SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
"This map sheds light on the heavy repression suffered by protesters around the world—and it is terrifying."
Amnesty International on Tuesday launched a new flagship global campaign, Protect the Protest, by publishing an interactive digital map "that exposes the shocking rise in the repression of protesters by states across the globe."
The "first-of-its-kind" map, says Amnesty, shows "how governments treat protests as a threat rather than a right and how law enforcement officials view their role as being to suppress and subdue protesters rather than to facilitate their rights."
"As a result," the group notes, "thousands of people are being unlawfully dispersed, arrested, beaten, and even killed during demonstrations. They also face devastating consequences afterward, just for participating in protests."
"Thousands of people are being unlawfully dispersed, arrested, beaten, and even killed during demonstrations."
The map also "reveals how many countries misuse less lethal weapons such as tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and batons to harass, intimidate, punish, or drive away protesters, shutting down their right of peaceful assembly."
Amnesty military, security, and policing researcher Patrick Wilcken said in a statement: "Peaceful protest is a right, not a privilege, and one that states have a duty to respect, protect, and facilitate. However, the right to protest is increasingly under threat, with authorities using unlawful force against people in over 85 countries."
"From abusive use of force, arbitrary arrest and detention, to torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, and state-sanctioned killings, this map sheds light on the heavy repression suffered by protesters around the world—and it is terrifying," he added.
Elizabeth Campos, an activist from Angola's Movement for Women in Politics, told Amnesty that "when we attend protests, the experience is always one of near death. We leave, but we are not sure if we will return to our families."
"It is a country where democracy only exists on paper," she added. "Protests can turn very violent, so every time I return to my daughters and grandsons, I celebrate. We constantly suffer from institutional violence in my country."
According to Amnesty, "intersecting forms of discrimination, from age to gender to race, make it more difficult" for many people to protest, with "women, LGBTI people, gender-nonconforming people, children, and young people [facing] specific challenges when it comes to participating in protests safely."
"By working together and ensuring that everyone—including the most discriminated against—can participate in protests equally and without fear of violence, we can create a more just and equal world," the group added.
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Amnesty International on Tuesday launched a new flagship global campaign, Protect the Protest, by publishing an interactive digital map "that exposes the shocking rise in the repression of protesters by states across the globe."
The "first-of-its-kind" map, says Amnesty, shows "how governments treat protests as a threat rather than a right and how law enforcement officials view their role as being to suppress and subdue protesters rather than to facilitate their rights."
"As a result," the group notes, "thousands of people are being unlawfully dispersed, arrested, beaten, and even killed during demonstrations. They also face devastating consequences afterward, just for participating in protests."
"Thousands of people are being unlawfully dispersed, arrested, beaten, and even killed during demonstrations."
The map also "reveals how many countries misuse less lethal weapons such as tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and batons to harass, intimidate, punish, or drive away protesters, shutting down their right of peaceful assembly."
Amnesty military, security, and policing researcher Patrick Wilcken said in a statement: "Peaceful protest is a right, not a privilege, and one that states have a duty to respect, protect, and facilitate. However, the right to protest is increasingly under threat, with authorities using unlawful force against people in over 85 countries."
"From abusive use of force, arbitrary arrest and detention, to torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, and state-sanctioned killings, this map sheds light on the heavy repression suffered by protesters around the world—and it is terrifying," he added.
Elizabeth Campos, an activist from Angola's Movement for Women in Politics, told Amnesty that "when we attend protests, the experience is always one of near death. We leave, but we are not sure if we will return to our families."
"It is a country where democracy only exists on paper," she added. "Protests can turn very violent, so every time I return to my daughters and grandsons, I celebrate. We constantly suffer from institutional violence in my country."
According to Amnesty, "intersecting forms of discrimination, from age to gender to race, make it more difficult" for many people to protest, with "women, LGBTI people, gender-nonconforming people, children, and young people [facing] specific challenges when it comes to participating in protests safely."
"By working together and ensuring that everyone—including the most discriminated against—can participate in protests equally and without fear of violence, we can create a more just and equal world," the group added.
Amnesty International on Tuesday launched a new flagship global campaign, Protect the Protest, by publishing an interactive digital map "that exposes the shocking rise in the repression of protesters by states across the globe."
The "first-of-its-kind" map, says Amnesty, shows "how governments treat protests as a threat rather than a right and how law enforcement officials view their role as being to suppress and subdue protesters rather than to facilitate their rights."
"As a result," the group notes, "thousands of people are being unlawfully dispersed, arrested, beaten, and even killed during demonstrations. They also face devastating consequences afterward, just for participating in protests."
"Thousands of people are being unlawfully dispersed, arrested, beaten, and even killed during demonstrations."
The map also "reveals how many countries misuse less lethal weapons such as tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and batons to harass, intimidate, punish, or drive away protesters, shutting down their right of peaceful assembly."
Amnesty military, security, and policing researcher Patrick Wilcken said in a statement: "Peaceful protest is a right, not a privilege, and one that states have a duty to respect, protect, and facilitate. However, the right to protest is increasingly under threat, with authorities using unlawful force against people in over 85 countries."
"From abusive use of force, arbitrary arrest and detention, to torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, and state-sanctioned killings, this map sheds light on the heavy repression suffered by protesters around the world—and it is terrifying," he added.
Elizabeth Campos, an activist from Angola's Movement for Women in Politics, told Amnesty that "when we attend protests, the experience is always one of near death. We leave, but we are not sure if we will return to our families."
"It is a country where democracy only exists on paper," she added. "Protests can turn very violent, so every time I return to my daughters and grandsons, I celebrate. We constantly suffer from institutional violence in my country."
According to Amnesty, "intersecting forms of discrimination, from age to gender to race, make it more difficult" for many people to protest, with "women, LGBTI people, gender-nonconforming people, children, and young people [facing] specific challenges when it comes to participating in protests safely."
"By working together and ensuring that everyone—including the most discriminated against—can participate in protests equally and without fear of violence, we can create a more just and equal world," the group added.
"It is long past time for DACA recipients, and so many others, to have a pathway to citizenship," said one migrant rights advocate.
Migrant rights advocates vowed to keep fighting after a federal appeals court on Friday dealt a blow to a program providing work permits and deportation relief to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children—shortly before the Monday inauguration of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who campaigned on mass deportations.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has been ensnarled in legal battles since it was first introduced by the Obama-Biden administration in 2012. Friday's ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit stems from Republican-led states challenging the Biden-Harris administration's attempt to strengthen the program in 2022.
In 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen from the Southern District of Texas found that the DACA rule from the previous year was unlawful and issued a nationwide injunction, though he left the program in place for current recipients. On Friday, the panel partly agreed but limited the injunction to Texas and blocked its decision from taking effect pending further appeal.
"We demand Congress find a way to urgently pass permanent protections for as many people as possible."
"The ruling restores DACA in 49 states, providing temporary relief for thousands of young people who study, work, and contribute to our nation. And all current DACA recipients remain protected, and able to renew their DACA grants, until this case concludes its journey through the courts," explained Nina Perales, vice president of litigation at MALDEF, which represents DACA recipients—often called Dreamers, due to related federal legislation that's never made it through Congress.
MALDEF president and general counsel Thomas A. Saenz said that "the panel's overreliance on the 5th Circuit's previous flawed analysis of standing and of the legality of DACA in its entirety make this decision itself ill-informed and nonconforming with respect to current federal law. Thus, we will be carefully considering, with our clients, the best options for preserving the work authorization (and forbearance) of all DACA recipients and DACA-eligible immigrants."
Saenz added that the panel's unanimous decision "presents squarely the question to be answered by Congress and the new administration: Will you finally accede to the expressed desires of bipartisan supermajorities of voters nationwide to preserve and protect the national asset that is made up of our DACA recipients and other DACA-eligible immigrants?"
Advocates for Dreamers, including some Democrats in Congress, also criticized the panel's ruling and called for legislative action.
National Immigration Law Center president Kica Matos
said Friday that the "ruling, just days before Donald Trump takes office, adds to the cruel uncertainty that immigrant youth have endured throughout years of politicized attacks on DACA."
"We also recognize that the incoming administration is likely to resume its assault on DACA and immigrant youth," Matos continued, referencing the Trump-Pence administration's effort to kill the program. "We will confront these attacks with the same force we used to defeat Trump's last attempt to end DACA. It's past time for politicians and courts to stop playing games with the lives of immigrant youth."
FWD.us president Todd Schulte said the new decision "is important and should be read in full," stressing that even the conservative court "made clear in its ruling the deep value of DACA by highlighting that ending the policy would do substantial harm to DACA recipients."
"A few weeks ago, President-elect Trump made welcome comments acknowledging that providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers is the best path forward for our country," he noted. "He now has a unique opportunity to protect DACA recipients and secure permanent protections for Dreamers."
"First, he should ensure that DACA stays in place by continuing to enact the policy as president and not supporting litigation against it," Schulte argued. "Second, he should also work with Republicans and Democrats to pass narrowly targeted legislation that specifically provides Dreamers the permanent protections that are best for them and all Americans."
"No one should have to live their life from court decision to court decision, nor in two-year increments. DACA has transformed the lives of so many. It is long past time for DACA recipients, and so many others, to have a pathway to citizenship," he added. As of October, there were over 537,000 active DACA recipients, according to federal data.
Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream, said that the panel's decision "continues to baselessly attack immigrant young people, while also proving that our communities are essential to the economy and the future of the United States. This is why the 5th Circuit Court has kept renewals alive."
The advocate, who is undocumented, asserted that "the court's insistence on attacking DACA is especially concerning given" that 10 Senate Democrats on Friday joined Republicans in advancing the Laken Riley Act, "a bill that will put the lives of millions of people in danger of racial profiling as well as inhumane and indefinite detention."
"All the while, Trump is set to take office in just two days, pledging to carry out destructive mass raids and deportations quickly and forcefully," she pointed out. Late Friday,
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump-Vance administration is set to begin its promised deportations on Tuesday with an operation targeting residents of Chicago, Illinois.
"The pieces of Trump's destructive agenda have been laid out clearly," said Martinez Rosas. "Congress cannot continue to willfully ignore Trump's goal to target as many immigrants as possible and wreak complete havoc on families, cities, local economies, workplaces, and more nationwide. We demand Congress find a way to urgently pass permanent protections for as many people as possible, and for elected officials at every single level—from governors, mayors, and more—to seize every opportunity to reject Trump's agenda now and immediately shore up protections for immigrants nationwide."
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement about the Friday ruling that "the 5th Circuit is a renegade court. To say DACA is unconstitutional is not only cruel but way out of the mainstream of legal thinking."
"President-elect Donald Trump has said that he wants to do 'something about the Dreamers' and that he will work with Democrats on a plan, something I will take him up on while he is in office," he pledged.
Schumer wasn't alone. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said the "terrible" ruling "is another harsh reminder of the constant uncertainty DACA recipients face," while Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)—who has fought for Dreamers on Capitol Hill for over two decades—declared "the 5th Circuit DACA decision creates a force that will require a Washington response."
Even Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who helped Republicans tee up the Laken Riley Act for a final vote next week, said that "I strongly disagree" with the ruling and called for a legislative fix.
In the House of Representatives—also narrowly controlled by Republicans—Democrats similarly urged action. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants whose district includes part of Chicago, said that the ruling "only adds to the uncertainty and fear of countless immigrant and mixed-status families."
"If you are eligible, renew your DACA—don't wait!" she said. "To our Dreamers—¡Esta lucha no termina aquí! The fight continues until each of our immigrant neighbors has the safety, stability, and dignity they deserve."
"It's a performance with serious costs for immigrant communities," said one critic. "And it's a performance to help sell their greater authoritarian agenda."
Citing four unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's administration intends to start delivering on his long-promised mass deportations with "a large-scale immigration raid" in Chicago, Illinois that "is expected to begin on Tuesday morning, a day after Trump is inaugurated, and will last all week."
"The Trump team intends to target immigrants in the country illegally with criminal backgrounds—many of whose offenses, like driving violations, made them too minor for the Biden administration to pursue," according to the newspaper. "But, the people cautioned, if anyone else in the country illegally is present during an arrest, they will be taken, too."
After considering which "sanctuary cities" to target, "they settled on Chicago both because of the large number of immigrants who could be possible targets and because of the Trump team's high-profile feud with the city's Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson," the Journal detailed. "Large immigrant centers, such as New York, Los Angeles, Denver, and Miami, are also in the incoming administration's sights, and more targeted raids could come."
The Trump transition team, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and representatives for Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker did not respond to the paper's request for comment, but the Democratic governor on Saturday circulated "know your rights" resources from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights on his social media accounts and pledged to "protect those rights and ensure our state laws are followed."
Every family and child deserves to feel safe and secure in the place they call home. Every resident of Illinois should know their rights. I intend to protect those rights and ensure our state laws are followed.
[image or embed]
— Governor JB Pritzker ( @govpritzker.illinois.gov) January 18, 2025 at 12:36 PM
As that resource sheet notes, people questioned by ICE officers have the right to remain silent, and the federal agency's officers must have a warrant signed by a judge to enter a private residence without consent.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that "Beatriz Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor for immigrant, migrant, and refugee rights, warned City Council members of the impending street sweeps during a series of virtual briefings Friday" and advocates are "organizing 'know your rights' workshops and distributing cards in Latino neighborhoods with bilingual information on residents' legal rights."
Under the Welcoming City Ordinance, the Chicago Police Department does not document immigration status or share information with federal immigration authorities. WGN9 pointed out that "Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Park District, and Community Colleges of Chicago have all been directed not to allow ICE access into any of its buildings."
According to The New York Times, which spoke with two unnamed sources and obtained related correspondence, "hundreds of agents were asked to volunteer" for ICE's "Operation Safeguard," and the agency plans to send roughly 150 agents to Chicago.
Tom Homan, Trump's incoming "border czar" and former acting director of ICE, previewed the administration's targeting of the Illinois city while attending a Northwest Side GOP holiday party last month, telling other attendees that "Chicago's in trouble because your mayor sucks and your governor sucks," and if Johnson "doesn't want to help, get the hell out of the way."
The reports about the massive raids in Chicago confirmes much about the mass deportation regime. 1 Homan is in charge 2 raids are weapon to be selectively wheeled at political opponents - yes it’s about targeting the undoc but also the Dem mayor 3 the staged performance is their key objective
[image or embed]
— Zachary A Mueller ( @zacharyamueller.bsky.social) January 18, 2025 at 10:16 AM
In a social media thread about the reported plans for Chicago, Zachary Mueller, senior research director at the advocacy group America's Voice, said that Trump's administration "will parade out some number of immigrants who have committed serious crimes, to sell the lie that this is about protecting the American people. It's not."
"Don't fall for their trap," Mueller continued. "There will be arrests in other cities to say that this is not weaponized raids as [a] political attack on political opponents. But the [performance] to instill widespread fear is the point. Fear to immigrant communities. Fear to any elected official not in a major city of the cost of speaking out."
"Homan wants a confrontation. They want to perform the narrative for their audience they are taking it to the 'enemy within," Mueller added. "It's a performance with serious costs for immigrant communities. And it's a performance to help sell their greater authoritarian agenda."
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, responded similarly, saying Friday: "The actual operation described in the piece (100-200 agents) seems not that unusual for ICE (Google Operation Cross-Check). Expect a PR blitz, though."
"Not to diminish... the impact, but from [the Journal's] reporting it seems that the scale of this is entirely precedented. ICE has done similar operations in the past. This seems mostly about generating media," Reichlin-Melnick explained.
"As many people have said, it is going to take time for the Trump administration to ramp up immigration enforcement," he added. "In the meantime, however, they are going to basically slap a 'mass deportation' logo on the side of every regular ICE operation."
In addition to sounding the alarm over how Trump's mass deportations are expected to impact the estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States and their families, migrant rights advocates and experts have warned that the plan, if fully implemented, "would deliver a catastrophic blow to the U.S. economy."
Although Trump won't be president again until his Monday inauguration, Republicans on Capitol Hill are already pushing forward the GOP's anti-migrant agenda, with help from some Democrats in Congress. On Friday, 10 Democratic senators voted with Republicans to advance the Laken Riley Act, setting it up for a final vote next week.
Those 10 Democrats are Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), and Mark Warner (Va.). Gallego and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who did not vote on Friday, also co-sponsored the bill.
"The process displayed by Democrats during the Laken Riley Act legislative debate is an alarming first sign of acquiescence to Donald Trump and Stephen Miller," said America's Voice executive director Vanessa Cárdenas, referring to the family separation architect set to serve as the president-elect's homeland security adviser and deputy chief of staff for policy.
"Greenlighting a massive increase in unnecessary detention and empowering the radical anti-immigrant state attorneys general is deeply harmful and undermines the solutions we need," she stressed. "Despite Donald Trump's victory and the prominence of his vicious anti-immigrant pledges, a strong majority of the American public prefers a balanced approach to immigration, involving both border security and legalization for undocumented immigrants, instead of mass deportation."
According to Cárdenas' group, a coalition of nearly two dozen organizations including Families for Freedom, United We Dream, and multiple state arms of Make the Road are launching a nationwide week of action scheduled to begin Monday in California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
"While this temporary cessation of fighting and bombing must be both respected and long-term, this is only the beginning of addressing the immense humanitarian, psychological, and medical needs in Gaza."
As Israel's military continued its 15-month assault that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and decimated the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed that early Saturday the full Cabinet approved a recently announced cease-fire and hostage-release deal that is set to take effect at 8:30 am local time Sunday.
The 24-8 vote on the three-phase deal negotiated by Egypt, Qatar, and the outgoing Biden and incoming Trump administrations came after the Security Cabinet endorsed it on Friday.
Later Saturday, Netanyahu said that "we will be unable to move forward with the framework until we receive the list of the hostages who will be released, as was agreed. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. Hamas is solely responsible."
Since negotiators announced the agreement on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have killed over 100 more Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health's figures.
Gaza health officials said Saturday that the Israeli assault has killed at least 46,899, with another 110,725 wounded since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. More than 10,000 people remain missing in the Palestinian region reduced to rubble, and experts warn the official death toll is likely a significant undercount.
"The temporary cease-fire agreement in Gaza is a relief, but it arrives more than 465 days and 46,000 lives too late," Doctors Without Borders said in a Saturday statement. "While this temporary cessation of fighting and bombing must be both respected and long-term, this is only the beginning of addressing the immense humanitarian, psychological, and medical needs in Gaza."
"Israel must immediately end its blockade of Gaza and ensure a massive scale-up of humanitarian aid into and across Gaza so that the hundreds of thousands of people in desperate conditions can begin their long road to recovery," added the group, also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières. "The toll of this hideous war includes the obliteration of homes, hospitals, and infrastructure; the displacement of millions of people that are now in desperate need of water, food, and shelter in the cold winter."
After reaching a cease-fire deal to stop Israel's assault on Lebanon late last year, the IDF was accused of violating it with continued strikes allegedly targeting the political and militant group Hezbollah.
According to Drop Site News: "Egyptian media reported the formation of a joint operations room in Cairo, with representatives from Egypt, Palestine, Qatar, the United States, and Israel, to oversee the Gaza cease-fire and 'ensure effective coordination and follow up on compliance with the terms of the agreement.'"
Israel—whose troops have been armed by the United States—faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its war on Gaza and the International Criminal Court in November issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.
After the Israeli Security Cabinet's Friday decision, Kenneth Roth, the former director of Human Rights Watch, said: "Keep in mind that a cease-fire is NOT an amnesty. Senior Israeli officials must still be prosecuted for genocide and war crimes. Otherwise, governments could commit atrocities with impunity by simply agreeing to a cease-fire at the end."
This post has been updated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's later Saturday statement.