20 April 2021
The Koch Network and the George W. Bush Presidential Center are partnering on an interactive immigration exhibit aimed at countering stereotypes and promoting immigration reform.
The big picture: The partnership — to be announced Tuesday — between the right-wing network's philanthropic arm, Stand Together, and the Dallas center comes as Congress is expected to debate immigration reform proposals amid resistance from many Republicans.
The details: The "Common Ground: Immigration Pop-Up Exhibit" features nine stand-alone doors signifying popular proposals about reforming immigration as told through interactive video stories.
- When users open the multimedia doors, the exhibition takes them through a journey seeking to link immigrants and non-immigrants.
- The exhibit also will highlight polling data showing over 75% of Americans believe immigration is a good thing, or that three in five Americans support a plan providing citizenship for Dreamers.
The yearlong exhibit is launching in Dallas alongside a new book and portrait exhibit by former president Bush called "Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants."
- "I set out to accomplish two things: to share some portraits of immigrants, each with a remarkable story I try to tell, and to humanize the debate on immigration and reform," Bush recently wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.
- Bush also told CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell the immigration system was one of the biggest disappointments of his presidency.
- “I campaigned on immigration reform,” said Bush, who cast himself as a "compassionate conservative" throughout his campaigns and two terms. “I made it abundantly clear to voters this is something I intended to do.”
What they're saying: “Immigration signifies the exceptional success of our nation as the land of opportunity," Laura Collins, director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative, said in a statement. "When we welcome people who share our unwavering determination and optimism, we can remain a hopeful and prosperous society."
The intrigue: The Koch Network is alternately described as libertarian or conservative. It was founded by Charles and the late David Koch, Kansans who controlled Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held company in the United States.
- Through its many groups like the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and The LIBRE Institute, it has been pushing for bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform for years.
- The network has argued immigration reform was needed to build economies in parts of the U.S.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.