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American Morning

Immigration Nation; Life or Death for Moussaoui?

Aired April 10, 2006 - 08:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love this country. We don't want to go back to Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hope and anger are fueling more immigration protests. Today, the biggest demonstrations yet in dozens of cities all across the country.

President Bush now facing pressure from his own party to come clean about leaking classified information.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Communities across the Southeast are cleaning up this morning after strong storms and tornadoes tear through several towns.

And they are bracing for the very worst out West. California rivers now at the breaking point. The threat of flooding and Chad's forecast all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. Welcome to -- I almost said Friday. Oops -- Monday.

M. O'BRIEN: Just the opposite.

S. O'BRIEN: Monday. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: Wishful thinking on your part. I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us. Let's get right to it.

It's a big day for immigration rallies in dozens of cities. There could be a million people demonstrating in all. Several hundred thousand demonstrated in Dallas yesterday. The rally was a protest of a House bill that would make it a felony to be in this country illegally.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken is in Washington. Two hundred thousand expected to be on the Mall today to say something about this.

And Allan Chernoff in New York. Protests planned here as well.

Let's begin in Washington with Bob.

Good morning, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

And, of course, the Mall has significance. Historically, it's been the place where various social movements have gotten a start with massive rallies here. And the people who are a part of the immigration movement hope that they'll be able to do that, too, and they're trying again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): Even before today's major rallies, demonstrators jammed the streets in Dallas on Sunday. They were there in Miami, too, and Long Island, New York.

It is impossible to document how many of the marchers are undocumented, taking a risk by going public.

Regardless, today organizers hope for a massive turnout across the country. They march as the Senate stalls, unable to agree on legislation that would allow many illegals to seek citizenship, a concept that's rejected by a majority in the House.

REP. TOM TANCREDO (R), COLORADO: It sends a horrible message. It sends a terrible message to every single person who has ever come in this country the right way.

FRANKEN: Some Democrats join the Republicans in acknowledging that the tide of illegal immigrant is out of control and presents security risks.

REP. LUIS GUTIERREZ (D), ILLINOIS: I agree, enforcement is key and security is key. But let's do it comprehensively. Let's have a holistic approach.

FRANKEN: The Senate has run into the kind of wall that would be the envy of those who want to protect U.S. borders.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Democrats put political advantage over the national interest.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: What happened is the Republicans reached an agreement with Democrats, and then they couldn't hold the Republicans together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: The Hispanic immigrant group wants to make the message that they're a political force to be reckoned with, not to be messed with, pointing out that Hispanics in the United States now constitute the nation's largest minority -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken on the Mall.

Thank you very much.

Expected to be a similar scene here in New York City today. More than a hundred organizations are mobilizing people to take part in a three-pronged march.

Our senior correspondent, Allan Chernoff, live here in the city.

Good morning, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

The marchers will give a very clear message: give illegal immigrants a shot at the American dream.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF (voice-over): Marabeth Sanchez (ph) is only 12 years old, but she has a message for Washington.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not criminals. We just follow our dream.

CHERNOFF: Marabeth (ph) is the daughter of Fernando and Anna Sanchez undocumented immigrants who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexican border 15 years ago. Fernando Sanchez works on construction sites says he didn't have the option to come to the U.S. legally and only intended to stay for a few years. But after having four children, all U.S. citizens because they were born here, Fernando wants to remain in America legally and says he wants to live the American dream.

FERNANDO SANCHEZ, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT (through translator): For me, it means to be able to have progress, to have a better life than the one I would have in my country.

CHERNOFF: The entire Sanchez family will march on city hall Monday joining thousands of expected protesters to support the right of illegal immigrants to seek U.S. citizenship. Community activists Ana Maria Archila says illegal immigrants are eager to have their voices heard.

ANA MARIA ARCHILA, LATIN AMERICAN INTEGRATION CENTER: They don't feel like they don't come here to break the law, but they come here to do jobs that are hard jobs, that are low paying -- low paying jobs that are really risky jobs and they feel like there is a lot of lack of gratitude from the members of Congress that are instilling fear and hatred against immigrant communities.

CHERNOFF: Ana Sanchez agrees and says life is hard as an illegal immigrant. She and her husband live in constant fear of deportation and they have not been able to visit their family back in Mexico for 15 years but it's all worth it she says to raise her family in America.

ANA SANCHEZ, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We have to struggle and that you cannot give up for what is good for -- I cannot give up for what is good for myself, for my husband and for my children.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHERNOFF: The Sanchez family is hoping that today's rally will motivate Congress to create a path for illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Allan, do we have any idea how big the crowd will be?

CHERNOFF: We're just expecting tens of thousands. Really, we'll have to see. We really have no idea exactly how many, but we do know that there are plenty of organizations involved, major political speakers here. We can expect a big crowd for sure.

M. O'BRIEN: It sure is a beautiful day for a protest. That's for sure.

Allan Chernoff in New York City this morning.

Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: There is more heart-wrenching evidence expected today in the life-or-death trial phase for Zacarias Moussaoui. Prosecutors intend to play the cockpit recordings from United Flight 93. That's the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11.

Let's get right to Jeanne Meserve. She's outside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, for us this morning.

Hey, Jeanne. Good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

The prosecution has had four years to build its case, and it has designed it to pack the maximum emotional wallop. Last week, there was testimony about those who were in the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11. There was testimony from victim families. Also, the jury heard tape recordings of some of their last calls.

Today, we are expecting to hear about the people who were inside that building, largely through testimony of their surviving family members. We may also hear another phone call or two.

Now, as the week progresses, we expect to hear eventually from about 40 victim families, those representative of all who died on 9/11. And we will eventually expect to hear that cockpit voice recording from Flight 93, the flight that went down in the field in Pennsylvania. This will be the first time that it is heard publicly.

Now, when the defense gets its opportunity, it's expected to put on witnesses that would argue that Moussaoui had a difficult childhood as a Muslim in France, that he suffers from mental illness, and that he should not be made a martyr. But the prosecution is expected to take up most of this week presenting its case with the horrific and emotionally troubling testimony, arguing that Moussaoui should be put to death for what he did not tell investigators about what he knew about the 9/11 plot. Back to you, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Jeanne. Let me ask a question. I hope you can hear me, because I know there's a big -- big old din of construction right over your shoulder.

Some of the relatives of the victims have already testified. How have the jurors been reacting to that testimony? I mean, it's just brutal.

MESERVE: Well, not only have they heard from those family members, they also have heard those tapes and seen videotape, some of it quite horrific, of people jumping from the towers. People who were in the courtroom said that several of the jurors appeared to tear up as they heard and watched some of this, some of the family members of the courtroom cried outright -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning.

Jeanne, thanks for the update.

There are reports in Washington now saying that the White House is thinking about a strike against Iran's nuclear sites. The White House says the president's priority is to find a diplomatic solution, but "The New Yorker" magazine claims President Bush wants the option of nuclear weapons if Iran's nuclear program moves to the next level.

Seymour Hersh broke that story, and he says that the Pentagon and the White House are at odds over the nuclear option.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEYMOUR HERSH, "THE NEW YORKER": They gave this option, this menu to the president and the White House a few months ago, and then later, the military, the Joint Chiefs tried to walk back to the nuclear option, which is, of course, crazy. Nobody in their right mind would use a nuclear weapon in the Muslim world. There's 1.2 billion Muslims that would be out to get us.

And the White House refused to rescind it. They told the planners to keep it in the plan, and that's the issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Hersh says that some senior officers say that they'll quit over this issue. Iran today is accusing the U.S. of waging a desperate psychological war.

And an outrageous story we've been talking about this morning. A little boy just 5 years old dismissed by a 911 operator when he call because his mother is unconscious and needs help. His name is Robert Turner, he was home all alone with his mom when he found her unconscious.

He called 911. The operator said, "Stop playing around."

Listen to the tape.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

911 OPERATOR: Emergency 911. What is the problem?

ROBERT TURNER: My mom has passed out.

911 OPERATOR: Where's the grownup at?

TURNER: In her room.

911 OPERATOR: Let me speak to her.

TURNER: (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: Let me speak to her before I send the police over there.

TURNER: (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: I don't care. You shouldn't be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you're going to be in trouble.

TURNER: Ugh!

(END AUDIO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: So he makes the first phone call. She won't send the police. He waits three hours, makes a second phone call. She still will not send a paramedic or the police. Hours later, though, the police finally do arrive, and by then, his mother, Cheryl Turner (ph), had died.

Representatives for the Dispatchers Union say that 25 percent of calls that they get are pranks. The family's attorney says, though, that is just unacceptable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFFREY FIEGER, FAMILY ATTORNEY: There is no excuse for this. Children are taught -- my children are 2 and 4 years old. Robert has just turned 6. They're taught by their parents in the face of an emergency call 911.

When they call, they can't be intimidated. They can't be scolded. They can't be threatened. That's just counterproductive. And in this case it resulted in the loss of a life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: That's the little boy's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger. Fieger says they're going to be filing a wrongful death suit against the city of Detroit -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: They're cleaning up the debris, assessing the damage from Friday's deadly tornadoes in Tennessee. The destruction is immense.

It turns out the big one that hit Sumner County, the central part of the state, was an F-3. That means 170-mile-an-hour winds. This morning, communities are reaching out to help victims whose homes were destroyed.

At least four tornadoes hit Atlanta's northern suburbs on Saturday. No serious injuries reported there, however, although you see quite a bit of damage.

Crews in California working overtime, meanwhile, to shore up levees there. Nearly continuous rains have swollen rivers to the breaking point in the central part of the state. They're trying to shore up some weak spots to stop any potential flooding disasters, which brings us to Chad Myers.

That's history. Today, not so bad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not too bad in the central plains, but more rain now coming into California. So let's focus there now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: Sounds pretty nice. All right, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, a congressman accused of forcing his staffers to baby-sit for his kids and tutor his wife who is in law school. And what's more, they say your tax money paid for it. We'll talk about that just ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: Also, singer Peter Gabriel will join us in the studio. He is fighting human rights abuses with cameras. We'll explain.

S. O'BRIEN: And then later, an update on the so-called Xbox murder trial. The case is getting under way. A closer look at the shocking case is just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Explosive charges against one congressman to tell you about this morning. Was he treating his staff like hired help? Well, one congressional staffer says she was turned into a nanny. Others say they were expected to chauffeur, tutor, even diaper the boss' kids.

Investigative reporter Drew Griffin is on the story for us this morning.

Hey, Drew. Good morning.

We're talking about Congressman John Conyers, right?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very powerful man on Capitol Hill. What this is about, Soledad, is ethics on Capitol Hill and who is and who is not doing anything to investigate when members of Congress are accused themselves of violating the rules.

What we found out is former staff members of Congressman John Conyers of Detroit had been complaining about him for years. One says she was expected to baby-sit the boss' kids for weeks at a time. Sydney Rooks is Conyers former legal adviser and says she was expected to become part nanny, part tutor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYDNEY ROOKS, FMR. CONYERS LEGAL COUNSEL: It was common, it was ubiquitous. And it wasn't just me. OK? I was the tutor, primarily, but I wasn't the only person who got stuck with the kids for the day. I wasn't the only person who had to take the boys to the bathroom, change a diaper or anything like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: John Conyers is a 19-term congressman, nearly four decades in Washington. For weeks we have been trying to ask him about these allegations. His staff was telling us he just wasn't available. Well, last week we found him, found him in no mood too talk about babysitting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN CONYERS (D), MICHIGAN: Now, this is not fair.

GRIFFIN: It's just like a yes or no question. Have you required your staff to baby-sit your children and at one point baby-sit your children for six weeks?

CONYERS: Now, wait a minute, sir. Oh, come on.

GRIFFIN: That's what the allegation is in the ethics files.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: John Conyers has never said if this stuff is true or not, Soledad. His attorney will only say the House Ethics Committee was aware of the allegations and that his client cooperated.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, generally speaking, Drew, there are staffers who have complained about things like this for a long time, about -- for different employers that they've had. Has Congress done anything, you know, sort of officially to stop things like this that's being alleged here?

GRIFFIN: You know, the answer was surprising to me because I didn't know about this. There is an ethics rule that they do follow on Capitol Hill, Soledad, and it's the rule about reporting this. The House Ethics Committee will only launch an investigation if another member of Congress reports on a member of Congress. So if you don't report me, I won't report you.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right.

You can see Drew's full report tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific, of course.

Thanks, Drew -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: You think your kids are safe online because you set up a few rules? Well, coming up, we'll talk to one mom about the same thing. But then she logged on to her daughter's account. She was rather shocked by what she saw.

A new twist in the gossip scandal with "The New York Post." Why the columnist at the center of it says he's the victim.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: If you have a teenager and a computer, you've probably head of myspace.com. It's a social networking site, a big hit with young people. But it's making headlines lately because of some of the dangers that might be associated with it. For example, the potential that a sexual predator could get online to find a young victim.

This morning, we talk to Catherine Saillant and her 13-year-old daughter Taylor. Katherine says she was horrified by what she found on her daughter Taylor's page. And we're going to talk to both of them about it.

Good morning, ladies. Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.

CATHERINE SAILLANT, PARENT: Good morning, Soledad.

TAYLOR SAILLANT, FMR. MYSPACE USER: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: Catherine, you discovered that Taylor already had a page, in fact, at myspace, sort of inadvertently. And at first you didn't want to have her -- let her keep it. But eventually you decided that you were going keep her myspace account.

Why did you finally agree to it?

C. SAILLANT: Well, I started doing my homework about the site. I went on to the site. I read news articles about it. And it just started becoming a topic of conversation quite a bit around the first of the year.

And my older sister had started her own account and urged me to do the same. She said it was a great way to -- that we could exchange e-mails and keep in touch and exchange photos.

So I decided to give it a try. And I thought, well, why don't I let Taylor do her own page, and as long as I'm monitoring it -- and we have some pretty strict rules -- we'll see how it goes. So that's what.

S. O'BRIEN: You kept it -- forgive me for interrupting you there, but you were keeping a journal of all of this as well, we should say. This is sort of a diary that you've written up for the "Los Angeles Times."

And you wrote this -- at the time you were thinking, "Well, what if I allowed Taylor to maintain a page while keeping a close eye on it? I'd join, too, become familiar with the site's benefits and drawbacks. So I typed out a contract and Taylor enthusiastically signed it."

Taylor, what were some of the rules that your mom's talking about?

T. SAILLANT: Well, I couldn't really -- like, she had to know the password and how to sign on. And I couldn't, like, do any foul language or do anything that I wasn't supposed to. And she just had to monitor it.

S. O'BRIEN: And so you were fine with your mom looking over your shoulder all the time you had this account?

T. SAILLANT: Yes. She didn't really, like, look into anything private or anything. It was -- it was OK.

S. O'BRIEN: All right.

So, now, what surprised you, Catherine the most? I mean, I have to assume as a parent you think, are sexual predators online trolling for kids like my daughter and her friends?

C. SAILLANT: Right. And Soledad, that was my biggest worry going into this, because I had heard all of the concerns and read the stories about the possibility of that happening. But after about two months that -- we didn't have any experience with that, with anybody trying to solicit either myself or Taylor who we didn't know. It was more for me just all of the foul language and the crude images and thoughts.

S. O'BRIEN: Were you surprised? I mean, were you shocked?

C. SAILLANT: I was a little shocked about just how easily it was accessible. Not necessarily on Taylor's page, but just one or two clicks away. She could be looking at, you know, near pornography.

S. O'BRIEN: Here's what you wrote in the "L.A. Times." You said, "Surveys are also popular and contain such telling questions as, 'Have you ever taken drugs? Are you a virgin? And abortion, for or against?' Talk about a permanent record!"

Taylor, is that kind of stuff just sort of par for the course on myspace.com?

T. SAILLANT: Well, there's more than that, but yes, kind of.

S. O'BRIEN: I guess I'm asking, are you surprised that your mom was surprised by this sort of stuff.

T. SAILLANT: Yes, because I didn't think she knew that that would be on there. And I think she was a lot -- really surprised.

S. O'BRIEN: Eventually, Taylor's lost -- I'm sorry to say, Taylor, that you lost your privileges for your account.

Mom, why don't you tell us what Taylor did.

C. SAILLANT: She and her friends posted some inappropriate pictures.

S. O'BRIEN: And we should say inappropriate meaning -- I mean, they were giving somebody the finger, right?

C. SAILLANT: They were giving somebody the finger. The one- fingered salute.

S. O'BRIEN: We don't want anybody to think Taylor was scantily -- I'm sorry, Taylor. I feel so sorry for you sitting right there as your mom and I talk about you. But not inappropriate in, like, a sexual way.

C. SAILLANT: No.

T. SAILLANT: No.

C. SAILLANT: No. No.

S. O'BRIEN: And you know what's interesting? Here's what you write in your article, Catherine. You say, "Before her myspace being went dormant, Taylor received one last helpful e-mail from a friend. 'You know you can just make another one but have a different name,' wrote the girl. 'That's what I did.'"

And I thought, wow, you know, I would think there are a lot of kids who would -- not Taylor, who seems lovely -- but who might go ahead and just say, listen, my mom's no longer giving me permission, she's temporarily off her account, and could go ahead and just do it without your knowledge this time around.

How worried are you about that, Catherine?

C. SAILLANT: It's very, very easy to do, and it really comes down to an issue of trust. And I'm trusting that Taylor will let me know if that happens. That's one of the reasons why we had our deal, our contract. I'm trying to teach her responsibility, because I think that using the Internet is a privilege, so you have to -- you have to show responsibility and have consequences if you don't live up...

S. O'BRIEN: Taylor -- Taylor, I'm going to give you the final quick word. Your mom also wrote a lot about all the great things that you got out of using myspace. I mean, she said your photography was really impressive, that, you know, you really became great at doing, you know, HTML and all these other things.

What do you think is the main thing you got out of myspace? And I should mention, you're going to be allowed back on when you turn 14 as part of your punishment. The number one thing you got out of myspace?

T. SAILLANT: Well, it's just like connecting with friends and talking to them, because sometimes you don't get to talk to them over the phone. And I guess I just mainly used it for friends and stuff.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, ladies, thank you for being with us. I certainly appreciate it.

Catherine Saillant, Taylor Saillant, we'll talk again when you're 14, Taylor.

T. SAILLANT: Thank you.

C. SAILLANT: Thanks, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks for sharing your story with us.

Wow. I think that's such an interesting thing.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. It's so scary, because, you know, you want to trust them.

S. O'BRIEN: But the good news is, she said, you know, that she thought sexual predators was really why you'd go online, your concern. And she said, you know, really, no one's -- no one's gotten in touch with her.

I think she did a brilliant thing, which was she got her own -- the mom got her own myspace account so she could see what her daughter -- you know, what the experience is like.

M. O'BRIEN: It was a good tip.

S. O'BRIEN: It was a great tip.

M. O'BRIEN: It was a good tip. You might see me on myspace pretty soon.

S. O'BRIEN: Good for you.

M. O'BRIEN: The gossip column "Page Six" now page one news. Coming up, a "New York Post" columnist accused of extortion, but now he's claiming he's a victim. We'll follow that one.

Plus, she's only 4'11", but this project runway champ is quickly becoming one of the biggest names in fashion. How she went from living in a refugee camp to the life of a celebrity.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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