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For Immediate Release
September, 24 2020, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Mana Mostatabi, mmostatabi@niacouncil.org
NIAC Statement on New Restrictions for Student Visas
WASHINGTON
Jamal Abdi, Executive Director of National Iranian American Council Action (NIAC Action), issued the following statement on new restrictions proposed by the Trump administration that would target international students, including a 2 year maximum visa for Iranian students and other nationals of countries whose governments have been designated by the U.S. as state sponsors of terrorism:
"Donald Trump's white-nationalist administration is once again demonstrating its zealous hostility toward immigrant communities, including the Iranian-American community. Give this administration more time, and there will be zero visas issued to Iranians and other Muslim and African nations.
"We are rushing down the slippery slope of national bigotry with the apparent goal of cutting all immigration from Iran and other black and brown countries. It started even before Donald Trump came into office, with Kevin McCarthy and Congressional Republicans inserting discriminatory restrictions into the Visa Waiver Program targeting dual nationals. It continued in Trump's first week in office with his Muslim ban, which is now being expanded. That ban was struck down by the courts several times until it eventually narrowly survived judicial review based in part on the inclusion of waivers for Iranian students. This act now effectively negates that waiver.
"The Trump administration has added ban on top of ban on top of ban, making it next to impossible for Iranians and others to see their families or pursue their dreams. This is not what our country, which is supposed to be a beacon of freedom and equality, stands for. We need to listen to Trump when he tells us that he wants to ban people based on religion, bar people from voting based on their race, or refuse to accept a peaceful transfer of power next year. He is un-American, and unfit to be President. Voters need to defeat him November 3 and ensure he leaves office."
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 2002 to give voice to the Iranian-American community. From being the trusted voice on U.S.- Iran relations, to pushing forth legislation that protects individuals of Iranian heritage from systematic discrimination, to celebrating our cultural heritage, NIAC creates a lasting impact in the lives of the members of our community.
(202) 386-6325LATEST NEWS
Is Bernie Sanders Launching a Third Party? 'Not Right Now, No'
"Real change in this country will come about when an organized working class leads the fight for justice," the Vermont senator said in a new interview.
Nov 27, 2024
An email Sen. Bernie Sanders sent to supporters this past weekend fueled speculation that he could be laying the groundwork for a new political party in the wake of Democrats' crushing defeat in the 2024 election.
But in an interview with The Nation's John Nichols published Tuesday, Sanders (I-Vt.) said that he's not considering forming a party to challenge the entrenched Democratic and Republican establishments—at least not at the moment.
"Not right now, no," Sanders told Nichols, who asked the senator directly about his email to supporters and whether he intends to create a new party.
The senator argued in the email it is "highly unlikely" that the Democratic leadership will "learn the lessons of their defeat and create a party that stands with the working class and is prepared to take on the enormously powerful special interests that dominate our economy, our media, and our political life."
Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate, told Nichols that while he's not currently backing the creation of a new party, he is making the case that "where it is more advantageous to run as an Independent, outside of the Democratic primary process, we should do that." He also emphasized the need for more working-class candidates across the country.
"Real change in this country will come about when an organized working class leads the fight for justice. We need working-class candidates to help us do that."
The senator said the upstart campaign of Independent Dan Osborn—a union steamfitter who launched an unexpectedly close challenge to two-term Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) while shunning the state's Democratic establishment—"should be looked at as a model for the future."
"He took on both political parties," Sanders said of Osborn, who outperformed Vice President Kamala Harris by 14 percentage points in Nebraska and is now launching a PAC aimed at helping working-class candidates run for office.
"He took on the corporate world," Sanders continued. "He ran as a strong trade unionist. Without party support, getting heavily outspent, he got through to working-class people all over Nebraska. It was an extraordinary campaign, and it tells me that the American people are sick and tired of seeing the rich getting richer. They think billionaires dominate both political parties. They want real change, and Dan's campaign raised those issues in a very significant way."
Since Trump's victory earlier this month, Sanders has been scathing in his assessment of the current state of the Democratic Party and its long-term trajectory as it hemorrhages working-class support.
"The Democratic Party is, increasingly, a party dominated by billionaires, run by well-paid consultants whose ideology is to tinker around the edges of a grossly unjust and unfair oligarchic system," Sanders told Nichols. "If we are ever going to bring about real change in this country, we have got to significantly grow class consciousness in America."
In his email over the weekend, Sanders wrote that Democratic leaders "are much too wedded to the billionaires and corporate interests that fund their campaigns," making them reflexively hostile to the kinds of transformative changes needed to "build a multi-racial, multi-generational working class movement" with the power to challenge the nation's deeply unequal economic and political status quo.
"How do we recruit more working-class candidates for office at all levels of government? Should we be supporting Independent candidates who are prepared to take on both parties? How do we better support union organizing?" Sanders asked in the email. "These are some of the political questions that, together, we need to address. And it is absolutely critical that you make your voice heard during this process."
"Not me. Us," he added, reprising the central message of his 2020 campaign. "That is the only way forward."
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New Biden Rule Would Rein in Medicare Advantage. Will Dr. Oz Let It Stand?
"There's every reason to expect the Trump administration to block these proposed rules from moving forward," warned Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman.
Nov 27, 2024
The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled a new rule aimed at reining in privatized Medicare Advantage plans, which have drawn growing federal scrutiny for denying coverage claims en masse—sometimes using artificial intelligence—and overbilling the government to the tune of tens of billions of dollars per year.
But the proposal could soon be fed through the buzzsaw of the incoming Trump administration, which is likely to have an outspoken Medicare Advantage supporter, Mehmet Oz, at the helm of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Biden's CMS said in a fact sheet released Tuesday that the new rule would ensure MA companies make enrollees aware of their right to appeal coverage denials. CMS pointed to data showing that MA plans, which now cover more than half of the Medicare-eligible population, "overturn 80% of their decisions to deny claims when those claims are appealed."
"These data also show that a low percentage of denied claims are appealed, meaning many more could potentially be overturned by the plan if they were appealed," CMS added.
The rule would also look to constrain MA plans' deceptive marketing practices and "use of inappropriate prior authorization." Prior authorization is a byzantine process under which providers must demonstrate that a proposed treatment is medically necessary before the insurer will cover it.
"The big question, of course, is what will the Trump administration do with these rules? Will they side with patients needing treatment or care-denying big insurers?"
Robert Weissman, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, welcomed the new rule as a "common-sense" measure that would "limit" some of the damage inflicted by MA plans, which are notorious for denying patients necessary care.
"The big question, of course, is what will the Trump administration do with these rules? Will they side with patients needing treatment or care-denying big insurers?" Weissman continued. "Unfortunately, despite its populist pretensions, there's every reason to expect the Trump administration to block these proposed rules from moving forward. Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump's nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is a major proponent of expanding privatized Medicare, with nary a worry about privatized Medicare's rampant abuses and rip-offs of taxpayers."
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, vowed Tuesday that he will "be watchdogging the incoming Trump administration to ensure there is no backsliding on these critical consumer protections and coverage improvements."
Oz, a long-time television personality known for hawking unproven treatments, has been characterized as a "shill" for MA, a program funded by taxpayers and run by for-profit insurance companies.
As recently as August, Oz boosted Medicare Advantage on his YouTube account, as New York magazine reported earlier this week:
In August, Dr. Mehmet Oz's official YouTube account posted a video titled "Get $0/Month Medicare Coverage: What You Need to Know," in which Oz lays a sales pitch on his viewers. "Which of these items can you get for zero dollars?" he says, pointing to images of a coffee cup, a pack of gum, and a newspaper, as if quizzing a toddler on the pictures in a children’s book. "Or how about a health insurance plan?" he says. If you've ever watched daytime television, you know how the next part goes: Oz reveals he was, indeed, talking about the health insurance plan, and the studio audience erupts into applause. He then brings out an insurance agent to paint a rosy portrait of Medicare Advantage before ending with a call to action, encouraging any seniors in the audience to call in to a special phone number or visit a website to learn more and enroll.
During his 2022 bid for a U.S. Senate seat, Oz campaigned on a proposal he called "Medicare Advantage for All"—while owning stock in UnitedHealth Group, the nation's largest MA insurer.
Oz's support for Medicare Advantage aligns with the Project 2025 agenda, which calls for making MA the default enrollment option for U.S. seniors—an existential threat to traditional Medicare. Such a sweeping change would hugely benefit UnitedHealth and other private insurance giants.
"Project 2025's plans for Medicare, seconded by Dr. Oz, will end Medicare as we know it, and leave seniors to the tender mercies of dishonest and debased private insurance plans," The American Prospect's Robert Kuttner warned Tuesday. "What's insidious is that none of these changes require legislation. The best we can hope for is that the sunlight of exposure of these schemes will act as a disinfectant."
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Israel Agrees to Cease-Fire With Lebanon's Hezbollah—But What About Gaza?
"It has long been clear that a cease-fire in Gaza is crucial to sustain any lasting cessation of hostilities across the region," said one group.
Nov 26, 2024
Peace advocates on Tuesday cautiously celebrated Israel agreeing to a cease-fire with the Lebanese political and paramilitary group Hezbollah while also stressing the need for an immediate end to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
Despite concerns about whether the truce will actually happen, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a U.S.-based Quaker group, welcomed the plans for it and called on "all parties to ensure this agreement is swiftly enacted."
"The time for peace is now—not just in Lebanon, but in Gaza and across the region," FCNL declared on social media. "We urge U.S. officials to ensure this agreement brings an immediate end to the Israeli government's devastating and indiscriminate bombing and attacks against Lebanese civilians, which have been fueled by U.S. weapons."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that the National Security Cabinet approved the cease-fire in Lebanon with a 10-1 vote—only far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir voted no. The office added that "Israel appreciates the U.S. contribution to the process, and reserves the right to act against any threat to its security."
Netanyahu said in a speech to Israelis that "the length of the cease-fire depends on what happens in Lebanon. With the United States' full understanding, we maintain full freedom of military action. If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack."
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden said that he worked with French President Emmanuel Macron to negotiate the cease-fire, which is set to begin at 4:00 am local time on Wednesday. The United States has spent at least tens of billions on Israeli military operations and related U.S. operations in the region since the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas led the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
"As Biden spoke tonight, Israel was raining U.S. bombs down on Lebanon and Gaza," notedDrop Site journalist Jeremy Scahill.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday thanked France and the United States for negotiating the truce, which he said is "a fundamental step towards establishing calm and stability in Lebanon" and "helps to establish regional stability." He also reiterated his government's intention to "strengthen the army's presence in the south."
Cross-border battles between Israeli forces and Hezbollah over the past nearly 14 months have displaced tens of thousands of people in Israel and over 1 million in Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday that Israel's assault—which has intensified since September—has killed at least 3,823 people and injured another 15,859.
In Gaza, the death toll is at least 44,249, with 104,746 wounded, according to local officials. Israeli forces have also decimated civilian infrastructure and displaced most of the enclave's 2.3 million residents, who are struggling to access necessities, due to limits on aid. Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court last week issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas leader.
"It has long been clear that a cease-fire in Gaza is crucial to sustain any lasting cessation of hostilities across the region," said FCNL. "More violence and suffering in Gaza will not make Israel, the U.S., or anyone safer or more secure. It must end now. We reiterate our calls for our government to use all U.S. leverage to bring about a full regional cease-fire to end the horrific suffering of Palestinians, protect all civilians, return all hostages home, de-escalate regional tensions, and begin the long road toward healing."
"That must include prohibiting more offensive weapons shipments and U.S. military involvement, which would send a message of impunity to the Israeli [government] in the face of repeated and grave violations of U.S. and international law in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, and beyond," the group added—just days after a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate rejected a trio of resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would have halted some arms sales to Israel.
Nancy Okail, president and CEO of the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, responded similarly to the Tuesday development, saying in a statement that "we welcome news of a cease-fire agreement in Lebanon and hope that it can be implemented and sustained to prevent further harm to civilians who have been under threat of attack or suffered other great loss during the fighting."
"This agreement nonetheless comes too late. While Israel has the right to legitimate self-defense against Hezbollah, the Netanyahu government's deliberate escalation of the conflict in September resulted in disproportionate harm to civilians, hundreds of whom have been wounded or killed, with hundreds of thousands more displaced," Okail said. "Mixed messages and prevaricating by the Biden administration on its position on Israel's escalation and the need for a cease-fire [have] further prolonged the fighting and exacerbated the death and destruction it has brought."
"The U.S. and its partners must ensure that the terms of this agreement are fully honored so that civilians on both sides of the border can safely return to and rebuild their communities," she added. "What remains of the utmost urgency, however, is also ending the war in Gaza, where the U.S. arming of the Netanyahu government's campaign of displacement, starvation, slaughter and—per the repeated vows of senior Israeli officials—settlement continues in violation of American and international law."
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