking to

create a national registry of voters, seeking to require documentary proof of citizenship. There are like many, many aspects to this, a top-down effect with both Trump, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress trying to create these proof of citizenship requirements to register to vote. And then this, what we were describing as these efforts, whether with raids or contacts to local officials or investigations that are impacting officials who day and day out are just doing their jobs in counties and states. Now, your investigation also notes that at the same time the Trump administration is slashing, the budget and the staff of the cyber security and infrastructure security agency. Could you talk about what that agency's role is and why its efforts are being curtailed? Sure. Well, SISA was created

in the first Trump administration and the head of Sisa, that's the cyber defense agency. The original head was fired in 2020 shortly after the presidential election when he said that election was fair, honest, and one of the best elections in U.S. history. And since the president was disputing his successor, Joe Biden's victory, he fired the first head of SISA. And what we've seen in this term is that the very beginning of his administration, the Trump administration basically cut the budget of SISA and laid off many of its staff. Along with that, secretaries of state and other senior election officials, officials have described. how they've stopped receiving intelligence briefings about threats to elections. That has not

happened, according to them, in the first Trump, in this since Trump returned to power, was reelected. Likewise, local officials, county clerks who would receive security assessments from SISA no longer receive those, and they're having to resort to hiring contractors. So it kind of creates strain, stress. It results in the spending of money. If counties have that money to try to bolster their cybersecurity, there's a vacuum in effect and there's a sense of disfaction on the state and local level regarding services that they had received before to help create a secure environment for elections. Ned Parker, tell us about the lobbyist Jeff Small. Three clerks told Reuters he raised the possibility of White House

partnerships with their offices and discuss accessing voting machines? Right. So what we were able to confirm is that he contacted about 10 clerks, all Republican clerks in Colorado. And Small had been in the first Trump administration working in the Department of the Interior. He then worked for Congresswoman, Laura Bobert, and recently he joined a lobbying firm that works in D.C. and out west, and he did this outreach, introducing himself as working on behalf of the White House. And with some clerks, he spoke about wanting to access machines and to have a partnership with local officials. He arranged one call in one call with a clerk that we spoke to from El Paso County,

in Colorado. A senior member, the clerk said he then received a call from a senior official from SISA, the cyber defense agency, who then made the ask that other clerks say that Small had made to them. This cyber defense official asked for access to the El Paso County clerk's voting machines and talked about how he wanted a partnership between local clerks and the Trump administration to advance the president's election agenda because it wasn't moving quickly enough. That's what the clerk said. And Homeland Security, when we asked them for comment about this, they did not address the content of Small's call. They said that Jeff Small did not represent the DHS in any formal way. They didn't dispute that there was some connection, but they said there was

no formal relationship, and they did not comment on the senior cyber defense official who the clerk said had called him. But this is an example, I believe, of this kind of probing we're talking about. We also saw this in Missouri where a senior Justice Department official called to county clerks and made a similar ask, and that was in September. The calls in Colorado were in July. The calls to Missouri were in September. And what's interesting at all of this is that these clerks who are conservative, they believe, even their job, their work, and the law, and they saw these requests to access machines as violating state law, and they said no. And all of these clerks really describe an immense pressure

on them. They see elections as becoming so highly politicized, and it makes their work so much harder. And then I wanted to ask you about another investigation, and congratulations for winning the Pulitzer, you and your colleagues at Reuters on this story about the Trump administration going after its perceived enemies. You and your colleagues at Reuters documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump's leadership. Could you talk about that? Sure.

Well, thank you for the congratulations for myself and my colleagues. Yes, what we did was we created a criteria of what we would define as retribution, and that was looking at efforts to intimidate and punish opponents. of the Trump administration based upon either personal feuds or ideological feuds or attempts to just assert power. And what we found in our count of 470 targets was that it really cut across all aspects of American society. We are looking at corporations, law firms, universities, the media, politicians, former members of

the military. It was quite striking, people like Dr. Anthony Fauci. And it just showed how so much had happened so quickly where this administration had really sought to assert its dominance against people, businesses, and institutions that it viewed as enemies. So one of the people mentioned in your Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters investigation is Newark, Newark, New York. New Jersey, Mayor Ross Baraka. Last year, ICE agents arrested him outside the newly opened ice jail run by Gio Group called Delaney Hall in Newark. Mayor Baraka was there with three Democratic members of Congress from New Jersey for an

oversight tour. I want to go to Mayor Baraka speaking to Democracy Now last year. They arrested me without any evidence. Like the judge said, they arrested me as a preliminary investigation. You investigate first, then make an arrest. You don't arrest people who then investigate it. I mean, that's exactly what happened. And they fingerprinted me.

They took a mug shot. I mean, they did it twice, once up one time when I got arrested. And the other time when I was in court, you know, I think it was overkill. Something of that small, I should have got a blue summons. They could have mailed that to my house and told me to appear in court for some kind of violation. But they humiliated me. They cuffed me. They dragged me in the car.

took me to the cell. They did all of these things that wasn't warranted. It was completely unwarranted. So Ned Parker, can you talk about what happened to Mayor Baraka and also to New Jersey Congresswoman La Monica McIver, who was indicted as she tried to protect the mayor? Right. Well, and that's a great example, because all of these cases, we had to debate them as we went through every single one about was there a political motivation for these efforts at what we're calling retribution? And with the arrest of Mayor Baraka, he was, that seemed to us to be very clear. One, he had left the facility and based on different accounts and research, it seemed there had been consultations about deciding to arrest him. And then, of course, the charges were dropped. And

And with the Congresswoman, I thought what was very significant was formally the Justice Department. And it still exists, but it had a section called the Public Integrity Section that was sort of a guardrail against politically motivated investigations. And this unit was decimated this year. It went down from being in the double digits to just a handful of people. And at the time, through our own reporting and investigations, at the time of this incident in Newark, The administration had ultimately decided not to consult the public integrity section about whether or not it could target and prosecute a mayor and a congresswoman. So all of that spoke to us about how the president and his administration were flexing their muscles and trying to assert themselves on charged issues against those they would see as oppositional voices. And of course, the congresswoman's case is still.

going on. Lastly, and we just have a minute, how does President Trump retaliatory efforts compared to Richard Nixon and his notorious enemies list? Do you see these retaliatory efforts breaking from longstanding norms? Well, of course, I'm a journalist and not a historian. And each time in history and in American history is distinct. But certainly from the experts we spoke to, historians, students of political science, President Trump, and his administration, and the way they're going after their quote unquote enemies or opponents across the different sectors of American society,

it is a bending of norms in their view. I think what they did say to us regarding President Nixon is that he wasn't able to, despite his efforts to go after perceived enemies, he wasn't really able to, I suppose, use the apparatus of government in the same way to so effectively target his opponents. So that's what I would say. And we'll see where this goes from here. Ned Parker, investigative reporter Reuters.

He just won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize. We'll link to your prize-winning investigations as well as your most recent piece as you report on how Trump is moving to control U.S. elections one state. at a time. Coming up, Arizona Congress member Adelaide de Garhaava, she just went into two ice jails. We'll talk about a border wall that's destroying indigenous lands. Stay with us. Here and I remember the name on the streets of Alex Predigley in the snow and dead. Their claim was self-defense, sir. Just don't breathe whistles and phones. Streets of Minneapolis by Bruce Springsteen, performing a democracy now's 30th anniversary at Riverside Church in New York.

I'm here in Minneapolis. Juan Gonzalez is in Chicago. I'll be at the main today, which is a movie theater that's showing, steal the story, please. Then with Juan Gonzalez at the music box theater in Chicago tonight and tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. check out our website, DemocracyNow.org, then on to Milwaukee at the Oriental Theater on Sunday. This is Democracy Now. I'm Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez as the Trump administration continues to expand the ICE detention system. Concerns are growing over the widening immigration crackdown. A new investigation by the Guardian found during the first seven months of 2025, federal immigration agents arrested the parents of at least 27,000 children, including thousands of U.S.

Citizens. Advocates have warned of a new family separation crisis that could be far worse than Trump's first term. And a recent Washington Post investigation of ICE records details how guards in ICE jails are increasingly using chemical agents and physical force on prisoners, including on people simply demanding adequate water, food, and medical care. As jails grow more crowded, I noted ICE jails in the first year of the Trump administration, the post-investigation found guards turned to punching and kicking prisoners, as well as using tasers and pepper spray. Federal data shows 73,000 people were being detained by ICE in jails across the U.S. in January, a record high that's 84% higher than 2025. For more on immigrant detention and the conditions under which immigrants are being held, we go to Arizona, where we're joined by Congressmember Adelita Grajava. She visited two ICE jails this week, the Dilley family detention center in Texas,

and the ICE facility in Florence, Arizona. Congress member Grahava, thanks for joining us again. What did you find? Both facilities, Dilley, I traveled there because it's the only facility that keeps really moms and children together. I had a couple of dads with children, and I wanted to understand what was happening there. And I'd also heard from Representative Castro

about the conditions there. And so I wanted to join him. And so myself and the total of six of us went through the facility, they have an arrangement. And I think that it has to do with, you know, what Representative Castro has been able to establish as a rapport on that specific site where people can sign up to sign up

to speak to a member of Congress. I mean, it just so happened that I did have a constituent of mine in that facility, but it was just look of the draw. And what we heard about, but what we saw were completely different situations. We saw a medical facility that was pristine. Nobody, it didn't look like anyone had used it. There are 400 people there and not one person. It doesn't look like it was used ever.

we saw a huge buffet spread with this amazing food. When you talk to people, they're like, where is that food? Because the stuff that they're giving us is inedible. People are losing weight. The water is undrinkable. But according to what we saw in our little tour, people can't drink as much as they want. They can eat as much as they want.

So it was just a contradiction totally. And there are a lot of people there that are not sure where they are in this process because there's not a lot of. information being provided to anyone. The Florence Project has highlighted the really grave concerns that they have about what's happening there on that facility, medical care not being addressed. I spoke to a man who had a boot on his foot, like an orthopedic boot, and he said he was supposed to have a surgery the day after he was detained.

But all they've done is given him ibuprofen and kept the boot on. He was very concerned about what's happening. because it required surgery. There are people that have said, I have self-deported. Why am I still here? No one is telling me anything. There are a lot of really significant abuses happening. You know, just there's no rhyme or reason as to what's going on there.

And then in Florence, I didn't get to talk to anyone. It was, I did an unannounced visit. I asked specifically to look at the area. where the staging area is because that's the concerns that have come into our office about people that are in a staging area that's supposed to be no more than 72 hours

for more than two weeks. I looked at the facility. I couldn't see where people were sleeping. It could see phones, a common area like a jail. And it's eerily quiet when you walk in because all of the detention facility

is behind soundproof glass. So you see two, three hundred people, but you can't hear anybody. Congress member, I wanted to ask you also on Wednesday, former acting ICE director and Trump's so-called Bordersar, Tom Holman, spoke in Arizona at the 26 Border Security Expo, where he escalated threats against cities and local leaders who refused to participate in Trump's raids and deportation campaign. your response to homin's threats

we did see it as a threat myself and Tucson Merida Hinot O'Meda we actually did a little video just as our reaction of his threat and basically it's like there will be collateral arrest that means anyone

they're going to target people that look like me that look like workers that speak with an accent they're threatening to harass our communities and we're We're going to stand together and stand up for the people here. In Arizona, construction crews working on President Trump's expanded border wall with Mexico have destroyed a portion of a thousand-year-old Native American archaeological site in the Sonoran Desert.

The Washington Post reports bulldozers caused extensive damage to the rare 280 by 50-foot etching in the desert sand, known as the Entaglio, which holds. special significance for the Heishad-Altham people. We're also joined now by an elder of the Heishad-Altham. Lorraine Marcus Eiler is co-founder of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance and lives in the town of Ajo near the U.S.-Mexico border. Thank you so much for being with us, Lorraine. What has happened there? What is this new expanded border wall and these ancient remains being destroyed. Thank you for having me.

What has happened is that last week on April 30th, there was a group of women runners who practiced were practicing their culture came upon a place not too far from where

the intaglio is located. A place called Kita-W-Kita Pond. and so they went a little bit further just to see if they could spot the workers because they had been informed that the border wall was being worked on. And so they went further along the wall. And as they came over a rise, they saw a bulldozer coming near the Entaglio. So at that point, one of them called me and told me about what was going on and for me to alert individuals, which I did. But that person also called other officials at the Thorn Nautam Nation.

And so we were informed on that Thursday. Since then, I have found out that not only the tribe, the Donaldam Nation, but also officials from Cabezza Prieta Wildlife Refuge were also trying to decide how to protect the area and informing the workers or the Border Patrol about the importance of Vintaglio and that it. should not be disturbed. So on Thursday, late afternoon, they were still talking about how to protect the area and went home feeling that they were still working together. On Friday, for whatever reason, the contractors bulldozed the area. And it's ironic because the rest of the group were further. west where they were starting to work from that point. And so the question is, some of our questions

are, why did they leave the main group where they were supposed to start the fence? Why did they leave that area and move further up just to hit the intaglio? Because they went over the entaglio. It's a huge 200 feet long entaglio. And they messed up. up 60 to 70% I have not seen the site and I have not talked to anybody since then but since then

but the question is why did they leave their main group and come over just to just to demolish that part of the entaglio and my thought is that possibly because they don't

want to be stopped so even though they were in discussions about the protection of the Intaglio, they just ignored that and came on and bulldozed the area and then stopped. So that's a question. What can you do about this as a new, as a Congress member in the U.S. House of Representatives? We'll serve on natural resources. So we continue to have this conversation with a lot of different projects.

In this specific case, this wall cuts through sovereign ancestral lands that existed long before the U.S. Mexico border. The federal government is prioritizing this rapid construction of an unnecessary wall without any meaningful tribal consultation, as was just noted. And they're not honoring the government-to-government relationship and sacred site protection requirements at all. And many autumn families and ceremonial traditions that stand across both sides of the border. This wall is going to create a barrier for the nation. But I mean, there is no, they don't care. They don't care.

Whether that is a contracted company working with the government or federal government employees themselves, their priority based on this administration is you build the wall regardless. And they don't care. And we've heard that from the nation many times. I've had a visit in my office with Chairman Burlenthal said four times in the last month and a half. And this issue continues to come up.

Finally, we just have 30 seconds, Congressmember Gerhalva. I want to ask you about another issue as we move into our last segment on the war on Iran. 30 House Democrats, you have joined them, sent a letter this week to. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who may be running for president, urging the Trump administration to publicly acknowledge Israel's undeclared nuclear weapons. It was led by your colleague, Texas Democratic Congressmember Joaquin Castro. The lawmakers write, you write, quote, Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be fully informed about the nuclear balance in the Middle East, the risk of escalation by any party to this conflict, and the administration's

planning and contingencies for. such scenarios. We do not believe we have received that information. You are one of the people who signed on to this letter. Tell us why. Well, withholding information prevents Congress from understanding the full implications of the current conflict, including nuclear proliferation. So we have to know. And this administration has bypassed Congress at every opportunity they can. and we're demanding transparency on Israel's nuclear capabilities ending this decades-long ambiguity. Democratic Congressman Adelita Grajava of Arizona. Thank you for joining us from Tucson and Lorraine Marcus L. Ailer, elder of the Heachad-Uldom indigenous people,

co-founder of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance. Coming up, an often forgotten group of workers caught in the middle of the U.S. Israel War on Iran, over 20,000 seafarers who've been stranded on ships for over two months back in 20 seconds. Olivaio Oliada, performed by Julietta performed by Julietta Venegas in our Democracy Now studio. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org.

I'm Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez. We turn now to an often forgotten group of people caught in the middle of the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, over 20,000 seafarers who've been stranded on ships that haven't been allowed to pass through the strait for over two months. United Nations International Maritime Organization estimates at least 10 seafarers have been killed since the start of the war. These maritime workers are working class men from developing countries across the global south. They form the crews on oil tankers, container ships, and smaller support vessels. The men have been trapped on some 1,500 ships that have been unable to dock on either side of the Persian Gulf, caught between fears of war and the commercial pressures of shipping companies.

The workers have limited legal protections, unpaid for several weeks, lacking the visas to disembark in any of the Gulf countries near the ships. The men have been stuck on board for weeks with dwindling supplies of food and water. Most of them had to take out sizable loans to pay middlemen to get these seafaring jobs. Now they've been stranded in a war zone with almost no money to show for it. A few hundred men have been repatriated off the ships. Here's a man who just landed back in India after an arduous journey through Iraq, Armenia, and Dubai. We did not have internet and there was no way to communicate with our families back home. We were quite tense.

also were under a lot of duress back home. Subsequently, even getting food became difficult. Around 200 people, Indians, are still stranded there. We're joined now by two guests. Minos Yadav is General Secretary Forward Seaman's Union of India, joining us from Mumbai. And Mohamed Archetti is the network coordinator for the Arab World and Iran at the International Transport Workers Federation.

He's joining us from Bilbao, the Basque region of Spain. We welcome you both to Democracy. How about let's begin with you. We're talking about, what, 20,000 seafarers? What happens to them now? For the invitation. Well, there are more than 20,000 seafarers stranded. They are in a total, they have a deep feeling of lack of protection.

Part of the requests we do receive, we have until now in the two months after the start of the war, we have been reached out by more than 2,000 seafarers. 2,000 times reached at the ITF, the International Transport Workers Federation, that doesn't mean that it is 2,000 seafarers, it's much more, because the seafarers is talking on behalf of a group of seafarers or all the crew on board. The main problem is the big worry, absolute big worry about the situation, being aware of the situation of war, there are requests of repatriation, there are requests to be in stranded there,

in block there, there is lack of food, there is lack of provisions, there is lack of water, there is shortage of food. There are seafarers asking us that they are eating once a day. And of course, there is the other problems to which these seafarers, men and women, are exposed, have not disappeared with the war. So we have still cases of abandonment in the region. Abandonment, as defined by the maritime labor convention, seafarers who have not been paid for eight months, not paid for five months, not paid for 11 months. These are all cases that are happening

themselves. For us, these are just not numbers. Here are seafarers, civilian workers, who have the bad chance to be in the wrong place. The feefarers, men and women have not provoked this war, are not part of it, and cannot

stop it. And unfortunately, they are vulnerable because they cannot move by themselves. We have to understand that these seafarers cannot just take their backs and go to the airport. The seafarers here are just exposed and absolutely vulnerable and meet and claim protection. And, Mohamed, the global economy depends on this world shipping network. And yet many of these workers come from different countries.

The ships are under Liberian or Panamanian flags. no one actually to know nations that stand up for their workers. Can you talk about the international character of these crews? The Sifers are mostly, the majority are from the global south, so from the developing countries, India, Georgia, Egypt, Philippines, Indonesians, Myanmar. So these are the most nationalities affected. And as you have described it, rightfully described it,

Unfortunately, the flag of convenience system lacks transparency, and we are here clearly in a situation where the seafarers on board, who are necessary for the supply chains, who are necessary for the economy, we have to remember that the vessels do not run alone. The vessels go nowhere without the workforce, without the seafarers men and women on board. And now we observe that in such a situation, there is absolutely no protocol to protect them. And we are talking here about protection, about physical integrity, about physical protection.

You have mentioned in the introduction. There are more than 10, at least 10 of seafarers, 10 12 seafarers who lost their lives. And this is absolutely not acceptable. It is absolutely not acceptable that the maritime industry in the 21st century absolutely aware about this. We are not put in the human dimension. We are not put in the seafarers, the workforce, without which, I insist,

without which these vessels will not and cannot move. We cannot put their living conditions because the seafarers work and live on board. This is important to understand because the seafarers is not like us. We do our journey of work, then we go home. the seafarers stay there. And now they are, we are all seeing it live all the time.

They are exposed. They are vulnerable and they are claiming protection. Manojadav, we want to go to you for Seaman's Union of India speaking to us from Mumbai. You're in touch with seafarers and their families every day. You've said the majority want to go home. As we wrap up this discussion, talk about conditions on the ships. What's preventing more seafarers from leaving? And what is repatriation entail?

Yes, from the day this war began, we are continuously communicating with hundreds of seafarers, mainly focused on the ports of the Iran and the territory, water territory of the Iran, where the maximum damage has been done by this war. So there are hundreds of vessels, especially small vessels, as brother, Mohammed has already described what are the situation of overall situation in Middle East. But the seafarers who are mainly stranded at Iranian port and within their water territory, they were under big pressure, big threat because many of have seen continuous bombing, missile, drone, attack.

Even at a time they have reported from Bandar Abbas, they have reported from Khoramshar, Syria Island, and Lavanport, they are continuously showing initial days, they were continuously showing us on the WhatsApp video call what was the condition, where a continuous bombing was going on. In that condition, let us be very clear. The seafarers are trained for commercial vessels. They are trained for serving the onboard merchant vessel. They are not trained for the war.

And what was their mental condition during those days when they were there and continuously watching, and witnessing a continuous attack nearby their vessel. Some of them have reported very, very close to their vessel, nearly 500. So we have continuously raising the alarm, flagging the issue. Even the family members, initially after mid of March, when many sea ferrets lost the communication with their family due to shortage of internet facility.

That was the biggest issue with the family members when they were not able to communicate. That was the time what Brother Mohammed has already said. There were so many vessels which were facing shortage of food, shortage of water. Even some of them have started resigning the water. So two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon. We have handled a few cases where the seafarers have traveled from Hauramshar,

Bandar Abbas to Boussel to Armenia. It's nearly 1,800 kilometers by road. And they completed this journey till Mumbai. after taking a flight from Mumbai nearly 15 days, 20 days. They had... Manoja, we have to leave it there, but we'll continue to follow this story.

And General Secretary Ford Siemens Union of India speaking to us from Mumbai and Mohamed Arachedi with the International Transport Workers' Federation in Bilbao, Spain. That does it for today's show. I'm here in Minneapolis, where I'll be at the 1130 screening

of Steel the Story, please. The new film about Democracy Now at the main cinema, joined by one of the films, directors, Carl Deal. Then on to Chicago, I'll be at the music box theater tonight, and on Saturday after the 2.30 and 6 p.m. screenings, joined by directors Carl Deal and T.L.S. and tomorrow night with Juan Gonzalez as well on Sunday at the Historic Oriental Theater in Milwaukee. Steal this story, please tour.

Continues through May. Go to DemocracyNow.org.