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CNN 10

The 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal; The Issue of Immigration in America

Aired May 02, 2018 - 04:00   ET

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


CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Ticking off your down-the-middle explanation of world news. I`m Carl Azuz. Thank you for taking 10 for CNN 10.

There`s a new controversy associated with what`s known as the Iran nuclear deal, also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It`s an

agreement that was made in 2015. It involved the Middle Eastern nation of Iran and six other countries led by America`s Obama administration. What

those countries did was lift the international sanctions or penalties on Iran, allowing tens of billions of dollars to flow into Iran`s economy.

What Iran agreed to do was limit its controversial nuclear program, at least temporarily, and to allow international inspectors verify that it was

living up to its promise.

But there were a number of officials inside and outside the U.S. who opposed the agreement. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of

them. He said in 2015 that the deal would not prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. And this week, the Israeli leader said his country has

evidence that Iran lied about suspending its nuclear program and that it`s keeping an atomic archive of blue prints, charts and videos concerning

nuclear weapons at a secret location.

Iran`s government calls Israel`s statement, quote, childless and laughable. The Islamic republic says it would never keep the important documents that

Israel described in what Iran calls an abandoned area.

U.S. President Donald Trump who`s repeatedly criticized the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement says Israel`s announcement shows he was right about it.

The White House says it`s known about the Iranian nuclear materials for a while. What`s not known yet is if or how it will respond.

The Trump administration has until May 12th to decide whether it will continue to keep the U.S. sanctions on Iran lifted. U.S. Secretary of

State Mike Pompeo says officials are, quote, working diligently to fix this thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

Which of these nations has the fewest number of border countries.

Mexico, United States, Norway or North Korea?

Every country on this list has three border countries, except the U.S., which has only two.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: And it`s at one of those borders, the one between the U.S. and Mexico, that around 100 people from Central America are hoping to be

granted asylum in the U.S. This is when someone is allowed to stay in America because they`re at risk of being persecuted in their home country.

That might be due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a certain group.

The 100 people hoping for asylum are from a caravan that once numbered about 1,200 and passed through Mexico last month. The caravan is an annual

event designed to raise awareness about the conditions that Central American migrants face, and to help them seek asylum in other places.

Those who support the caravan say the migrants have valid fear of returning to their home countries and that they won`t get justice there. Those who

oppose the caravan like U.S. Vice President Mike Pence say they`re a deliberate attempt to undermine the laws and sovereignty of the United

States.

The dozens who`ve applied for asylum in America will probably have a long wait. The facility that processes people was already full before they

arrived, and most Central American asylum applicants are rejected from both Mexico and the U.S.

It`s a complicated process and a complicated issue like the issue of immigration itself in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REPORTER: For generations, America`s leaders have struggled to find a solution on immigration.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT: It didn`t work.

REPORTER: To understand the battle over immigration reform --

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: Pass a bill.

REPORTER: -- you have to go back decades.

TED KENNEDY, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: This issue is not going away.

GREISA MARTINEZ ROSAS, ADVOCACY DIRECTOR, UNITED WE DREAM: I`ve been involved in the immigration movement since I was 17 years old. My life is

at stake. I am 29 years old. My DACA expires in about a year and I love this country.

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT: Future generations of Americans will be thankful for our efforts to humanely regain control of our borders.

REP. MARIO DIAZ-BALART (R), FLORIDA: This has been the ugliest, the most painful issue I`ve ever dealt with. It`s a no win politically for those of

us that have actually been trying to solve it.

REPORTER: And sometimes what the different sides want is more complicated than you might think.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: All Americans, not only in the states most heavily affected, but in every place in this country, are

rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country.

BUSH: The vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith, and lead responsible

lives.

REPORTER: There are two factors that are often at the center of battles over immigration reform, the enforcement of current laws and how to handle

immigrants who are already in the country illegally.

DIAZ-BALART: It`s kind of like the chicken or the egg, which goes first. I think they have to be done concurrently. You have to deal with both

issues in a real way, in a serious way and both sides are going to have to win some, and both sides are going to have to give in quite a bit if we`re

going to get this done.

DAN STEIN, PRESIDENT, FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM: It implicates the question of the rule of law and citizenship and how we

define ourselves as a nation.

DIAZ-BALART: Myself and a couple of folks came really, really close. When we couldn`t get it done, it was one of the most painful days in my

legislative career.

OBAMA: How are you, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.

REPORTER: It started with a process from Senator Barack Obama in 2008.

OBAMA: What I guarantee is, is that we will have, in the first year, an immigration bill that I strongly support and that I`m promoting.

ROSAS: We believed in the hope and the change that he talked about. We believed that he was talking about immigration. We didn`t see that

fulfilled. It was a broken promise.

REPORTER: Obama won the White House with the margin of more than two to one among Hispanic voters. But with the economic crisis and health care

soaking at much of his political capital, it wouldn`t be until 2012 that the U.S. would see real action on immigration reform.

REP. LUIS GUTIERREZ (D), ILLINOIS: That picture up there where Obama is giving me a big hug, when he said, put your thinking cap on, I`ll do the

same. And we come back, I know I can do immigration reform.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Members of Congress --

GUTIERREZ: We`d lost the House and we`re weaker in the Senate, but tell me how we`re going to protect them.

REPORTER: In 2012, Obama rolled out the DACA program.

OBAMA: Effectively immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people.

STEIN: Barack Obama took it on himself in 2012 to draw this line in the sand as if he were god, after telling us for four years he lacked this kind

of constitutional authority.

OBAMA: Thank you very much everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You specifically ruled this out, sir, last year.

STEIN: That was the end of the Obama administration`s ability to actually move anything through Congress.

REPORTER: The bipartisan legislation in 2013 fell through.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: This is important issue in our country. It`s been kicked around forever and it needs to be dealt

with.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When Mexico sends its people, they`re not sending their best. They`re bringing drugs, they`re

bringing crime, and some, I assume, are good people.

STEIN: Trump is a very savvy political animal. And he understood that Hillary Clinton had left a very significant hole in the center of the

American electorate.

TRUMP: We are going to build a great border wall.

STEIN: Donald Trump rode that issue and trade to the White House. And through identity politics and what they emerged now today, the Democrats

are looking at immigration as vital to their future political survival.

REPORTER: Donald Trump`s election put pressure on both parties to deal with immigration.

GUTIERREZ: This president fundamentally has changed the discourse, not only in the Congress of the United States, but across America.

DIAZ-BALART: It`s going to require some trust and it`s going to require private, serious negotiations.

TRUMP: My positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with it.

REPORTER: It`s still unclear what the path forward might be for real reform.

STEIN: It`s always going to be a situation where there are far more people who want to come than the United States could ever possibly accommodate and

still deliver basic services and a livable quality of life to the American people.

ROSAS: I live every day thinking that this could be my last day in this country. And that both scares me but it also gives me a reason to keep

fighting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

AZUZ: It`s not really "10 Out of 10". It`s more like 18 million, because that`s the number of lights used to illuminate China`s Labor Day

celebration. It`s a public holiday marked on May 1st. It included an 85- foot lighted time tunnel in the southern Chinese city of Qinglong (ph). People waited through a fantasy ocean of blue light and an elaborate show

with another Chinese city complete with folk dances choreographed to music. It was all part of the event.

We can say something cheesy like that sheds light on another show. Or we could go the charming route and call it delightful. We can talk about how

we love illuminating you on world events or bringing new stories to light, lighting up your day, the difference between day and light. After all,

what`s not to light?

But I think we`ll just shut off the lights on CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz.

END