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For Immediate Release
January, 25 2023, 03:40pm EDT
Contact:
Email:,press@fightforthefuture.org
Statement: NY AG on facial recognition at The Garden
NEW YORK
New York Attorney General Letitia James sent a letter today to Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. about the company's vindictive use of facial recognition to ban people from its venues (which you can check out here).
Caitlin Seeley George, Campaigns and Managing Director (she/her) at Fight for the Future, released the following statement in response:
"The civil rights impacts of Madison Square Garden using facial recognition are the crux of the threat of this technology. Facial recognition is an inherently dangerous affront to peoples' rights. Attorney General James gives examples of how facial recognition could have a chilling effect on people filing sexual harassment or employment discrimination complaints. And despite the current attention on how this policy is impacting lawyers, the truth is the the impact will always be disproportionately greater for marginalized communities. James Dolan and Madison Square Garden Entertainment are adding to the long history of people in power using surveillance to silence opposition. We need lawmakers to defend peoples' rights and put an end to facial recognition in public places immediately."
Fight for the Future is a group of artists, engineers, activists, and technologists who have been behind the largest online protests in human history, channeling Internet outrage into political power to win public interest victories previously thought to be impossible. We fight for a future where technology liberates -- not oppresses -- us.
(508) 368-3026LATEST NEWS
'The US Is Becoming a Pariah': Trump Officially Ditches Paris Agreement, Again
"Trump is trying to drag the rest of the world backwards by launching conflicts for oil and bullying other countries into deepening their reliance on dirty, dangerous fossil fuels," warned one campaigner.
Jan 27, 2026
President Donald Trump faced a fresh flood of fury on Tuesday as he formally withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement a second time, part of the broader anti-climate agenda he's pursued since returning to power.
The US initially completed the one-year withdrawal process in November 2020, as ballots from the general election were still being counted. After winning the race, former President Joe Biden swiftly rejoined the climate treaty, but Trump reclaimed the White House four years later—with help from Big Oil—and moved to abandon the pact again on his first day back in the Oval Office.
"Thanks to President Trump, the US has officially escaped from the Paris Climate Agreement, which undermined American values and priorities, wasted hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and stifled economic growth," a White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers, said in a Tuesday statement celebrating the "America First victory."
Advocates for ambitious action on the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency struck a much different tone about the president exiting the 2015 deal, which aims to limit global temperature rise this century to 1.5ºC, relative to preindustrial levels. Oil Change International US campaign manager Allie Rosenbluth declared that "Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is a betrayal of the communities at risk from climate disaster, especially those on the frontlines of the crisis in the Global South."
"Trump is entrenching petro imperialism and enriching his fossil fuel CEO donors, at the cost of a livable planet," she said. "The US is the largest historic emitter and the current planet-wrecker-in chief, responsible for a greater increase in oil and gas extraction than any other country since the Paris Agreement. Now, Trump is pulling out of the agreement that commits it to help solve a crisis it largely created—deepening global risk of climate-fueled hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and floods."
Rosenbluth argued that "under Trump, the US is becoming a pariah on the world stage and should be treated as such by the countries claiming to defend climate multilateralism and international cooperation. It is clinging to fossil fuel dependency as many other nations embrace the clean, affordable energy sources of the future. Trump is trying to drag the rest of the world backwards by launching conflicts for oil and bullying other countries into deepening their reliance on dirty, dangerous fossil fuels."
"Trump can withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, but can't change that millions of people will fight for climate justice, including leaders from the Global South and US states and localities," she added. "While Trump turns the US into a rogue state, we must redouble global efforts to end the fossil era and fight for safety and dignity for all."
In an interview with the Guardian, Basav Sen, climate justice project director at the Institute for Policy Studies, suggested that US disengagement has already encouraged others to take action.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil last November—which the Trump administration did not attend—Colombia, the Netherlands, and Pacific Island nations announced plans to host historic talks on phasing out fossil fuels. Sen said, "I have to believe that the reactionary position of the US acted as further impetus for those countries to step up."
Still, the Trump administration's position means "it will be that much harder for low-income countries, who are very dependent on fossil fuel production and exports, to be able to make their transitions with the US saying that we won't fund any of it," he said. Sen also stressed that "if the domestic market in the US continues to be dominated by fossil fuels through the fiat of an authoritarian government, that will continue to have an impact on the rest of the world."
In the lead-up to COP30, Amnesty International secretary general Agnès Callamard urged other governments "to resist aligning with the Trump administration's denial of the accelerating climate crisis and instead demonstrate true climate leadership."
On Tuesday, Marta Schaaf, Amnesty's program director for climate, economic and social justice, and corporate accountability, said that "the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement sets a disturbing precedent that seeks to instigate a race to the bottom, and, along with its withdrawal from other major global climate pacts, aims to dismantle the global system of cooperation on climate action."
Despite "increasingly deadly and expensive" weather disasters, Trump has left not only the Paris Agreement but also dozens of other international treaties and organizations intended to coordinate on key issues, including human rights and the climate crisis.
"The US is one of several powerful anti-climate actors," Schaaf acknowledged, "but as an influential superpower, this decision, along with acts of coercion and bullying of other countries and powerful actors to double down on fossil fuels, causes particular harm and threatens to reverse more than a decade of global climate progress under the agreement."
"While the US may no longer be a party to the Paris Agreement, it still has legal obligations to protect humanity from the worsening impacts of climate change as confirmed by the International Court of Justice in its landmark 2025 advisory opinion," she emphasized. "US-based climate advocates and activists now find themselves on the frontlines of a fight with implications for current and future generations everywhere."
"Global solidarity and support to ensure accelerating momentum to address climate change has never been more urgent," Schaaf added. "Those who witness the harms caused by climate change and who can speak safely—must speak up. Other governments too must push back against all coercive efforts by the US. Ceding ground now risks losing it for years. Neither the planet nor the people living on the frontlines of proliferating unnatural disasters have that much time."
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As Trump Terrorizes Immigrants, Spain Offers Permanent Residency for 500,000 People
Responding to the deadly US crackdown, one Spanish leftist leader said, "If they kidnap children and murder, we give papers."
Jan 27, 2026
As President Donald Trump terrorizes immigrants and Americans alike with his deadly mass deportation blitz while warning European leaders to tighten their borders by raising the racist specter of "civilizational erasure," Spain's government is moving against the xenophobic tide by offering hundreds of thousands of migrants a chance at permanent legal residency.
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the leftist Podemos party reached an agreement Monday following the collection of more than 700,000 petition signatures in favor of a legislative initiative to legalize up to 500,000 undocumented migrants.
Those who can prove that they were in Spain for at least five months before December 31, 2025 and have no criminal record will be eligible for permanent legal residency with permission to work.
Spanish Migration Minister Elma Saiz (PSOE) said during a press conference that "today is a historic day" for starting the process of legalizing hundreds of thousands of immigrants in a country that has made great strides in overcoming its legacy of racism and xenophobia.
The far-right Vox party called the legalization plan "madness" that promotes "barbarity."
However, Saiz said that legalization will help Spain “recognize, dignify, and give guarantees” to people who already live and work in the country.
“We’re reinforcing a migratory model based on human rights, on integration, and on coexistence that’s compatible with both economic growth and social cohesion,” she added.
Responding to arguments that legalizing so many migrants would severely strain Spain's social safety net, Podemos Secretary General Ione Belarra said on social media, "What overwhelms public services are your cuts and privatizations."
Belarra also said that some opponents of legalization are angry that they will no longer be able to exploit migrants by paying them less than legal workers.
Podemos Political Secretary Irene Montero said Tuesday that "we have a legal obligation to guarantee [migrant] rights and that is what this regularization is, which we hope will reach all the people without papers in Spain who were here before December 31, 2025."
Spain's population is approximately 49.4 million. Legalizing half a million immigrants would be the equivalent of granting permanent residency to about 3.6 million migrants in the United States. There were believed to be about 7.1 million foreign nationals living in Spain at the beginning of last year, of whom an estimated 840,000 were in the country without authorization.
Sánchez's PSOE-led government has been supportive of immigrants since coming to power in 2018, offering safe harbor for migrants arriving in Europe by sea when other European Union nations have moved to restrict their entry. More than 10,000 migrants died trying to reach Spain in 2024, according to the Spanish advocacy group Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders).
Meanwhile, Trump's latest National Security Strategy, released last month, urges the US to "cultivate resistance" to immigration in Europe, espousing racist "great replacement" ideology while warning of “the real and stark prospect of civilizational erasure."
“Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less," the document states.
European nations including Denmark, Germany, Greece, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have recently tightened their migration and asylum policies, in some cases partially due to pressure from Washington.
Responding to Trump's deadly anti-immigrant crackdown—which has killed both immigrants and US citizens—Montero said Tuesday that “in the United States at the moment there are millions of people who are afraid in their own homes because Trump’s migration policy enters people’s homes and takes them away."
“We cannot accept that there are people who live in fear and without rights," she added. "We cannot accept racist violence. Racism is answered with rights. If they kidnap children and murder, we give papers."
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1 Person in Serious Condition After Border Patrol Shooting in Arizona
The group No More Deaths said that "we condemn all acts of violence from Border Patrol; call for a thorough investigation; and demand that the victim receive continued access to medical attention."
Jan 27, 2026
This is a developing story… Please check back for updates…
An Arizona sheriff confirmed Tuesday evening that a suspect is in "serious but stable" condition after a morning shooting that involved US Border Patrol—which is facing mounting scrutiny for its involvement in President Donald Trump's mass deportation operations.
During a press conference, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said that an agent conducted a traffic stop targeting someone believed to be involved in human trafficking. He said the suspect fled on foot and fired a gun, and an agent returned fire.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) is "working in coordination" with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which oversees Border Patrol.
An FBI representative at the press conference identified the suspect as 34-year-old Patrick Gary Schlegel. He faces various charges.
At around 7:30 am local time, the Santa Rita Fire District responded to the shooting near milepost 15 of West Arivaca Road in Pima County, just miles from the Border Patrol checkpoint in Amado and the US-Mexico border.
"Patient care was transferred to a local medical helicopter for rapid transport to a regional trauma center," the fire department said in a statement. "The incident remains under active investigation by law enforcement agencies."
The Associated Press reported that "the area is a common path for drug smugglers and migrants who illegally cross the border, so agents regularly patrol there."
PCSD said in a statement that FBI requests for the department to conduct investigations "are standard practice when a federal agency is involved in a shooting incident within Pima County and consistent with long-standing relationships built through time to promote transparency."
"We ask the community to remain patient and understanding as this investigation moves forward," the department also said. "PCSD will thoroughly examine all aspects of the incident, however, these investigations are complex and require time."
No More Deaths, a humanitarian aid group in the region, said that the incident "reflects a long history of violence from federal immigration enforcement. Since 2010, there have been 364 documented deadly encounters with Border Patrol. The number of deaths and disappearance due to Border Patrol enforcement is estimated to reach over 10,000."
"In the present moment, excessive use of force from federal agents has become especially visible. This past week, Border Patrol agents shot and killed a second legal observer in Minneapolis," the group noted. The killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good have ramped up protests against Trump's "Operation Metro Surge" in Minnesota and demands for accountability across the country.
"As a humanitarian organization founded on the belief that all people deserve dignity, we condemn all acts of violence from Border Patrol; call for a thorough investigation; and demand that the victim receive continued access to medical attention," said No More Deaths, which also called for the abolition of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
CBP and ICE are both part of the US Department of Homeland Security. The various shootings and other violence by DHS agents in recent months have fueled calls for the resignation or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Trump.
Although the Trump administration has responded to the outrage in Minnesota by relocating a key official—the Atlantic reported Monday that "Gregory Bovino has been removed from his role as Border Patrol 'commander at large' and will return to his former job in El Centro, California, where he is expected to retire soon"—the president said Tuesday that Noem won't resign.
DHS violence has also complicated a congressional effort to prevent a federal government shutdown before the end of the month, given the growing number of lawmakers and people across the country demanding "no funds for ICE and Border Patrol."
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