While there has been an ongoing expansion of immigrant detention centers in the United States for nearly two decades, the government recently allocated $38.3 billion to put that on hyperdrive in order to add the capacity to detain 92,000 more people. The government is purchasing warehouses in communities across the US and even considering using military bases. Clearing the FOG speaks with journalist Sam Carliner about the expansion, who is being detained, the appalling conditions in these prisons, who is profiting and how communities are organizing to stop what are essentially concentration camps. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

On January 29, which coincides with the twelfth anniversary of the declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace (at the CELAC meeting in Havana, Cuba), the Trump administration designated Cuba as "an unusual and extraordinary threat... to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.” As a result of this designation, the US is tightening the economic blockade on Cuba, with a particular emphasis on stopping fuel deliveries, and is threatening any nation that provides aid. Clearing the FOG speaks with Netfa Freeman of the Black Alliance for Peace about the impact of the blockade, the significance of Cuba's example of internationalism and defending its sovereignty, as well as assisting other nations in doing the same, and efforts to support the Cuban people. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The Trump administration's 'Metro Surge' in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where 3,000 or more federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security have been deployed to terrorize residents and arrest thousands of people a day, has been met with fierce resistance both locally and through national and international solidarity. Clearing the FOG speaks with FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley, who lives close to the cities, about the current situation there, the illegality of the tactics used by federal agents, and the fight back against them. Then, India McKinney of the Electronic Frontier Foundation speaks about the use of facial recognition technology, the need to abolish it, and people's rights to record law enforcement. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

This week, Clearing the FOG speaks with Ajamu Baraka, a political analyst, activist, and internationally-recognized human rights defender. Baraka discusses the recent protests in Iran, including the media misinformation campaign, manipulation of Iran's currency to lower its value, and the US-Israeli attempt to create chaos and install the son of the brutal Shah, who was ousted in 1979. He also talks about the campaign to move the World Cup out of the US and the recent violent occupation of cities by ICE in the context of the US government building the apparatus to instill terror and suppress all dissent. Baraka explains the need to educate ourselves, organize, and take action on many fronts to stop the US-led rise of global fascism. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.