Episode

2/29 Biden’s Border Pivot; Progressive Runs In IL-07 w/ Carlos Rojas Rodriguez, Kina Collins

February 29, 2024

It’s another EmMajority Report Thursday! Emma speaks with Carlos Rojas Rodriguez, a former staffer on the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, to discuss the Biden administration’s recent attempts at passing bipartisan immigration legislation. Then, she is joined by Kina Collins, candidate for Congress in Illinois’s 7th District, to tell us about her race ahead of the primary in March. Emma runs through updates on the growing death toll in Gaza in the wake of the IDF opening fire on Palestinians swarming an aid truck, major developments in Trump’s legal battle for his candidacy, the GOP’s government shutdown, Mitch McConnell’s resignation from leadership, IVF legislation, Idaho’s botched execution, environmental emergency in Texas, and the impact of long covid, before parsing through CNN’s coverage of the Supreme Court taking on Trump’s ballot case. Carlos Rojas Rodriguez then joins, tackling Biden’s insane, full right-wing immigration turn, completely ceding the narrative to the right and pushing policies of pure border militancy. After briefly touching on the Democrats’ shift to the right on immigration in the wake of Obama’s DACA program, and his experience questioning Biden in a 2020 town hall, Rodriguez parses through the myriad (now broken) promises made by Biden on the 2020 campaign trail, why his administration’s approach to immigration has largely been a continuation of Trump’s, and what this turn could mean for Biden’s 2024 chances. Wrapping up, Rodriguez explores an alternative vision to border militancy, and unpacks the hypocrisy of globalization’s open borders when it comes to capitalism and exploitation, and severe border militancy when it comes to those that it exploits. Kina Collins then dives right into her take on Texas Gov. Abbott’s threats to send more immigrants to Chicago, and why leaving behind the scarcity mindset can help you fight for both existing community members who lack resources and those not yet integrated. Next, Collins and Emma tackle the politics of incumbent Rep. Danny Davis, particularly his absence from both his community and his voting responsibilities, before walking through Collins’ history growing up and organizing in the same neighborhood Fred Hampton organized and was assassinated, and how it shaped her political life and beliefs. After touching on the importance of gun safety and single-payer healthcare to her platform, Collins wraps up by touching on her relationship with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and what the fight for IL-7 looks like heading forward.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt Binder as they talk with Mohammad Aldaghma about his family’s ongoing struggle to get out of Gaza amid Israel’s onslaught, before parsing through the recent report out of the Intercept that parses through the incredibly shady reporting and journalism behind the New York Times’ massive cover story about the systemic sexual assault that occurred on October 7th. They also talk with Carl from Arizona on the right wing’s obsession with women’s labor, watch the Swedish EU Rep to the UN’s statements on complicity in Gaza, and explore some more attempts by Israel to spin the war to the US public. They also cover the right’s attempt to feign ballot fraud, plus, your calls and IMs!

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