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American Morning
Border Problems: Stopping the Smugglers; Life in Mexico: How Migrants Make Their Way; Railroad Safety
Aired March 13, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Straight talk. Joint Chief's Chairman Peter Pace caught on tape, taking a new stand against gays in the military.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I believe that homosexual acts are immoral.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Sudden departure. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff steps down as new details emerge about the mass firings of U.S. attorneys.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And south of the border, agent culture clashes with modern reality. Mexico's mass migration. Why are so many so desperate they'll risk everything to get out. We go behind the front lines of America's immigration crisis where it all begins, live from Mexico City for a look at "The Other Side: Life In Mexico."
Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Soledad O'Brien coming to you live from Mexico City on what, Miles, clearly is a rainy day.
M. O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien in New York City.
Back to you, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles.
Let's tell you a little bit about where we are in El Zocalo Square, which is truly the hub of Mexico City. It's a very large square with a very long and impressive history. It was back here during the Aztec empire, in fact, that the square was first used. Roads converged, creating the center here.
It has found some very important archaeological excavations as well. The Spanish influence you can see absolutely everywhere in the city. The Spaniards conquered the Aztecs back in 1521.
Here they built the national cathedral. Here is the seat (ph) of government, the national palace. And this is also really, Miles, the spot where all the major, public ceremonies take place and the major military displays as well. The real reason we're here, of course, is because this is where, Mexico, is where two presidents are meeting, a very important meeting, talking about a shared crisis. President Bush and the Mexican president Calderon. Calderon came into office with a platform of jobs, higher wages, more opportunity for his people. He, like many people here, think a wall is not the answer. We're going to talk about some of the ideas for fixing the immigration crisis ahead.
Calderon only has been in the job for a couple of months. Who could forget that massive fistfight that basically broke out during his inauguration ceremony back in December. The election was nasty. It was very, very close. He squeaked by in the end with less than a percentage point. And you can see still, as you drive through the city, some signs for the opposition, Obrador. People who say he was the legitimate victor in this race.
Of course, the big problem here in Mexico is jobs. There are just not enough jobs. Wages, too, is a big problem. Teachers, for example -- and this is a rough estimate as far as numbers go. A teacher might make $12,000 a year, U.S. dollars, working a 12-hour day. So it's no surprise that people want to leave to come north of the border.
This morning we're going to have reports from across Mexico. We've got Elaine Quijano. She's traveling with President Bush. She's in Merida, which is about a 90 minute, 2 hour flight from here. Chris Lawrence is on the U.S. border in Otay Mesa in California. Ed Lavandera also on the border, but on the Mexican side. He's in the east, in Palomas, Mexico. And Harris Whitbeck is right here with me, right in this rainy center of town.
We're going to begin with Elaine Quijano who is traveling with the president.
Good morning, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
And Mexico is President Bush's last stop on his five-nation tour of Latin America. As you noted, today the president will sit down with Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, and they will tour some Mayan ruins. All of this part of an effort to demonstrate that the United States is fully engaged in the region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States has no more important relationship in the world than the one we have with Mexico.
QUIJANO, (voice over): That was President Bush six days before September 11th. But terrorist attacks changed all that and put Mexico on the back burner of U.S. foreign policy. Now more than five years later, and with a new Mexican president, Felipe Calderon as the helm, President Bush wants to send the signal, the U.S. cares about its neighbors to the south. BUSH: And I'm working with the United States Congress on comprehensive immigration reform. It seems like, to me, we've got to get this done by August.
QUIJANO: But in Latin America, bitterness lingers over legislation signed by President Bush and pushed by conservatives in his party to build a 700-mile long fence along the border.
MICHAEL SHIFTER, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE: Calderon is interested in an immigration agreement and clearly resents, as do most Mexicans, this idea of building a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico. It sends a message that Latin Americans are not wanted in the United States and it's been seen as an insult and many have taken offense.
QUIJANO: Asked about that, President Bush did not back away from his decision.
BUSH: Quite the contrary. People are welcome, but under the law.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: But President Bush and President Calderon believe that they can overcome that barrier and work together to create decent- paying jobs in Mexico. Tomorrow, the two leaders will appear before cameras before President Bush returns to Washington later tomorrow night.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning.
Thank you, Elaine.
It might be a very big barrier to overcome, though.
Ahead this morning, we're going to tell you about a man who is living illegally in New York City. But the money that he's making there is making a very big difference here in Mexico. We'll have his story straight ahead this morning.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Soledad. See you then.
Congress investigating that massive fire in the federal prosecutes today. The administration now admitting that President Bush spoke with the Attorney General Alberto Gonzales several weeks before the purge, passing along Republican complaints about the prosecutors. D. Kyle Sampson, the Gonzales aide in charge of firing eight U.S. attorneys last year, resigned yesterday. Congressional leaders will see e-mails today showing that former White House Counsel Harriet Miers originally asked Sampson about firing all 93 U.S. attorneys. Also this morning, the nation's top military leader facing fire after calling homosexuality immoral. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Peter Pace telling "The Chicago Tribune," he supports the Pentagon's don't ask, don't tell policy on moral grounds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHEFS CHAIRMAN: I do not believe that the armed forces of the United States are well served by saying through our policies that it's OK to be immoral in any way, not just with your (INAUDIBLE) sexuality. So from that standpoint, saying that gays should serve openly in the military, to me, says that we, by policy, would be condoning what I believe is immoral activity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Democrats in Congress are planning to introduce legislation that would allow gay men and women to serve openly.
At the Pentagon, heads are still rolling in the wake of the Walter Reed scandal. More hearings today. No less than four groups now investigating shoddy conditions that outraged many wounded vets and their families. The Army's top medical officer, General Kevin Kiley is out, forced to retire. He is the third, high level officer to lose his job since "The Washington Post" broke that story.
Happening in America this morning.
In southern-most Georgia, an Amber Alert as police now believe six-year-old Christopher Barrios was kidnapped near his grandmother's home last Thursday. Despite an extensive search, police have not found a trace of him. Authorities say they did not issue the alert sooner because they did not have a vehicle description to publicize.
In Miami today, sentencing for John Couey begins. He's the man who murdered nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford. Defense lawyers will try to prove that Couey is mentally retarded. They hope that will persuade the jury to spare him the death sentence.
In California, they now say that fire in Orange County is arson. More than 2,000 acres have burned now since Sunday. It is now 80 percent contained. It was sparked when someone set afire a stolen car.
On the other side of the country, in North Carolina, a brush fire is still burning out of control this morning. It scorched more than 300 acres in Swayan (ph) County already. The fire has burned nine homes to the ground, damaged numerous others. Many residents evacuated overnight. They should be able to go home this morning, we're told.
Well, what happens in Vegas does not last forever. Not even close. Another big casino, the Stardust, biting the dust a short time ago. At one time it was the crown of the Vegas Strip. It opened in 1958. It will be replaced by a gleaming $4.4 billion luxury complex. You can sure bet on that. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Hey, Miles, take a guess at just how much money is sent from illegal immigrants or legal immigrants from the United States into Mexico. The number might surprise you. $22 billion sent out of the U.S. into Mexico. It's called remittances. Family members helping out other family members. That's just the money that's officially recorded. There's probably a lot more that comes in under the table.
So this morning we wanted to introduce you to one man. He's living illegally in the United States, but the money that he's making there is completely changing his neighborhood here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN, (voice over): For Miguel, this is his American dream.
Is your business pretty successful?
MIGUEL, IMMIGRANT: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: His flower shop is thriving, but Miguel thinks he'd be doing even better if he were living here legally. Miguel crossed the border into the U.S. 10 years ago.
MIGUEL: It's a really, really, really scary way to come.
S. O'BRIEN: Miguel's wife and their two children live with him in New York. The children were born in the states and are American citizens. Miguel is reluctant to show their faces or give his last name.
You pay rent?
MIGUEL: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: You own a business?
MIGUEL: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: You pay taxes?
MIGUEL: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: All those things, people might think -- are surprised to have no documents.
MIGUEL: What I need to open the business, you have to call the IRS. They give you a number.
S. O'BRIEN: Miguel grew up in Ashakotan (ph). A two-and-a-half hour drive outside of Mexico City. Locals say nearly half the town has left for jobs in the states after the textile mills here closed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (through translator): There are no jobs here.
S. O'BRIEN: Miguel's father, Julio (ph), works construction, but it's not enough. Every week Miguel sends $200 or so back home. His two brothers and two sisters, also living illegally in the United States, help, too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (voice over): I feel proud about building the house because my kids' sacrifice had a purpose.
S. O'BRIEN: The money they've made in the U.S. is improving life here in Mexico. The two-room house Miguel grew up in now has rooms for everyone. But there's a good chance Miguel will never come back. And his mother, Margarita, has never seen her grandchildren.
MARGARITA, MIGUEL'S MOTHER, (through translator): A mother needs her kids around. I miss them. It's been difficult.
S. O'BRIEN: Back in New York, Miguel says he'd like to be legal, own a bigger shop, hire more people.
What do you think about this country?
MIGUEL: It's great. It's very good. Just the only thing to immigrants, illegal immigrants, they give us a lot of -- like -- they hate us because they think that we just come to take and not to give.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: It's wages and jobs, Miles, that is really fueling this immigration crisis. Of course, the big question today is, just what is Mexican President Calderon going to do about it? We're going to take a closer look at that straight ahead.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Soledad, thank you very much.
Still to come this morning.
When will California get a break from the heat? Chad will tell us when they can lower the red flags.
And Republicans and their wrecked marriages. How will stories of affairs and serial marriages play in the Bible belt? We'll get into that.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning right here on CNN.
President Bush on the ground in Mexico as we speak. He's there to meet with the country's president, Felipe Calderon. The two expected to talk immigration, of course. A live report from Soledad straight ahead.
And the Joint Chief's chairman, Peter Pace, calling homosexuality immoral and he says gays should not be able to serve openly in the military.
It's about quarter past the hour now. Chad Myers at the CNN Weather Center. He's watching the big weather stories for us.
Good morning, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Hey, Chad, they told us it never rains in El Zocalo Square. I'm not kidding you. They said, don't worry about the rain and, of course, today we're a little worried about it.
Welcome back, everybody.
Part of the reason we're here, of course, is because two presidents are meeting, President Calderon, the new president just coming in. He won the election really squeaking by with less than a 1 percent margin there. Hector Tobar is the Mexico City bureau chief with the "L.A. Times." He joins us to help us out here in the pouring rain. We appreciate it.
We were taking a closer look this morning, Hector, at why exactly Mexicans are leaving really in droves. That's not an exaggeration. Is it purely economics as we saw in our last piece, or is it more than that?
HECTOR TOBAR, "L.A. TIMES" MEXICO CITY BUREAU CHIEF: Well, I think that, for the average Mexican, the United States represents the possibility of realizing an ambition. It represents social mobility. Mexico is a place with very static social classes. And, you know, the United States has served the Horacio Alter (ph) story. It's the place where you can become an individual, you can realize yourself without any ties to the past. You can liberate yourself of all that weighs you down.
S. O'BRIEN: When you look at sort of the demographic flow into the United States, there was a time when it was mostly poor, unskilled labor coming in. Now you see large numbers of middle class, college educated people who are coming across the border illegally. Why?
TOBAR: Well, because it's just very difficult. Once again, like in the United States, the middle class is shrinking in Mexico. The public education system is underfunded. People feel that the avenues of social mobility, even for a middle class person, are limited. And so they cross the border to realize their dreams.
S. O'BRIEN: The wage gap, of course, is a huge, huge issue. And some of the numbers -- and these are, I know, estimates -- but a doctor might make between $12,000 and $15,000 U.S. dollars here in Mexico. A nurse might make $8,000 more or less. Those, you know, it obviously depends on where you are in the county. When the new president, when Calderon came in, he said he was going to reform all of this. But, of course, the margin of victory is so small, the fight that ensued while he was in his inauguration was so big, it's a huge problem for him, isn't it?
TOBAR: Right, he won with 38 percent of the vote. The opponent, his opponent, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also won 38 percent of the vote. Calderon has the largest party in congress, but he only has a very, very, very narrow plurality. He doesn't have enough to get , you know, legislation through in the congress. So he needs the help of the middle party, which is the Pre (ph), which used to run Mexico, and which has ambitions one day of returning to power. So it's not really in their interest to help Calderon get anything done.
S. O'BRIEN: He also needs help from the United States. And this is where this meeting with President Bush is key. And he's got to kind of walk that fine line where you represent your own people, but also negotiate some kind of deal with the U.S., especially on crime, especially on immigration, right?
TOBAR: Exactly. The one thing, the one sort of golden goose that Calderon can deliver to the Mexican people is immigration reform. If he can be the president who says, I got 10 million of our compatriots legalized in the United States, their situation is now stable, that's a big deal for Mexico.
At the same time, he has to show that he's tough vis-a-vis the United States. We saw this recently with the president of Guatemala who actually chastised President Bush publicly on immigration. And when the president of Guatemala is standing up to (ph), you know that you really -- there's a big gap between what Americans see as the immigration problem and how Latin American's see it.
S. O'BRIEN: Hector Tobar is the Mexico City bureau chief for the "L.A. Times." Thank you for joining us. We certainly appreciate it. It looks like the rain -- you brought a little bit of dry weather. We certainly appreciate that as well.
You talk about that gap, and, of course, one way some people talk about bridging that gap or stopping that flow over that gap would be a fence. We're going to take you to both sides of the border to take a closer look at that straight ahead this morning.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Soledad.
Coming up, Dollar General is for sale, but is it a bargain? Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business."
Plus, the Republicans and their ex-wives. Can conservative voters divorce themselves from moral outrage over all the candidate failings? We'll take a look.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back.
Politics now. Four Republican candidates, or potential candidates, and nine current or former wives. It sounds messy. It is. The question is, how will it play in the Bible belt?
First, let's take a look at some numbers as we look at some of the frontrunners in this race. Rudy Giuliani, of course, has gotten a lot of attention here. He's at the top of the polls with 34 percent among Republicans. Three wives. Married three times.
John McCain, who is next on the list, he's had -- been married twice and he stands at 18 percent in the polls.
Newt Gingrich, not an official candidate, but certainly talking an awful lot about it, 9 percent in the polls right now without even announcing his candidacy. Married three times. Admitted that he had an ongoing affair as he pursued Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky affair.
Mitt Romney, the Mormon, is the only person who's had only one wife. Nine percent in the polls. Married for 38 years to one woman. A bit of irony there.
AMERICAN MORNING's faith and values correspondent Delia Gallagher joins us now to sort through all this and how this is going to play among the conservative base.
Do social conservatives really care an awful lot about this?
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's clear that it's become less of an important issue for the values voters. But what's interesting within this, Miles, is that it now seems to be not whether or not you're divorced, but how you divorced your wife. You know, did you embarrass her? Is your family still standing by you? So I think the correlation between how a candidate conducts his or her private life and whether they will make a good president is still a valid one.
M. O'BRIEN: So if there's such a thing, you want a quality divorce and you don't want to cheat on your wife, and those might be where the bar is?
GALLAGHER: Exactly. They're not going to get away from it. What they do in their personal life is still going to be public, is still going to probably be important for values voters, but not at the top of the list, especially when there are all these other issues that they're concerned about.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at some numbers. "USA Today"/Gallup did this last month. And they asked liberal, moderate and conservative potential voters what they think about this. The question is, their willingness to vote for a candidate who is married as many as three times. Liberals, 74 percent, moderates, 71 percent, conservatives 60 percent. Is that surprising to you, or is it perhaps that these candidates are, after all, a reflection of the state of marriage as a whole in this country? GALLAGHER: That's right. I mean, in society in general, and certainly even within the Christian community, divorce has become something that is more acceptable. I think that it's interesting that in some of the Bible belt states, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, the divorce rates are twice what they are in a state like Massachusetts, for example. So certainly even within the Christian communities, this is something that's become more acceptable. When there are other issues on the board, it's less important in a presidential candidate.
M. O'BRIEN: And specifically when you get down to social conservatives, are they less likely to be divorced? Or if you really look at the numbers, is their divorce rate the same as the rest of the country?
GALLAGHER: Well, again, in some of these Bible belt states, it's even higher. It's higher than the rest of the country. So it's an interesting phenomenon within the Christian community that divorce rates are as high as they are.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Delia Gallagher, our faith and values correspondent. Thanks for being with us.
Ali Velshi is here. Almost everything in the store is priced under a dollar. So the question is, when Dollar Store goes up for sale, will it be at a discount? Twenty-five minutes past the hour.
Ali, good morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Apparently not. Big surprise here. Dollar General has agreed to be bought out and taken private in a deal worth nearly $7 billion. Now it's another case of a publicly traded company going private. The discount retailer is being brought by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Company.
The Tennessee-based retailer has almost 65,000 workers in more than 8,000 stores. The company is in the mist of a restructuring. It's closing about 400 stores. It's opening about 300 others. Shares of the company closed about 25 percent higher on that news. So, obviously, folks think it's a good deal.
Now Dollar General's February sales came in a little under 5 percent increase over the previous year. Across all retailers, we were talking about this last week, February sales were disappointing. Even if you don't count sluggish auto sales, people bought less than analysts hoped they would. Part of that was because of that cold, snowy weather in February.
Part of it was because of lower housing prices. Retailers reported those numbers last week. And then yesterday those lower sales numbers were confirmed by a separate report from MasterCard advisers. And today we'll get further confirmation from the Commerce Department.
Now for March sales, with that extra hour of daylight, it might encourage shoppers to spend a little more money. But gas prices have been creeping up and that could undo all of that.
Now that wasn't all the markets had to consider yesterday. United Health Group, the granddaddy of the stock option scandal, announced that it was buying Sierra Health for $2.6 billion in cash. And Ford Motor Company sold a major stake in its British-based luxury Aston Martin line for almost $1 billion.
Goldman Sachs earnings come out today, Miles. It's the gold standard of investment banks and it's always fun to watch. And oil prices are back down under $60 a barrel. So lots of stuff to take into account today and we'll have our eye on all of it.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Ali. Appreciate it.
We're going to go back to Soledad in Mexico City coming up next.
Plus, America's top general caught on tape in defense of don't ask, don't tell.
And (INAUDIBLE) on the wrong track. Train safety. Now a federal case after yet another fiery accident.
And would a great fence along the border with Mexico really stop illegal immigration. A look from both sides of the border on a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. You're watching a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Soledad O'Brien coming to you live from Mexico City this morning.
Good morning, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Good morning, Soledad.
Miles O'Brien in New York City. It is Tuesday, March 13th. We're glad you're with us this morning. We're watching developing stories on this side of the border.
New fallout this morning in the mass firing of U.S. attorneys. The attorney general's chief of staff is out. We'll have more details coming up shortly -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right.
From the perspective here in Mexico City, as President Bush continues his Latin American tour, he's already been to Brazil and Uruguay, to Colombia, and also to Guatemala. So Mexico is his fifth and final stop.
He's been met with protests virtually every step of the way, and there will be no exception here in Mexico City. We're expecting the same thing. The issues that he's going to be talking with as he meets with his counterpart here in Mexico, President Calderon, will be job creation, foreign investment, and also crime. There has been a huge crime problem on both sides of the border.
In fact, at one point, the crime was so bad that the Federales had to send in troops in order to disarm some of the police in some local towns. We're going to talk more about that straight ahead this morning.
Also, Mexico has become a route for other immigrants from other Latin American countries to come through. We're to take you on a -- show you a train ride that takes you through Mexico north, but we'll show you just how deadly it can be.
And also this morning, would you pay $20, Miles, to recreate the run across the border? The run across the border has become a tourist attraction of sorts. It's come under a lot of fire, too, but the people who are doing it say, no, they've got good reason. In fact, what they're doing is helping their country.
We'll explain. It is kind of weird. That's straight ahead -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Weird indeed. And you actually did it. What was your impression?
S. O'BRIEN: It was long, it was dark, it was cold. It wasn't easy. And we're told by the people who run it, who have all run across the border, nothing close to what they experienced, too.
We'll tell you all about it straight ahead.
M. O'BRIEN: Interesting. Thank you, Soledad.
(NEWSBREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Back here in Mexico City, one of the areas in which President Bush and President Calderon actually see eye to eye is on crime. Both of them think it's way out of control. In fact, it's gotten so bad in parts of Mexico that Calderon had to send in troops to disarm the local cops in Tijuana. Oaxaca has had a very similar story.
So this morning, we have got two lives reports for you. Ed Lavandera is in Palomas, Mexico, for us. Chris Lawrence is in Otay Mesa in California.
Let's begin with Chris.
Good morning, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
You know, this area right here is one of the most dangerous for the Border Patrol agents, where they're getting pelted by cocktails molotov cocktails and rocks sometimes the size of softballs.
Just on the other side of that wall, on the Mexican side, is one of the poorest, most crime-ridden parts of Tijuana. It is an area controlled by one of the drug cartels, where the smuggling is extremely coordinated.
You look down there and you'll see a 10-foot wall. And then just a few feet away, a steel mesh fence that's even higher. It looks secure. Agents tell me a good smuggler can get over that fence in five seconds.
Here is how they do it. They attack the fence from multiple points all at the same time, using cell phones to coordinate their efforts down to the second.
One person will run up to the fence with a ladder. He will slam the ladder against the fence. Now, what -- some of them will climb up to the top of the fence and climb right back down on the Mexican side of the border.
They're just decoys used to distract the Border Patrol agents. Others, in other groups along that fence, will send multiple people over the fence, and running in all directions to try and spread out the Border Patrol agents.
Now, more agents, longer fence, the National Guard here on the border, it has made it tougher to get over in these points, and it's driving people on the other side of this story, which is the legal ports of entry. More people trying to mix in with the thousands of people who cross legally every year.
We have seen pictures of -- just horrible pictures of people stuffed into carpets, a mother and a child wedged into a dashboard, a child stuffed into the gas tank of a car. And that's just the human smuggling. Coming up a little later, we will tell you also about the drug smuggling that's going on at this points, as well -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence in Otay Mesa in California.
Let's take you now across the border, the Mexican side. Ed Lavandera is in Palomas, Mexico, where, sad to say, it's a very similar story.
Ed, good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, we're here to kind of get the perspective of what is it that drives migrants to make this dangerous journey into the U.S.? Many of them, by the time they reach this dusty border town, have already survived a long journey. The most difficult part is still yet to come, but they're driven by desperation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: This is the town square in Palomas, Mexico. It's a depressing, dirty far-flung outpost along the New Mexico-Mexico border. An ideal place to come find the people and meet the people that are making that migration northward. In fact, many of them will be catching the buses here as the sun begins to set to make that journey.
Sitting there at the gazebo in the white T-shirt, he's 24-year- old Manuel Adrian (ph).
Why do you feel that you have no hope here, that you have to go north?
(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
(voice over): He says for the necessity, to have something in life, to have something to offer his family. In Mexico, Manuel (ph) says he can make no more than $13 a day. He's trying to reach a construction job in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that will pay him $13 an hour.
(on camera): He's been living under this Christmas tree.
What's it like sleep under there at night? (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
Cold, loud and scared?
(voice over): It's time to move. Migrants board the bus for Las Chepas (ph), a small village where they'll begin their walk into the U.S.
Sixty-four-year-old Nemecio Salas will cross the border tonight.
(on camera): Why are you smiling? (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
(voice over): He says, "I laugh, because if I cry, it only makes the situation worse. Besides, my soul smiles."
He's looking for any job so he can build a home for his family. A backpack is all he brings.
(on camera): Gracias.
So this is Las Chepas (ph), the colony of no more than about 30 people. This is the last stop before heading north.
(voice over): This scene plays out every night in Las Chepas (ph), migrants chasing a golden dream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: A big portion of the economy in this small town and in that little colonia, which is about a 45-minute drive from where I'm standing right here is based largely on that illegal immigration. The coyotes will set up shop here in this plaza here in the next few hours looking to do business with the people who want to try to get smuggled across the border. As far as that 24-year-old man that we mentioned in the piece, he's out there somewhere tonight, and many of the migrants say that it has become much more difficult to cross into the U.S. because of stepped-up enforcement. And tonight it is cold, and it is dark, and the one thing that they're scared about out there is the snakes -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Ed Lavandera is in Palomas, Mexico, for us.
Thank you, Ed.
Let's send it right back to Miles in New York -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Soledad.
Still to come this morning, spring-like weather in the Northeast, but don't be fooled. Chad has the forecast just ahead.
Plus, trouble on the tracks. Another freight train in a fiery crash. Is it bad luck or is there a trend?
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: A lot of question this morning about safety on the rails. This after yet another freight train wreck, explosion and fire. It happened in upstate New York, Oneida.
A train hauling propane went off the tracks, sending a huge fireball into the sky. No one hurt, but several homes and some schools evacuated. Unclear this morning what caused it.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho is taking a closer look at train safety. She joins us from New York's Penn Station.
Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Miles. Good morning to you.
As you mentioned, it was a freight train that derailed yesterday. But it could have very easily been a passenger train.
The Amtrak trains that pass right through here at Penn Station behind me go over those very same tracks in upstate New York. So we wanted to know, just how safe is it to travel by train?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice over): Monday's trail derailment in upstate New York was the fourth for railroad giant CSX this year. No one was injured, but some are asking, is there a larger problem with the nation's railways? The Federal Railroad Administration says the number of train accidents actually declined last year by 12 percent. The consensus? A lot of close calls.
JIM BURNETT, FMR. NTSB CHAIRMAN: The nightmare scenario for me is the release of poisonous gas over a densely-populated area in an American city.
CHO: Jim Burnett, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, believes there are three major problems.
Problem one, crew fatigue. Train crews are allowed to work as many as 432 hours a month, five times as much as airline pilots.
BURNETT: The railroads operate through the night. There's always a problem with human performance.
CHO: The leading cause of train accidents, at 40 percent, is human error. Of those, one in four is caused by fatigue. Congress is considering legislation that would limit the number of hours train crews can work from 12 hours at a time to 10.
JOSEPH BOARDMAN, FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION: It's also the hours -- the number of hours that they're either on duty or off duty or what is called today limbo time.
CHO: That's when crews are not actually working, but waiting for replacements. It counts as rest, even though it's not.
Problem two, faulty tracks. They're the number two cause of accidents.
BURNETT: Those hazardous materials that present a very high risk to the public, you ought to have more redundancy in terms of protection from human performance errors, more inspection of track.
CHO: Problem three, the train itself, like malfunctioning brakes or defective wheels. CSX says it spends more than $1 billion a year to manage its train and tracks.
BOB SULLIVAN, CSX SPOKESMAN: We do not skimp on safety, we do everything that we need to do to make this a safe railroad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: So what about passenger trains? The Federal Railroad Administration says it is crash-testing, even using simulators . They're looking at ways to make passenger trains safer in the event of an accident. But what's interesting, Miles, is even the federal government admits it can do better.
But officials say it's a delicate balance between managing safety and security and supporting the economy and the growing volume of freight. Consider this -- the industry transports nearly two million tons of hazardous materials every year, and as you well know, Miles, that is a very big business.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, and given that, it proves that by and large they're pretty safe if there's that much that goes on the rails. All right.
Alina Cho, thank you very much.
A quarter of the hour now. Chad Myers at the CNN weather center. He's watching fluctuating temperatures.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, Soledad has more from Mexico City, including the trail that illegal immigrants use to escape poverty and get into the U.S. It's called the "Passage of the Dead".
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
You're taking a look at some live pictures in Zocalo Square. It's absolutely beautiful, very, very large, and dates back to the Aztec empire. Spanish influence all around, as well.
When the light comes up we're going to take you on a little walking tour around so you can get a better view of what we've been seeing up close and personal.
We're reporting live this morning to take a closer look at why all the people are leaving Mexico and other Latin American countries and heading into the United States. What are the real reasons behind it?
What we've discovered is that Mexico essentially, to a large degree, is a funnel for other impoverished countries, countries like Honduras and Guatemala. And what some people will do is take a ride they call the "Paso de la Muerte," the ride of the dead, the passage of the dead.
We asked some immigrants who hop that ride on that freight train why they're willing to take such risks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN (on camera): Behind a small store along the train tracks in Tultitlan, Mexico, 10 men have the same dream, to get to the U.S. and to make money.
JOSE LUIS ESPINADA, TRYING TO ENTER U.S. (through translator): What motivated me is to get a better future and a brighter future for my wife and kids.
S. O'BRIEN: Jose Luis Espinada is from Honduras. He left behind his wife and five children 16 days ago to ride the trains north. He has cousins in Georgia who will help him if he gets there, but he's been turned back before.
So has Santiago Ortiz. Ortiz begins to cry when we ask him why he left behind his wife and two kids.
SANTIAGO ORTIZ, TRYING TO ENTER U.S. (through translator): Sometimes you take a chance, even death, to bring your family out of poverty.
S. O'BRIEN (on camera): Giant cargo trains like this one run right through the heart of Tultitlan, and it's a jumping off point of sorts for Mexicans and Hondurans and Guatemalans who are trying to get up north. And what they can do is just hang on to one of these ladders, like this, climb up on to the train, and then ride along for free, obviously, as this train heads up north.
But clearly, it's very dangerous. Clearly, it can be deadly. And it's truly an indication of just how desperate people are to risk everything to try to get out of their poverty.
(voice over): Locals call the track "El Paso de la Muerte," the passage of the dead. Maria del Carmen Lopez Espindola (ph) lives with her family along the tracks. Six months ago, she saw a young man lose his legs. They were cut off when he tried to jump on board. She often helps the immigrants she sees, giving clothing or food.
The Hondurans we meet say they haven't eaten a real meal in days. They haven't slept.
So when a train passes heading north, they let it go. They'll sleep behind the store tonight and try to hop on board tomorrow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: And you can see and we heard stories from the towns people, as well, Miles, about just how many people get injured as they sometimes fall asleep and then fall off of those trains. It is a dangerous and very, very deadly ride, but as people tell us, they really have no other option.
Ahead this morning, we're going to tell you about one sort of odd, we think, plan to try to keep Mexicans in Mexico. This is an idea that comes from a population where 90 percent of them have left. So they say, why not a theme park, where tourists get to play people who are running across the border, being chased by the U.S. Border Patrol?
It's weird, some people think it's very offensive. We got a chance to check it out.
We'll have that straight ahead -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm looking forward to seeing that.
All right, Soledad. Thank you.
Still to come this morning, a $4 billion day. What's behind Boeing's windfall?
Also, the government's new plan to keep produce safe, does it go far enough?
And inside job. An airport worker accused of smuggling guns and drugs on to an airplane. How this lapse in security could have happened.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, Boeing is finding its Dreamliner is a dream for the bottom line. How is $4.5 billion worth of orders in a single day sound to you? Not bad.
Just a few minutes before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi is here with high-flying Boeing.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Unbelievable. But most of these orders were for the Dreamliner. The Dreamliner sort of competes with the A380 from Airbus. These big, big planes -- the A380 has been sort of losing orders lately because they can't seem to get it off the ground fast enough, so Boeing...
M. O'BRIEN: Well, it's a lot smaller than the 380, isn't it? Yes.
VELSHI: Well, much smaller. This thing, the Dreamliner, carries between 210 and 290 passengers, depending on its configuration. But it's carbon and titanium. It's highly fuel efficient, which is what the appeal is. But mainly, it's the appeal that you can actually order these planes and get them delivered, unlike the delays that Airbus has been having.
Continental is the biggest U.S. buyer of these planes. They upped their order from 20 to 25 yesterday. Five new 787s.
Kuwait's aviation and lease finance company has ordered 12 787s and a bunch of 737s. And a Russian air cargo company bought five 787s in a freighter configuration. However, that makes it the biggest freighter -- the biggest civilian air purchase in Russian history.
I'll be back with more business news in half an hour.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
M. O'BRIEN: Straight talk. Joint Chiefs chairman Peter Pace speaking out, taking a new stand against gays in the military.
And a food fight. A new plan to keep our produce safe and prevent thousands more Americans from getting sick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN (voice over): And south of the border, ancient culture clashes with modern reality. Mexico's mass migration -- why are so many so desperate they'll risk everything to get out? We go behind the front lines of America's immigration crisis, where it all begins.
Live from Mexico City, for a look at the other side, life inside Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
It is Tuesday, March 13th.
I'm Miles O'Brien in New York.
Soledad, good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: And good morning to you, Miles.
I'm in Zocalo Square in Mexico City. They tell us it does not rain here, but, of course, as you can see, that just isn't true.
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