theintercept--2020-05-05--K Street Requests Taxpayer Bailout of Corporate Lobbyists

soon have its own taxpayer-funded bailout .
Industries as varied as oil refining , construction , fast food restaurants , and chemical manufacturing are seeking federal cash to support their lobbyists in Washington , D.C .
Many of the largest lobbying forces are organized under the 501 ( c ) ( 6 ) section of the tax code as trade groups .
Corporations with similar concerns pool their money together to fund trade groups , which in turn employ thousands of lobbyists to shape elections and legislation on a daily basis .
But the Paycheck Protection Program , the centerpiece @ @ @ @ @ @ @ excluded such trade groups .
That could change in the next round of stimulus legislation , which Congress is scheduled to debate later this month .
Lobbyists have stepped up a campaign to make sure professional influence peddlers are eligible for the PPP , or P3 , funds .
The push also includes a demand for an additional $ 25 billion for canceled events and other lost revenue from the coronavirus pandemic .
The American Society of Association Executives , which represents trade group leadership , explained in a letter to lawmakers that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better advocate for their clients .
“ These organizations are already relied upon to help coordinate federal resources to combat the coronavirus pandemic , and they require staff to fulfill this duty , ” ASAE wrote .
Trade groups , the ASAE letter notes , have faced declining revenue as corporations wind down dues payments and sponsorship fees in response to the economic downturn .
The letter was signed by many of the most influential Beltway lobby groups .
The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Association , one of the trade groups requesting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) bailout , pays its top lobbyist , Chet Thompson , $ 1.8 million a year .
The group represents the largest oil refiners in the country , including Exxon Mobil , Koch Industries , and Motiva Enterprises , the U.S. arm of Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco .
Other trade groups that joined the letter include the National Retail Federation , which represents firms such as Walmart and Macy ’ s ; the National Restaurant Association , which represents McDonald ’ s and Darden Restaurants ; and ACA International , the lobby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ joint letter on the 501 ( c ) ( 6 ) issue to Wisconsin lawmakers , from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce , a branch of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , pitched lobby groups as vital conduits of information .
“ During this difficult time , business trade associations are performing an essential role for our state ’ s businesses , ” the Wisconsin lobbyists wrote .
The Wisconsin lobbyists argued that they should be eligible for the P3 funds because business trade groups “ transmit information , answer questions , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they need to comply with the deluge of laws , orders and regulatory changes that are being introduced.
” The Wisconsin letter was signed by local organizations , such as the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and the Wisconsin Restaurant Association .
It was also signed by the American Chemistry Council , the national chemical industry behemoth that employs 64 registered lobbyists and spends lavishly on campaign-style television advertisements for favored lawmakers .
The P3 program , though touted as a small business program , has attracted headlines in recent weeks as large multinational firms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have won access to the loans , which may be converted to grants if recipients maintain payroll .
“ There are some odd inconsistencies in who is eligible for loans under the Paycheck Protection Program , ” said Craig Holman , a lobbying expert with the watchdog group Public Citizen .
“ The program should be exclusively targeting small enterprises of fewer than 500 employees .
As such , it is perfectly reasonable to exclude trade associations from eligibility .
Small businesses that are members of these trade associations are already eligible for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ associations 501 ( c ) ( 6 ) s are not , ” Holman noted .
But the campaign to provide 501 ( c ) ( 6 ) lobby groups with bailout money has been sold as a way to save struggling business interests — an argument that appears to be winning over key lawmakers .
Rep. Stephanie Murphy , D-Fla. , and Rep. Ami Bera , D-Calif. , two leading moderate Democrats , have expressed support for the campaign .
The two lawmakers participated in a conference call last month with industry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to change the eligibility requirements .
“ Right now , the way it is being implemented , it ’ s not necessarily helping everybody it was intended to , ” said Murphy during the call , which was sponsored by ASAE .
“ The 501 ( c ) ( 6 ) issue is clearly an example of that , ” added Murphy .
“ I just got off a call with my local Chamber , and they are doing everything they can to keep their doors open.
” Rep. Dina Titus , D-Nev. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 501 ( c ) ( 6 ) rule change , also argued that P3 money would help local Nevada Chambers of Commerce .
Lobby groups have poured resources into the campaign in recent weeks .
The Associated Builders and Contractors , which represents largely nonunion construction companies , has called on member companies to press lawmakers to support the change .
Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives , a federation of state business lobbyists backed by Google , Facebook , Comcast , and other large business interests , has highlighted the push @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Concessionaires , which represents snack food companies such as Coca-Cola and Hersey , is another example .
The group has waged war in recent years to defeat taxes on sugary foods , nutrition labeling requirements , and other rules viewed as onerous to business .
Now the group faces an existential threat not to sugary sweets , but from declining revenue that could risk the employment of its team of corporate advocates .
The group recently held a call with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi , D-Ill. , who expressed support for a change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for 501 ( c ) ( 6 ) groups such as the NAC .
Krishnamoorthi , according to an update published by NAC , urged the group to write to Congress as fast as possible .
“ There is no time to wait , ” said Krishnamoorthi , as “ time is of the essence .
”

K Street may soon have its own taxpayer-funded bailout.
Industries as varied as oil refining, construction, fast food restaurants, and chemical manufacturing are seeking federal cash to support their lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
Many of the largest lobbying forces are organized under the 501(c)(6) section of the tax code as trade groups. Corporations with similar concerns pool their money together to fund trade groups, which in turn employ thousands of lobbyists to shape elections and legislation on a daily basis. But the Paycheck Protection Program, the centerpiece of the small business rescue program, excluded such trade groups. That could change in the next round of stimulus legislation, which Congress is scheduled to debate later this month.
Lobbyists have stepped up a campaign to make sure professional influence peddlers are eligible for the PPP, or P3, funds. The push also includes a demand for an additional $25 billion for canceled events and other lost revenue from the coronavirus pandemic. Senior Democratic lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, plan to accommodate the demand and change the eligibility standard so that small business bailout money can flow to business advocacy groups.
The American Society of Association Executives, which represents trade group leadership, explained in a letter to lawmakers that trade group lobbyists need federal funding to better advocate for their clients.
“These organizations are already relied upon to help coordinate federal resources to combat the coronavirus pandemic, and they require staff to fulfill this duty,” ASAE wrote. Trade groups, the ASAE letter notes, have faced declining revenue as corporations wind down dues payments and sponsorship fees in response to the economic downturn.
The letter was signed by many of the most influential Beltway lobby groups. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Association, one of the trade groups requesting the 501(c)(6) bailout, pays its top lobbyist, Chet Thompson, $1.8 million a year. The group represents the largest oil refiners in the country, including Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, and Motiva Enterprises, the U.S. arm of Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco.
Other trade groups that joined the letter include the National Retail Federation, which represents firms such as Walmart and Macy’s; the National Restaurant Association, which represents McDonald’s and Darden Restaurants; and ACA International, the lobby group for debt collectors.
A similar joint letter on the 501(c)(6) issue to Wisconsin lawmakers, from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, a branch of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, pitched lobby groups as vital conduits of information. “During this difficult time, business trade associations are performing an essential role for our state’s businesses,” the Wisconsin lobbyists wrote.
The Wisconsin lobbyists argued that they should be eligible for the P3 funds because business trade groups “transmit information, answer questions, and ensure that our members have the tools they need to comply with the deluge of laws, orders and regulatory changes that are being introduced.”
The Wisconsin letter was signed by local organizations, such as the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and the Wisconsin Restaurant Association. It was also signed by the American Chemistry Council, the national chemical industry behemoth that employs 64 registered lobbyists and spends lavishly on campaign-style television advertisements for favored lawmakers.
Read Our Complete Coverage The Coronavirus Crisis
The P3 program, though touted as a small business program, has attracted headlines in recent weeks as large multinational firms, churches, and politically connected interests have won access to the loans, which may be converted to grants if recipients maintain payroll.
“There are some odd inconsistencies in who is eligible for loans under the Paycheck Protection Program,” said Craig Holman, a lobbying expert with the watchdog group Public Citizen.
“The program should be exclusively targeting small enterprises of fewer than 500 employees. As such, it is perfectly reasonable to exclude trade associations from eligibility. Small businesses that are members of these trade associations are already eligible for the loans, even though their lobbying associations 501(c)(6)s are not,” Holman noted.
But the campaign to provide 501(c)(6) lobby groups with bailout money has been sold as a way to save struggling business interests — an argument that appears to be winning over key lawmakers.
Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., two leading moderate Democrats, have expressed support for the campaign. The two lawmakers participated in a conference call last month with industry executives and lobbyists, pledging to try to change the eligibility requirements.
“Right now, the way it is being implemented, it’s not necessarily helping everybody it was intended to,” said Murphy during the call, which was sponsored by ASAE.
“The 501(c)(6) issue is clearly an example of that,” added Murphy. “I just got off a call with my local Chamber, and they are doing everything they can to keep their doors open.”
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., in a letter in support of the 501(c)(6) rule change, also argued that P3 money would help local Nevada Chambers of Commerce.
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Lobby groups have poured resources into the campaign in recent weeks.
The Associated Builders and Contractors, which represents largely nonunion construction companies, has called on member companies to press lawmakers to support the change. Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, a federation of state business lobbyists backed by Google, Facebook, Comcast, and other large business interests, has highlighted the push for federal aid.
The National Association of Concessionaires, which represents snack food companies such as Coca-Cola and Hersey, is another example. The group has waged war in recent years to defeat taxes on sugary foods, nutrition labeling requirements, and other rules viewed as onerous to business.
Now the group faces an existential threat not to sugary sweets, but from declining revenue that could risk the employment of its team of corporate advocates. The group recently held a call with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who expressed support for a change to the bailout program to allow money for 501(c)(6) groups such as the NAC.
Krishnamoorthi, according to an update published by NAC, urged the group to write to Congress as fast as possible. “There is no time to wait,” said Krishnamoorthi, as “time is of the essence.”
Pelosi, speaking during a webinar on Tuesday evening, discussed Democrats plans to push for a variety of reforms to the P3 program in the next round of emergency coronavirus legislation. Among the changes, Pelosi said, would be a shift to include 501(c)(6) trade groups. The shift, if adopted, represents a dramatic flow of government money to business lobbying groups.
Pelosi also signaled support for P3 money to 501(c)(4) issue advocacy organizations, which include groups such as the Sierra Club and the National Rifle Association. In her remarks, she did not include expanding the program for 501(c)(5) organizations, which represent labor unions, to be eligible for P3 rescue funds, a demand made by some Democratic lawmakers.
Update: May 6, 2020
This story has been updated to reflect Speaker Pelosi’s indication Tuesday evening that she supports a bailout for 501(c)6s and will include it in the next round of legislation.


theintercept--2020-05-05--Despite Skyrocketing Unemployment, Tennessee Valley Authority Plans to Outsource Hundreds Of Federal

Despite Skyrocketing Unemployment, Tennessee Valley Authority Plans to Outsource Hundreds Of Federal Jobs to Overseas Companies

At least 120 workers have already learned they will be losing their jobs later this summer , and the TVA has informed the engineers ’ union that another 100 jobs are likely on the chopping block .
Affected workers were told in late April to prepare to train their own replacements , according to an email reviewed by The Intercept .
As Donald Trump vows to save the economy amid the global pandemic , while the number of Americans filing for unemployment has skyrocketed to 30 million , the Tennessee Valley Authority , or TVA , the nation ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plans to outsource 20 percent of its highly-skilled technology workforce to Capgemini , CGI , and Accenture — companies based in France , Canada , and Ireland respectively .
While TVA claims the jobs will remain in the United States , citing the existence of U.S.-based subsidiaries for some of its vendors , workers say outsourcing labor is baked into these firms ’ business model .
The companies employ substantial workers abroad ; Capgemini alone has 100,000 workers based in India .
The potential outsourcing of federal jobs flies in the face of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ underpins Trump ’ s presidency and reelection campaign .
Gay Henson , a TVA worker of 35 years and the current president of Engineering Association ( EA ) /Local 1937 , said that workers there see the move as an attempt to undermine their union .
While efforts to outsource their jobs predated the pandemic , Henson is not paranoid to consider how the new economic crisis might be exploited .
Historically , companies have used times of economic downfall to slash union jobs — and workers have struggled to recoup those losses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time since the Great Depression when unemployment passed 10 percent , union density declined 30 percent and hasn ’ t recovered .
The resulting wage stagnation among both union and nonunion workers has fueled runaway wealth and income inequality , with nearly all of the economic gains over the past four decades flowing to those at the very top .
Now , with unemployment threatening to reach Depression-era levels again — and some analysts predicting that it may have hit as high as 16 percent in April — unions are feeling vulnerable .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the past several weeks are unlikely to get their jobs back , and many who will be brought back could be offered substantially less pay .
Where possible , employers , as always , will look for nonunion labor to replace organized workers .
Young people just entering the workforce will have the trajectory of their lifetime earnings driven downward , while older people now being cast out of it will , as a result of age discrimination , have a very hard time clawing their way back in .
The layoffs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the screw .
signed a $ 15 million contract with Capgemini in September , following an internal review which recommended TVA revamp its internal software writing system , the additional vendors were disclosed in April — well into the coronavirus pandemic .
The company ’ s stated rationale , according to TVA spokesperson Jim Hopson , is a desire to “ increase opportunity for innovation and expertise ” that he said is less possible with an in-house technology team .
Hopson also told The Intercept that TVA will continue to require its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all data be stored on U.S.-based servers .
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers , IFPTE , the union that represents the TVA workers , says it has also seen how this story has played out at other utility companies across the country .
In California , for example , when Pacific Gas and Electric laid off hundreds of workers in 2017 , at least 70 of those jobs ended up being outsourced to India — a move the company did not initially disclose .
And in 2015 , when Disney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the company replaced them with foreign guest workers on H-1B visas , employed by global outsourcing firms .
In TVA ’ s case , the company recently increased its use of H-1B visas — which allow companies to replace American workers with foreign nationals for jobs designated a “ specialty occupation ” with a salary of at least $ 60,000 — over the last year .
TVA workers stress there ’ s no evidence whatsoever that their current staff is not capable of doing the software work themselves .
“ Our workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do it well , and we ’ ve all been trained in it , ” said Henson .
Company managers have also raised no real objection to their work , and in an email last month praising staff for their performance during the pandemic , a manager said their work was “ nothing short of stellar.
” “ It ’ s not an issue of qualification , it ’ s not an issue of quality of the work , ” Hopson , the TVA spokesperson , told The Intercept .
“ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s the simple fact that they do not have the same access to tools and breadth of experience that other companies can provide.
” Cost was also not a “ primary reason ” for the outsourcing , Hopson said .
( TVA CEO Jeff Lyash , who makes $ 8 million a year , is the highest-paid federal employee — a salary Trump recently threatened to slash . )
TVA management has delivered the same message internally , telling “ workers repeatedly ” that they don ’ t expect the outsourcing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to Henson .
“ They ’ ve told us this is not about saving the money , but ‘ leveraging the market , ’ ” she said .
Finding none of the company ’ s explanations particularly compelling , Henson said the decision appears to be designed to weaken their union , which has been around since 1937 .
“ At this point I can ’ t really see what else it could be , ” she said .
Hopson , the TVA spokesperson , denied union-busting was a factor .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to be made that are contrary to what the union would prefer , however we do believe they are extraordinarily valuable partners , ” he said .
To add insult to injury , workers getting pink slips will be expected to train their replacements .

As Donald Trump vows to save the economy amid the global pandemic, while the number of Americans filing for unemployment has skyrocketed to 30 million, the Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA, the nation’s largest government-owned power provider, has announced plans to outsource 20 percent of its highly-skilled technology workforce to Capgemini, CGI, and Accenture — companies based in France, Canada, and Ireland respectively.
At least 120 workers have already learned they will be losing their jobs later this summer, and the TVA has informed the engineers’ union that another 100 jobs are likely on the chopping block. Affected workers were told in late April to prepare to train their own replacements, according to an email reviewed by The Intercept.
While TVA claims the jobs will remain in the United States, citing the existence of U.S.-based subsidiaries for some of its vendors, workers say outsourcing labor is baked into these firms’ business model. The companies employ substantial workers abroad; Capgemini alone has 100,000 workers based in India. The potential outsourcing of federal jobs flies in the face of the “America First” rhetoric that underpins Trump’s presidency and reelection campaign.
Gay Henson, a TVA worker of 35 years and the current president of Engineering Association (EA)/Local 1937, said that workers there see the move as an attempt to undermine their union. While efforts to outsource their jobs predated the pandemic, Henson is not paranoid to consider how the new economic crisis might be exploited. Historically, companies have used times of economic downfall to slash union jobs — and workers have struggled to recoup those losses. In the 1980s, the only time since the Great Depression when unemployment passed 10 percent, union density declined 30 percent and hasn’t recovered. The resulting wage stagnation among both union and nonunion workers has fueled runaway wealth and income inequality, with nearly all of the economic gains over the past four decades flowing to those at the very top.
Now, with unemployment threatening to reach Depression-era levels again — and some analysts predicting that it may have hit as high as 16 percent in April — unions are feeling vulnerable. Millions of people furloughed and laid off in the past several weeks are unlikely to get their jobs back, and many who will be brought back could be offered substantially less pay. Where possible, employers, as always, will look for nonunion labor to replace organized workers. Young people just entering the workforce will have the trajectory of their lifetime earnings driven downward, while older people now being cast out of it will, as a result of age discrimination, have a very hard time clawing their way back in.
The layoffs at the TVA are just one turn of the screw.
While the agency signed a $15 million contract with Capgemini in September, following an internal review which recommended TVA revamp its internal software writing system, the additional vendors were disclosed in April — well into the coronavirus pandemic.
The company’s stated rationale, according to TVA spokesperson Jim Hopson, is a desire to “increase opportunity for innovation and expertise” that he said is less possible with an in-house technology team. Hopson also told The Intercept that TVA will continue to require its work to be done domestically and that all data be stored on U.S.-based servers.
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, IFPTE, the union that represents the TVA workers, says it has also seen how this story has played out at other utility companies across the country. In California, for example, when Pacific Gas and Electric laid off hundreds of workers in 2017, at least 70 of those jobs ended up being outsourced to India — a move the company did not initially disclose. And in 2015, when Disney laid off 250 IT workers in Orlando, the company replaced them with foreign guest workers on H-1B visas, employed by global outsourcing firms. In TVA’s case, the company recently increased its use of H-1B visas — which allow companies to replace American workers with foreign nationals for jobs designated a “specialty occupation” with a salary of at least $60,000 — over the last year.
TVA workers stress there’s no evidence whatsoever that their current staff is not capable of doing the software work themselves.
“Our workers absolutely can do the work, can do it well, and we’ve all been trained in it,” said Henson. Company managers have also raised no real objection to their work, and in an email last month praising staff for their performance during the pandemic, a manager said their work was “nothing short of stellar.”
“It’s not an issue of qualification, it’s not an issue of quality of the work,” Hopson, the TVA spokesperson, told The Intercept. “It’s not any fault of theirs, it’s the simple fact that they do not have the same access to tools and breadth of experience that other companies can provide.” Cost was also not a “primary reason” for the outsourcing, Hopson said. (TVA CEO Jeff Lyash, who makes $8 million a year, is the highest-paid federal employee — a salary Trump recently threatened to slash.)
TVA management has delivered the same message internally, telling “workers repeatedly” that they don’t expect the outsourcing will provide cost-savings to the TVA, according to Henson. “They’ve told us this is not about saving the money, but ‘leveraging the market,’” she said.
Finding none of the company’s explanations particularly compelling, Henson said the decision appears to be designed to weaken their union, which has been around since 1937. “At this point I can’t really see what else it could be,” she said.
Hopson, the TVA spokesperson, denied union-busting was a factor. “We understand there are times when decisions need to be made that are contrary to what the union would prefer, however we do believe they are extraordinarily valuable partners,” he said.
To add insult to injury, workers getting pink slips will be expected to train their replacements.
Photo: C.B. Schmelter/Chattanooga Times Free Press/AP
“Over the next few months, employees in Development & Operations will work to transfer knowledge and transition this work to these [new] vendors,” wrote Jeremy Fisher, TVA’s vice president and chief information officer in an email to staff on April 21. “We recognize that participating in the knowledge transfer process is difficult for many of you, but we are counting on your continued professionalism to make the transition to our new operating model a successful one for TVA.”
Fisher did not return requests for comment. Hopson said that while he does not know the specifics of the transition plan, he acknowledged workers might help “familiarize understanding of what’s already there” to make the transition easier.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation created in 1933 during the Great Depression to provide both electricity generation and “economic development” to the Tennessee Valley region. Its service area covers 10 million people across seven southern states.
Workers say outsourcing the jobs out of the Tennessee Valley flies in the face of its vaunted mission and mandate, and they estimate the proposed layoffs will cost the local economy nearly $88 million over five years.
In a letter sent on Thursday to Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Tom Carper, D-Del., the chair and ranking member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, which holds jurisdiction over the TVA, the union asked for an investigation into “an outsourcing process at TVA that lacks transparency, was done in violation of TVA’s own internal contracting processes, will be more costly than simply leaving the work in-house, and is in violation of TVA’s own mission of providing an economic boon to the vast Tennessee Valley community.”
The letter, signed by Henson along with Paul Shearon, IFPTE’s international president, and Matthew Biggs, its secretary-treasurer, also noted it is “alarming” that a federal government entity would be allowed to lay off hundreds of workers right now. The union pressed the senators to add language in the next Covid-19 relief bill preventing TVA from outsourcing the jobs. “Unlike saving other American jobs, saving these will not cost taxpayers a dime,” they wrote.
Sarah Durdaller, Barrasso’s press secretary, told The Intercept the committee had received the union’s letter “and is in communication with TVA regarding the issue.” The committee will continue to conduct oversight of TVA, she added.
This was the IFPTE’s second attempt to bring congressional attention to the threatened layoffs. In January, before Covid-19 upended the global economy, the union wrote to the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety and the House Subcommittee on Water Resources asking for help in protecting their jobs.
Two lawmakers from Alabama, one of the states serviced by TVA, have so far been the only members of Congress to respond seriously to the workers’ pleas. On March 2, Republican Rep. Mo Brooks sent a letter to TVA CEO Jeffrey Lyash, raising national security concerns with outsourcing the TVA’s electrical grid. “It would be folly to outsource TVA IT work to foreigners, an outsourcing that may allow geopolitical foes to disrupt the stability of power production and distribution across the Tennessee Valley,” Brooks wrote, echoing concerns raised by the union. TVA has defended its decision by pointing to the fact that other federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, also contract with these companies.
Democratic Sen. Doug Jones has also been in regular communication with the union about the impending layoffs. In a statement, he told The Intercept:
It appears that TVA has now forgotten its roots. Formed in 1933, TVA was built to be an economic driver for a region hit hard by the Great Depression. I find it particularly unconscionable for a federal government entity like TVA to outsource jobs held by Americans at a time when the American economy is still in a downward spiral and unemployment is at levels not seen since the Depression that prompted TVA’s formation. As we continue to feel the economic impacts of the pandemic, every job that can be preserved, should be. TVA should acknowledge the negative impact that outsourcing these jobs would have on the Tennessee Valley and reconsider its decision. TVA should be mindful of the pandemic, and the difficult situation that many folks are finding themselves in.
When asked about contributing to unemployment during the pandemic, Hopson said their “overriding goal” is to serve their customers “in the most effective and innovative way possible.” While he said they “understand the challenges that could be placed on those who are impacted, ultimately the goal is to serve 10 million people.”
Workers say there is still time for TVA to reverse course and save these jobs, as the pink slips have yet to be issued. About two weeks ago IFPTE even reached out to Peter Navarro, the White House director of trade and industrial policy.
“It’s so far fallen on deaf ears but lord knows there hasn’t been a louder voice on outsourcing American workers than him,” said Shearon, the international president. “These companies do not pay American taxes, often do not employ American workers, and in the face of the promises of the president and this global pandemic and 30 million unemployed, it’s just unacceptable.”
Update: May 6, 2020
This article was updated to include a statement from Sen. Doug Jones that was received after publication.


theintercept--2020-05-05--ICE's Immigration Detainees Protested Lack of Coronavirus Precautions — and SWAT-like Private-Prison

ICE's Immigration Detainees Protested Lack of Coronavirus Precautions — and SWAT-like Private-Prison Guards Pepper-Sprayed Them

of April 9 , 24-year-old Carlos was feeling some of the typical symptoms of Covid-19 : weakness , nausea , headaches , and pain in his throat .
Carlos , whose name has been changed for fear of retaliation by correctional staff , is currently detained at the Stewart Detention Center , a privately run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in rural Georgia .
Other detainees felt ill too .
Tension was mounting inside Stewart , one of the largest immigration jails in the country , with a capacity to hold nearly 2,000 male detainees .
Carlos was on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he turned to look out the window and saw a group of detainees running out a side door leading to a recreation yard .
Several correctional officers were giving chase .
At first , Carlos thought that there was a fire , but then he saw correctional staff use pepper spray on the detainees .
Daniel , another detainee whose name has also been changed , saw it all happen from another unit across the hall .
“ People were asking for medical attention for some of the sick people in there , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ” — the staff — “ didn ’ t pay attention , they began protesting .
They started placing sheets on the windows and doors.
” Daniel said the correctional staff began deploying gas , throwing detainees on the floor , and taking them in handcuffs to — he assumed — solitary confinement , or as he called it , “ the hole.
” is operated by the private prison giant CoreCivic , there is a special unit of correctional officers tasked with suppressing detainee disturbances .
Akin to a SWAT team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Special Operations Response Team , or SORT .
The SORT unit , which has not been previously reported on , is trained to use riot shields , helmets , pepper spray , and pepper-ball ammunition .
During a two-week period amid the Covid-19 pandemic , SORT officers at Stewart have used force on immigrant detainees two times , on April 9 and again on April 20 .
Following each of the incidents , some members of Stewart ’ s SORT unit celebrated using force on migrants in their custody in multiple social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aggregate , gives a series of snapshots of the SORT team ’ s actions against the protesting detainees .
In one social media post , a SORT officer said he shot all the detainees in sight with pepper-ball projectiles — it was , he said , “ call of duty mode , ” referring to a violent , first-person video game series about going to war .
Another Facebook poster purporting to be a SORT officer suggested that he shot a protesting detainee who uses a wheelchair with pepper spray , saying the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using an abbreviation for “ motherfuckers.
” In the same social media post , the SORT officer added , “ He grabbed his face.
” The numerous social media posts exemplify the tense and complicated dynamics within the walls of the Stewart Detention Center , a migrant jail that has continually fallen under scrutiny for its alleged mistreatment of immigrants .
The posts from the SORT officers , spanning months and shared with The Intercept and WNYC ’ s The Takeaway , were flagged by members of Georgia Detention Watch , an activist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Intercept and The Takeaway independently verified much of the social media activity , identifying 11 CoreCivic SORT officers , along with other correctional staff at the detention facility .
Five accounts claiming to belong to SORT officers identified were responsible for the posts included in this article .
In phone interviews , The Intercept and The Takeaway confirmed three of the five officers ’ employment with CoreCivic , their membership in the SORT unit , and their postings to social media accounts bearing their names .
The two other SORT officers responsible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nor denied their employment and social media accounts but posed for pictures on the accounts dressed in SORT unit regalia and , in the case of one officer , with documentation of accolades from CoreCivic for his work .
After reaching out with a detailed description of this reporting , a spokesperson for CoreCivic said : “ After you alerted us to the social media posts , eight Stewart Detention Center employees were immediately placed on administrative leave .
Since then , four of those employees have been terminated .
We are also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into this matter being conducted by ICE ’ s Office of Professional Responsibility ( OPR ) .
” The spokesperson declined to confirm any disciplinary actions in reference to particular officers ’ names .
In a statement , an ICE spokesperson did not comment on the specific allegations but said such matters are referred to ICE ’ s parent agency , the Department of Homeland Security .
“ In general , the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General and ICE ’ s Office of Professional Responsibility investigate all allegations of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ If any such allegation was to be substantiated appropriate action would be taken.
” Advocates for immigration detainees said the incidents are part of two larger problems occurring simultaneously : the threat of the coronavirus to detainees in cramped quarters and the frequent violence of disciplinary actions in immigration detention facilities like Stewart .
“ For months , community members have demanded ICE protect detained immigrants from Covid-19 and release them immediately , ” said Adelina Nicholls , executive director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights and member of Georgia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ centers , including for-profit facilities , ramp up their use of violent , paramilitary , SWAT-like teams , such as SORT , to repress immigrants in detention centers that are speaking out about the horrendous conditions and lack of protections during this global pandemic.
” in southwest Georgia , in a rural area with a depressed economy and one of the state ’ s hot spots for the coronavirus .
For some residents of the area , Stewart is a lifeline .
Becoming a guard is a steady job in a region where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis , not unlike the migrants on unauthorized stays in the U.S. to get work .
The economic pressures — in tandem with notorious immigration enforcement policies and bloated budgets — brought the immigrants and community members into close proximity in one of the largest immigration detention facilities in the U.S. , a fertile breeding ground for the virus .
“ It ’ s just a tragedy , ” said Sharon Dolovich , professor of law at UCLA who also directs the university ’ s Covid-19 Behind Bars Data Project , tracking confirmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detention centers .
“ You have these two groups of people who are just desperate for a better life .
And they ’ re playing the terrible hands they ’ ve been dealt .
And now , this.
” Neither the guards at Stewart nor the detainees were spared from the coronavirus .
The first CoreCivic staff member at Stewart tested positive for Covid-19 on March 31 ; in one month , the number of infected CoreCivic staff rose to 44 , according to a recent court filing .
ICE says there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 .
A month ago , with cases mounting and around 1,900 people locked up in Stewart , tensions in the facility had begun to escalate , said Pedro Ramirez-Briceño , who was released in early April .
( Following a judge ’ s order for ICE to consider releasing sick detainees , the amount of people incarcerated at Stewart had dropped to around 1,000 in early May , according to a recent court filing . )
After hearing of the coronavirus spreading to other immigration detention facilities , he and other detainees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strike in early March , demanding better conditions and more resources to prevent the spread of the virus .
But the strike action fizzled away over time , Ramirez-Briceño said .
There are around nearly 30,000 people currently in ICE custody around the U.S. , and since the pandemic began , detainees in other ICE facilities have also reported the use of force in response to coronavirus-related protests .
As of May 4 , the agency says 606 detainees have confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the U.S .
Testing in the facilities has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers in real time , so that number could be much higher .
On April 20 , a federal judge ordered ICE to consider releasing high-risk detainees .
In the month of April , there were five 911 emergency calls from the facility , according to call logs obtained by The Intercept and The Takeaway .
Although it is not confirmed whether calls were coronavirus-related , four of those calls were for respiratory problems , a common symptom of Covid-19 .
The Intercept and The Takeaway spoke to eight people currently detained in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in detention , and two formerly detained people who were released after being involved in protests and a use-of-force incident .
Although the current detainees called from various units in the facility , they all paint a similar picture : More and more people are feeling symptoms associated with the virus and desperation is growing , with between 60 and 90 people per unit .
All the detainees The Intercept and The Takeaway spoke with allege delays in accessing medical attention .
A man from El Salvador , who requested anonymity to avoid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was required to fill out a paper request to see a medic .
Five days later , when he called The Intercept and The Takeaway , he still had not been seen .
On the day that Daniel , one of the witnesses to the SORT officers ’ use of force on April 9 , contacted The Intercept and The Takeaway , he said a Guatemalan detainee in his unit had just been taken for more medical attention after fainting for the third time that day .
The second time Daniel called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was complaining of symptoms and feeling weak , was removed from his unit .
Alex from Honduras , whose name has been changed for fear of retaliation , said tensions continue to rise in the facility .
Oscar Martinez , a Mexican man from another unit , said he was feeling throat pain , feverish , weakness , and chills .
Martinez said , “ If they don ’ t want us in this country , they should at least deport us to our countries , so we ’ re not getting sick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detainees interviewed by The Intercept and The Takeaway — Alex , Daniel , and Martinez — all believe that detainees who show severe symptoms end up in the solitary confinement unit , or “ the hole.
” In a Monday court filing , Stewart Warden Russell Washburn said , “ When detainees at SDC appeared symptomatic , they were moved to medical isolation ” — though it is unclear if the solitary confinement unit was used for medical isolation .
ICE and CoreCivic declined to provide answers to questions about placing symptomatic detainees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CoreCivic spokesperson defended the private prison company ’ s handling of the coronavirus crisis .
“ Since even before any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our facilities , we have rigorously followed the guidance of local , state and federal health authorities , as well as our government partners , ” the CoreCivic spokesperson said in a statement .
“ We have responded to this unprecedented situation appropriately , thoroughly and with care for the safety and well-being of those entrusted to us and our communities.
” As The Intercept and The Takeaway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ troubled track record of solitary confinement practices : Two men with mental illness killed themselves in the timespan of 14 months in 2017 and 2018 .
With the pandemic at hand , family members and advocates have had difficulty reaching people in solitary .
“ We ’ ve had some trouble being in touch with people , both times that there has been reports of some sort of incident or some sort of use of force against the detained people who were trying to speak out peacefully for their rights , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Southern Poverty Law Center ’ s Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative .
On April 7 , the Southern Poverty Law Center , along with other organizations , filed a lawsuit seeking the immediate release of people with preexisting health conditions from Stewart .
The facility normally runs on detainee labor , but with units in quarantine , correctional staff were tasked with making meals .
According to Argueta , this led to detainees being fed very little food at irregular times , sparking the April 20 protest .
Detainees refused to eat the provided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the protest went on , SORT officers responded with pepper spray and pepper-ball guns .
Later that night , SORT officer Tyriq Key joked on social media that the detainees were so hungry , they were “ eating that spray.
” at Stewart are CoreCivic correctional staff , who then change into all-black uniforms with thick protective gear .
Their SWAT-like uniforms include pepper spray and pepper-ball guns dangling from their belts .
Promotional videos , produced when CoreCivic was still known by its former name , Corrections Corporation of America , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using large shields and batons .
The SORT team is not unique to Stewart .
“ CoreCivic operates their immigration detention facilities just like they operate their prisons ; there ’ s really no difference .
And many prisons have tactics teams , SWAT-type teams inside their facilities , ” said Dolovich , the UCLA law professor .
“ In every prison , when there ’ s a perceived emergency that requires rapid intervention , there are a certain set of prison officials trained to participate in these SWAT teams.
” According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of units were created after the 1971 Attica prison riots , “ modeled after police SWAT teams and military commando units , such as the Army Green Beret Special Forces and Navy Seal Teams.
” “ SORT teams are specially trained to use ‘ mind over matter ’ in de-escalating situations , using CCA ’ s ‘ talk down , rather than take down ’ philosophy , ” the manual adds .
Dolovich said such philosophies often don ’ t hold sway in the real world .
“ Force should never be the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last resort , after you ’ ve tried all available nonforceful responses , ” she said .
“ But , in fact , that ’ s not what happens .
What happens , often , is that force is used as a first resort.
” Before the pandemic , the SORT unit in Stewart had been activated as recently as 2019 .
On September 11 , 2019 , a group of around 60 Cuban asylum-seekers staged a peaceful protest in Stewart ’ s recreation yard , refusing to enter the facility until they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for parole .
Reinier Rodriguez Bombino took part in the protest .
He told The Intercept and The Takeaway that the protesting asylum-seekers used a marker to write their demands on bedsheets , then snuck the sheets out in their clothes to display in the yard .
As the next morning rolled around , SORT officers began moving in on the asylum-seekers .
“ They were dressed in all black , with vests , knee pads , helmets , with weapons , with everything — like they were prepared for anything , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were always clear — always clear — that everything was peaceful and we were not going to resist.
” The SORT officers began deploying tear gas and fired either rubber bullets or pepper balls at the asylum-seekers .
Rodriguez said he was shot by a projectile in the back of his thigh .
Days after the protest , he was placed in solitary confinement , then transferred to another facility in Georgia .
What happened to Rodriguez is a pattern , advocates said .
“ Very quickly and quietly , in a way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the protest were immediately placed in segregation , ” said Argueta , the Southern Poverty Law Center attorney , referring to solitary confinement .
“ A lot of them were transferred out of Stewart .
The facility did its best to silence it.
” On September 12 , after the officers used force , Jaraivius Sullivan , a Stewart SORT officer , posted on Facebook : “ If u see me cheesing just kno I had a good day at work.
” When someone asked what he did , he replied : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9 incident , another SORT officer , Quantavious Lewis , shared a video of a man purportedly in Mexico being restrained .
Another man pulls down the apparent arrestee ’ s underwear and begins beating his bare behind with a stick .
The man shrieks and squirms , while the person behind the camera laughs .
Posting a series of laughing emojis , Lewis shared the video on Facebook with his own caption : “ Next time they activate Sort.
” Advocates for immigrant rights were taken aback by the social media postings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stewart guards to use pepper spray and other aggressive means of crushing the protest by detained immigrants who are subjected to imprisonment at this deadly facility in the midst of a pandemic , ” said Azadeh Shahshahani , the legal and advocacy director of Project South .
“ All immigrants detained at Stewart should be freed immediately , and ICE and the private prison corporation should be held to account for their abusive conduct.
” After the April 20 use-of-force incident , Sullivan and Lewis , along with fellow SORT officers Tyriq Key @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more jokes .
Stitching together their social media posts paints a picture of what took place that night .
( Lewis , Sullivan , and Key confirmed their employment and social media accounts to The Intercept and The Takeaway , but declined to comment on the record for this story , and the other officer did not respond for a request for comment .
The account of the self-proclaimed SORT officer who praised other SORT officers after the April 9 incident blocked this reporter on Facebook , after The Intercept and The Takeaway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) When the food-related protest escalated , detainees began throwing toilet water and food at the guards , according a social media posting .
As the officers attempted to end the protest , Lewis slipped on water and fell , according to his posting .
Lewis then said he got up and “ went to shooting whatever was n his path ” with the pepper-ball gun — then made the “ Call of Duty ” reference .
Another Facebook account claiming to belong to a SORT officer shared that he “ walked in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” referring to oleoresin capsicum , the active ingredient in pepper spray and pepper balls .
He wrote that he “ had a can in each hand.
” At the moment of the commotion , according to the Facebook post , was when the detainee in a wheelchair “ jumped out the chair into the room.
” The Facebook posting recounted that the man in the wheelchair “ felt them mfs .
He grabbed his face.
” A recent court filing in the Southern Poverty Law Center ’ s lawsuit says the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the use-of-force incident .
As Lewis summarized it in another posting : “ they learned they lesson fasho .
”

On the morning of April 9, 24-year-old Carlos was feeling some of the typical symptoms of Covid-19: weakness, nausea, headaches, and pain in his throat. Carlos, whose name has been changed for fear of retaliation by correctional staff, is currently detained at the Stewart Detention Center, a privately run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in rural Georgia.
Other detainees felt ill too. Tension was mounting inside Stewart, one of the largest immigration jails in the country, with a capacity to hold nearly 2,000 male detainees.
Carlos was on his bed, feeling sick, when he turned to look out the window and saw a group of detainees running out a side door leading to a recreation yard. Several correctional officers were giving chase. At first, Carlos thought that there was a fire, but then he saw correctional staff use pepper spray on the detainees.
Daniel, another detainee whose name has also been changed, saw it all happen from another unit across the hall.
“People were asking for medical attention for some of the sick people in there,” Daniel said. “But because they” — the staff — “didn’t pay attention, they began protesting. They started placing sheets on the windows and doors.”
Daniel said the correctional staff began deploying gas, throwing detainees on the floor, and taking them in handcuffs to — he assumed — solitary confinement, or as he called it, “the hole.”
At Stewart, which is operated by the private prison giant CoreCivic, there is a special unit of correctional officers tasked with suppressing detainee disturbances. Akin to a SWAT team, the pepper-spraying unit is known as the Special Operations Response Team, or SORT. The SORT unit, which has not been previously reported on, is trained to use riot shields, helmets, pepper spray, and pepper-ball ammunition.
During a two-week period amid the Covid-19 pandemic, SORT officers at Stewart have used force on immigrant detainees two times, on April 9 and again on April 20.
Following each of the incidents, some members of Stewart’s SORT unit celebrated using force on migrants in their custody in multiple social media posts. The posts, in aggregate, gives a series of snapshots of the SORT team’s actions against the protesting detainees. In one social media post, a SORT officer said he shot all the detainees in sight with pepper-ball projectiles — it was, he said, “call of duty mode,” referring to a violent, first-person video game series about going to war.
Another Facebook poster purporting to be a SORT officer suggested that he shot a protesting detainee who uses a wheelchair with pepper spray, saying the immigrant “felt them mfs” — using an abbreviation for “motherfuckers.” In the same social media post, the SORT officer added, “He grabbed his face.”
The numerous social media posts exemplify the tense and complicated dynamics within the walls of the Stewart Detention Center, a migrant jail that has continually fallen under scrutiny for its alleged mistreatment of immigrants.
The posts from the SORT officers, spanning months and shared with The Intercept and WNYC’s The Takeaway, were flagged by members of Georgia Detention Watch, an activist coalition documenting conditions in ICE detention. The Intercept and The Takeaway independently verified much of the social media activity, identifying 11 CoreCivic SORT officers, along with other correctional staff at the detention facility.
Five accounts claiming to belong to SORT officers identified were responsible for the posts included in this article. In phone interviews, The Intercept and The Takeaway confirmed three of the five officers’ employment with CoreCivic, their membership in the SORT unit, and their postings to social media accounts bearing their names. The two other SORT officers responsible for the social media posts neither confirmed nor denied their employment and social media accounts but posed for pictures on the accounts dressed in SORT unit regalia and, in the case of one officer, with documentation of accolades from CoreCivic for his work.
After reaching out with a detailed description of this reporting, a spokesperson for CoreCivic said: “After you alerted us to the social media posts, eight Stewart Detention Center employees were immediately placed on administrative leave. Since then, four of those employees have been terminated. We are also continuing to cooperate fully with the investigation into this matter being conducted by ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).” The spokesperson declined to confirm any disciplinary actions in reference to particular officers’ names.
In a statement, an ICE spokesperson did not comment on the specific allegations but said such matters are referred to ICE’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security. “In general, the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General and ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility investigate all allegations of misconduct,” the spokesperson said. “If any such allegation was to be substantiated appropriate action would be taken.”
Advocates for immigration detainees said the incidents are part of two larger problems occurring simultaneously: the threat of the coronavirus to detainees in cramped quarters and the frequent violence of disciplinary actions in immigration detention facilities like Stewart.
“For months, community members have demanded ICE protect detained immigrants from Covid-19 and release them immediately,” said Adelina Nicholls, executive director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights and member of Georgia Detention Watch. “Instead, detention centers, including for-profit facilities, ramp up their use of violent, paramilitary, SWAT-like teams, such as SORT, to repress immigrants in detention centers that are speaking out about the horrendous conditions and lack of protections during this global pandemic.”
The Stewart Detention Center sits surrounded by woods in Lumpkin, Ga. on Nov. 15, 2019. Photo: David Goldman/AP
Stewart is located in southwest Georgia, in a rural area with a depressed economy and one of the state’s hot spots for the coronavirus. For some residents of the area, Stewart is a lifeline. Becoming a guard is a steady job in a region where unemployment was high even before the coronavirus crisis, not unlike the migrants on unauthorized stays in the U.S. to get work. The economic pressures — in tandem with notorious immigration enforcement policies and bloated budgets — brought the immigrants and community members into close proximity in one of the largest immigration detention facilities in the U.S., a fertile breeding ground for the virus.
“It’s just a tragedy,” said Sharon Dolovich, professor of law at UCLA who also directs the university’s Covid-19 Behind Bars Data Project, tracking confirmed cases in jails, prisons, and detention centers. “You have these two groups of people who are just desperate for a better life. And they’re playing the terrible hands they’ve been dealt. And now, this.”
Neither the guards at Stewart nor the detainees were spared from the coronavirus. The first CoreCivic staff member at Stewart tested positive for Covid-19 on March 31; in one month, the number of infected CoreCivic staff rose to 44, according to a recent court filing. ICE says there are 12 current Stewart detainees confirmed to have Covid-19.
A month ago, with cases mounting and around 1,900 people locked up in Stewart, tensions in the facility had begun to escalate, said Pedro Ramirez-Briceño, who was released in early April. (Following a judge’s order for ICE to consider releasing sick detainees, the amount of people incarcerated at Stewart had dropped to around 1,000 in early May, according to a recent court filing.)
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After hearing of the coronavirus spreading to other immigration detention facilities, he and other detainees took part in a hunger and labor strike in early March, demanding better conditions and more resources to prevent the spread of the virus. But the strike action fizzled away over time, Ramirez-Briceño said.
There are around nearly 30,000 people currently in ICE custody around the U.S., and since the pandemic began, detainees in other ICE facilities have also reported the use of force in response to coronavirus-related protests. As of May 4, the agency says 606 detainees have confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. Testing in the facilities has been sparse and ICE does not release numbers in real time, so that number could be much higher. On April 20, a federal judge ordered ICE to consider releasing high-risk detainees.
In the month of April, there were five 911 emergency calls from the facility, according to call logs obtained by The Intercept and The Takeaway. Although it is not confirmed whether calls were coronavirus-related, four of those calls were for respiratory problems, a common symptom of Covid-19.
The Intercept and The Takeaway spoke to eight people currently detained in Stewart, six family members of those in detention, and two formerly detained people who were released after being involved in protests and a use-of-force incident. Although the current detainees called from various units in the facility, they all paint a similar picture: More and more people are feeling symptoms associated with the virus and desperation is growing, with between 60 and 90 people per unit.
“If they don’t want us in this country, they should at least deport us to our countries, so we’re not getting sick inside this place.”
All the detainees The Intercept and The Takeaway spoke with allege delays in accessing medical attention. A man from El Salvador, who requested anonymity to avoid reprisals, was feeling ill and said he was required to fill out a paper request to see a medic. Five days later, when he called The Intercept and The Takeaway, he still had not been seen.
On the day that Daniel, one of the witnesses to the SORT officers’ use of force on April 9, contacted The Intercept and The Takeaway, he said a Guatemalan detainee in his unit had just been taken for more medical attention after fainting for the third time that day. The second time Daniel called, he reported another detainee, who was complaining of symptoms and feeling weak, was removed from his unit.
Alex from Honduras, whose name has been changed for fear of retaliation, said tensions continue to rise in the facility. Oscar Martinez, a Mexican man from another unit, said he was feeling throat pain, feverish, weakness, and chills.
Martinez said, “If they don’t want us in this country, they should at least deport us to our countries, so we’re not getting sick inside this place.”
Three of the detainees interviewed by The Intercept and The Takeaway — Alex, Daniel, and Martinez — all believe that detainees who show severe symptoms end up in the solitary confinement unit, or “the hole.” In a Monday court filing, Stewart Warden Russell Washburn said, “When detainees at SDC appeared symptomatic, they were moved to medical isolation” — though it is unclear if the solitary confinement unit was used for medical isolation.
ICE and CoreCivic declined to provide answers to questions about placing symptomatic detainees in solitary confinement units, but a CoreCivic spokesperson defended the private prison company’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. “Since even before any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our facilities, we have rigorously followed the guidance of local, state and federal health authorities, as well as our government partners,” the CoreCivic spokesperson said in a statement. “We have responded to this unprecedented situation appropriately, thoroughly and with care for the safety and well-being of those entrusted to us and our communities.”
As The Intercept and The Takeaway have previously reported, Stewart has a troubled track record of solitary confinement practices: Two men with mental illness killed themselves in the timespan of 14 months in 2017 and 2018.
With the pandemic at hand, family members and advocates have had difficulty reaching people in solitary. “We’ve had some trouble being in touch with people, both times that there has been reports of some sort of incident or some sort of use of force against the detained people who were trying to speak out peacefully for their rights,” said Erin Argueta, lead attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative.
On April 7, the Southern Poverty Law Center, along with other organizations, filed a lawsuit seeking the immediate release of people with preexisting health conditions from Stewart.
The facility normally runs on detainee labor, but with units in quarantine, correctional staff were tasked with making meals. According to Argueta, this led to detainees being fed very little food at irregular times, sparking the April 20 protest. Detainees refused to eat the provided food and demanded better provisions. As the protest went on, SORT officers responded with pepper spray and pepper-ball guns.
Later that night, SORT officer Tyriq Key joked on social media that the detainees were so hungry, they were “eating that spray.”
Screenshot: The Intercept
The SORT officers at Stewart are CoreCivic correctional staff, who then change into all-black uniforms with thick protective gear. Their SWAT-like uniforms include pepper spray and pepper-ball guns dangling from their belts. Promotional videos, produced when CoreCivic was still known by its former name, Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, show SORT officers trained in using large shields and batons.
The SORT team is not unique to Stewart.
“CoreCivic operates their immigration detention facilities just like they operate their prisons; there’s really no difference. And many prisons have tactics teams, SWAT-type teams inside their facilities,” said Dolovich, the UCLA law professor. “In every prison, when there’s a perceived emergency that requires rapid intervention, there are a certain set of prison officials trained to participate in these SWAT teams.”
According to a 2008 CCA manual, these types of units were created after the 1971 Attica prison riots, “modeled after police SWAT teams and military commando units, such as the Army Green Beret Special Forces and Navy Seal Teams.”
“SORT teams are specially trained to use ‘mind over matter’ in de-escalating situations, using CCA’s ‘talk down, rather than take down’ philosophy,” the manual adds.
Dolovich said such philosophies often don’t hold sway in the real world. “Force should never be the first resort; it should be a last resort, after you’ve tried all available nonforceful responses,” she said. “But, in fact, that’s not what happens. What happens, often, is that force is used as a first resort.”
Before the pandemic, the SORT unit in Stewart had been activated as recently as 2019. On September 11, 2019, a group of around 60 Cuban asylum-seekers staged a peaceful protest in Stewart’s recreation yard, refusing to enter the facility until they received word from ICE on their requests for parole.
Reinier Rodriguez Bombino took part in the protest. He told The Intercept and The Takeaway that the protesting asylum-seekers used a marker to write their demands on bedsheets, then snuck the sheets out in their clothes to display in the yard. As the next morning rolled around, SORT officers began moving in on the asylum-seekers.
“They were dressed in all black, with vests, knee pads, helmets, with weapons, with everything — like they were prepared for anything,” Rodriguez said, “even though we were always clear — always clear — that everything was peaceful and we were not going to resist.”
The SORT officers began deploying tear gas and fired either rubber bullets or pepper balls at the asylum-seekers. Rodriguez said he was shot by a projectile in the back of his thigh. Days after the protest, he was placed in solitary confinement, then transferred to another facility in Georgia.
What happened to Rodriguez is a pattern, advocates said. “Very quickly and quietly, in a way, most of the people involved in the protest were immediately placed in segregation,” said Argueta, the Southern Poverty Law Center attorney, referring to solitary confinement. “A lot of them were transferred out of Stewart. The facility did its best to silence it.”
On September 12, after the officers used force, Jaraivius Sullivan, a Stewart SORT officer, posted on Facebook: “If u see me cheesing just kno I had a good day at work.” When someone asked what he did, he replied: “had my way.”
Screenshot: The Intercept
In October, Project South, an Atlanta-based social justice group, along with dozens of other advocacy organizations, submitted a complaint regarding the September use-of-force incident to Georgia lawmakers and U.S. senators.
In the aftermath of the crackdowns on the coronavirus-related protests at Stewart, CoreCivic guards again posted messages celebrating the SORT unit.
On April 9, hours after Daniel witnessed officers pepper-spraying detainees, a Facebook account claiming to be from a CoreCivic employee on the SORT team praised other SORT officers on Facebook for their quick action. In the comments, the officer shared a photo of his boots with laughing emojis, saying that he “was ready to stomp and drag today,” referring to a military- and riot-police marching cadence.
“It is abominable for the Stewart guards to use pepper spray and other aggressive means of crushing the protest by detained immigrants who are subjected to imprisonment at this deadly facility in the midst of a pandemic.
After the April 9 incident, another SORT officer, Quantavious Lewis, shared a video of a man purportedly in Mexico being restrained. Another man pulls down the apparent arrestee’s underwear and begins beating his bare behind with a stick. The man shrieks and squirms, while the person behind the camera laughs. Posting a series of laughing emojis, Lewis shared the video on Facebook with his own caption: “Next time they activate Sort.”
Advocates for immigrant rights were taken aback by the social media postings. “It is abominable for the Stewart guards to use pepper spray and other aggressive means of crushing the protest by detained immigrants who are subjected to imprisonment at this deadly facility in the midst of a pandemic,” said Azadeh Shahshahani, the legal and advocacy director of Project South. “All immigrants detained at Stewart should be freed immediately, and ICE and the private prison corporation should be held to account for their abusive conduct.”
After the April 20 use-of-force incident, Sullivan and Lewis, along with fellow SORT officers Tyriq Key and another officer began sharing comments and more jokes. Stitching together their social media posts paints a picture of what took place that night. (Lewis, Sullivan, and Key confirmed their employment and social media accounts to The Intercept and The Takeaway, but declined to comment on the record for this story, and the other officer did not respond for a request for comment. The account of the self-proclaimed SORT officer who praised other SORT officers after the April 9 incident blocked this reporter on Facebook, after The Intercept and The Takeaway asked for a request for comment.)
When the food-related protest escalated, detainees began throwing toilet water and food at the guards, according a social media posting. As the officers attempted to end the protest, Lewis slipped on water and fell, according to his posting. Lewis then said he got up and “went to shooting whatever was n his path” with the pepper-ball gun — then made the “Call of Duty” reference.
Another Facebook account claiming to belong to a SORT officer shared that he “walked in that mf pod letting the OC go,” referring to oleoresin capsicum, the active ingredient in pepper spray and pepper balls. He wrote that he “had a can in each hand.” At the moment of the commotion, according to the Facebook post, was when the detainee in a wheelchair “jumped out the chair into the room.” The Facebook posting recounted that the man in the wheelchair “felt them mfs. He grabbed his face.”
A recent court filing in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s lawsuit says the man continued to urinate blood 10 days after the use-of-force incident.
As Lewis summarized it in another posting: “they learned they lesson fasho.”


theintercept--2020-05-04--Brazil's President Goes to War With Democratic Institutions — and Hopes the Military Has His Back

Supreme Court saboteurs !
New anti-communist constitution !
Criminalize communism !
” read one banner .
“ Military intervention with Bolsonaro , ” read another .
A protester waved a sign outside the window of a car : “ Weapons for upstanding citizens.
” Hundreds of diehard , far-right protesters were gathered on Sunday in Brasília , the capital of Brazil , to rally against the quarantine imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus and in support of what would amount to a military coup against the legislature and judiciary .
Multiple journalists were physically attacked .
Among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bolsonaro himself , who was also present at a similar protest two weeks earlier .
Bolsonaro and his allies have repeatedly insisted that these protests in favor of overthrowing the legislature and undermining the Supreme Court are “ spontaneous movements ” by average supporters , but the Supreme Court has opened an investigation into who is behind them .
Multiple members of Congress aligned with the president are suspected of organizing the events , including Bolsonaro ’ s sons .
Bolsonaro , who favors reopening the country against the advice of public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anyone in the government who does not bend their knee to him , which includes representatives of almost every democratic institution in the country — stoking fears that Brazil is accelerating its slide toward another dictatorship .
Meanwhile , the Federal Police are investigating Bolsonaro and his politician sons for multiple suspected crimes ; his former political party has called for his impeachment ; his former Justice Minister Sergio Moro gave an eight-hour deposition to investigators alleging that the president politically interfered in law enforcement institutions ; the public prosecutor — a recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation into Moro ’ s allegations against Bolsonaro ; Supreme Court ministers have blocked multiple actions he has attempted to take in recent days ; and the commander of the army has publicly contradicted his coronavirus denialism .
That ’ s just a sampling of the battles underway .
With the deck stacked so high against him , Bolsonaro is not signaling defeat or moderation , but rather that he is willing to go all out on his war against Brazilian democracy .
“ I pray to God that we have no problems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limit .
There is no more conversation , from now on we will not only demand , we will make them follow the Constitution .
It will be enforced at any price , ” Bolsonaro told the admiring crowd in Brasília on Sunday , standing at the entrance of the Planalto presidential palace .
Brazilian , American , and Israeli flags flew behind him .
Bolsonaro has complained about what he feels is undue interference in his constitutionally mandated executive domain — particularly by the Supreme Court .
He later added , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to allow for any more interference .
No more patience.
” Bolsonaro addressed protesters who are explicitly advocating for the overthrow of democratic institutions , which is a crime in Brazil , where a string of military presidents ruled from 1964 to 1985 after a coup backed by the U.S. Bolsonaro and his vice president , retired Gen. Hamilton Mourão , have praised the military dictatorship throughout their careers , but Bolsonaro has gone further to even openly celebrate its widespread use of torture .
Whipped into a fervor at the rally , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assaulted journalists who were covering the protest .
Dida Sampaio , a photojournalist for O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper , was pushed to the ground , kicked , and punched by protesters who yelled , “ Trash , ” “ Get out , ” and obscenities .
Marco Pereira , a driver for the newspaper , had his legs kicked out from under him during the attack , and other journalists were verbally harassed .
The incident provoked widespread condemnation from the national journalists ’ union , news organizations , and political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not witness the attack but denied that his supporters were responsible .
“ If there was aggression , it was an infiltrator , some crazy person who should be punished , ” he said .
A political crisis erupted in Brazil late last month when Moro , the justice minister , resigned .
Leaked chats between Moro and Bolsonaro suggested that the president wanted to replace Mauricio Valeixo as head of the Federal Police to halt investigations into presidential allies .
Against Moro ’ s wishes , Bolsonaro fired Valeixo and appointed Alexandre @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intelligence agency , ABIN , and a close friend of his sons .
That appointment was blocked by a decision from Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes before Ramagem could be sworn in .
On Monday , Bolsonaro announced that Ramagem ’ s righthand man , Rolando Souza , would take the position and had him sworn in 20 minutes later .
Souza ’ s first act in office was to replace the superintendent of the Federal Police in Rio de Janeiro , lending credence to Moro ’ s accusations ; Rio de @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the jurisdiction where multiple investigations into his family are underway .
During the 15 months of the Bolsonaro administration , eight ministers have been fired or resigned — two in the past three weeks .
Finance Minister Paulo Guedes was also recently on the defensive after publicly disagreeing with a Bolsonaro-backed economic plan that was put forward by the military .
The president and allies are also currently pressuring Culture Minister Regina Duarte to resign .
The president is also reportedly considering the removal of the army ’ s top general , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a younger and less qualified general named Luiz Eduardo Ramos , a close adviser to Bolsonaro who is reportedly very loyal to him .
The news has rankled some in the military and led Ramos to publicly deny that the plan is being considered .
Such a move is within his power as president , but would usually entail a serious justification , not purely political considerations .
Pujol has put himself at odds with the president by calling the coronavirus pandemic “ one of the greatest challenges in our history ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its spread .
Separately , a legislative agency responsible for oversight of the executive branch requested an investigation into Bolsonaro for political interference into the military for revoking three decisions that would have increased oversight into weapons and munitions produced in Brazil , which is entirely under the purview of the military .
The day before the protest , Bolsonaro held an unscheduled meeting with top military leaders and the former military men in his cabinet to discuss the current political morass .
According to the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper , many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overstepping its constitutional authority .
However , President of the Court José Antonio Dias Toffoli reportedly also felt that some of the rulings issued monocratically by his colleagues crossed the line into “ judicial activism.
” Bolsonaro ’ s defense minister , a retired army general , issued a statement on Monday in which he reiterated the coronavirus ’ s threat to the population and disavowed attacks on journalists , but signaled that — speaking on behalf of the organizations he oversees — he agrees that the Supreme Court is overstepping its authority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and harmony between the [ branches of government ] to be essential to the governability of the country , ” the statement said .
Brazil is quickly becoming one of the global hot spots of coronavirus infections .
On Sunday , Brazil had the third-highest number of new deaths of any country in the world .
Official statistics , which are widely understood to be dramatically underreported , show that Brazil has more than 105,000 cases and 7,321 deaths from Covid-19 .
In São Paulo , black Brazilians are 62 percent more likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white peers , a clear measure of the nation ’ s rampant inequality and government ’ s failures to address it .
As The Intercept reported , due to flawed certification procedures by federal authorities , 75 percent of Covid-19 tests available in Brazil are unreliable , many of which were even denied approval to be sold in the countries in which they are manufactured .
Public health systems in many states are collapsing , and doctors are being forced to ration care .
When questioned about the situation last week , Bolsonaro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lament it .
What do you want me to do ?
” Last month , Bolsonaro fired Health Minister Henrique Mandetta for publicly challenging him on the government ’ s response to the coronavirus pandemic and replaced him with the more complacent Nelson Teich , a health care executive and doctor .
Sen. Kátia Abreu recently said in a press conference that Teich has proven to be “ a little lost ” in his job .
“ Where is the general planning ?
” Abreu remarked .
Teich himself has admitted that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its Covid-19 response and angered public health officials by limiting the already scarce access to data on the public health situation .
“ The general sentiment is frustration , ” said Rui Costa , governor of Bahia state , after a virtual meeting between governors and the new health minister .
Despite being widely criticized for his perceived inaction , Teich was able to push through an illegal measure to block Cuban doctors from returning to Brazil to help prop up collapsing regional health care systems .
In 2013 , the presidential administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thousands of Cuban doctors to serve communities in the most remote reaches of the country , where it was difficult to attract Brazilian professionals .
Bolsonaro , who campaigned heavily against an imaginary communist threat , made clear that he would end the program after he won the presidential election in 2018 , so Cuba canceled the contract and recalled its doctors .
Some of the Cuban health care professionals stuck around , hoping to be able to continue working in Brazil outside of the intergovernmental program , but the administration has repeatedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reasons .
“ I ’ m sure of one thing : We have the people on our side , we have the Armed Forces on the side of the people in the name of law , order , democracy , and freedom .
And most importantly , we have God with us , ” Bolsonaro told supporters Sunday .
At least part of the claim is false : The president ’ s approval rating has dropped to 27 percent , down 24 percentage points since he took office last January .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Forces and God — usually more abstruse — will have to reveal which side they are on .

“Out with Congress, Supreme Court saboteurs! New anti-communist constitution! Criminalize communism!” read one banner. “Military intervention with Bolsonaro,” read another. A protester waved a sign outside the window of a car: “Weapons for upstanding citizens.” Hundreds of diehard, far-right protesters were gathered on Sunday in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, to rally against the quarantine imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus and in support of what would amount to a military coup against the legislature and judiciary. Multiple journalists were physically attacked. Among the speakers at the rally was President Jair Bolsonaro himself, who was also present at a similar protest two weeks earlier.
Bolsonaro and his allies have repeatedly insisted that these protests in favor of overthrowing the legislature and undermining the Supreme Court are “spontaneous movements” by average supporters, but the Supreme Court has opened an investigation into who is behind them. Multiple members of Congress aligned with the president are suspected of organizing the events, including Bolsonaro’s sons.
Bolsonaro, who favors reopening the country against the advice of public health experts, is increasingly at war with anyone in the government who does not bend their knee to him, which includes representatives of almost every democratic institution in the country — stoking fears that Brazil is accelerating its slide toward another dictatorship.
Meanwhile, the Federal Police are investigating Bolsonaro and his politician sons for multiple suspected crimes; his former political party has called for his impeachment; his former Justice Minister Sergio Moro gave an eight-hour deposition to investigators alleging that the president politically interfered in law enforcement institutions; the public prosecutor — a recent Bolsonaro appointee — has asked for an investigation into Moro’s allegations against Bolsonaro; Supreme Court ministers have blocked multiple actions he has attempted to take in recent days; and the commander of the army has publicly contradicted his coronavirus denialism. That’s just a sampling of the battles underway. With the deck stacked so high against him, Bolsonaro is not signaling defeat or moderation, but rather that he is willing to go all out on his war against Brazilian democracy.
Bolsonaro is signaling that he is willing to go all out on his war against Brazilian democracy.
“I pray to God that we have no problems this week. We have reached the limit. There is no more conversation, from now on we will not only demand, we will make them follow the Constitution. It will be enforced at any price,” Bolsonaro told the admiring crowd in Brasília on Sunday, standing at the entrance of the Planalto presidential palace. Brazilian, American, and Israeli flags flew behind him. Bolsonaro has complained about what he feels is undue interference in his constitutionally mandated executive domain — particularly by the Supreme Court. He later added, “Enough interference. We are not going to allow for any more interference. No more patience.”
Bolsonaro addressed protesters who are explicitly advocating for the overthrow of democratic institutions, which is a crime in Brazil, where a string of military presidents ruled from 1964 to 1985 after a coup backed by the U.S. Bolsonaro and his vice president, retired Gen. Hamilton Mourão, have praised the military dictatorship throughout their careers, but Bolsonaro has gone further to even openly celebrate its widespread use of torture.
Whipped into a fervor at the rally, some of Bolsonaro’s supporters physically assaulted journalists who were covering the protest. Dida Sampaio, a photojournalist for O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, was pushed to the ground, kicked, and punched by protesters who yelled, “Trash,” “Get out,” and obscenities. Marco Pereira, a driver for the newspaper, had his legs kicked out from under him during the attack, and other journalists were verbally harassed. The incident provoked widespread condemnation from the national journalists’ union, news organizations, and political leaders. Bolsonaro later said he did not witness the attack but denied that his supporters were responsible. “If there was aggression, it was an infiltrator, some crazy person who should be punished,” he said.
Secure Power and Stifle Dissent
A political crisis erupted in Brazil late last month when Moro, the justice minister, resigned. Leaked chats between Moro and Bolsonaro suggested that the president wanted to replace Mauricio Valeixo as head of the Federal Police to halt investigations into presidential allies. Against Moro’s wishes, Bolsonaro fired Valeixo and appointed Alexandre Ramagem, director of Brazil’s intelligence agency, ABIN, and a close friend of his sons. That appointment was blocked by a decision from Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes before Ramagem could be sworn in. On Monday, Bolsonaro announced that Ramagem’s righthand man, Rolando Souza, would take the position and had him sworn in 20 minutes later. Souza’s first act in office was to replace the superintendent of the Federal Police in Rio de Janeiro, lending credence to Moro’s accusations; Rio de Janeiro is Bolsonaro’s home state and the jurisdiction where multiple investigations into his family are underway.
During the 15 months of the Bolsonaro administration, eight ministers have been fired or resigned — two in the past three weeks. Finance Minister Paulo Guedes was also recently on the defensive after publicly disagreeing with a Bolsonaro-backed economic plan that was put forward by the military. The president and allies are also currently pressuring Culture Minister Regina Duarte to resign.
During the 15 months of the Bolsonaro administration, eight ministers have been fired or resigned — two in the past three weeks.
The president is also reportedly considering the removal of the army’s top general, Edson Leal Pujol, to replace him with a younger and less qualified general named Luiz Eduardo Ramos, a close adviser to Bolsonaro who is reportedly very loyal to him. The news has rankled some in the military and led Ramos to publicly deny that the plan is being considered. Such a move is within his power as president, but would usually entail a serious justification, not purely political considerations. Pujol has put himself at odds with the president by calling the coronavirus pandemic “one of the greatest challenges in our history” and defending social isolation measures to limit its spread.
Separately, a legislative agency responsible for oversight of the executive branch requested an investigation into Bolsonaro for political interference into the military for revoking three decisions that would have increased oversight into weapons and munitions produced in Brazil, which is entirely under the purview of the military.
The day before the protest, Bolsonaro held an unscheduled meeting with top military leaders and the former military men in his cabinet to discuss the current political morass. According to the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, many of the generals agreed that the court was overstepping its constitutional authority. However, President of the Court José Antonio Dias Toffoli reportedly also felt that some of the rulings issued monocratically by his colleagues crossed the line into “judicial activism.”
Bolsonaro’s defense minister, a retired army general, issued a statement on Monday in which he reiterated the coronavirus’s threat to the population and disavowed attacks on journalists, but signaled that — speaking on behalf of the organizations he oversees — he agrees that the Supreme Court is overstepping its authority. The Armed Forces “consider independence and harmony between the [branches of government] to be essential to the governability of the country,” the statement said.
Flat-Footed Response
Brazil is quickly becoming one of the global hot spots of coronavirus infections. On Sunday, Brazil had the third-highest number of new deaths of any country in the world. Official statistics, which are widely understood to be dramatically underreported, show that Brazil has more than 105,000 cases and 7,321 deaths from Covid-19. In São Paulo, black Brazilians are 62 percent more likely to die from the disease than their white peers, a clear measure of the nation’s rampant inequality and government’s failures to address it.
As The Intercept reported, due to flawed certification procedures by federal authorities, 75 percent of Covid-19 tests available in Brazil are unreliable, many of which were even denied approval to be sold in the countries in which they are manufactured. Public health systems in many states are collapsing, and doctors are being forced to ration care. When questioned about the situation last week, Bolsonaro said, “So what? I lament it. What do you want me to do?”
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Last month, Bolsonaro fired Health Minister Henrique Mandetta for publicly challenging him on the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and replaced him with the more complacent Nelson Teich, a health care executive and doctor. Sen. Kátia Abreu recently said in a press conference that Teich has proven to be “a little lost” in his job. “Where is the general planning?” Abreu remarked. Teich himself has admitted that the country is “navigating blind” in its Covid-19 response and angered public health officials by limiting the already scarce access to data on the public health situation. “The general sentiment is frustration,” said Rui Costa, governor of Bahia state, after a virtual meeting between governors and the new health minister.
Despite being widely criticized for his perceived inaction, Teich was able to push through an illegal measure to block Cuban doctors from returning to Brazil to help prop up collapsing regional health care systems. In 2013, the presidential administration of Dilma Rousseff began to bring in thousands of Cuban doctors to serve communities in the most remote reaches of the country, where it was difficult to attract Brazilian professionals. Bolsonaro, who campaigned heavily against an imaginary communist threat, made clear that he would end the program after he won the presidential election in 2018, so Cuba canceled the contract and recalled its doctors. Some of the Cuban health care professionals stuck around, hoping to be able to continue working in Brazil outside of the intergovernmental program, but the administration has repeatedly blocked them from getting certified for ideological reasons.
“I’m sure of one thing: We have the people on our side, we have the Armed Forces on the side of the people in the name of law, order, democracy, and freedom. And most importantly, we have God with us,” Bolsonaro told supporters Sunday. At least part of the claim is false: The president’s approval rating has dropped to 27 percent, down 24 percentage points since he took office last January. In the coming weeks and months, the Armed Forces and God — usually more abstruse — will have to reveal which side they are on.