All posts tagged: Decry

In Minnesota, US cardinals and pope’s ambassador decry mass deportations and call for reconciliation

In Minnesota, US cardinals and pope’s ambassador decry mass deportations and call for reconciliation

ST PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Two American cardinals and the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S. denounced the mass deportations in Minnesota under the federal government’s immigration crackdown, but they urged everyone to repair strained relations and work together toward humane solutions. In St. Paul on Friday, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington addressed growing concerns with immigration enforcement while highlighting the need to be peacemakers on the polarizing issue after a Mass for migrants he celebrated with his fellow prelates and the Twin Cities’ archbishop. McElroy depicted this winter’s enforcement surge as “almost a siege” that unfolded in “literally the heartland of our country.” “Catholic teaching supports the nation’s right to control its border and, in these cases, to deport those who’ve been convicted of serious crimes,” he said. “Seeking to deport millions of men and women and children — families who often lived here for decades, many children who don’t know other countries — is contrary to Catholic faith and, more fundamentally, contrary to basic human dignity.” McElroy joined Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New …

Renee Good’s brothers and a woman shot five times by CBP decry DHS’ tactics

Renee Good’s brothers and a woman shot five times by CBP decry DHS’ tactics

Two brothers of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in her car last month in Minneapolis, gave emotional testimony Tuesday in Washington about the death of their sister and its impact on the family. Good’s death on Jan. 7 resulted in an escalation of anger, opposition and protests against the administration’s immigration enforcement policies and was followed weeks later by the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Protection officers on Jan. 24. Their killings have led lawmakers to call for reform and accountability in the Department of Homeland Security, as well as for the resignation of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “The deep distress our family feels because of Nee’s loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change,” Luke Ganger testified Tuesday at a public forum held by Democrats to discuss violent tactics and use of force by DHS. Luke Ganger and Brent Ganger, brothers of Renee Good, on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.Roberto Schmidt …

Palestinians Decry Israeli Plan to Seize West Bank Archaeological Site

Palestinians Decry Israeli Plan to Seize West Bank Archaeological Site

Israeli authorities have announced plans to seize a sprawling archaeological site overlooking the Palestinian town of Sebastia in the West Bank, sparking outrage among the roughly 3,500 Palestinians who depend on tourism to the site and nearby olive groves for their livelihoods. Residents of Sebastia have denounced the planned seizure as a pretext for expanding illegal Jewish settlements and as a means of erasing Palestinian identity through the appropriation of heritage sites, the Guardian reported Monday. Related Articles Sebastia’s mayor, Mahmud Azem, received notice from Israeli authorities in November, according to the Guardian. Talk of settlement expansion, however, has circulated for years, amid an escalating pattern of land seizures across the West Bank by Israeli settlers. The current development plan calls for a visitor center, a parking lot, and a fence that would separate the archaeological site from the town, cutting off Palestinian access to both the ruins and the surrounding olive trees. “Unfortunately, Sebastia has gone into a dark tunnel,” Azem, 50, told the Guardian. “It is an aggression against Palestinian landowners, against olive …

Wildfire victims decry state law protecting utilities from cost of disasters they cause

Wildfire victims decry state law protecting utilities from cost of disasters they cause

A year after the Eaton fire, survivors and the state’s electric utilities are clashing over whether state law should continue to protect the companies from the cost of disastrous wildfires they ignite. Southern California Edison says that with the help of those state laws it expects to pay little or even none of the damage costs of the Eaton fire, which its equipment is suspected of sparking. But in recent filings to state officials, fire victims and consumer advocates say the law has gone too far and made the utilities unaccountable for their mistakes, leading to even more fires. “What do you think will happen if you constantly protect perpetrators of fires?” said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network. At the same time, Edison and the state’s two other big for-profit electric companies are lobbying state officials for even more protection from the cost of future fires to reassure their investors. If government investigators find Edison’s equipment ignited the Eaton fire, at least seven of the state’s 20 most destructive wildfires …

Cuba Launches Mass Demonstration to Decry US Attack on Venezuela and Demand Maduro’s Release

Cuba Launches Mass Demonstration to Decry US Attack on Venezuela and Demand Maduro’s Release

HAVANA (AP) — Tens of thousands of Cubans demonstrated Friday outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana to decry the killing of 32 Cuban officers in Venezuela and demand that the U.S. government release former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. They crowded into the open-air “José Martí Anti-Imperialist” plaza across from the embassy in a rally organized by the Cuban government as tensions between Cuba and the U.S. spike following the U.S. attack Jan. 3 on Venezuela. The 32 Cuban officers were part of Maduro’s security detail killed during the raid on his residence in Caracas to seize the former leader and bring him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges. “Humanity is experiencing something very complex, and (the U.S.) is governed by a president who considers himself an emperor,” said René González, 64, one of the protesters. “We must show him that ideas are worth more than weapons,” he said. “This march is a message of our unity. Independence is sacred, and we will defend it tooth and nail if necessary.” Cuba’s national anthem rang …