In the West Texas Desert, Billionaires Rocket Above as Migrants Die Below

By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan The west Texas town of Van Horn was in the news this week, as the site of the private space flight launched by the world’s richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Bezos made a ten-minute suborbital trip in his New Shepard space capsule. Far below, countless others make a far weightier trip, attempting the perilous trip from Mexico, across the desert furnace on foot, seeking refuge in the United States. Many of these migrants, exhausted and dehydrated, perish in the desolate terrain. Democracy Now! is a daily independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Visit democracynow.org to watch and listen to the latest interviews, read through show transcripts, search the vast news archive or to make a donation to support our nonprofit news program. Livestream weekdays 8 a.m. ET. Follow Democracy Now! on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, SoundCloud and iTunes.