Jul
19
2013
Uprising’s Friday guest expert Pilar Marrero, journalist, writer and political analyst, author of Killing the American Dream, and Senior political and immigration writer with La Opinion, analyzes today’s news headlines:
A federal court case begins today to challenge the US government’s authority to perform extrajudicial killings of Americans through the use of unmanned drones. The ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights brought the suit over the killings of 3 US citizens in Yemen in 2011, saying that their rights to due process were violated.
The heart of America’s auto industry has declared bankruptcy – the City of Detroit yesterday filed for bankruptcy as a way out of its dire financial situation, leaving thousands of city workers to face the possibility of losing their pensions. City residents may also face severe cuts in services.
And finally, Republican Representative and former VP candidate Paul Ryan made a statement in a radio show that has irked immigrants and their advocates. According to Ryan, who is considered influential over the pending House vote on the immigration reform bill, immigrants aren’t as interested in getting citizenship as much as they are in being able to get a decent job to support their families. Polls show that 87% of immigrants would apply for citizenship if they had the chance, and even 55% of American citizens support a pathway to citizenship.