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Police Reopen Gore Case; Obama Talks Immigration Reform at American University; Oil Spill Affecting Fourth of July Vacations
Aired July 01, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll keep this living memorial on display for everyone who visits it. That does it for us. We're back here tomorrow. Tony Harris takes it from here -- Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, have a great day.
PHILLIPS: You too.
HARRIS: Good morning, everyone. Live from studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories on this first day of July include the difficult question of immigration reform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom line is it is a lot more difficult to get across the U.S./Mexican border into the U.S. illegally than it used to be.
HARRIS: President Obama makes the case to overhaul the country's immigration laws. His address in minutes comes just weeks before Arizona's tough new immigration law takes effect.
The CNN iReporter sends us images of images of sticky, smelly oil, fowling Florida's beaches (ph). Our guests tell us how the BP disaster has put a real dent in their tourist-based businesses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Reformer in chief, President Obama is set to lay out his vision for overhauling immigration laws. The president will deliver his first policy address on this very polarizing issue minutes from now at American University School of International Service in Washington.
Let's do this. Let's get to our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. She's on Capitol Hill for us.
And, Dana, look, the president is about to open a conversation here in minutes, but is that conversation likely to lead to a new proposal of a new bill of new law?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The short answer is no. When it comes to comprehensive immigration reform, if we are thinking about the potential of it getting through in the next four and a half months before the November election, I've talked to several senior Democratic sources today who say that they see nothing has changed in terms of the landscape in the building behind me, and the landscape we're talking about is votes, particularly in the United States Senate.
This has been really stuck because at this point there is no Republican that wants to go on board with Democrats, and the Democrats are saying that they really think that the critical thing from their perspective, big picture and you'll probably hear this from the president is to do this in a comprehensive way and that means not just securing the border but also dealing with the problem of illegal immigrants and perhaps a path to citizenship. So, why is the president doing this now from the perspective again from the people in the building behind me, many of whom are up for re-election.
They say, first of all, it's just to put the pressure on Republicans, but maybe even more importantly, Tony, it is because many of them realize that the Latino community is furious. They're really angry that nothing has been done in the almost year and a half, two years since the president has been in office, and they know that they are the ones who are going to get punished at the polls for it by Latino voters who in many districts and states are critical, critical voting blocs for them.
HARRIS: Dana, it begins to sound like health care reform again. If you talk to members of both sides of the aisle, they will say that we believe something needs to be done on health care, there needs to be health care reform.
If you talk to members on either side of the aisle here, will they tell you that there needs to be something done comprehensively on immigration?
BASH: No. You will get different answers from different sides of the aisle. The Republican side what you hear over and over again, even and especially from those who did sit in the room for a long time with Democrats several years ago, like John McCain, like Lindsey Graham. They will say that the answer right now is secure the border first. That's what they know that their base especially wants them to do. They don't want them to deal with anything else. So, that is where you have the polarization right now.
Now, it is possible, Tony, it is possible that the Democratic leadership might try to move some smaller pieces of comprehensive immigration reform, not dealing with the whole issue of broadly of illegal immigrants, but perhaps kids who are kids of illegal immigrants who want to go to college, the so-called dream act or getting jobs for people in the agriculture sector who are illegal immigrants.
It's possible they might try to go there, but at this point, what I'm told is that this speech the president is going to give is more broadly a political one to reassure Latino voters but also lay the ground work for a potential movement to try to get things working again early next year, but even one source told me that might be quote, "happy talk."
HARRIS: All right. Senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash for us. Dana, thank you.
BASH: Thank you.
HARRIS: You know, we got a couple of minutes before the president begins his remarks. Let's go live now to the front lines of the immigration battle, our Casey Wian is in Arizona. He is right on the border with Mexico. Illegal immigration traffic a serious problem there. Casey, if you would, tell us exactly what city are you in right now.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm in Naco, Arizona, and behind me, you can see the border fence that separates Arizona from Mexico. And, you know, it's funny Dana mentioned this sort of argument that people make to secure the border first. And we're at ground zero of that argument. Residents of this area say that that's what they want to see before they see any so-called comprehensive immigration reform. The fence behind me a few miles to the west and a few miles to east, that fence stops and the only thing that stops illegal immigrants and drug smugglers from coming across the border is rough terrain and an occasional border patrol agent.
We spent the last couple of days with ranchers in this area who are still hurting over the death of one of their neighbors. The man named Rob Krentz (ph) who was killed by a suspected illegal immigrant back in March. That was really the flashpoint for the Arizona law, the immigration law, SB-1070 that a lot of people say is draconian and could promote racial profiling. It's definitely a tough effort to crack down on illegal immigration. The death of that rancher is what really got the lawmakers here in Arizona behind that legislation.
We talked to other residents of this area who say they've been victims of crime, one couple tied up in their own home at machete point by a couple of illegal immigrants who were eventually caught. Residents here say it wasn't too many years ago that they were able to leave their houses open unlock, their cars open unlock. They just don't feel safe to do that anymore. And they really want the federal government to finally get serious and try to secure the border, Tony.
HARRIS: All right. Casey Wian for us. Casey, appreciate it. Thank you.
Got to tell you, millions of U.S. born children have at least one parent who is in this country illegally. Later this hour, we will look at what can happen when that parent is deported. Plus, we will push this conversation forward with a look at when and how immigration reform will actually happen. I will talk to Republican strategist and columnist, Rich Gaylan and senior political writer for "La Opinion," Pilar Marrero. That is next right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Other big stories that we are following for you this morning, police in Portland, Oregon, are reopening an investigation into former vice president Al Gore. A massage therapist claims Gore had unwanted sexual contact with her in 2006. Police initially pointed to a lack of evidence. They did not explain why they are taking up the case again. Gore emphatically denies the woman's accusation.
The body of West Virginia senator, Robert Byrd, is lying in repose today in the U.S. Senate Chamber. An honor guard took the casket into the capitol. Senators chose to place his body in the chamber rather than the rotunda because of Byrd's historic service and devotion to the Senate.
Immigration reform, we will take you to one border crossing where the immigrants are returning to Mexico saying they plan to stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, live picture now, we're going to take you to the American University School of International Service. There it is. OK. Live picture here now. We're expecting the president any minute now. The president will make remarks on immigration reform to get the conversation going again. I got to tell you, stepped up efforts to keep illegal immigrants out of the United States are proving successful in many cases, but it is also led people to take risks with their lives to get in. Our Ted Rowlands reports from a border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This gate over here is where they bring people that have been caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally. On the other side, you see the U.S. border patrol. On this side, you see the Mexican federalist. These gentlemen are being brought from the U.S. back to Mexico. Bottom line is it is a lot more difficult to get across the U.S./Mexican border into the U.S. illegally than it used to be.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): After spending a few hours in the U.S. illegally, 21-year-old Roberto Hernandez is back in Mexico. He says he was caught with a group of others in the hills east of San Diego by border patrol agents. Every day, there is a steady flow of people coming through this gate back to Mexico. Antonio Romero says after nine years of living in California, he's going to live in Mexico City because while it used to be much easier to get across illegally, now he says it's too difficult.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe later. Not now. Maybe next year.
ROWLANDS: Roberto Hernandez says he paid smugglers about $2,000 to get him across. It took him a year to save the money. He says he doesn't plan on trying to cross again. Sammy Anderson has been with the border patrol for 21 years. He says dollars spent on fences, cameras and more agents is paying off. People can't just climb over or crawl under the fence or make a un for it over the border crossings like they used to in the past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The days of running around and catching what you can are gone.
ROWLANDS: But people are still trying to get across every day and some have come up with some creative and sometimes dangerous ways to do it. Hiding inside vehicles is one way, huddled in the trunk or in hidden compartments. Some of the spots people have crammed into are hard to believe. Laying in dashboards, sewn into car seats, even under the hood. A detector dog alerted agents to this Mercedes' side panel. Police say a woman was found inside, passed out, with a four- inch burn on her leg.
Last summer, the auto x-ray discovered a man and his 15-year-old boy inside this makeshift gas tank compartment, both suffering chemical burns. Over the years, people have been caught inside rolls of carpet, in hollowed out washing machines. This little girl was even stuffed inside a pinata.
ROWLANDS (on-camera): Social workers here in Mexico say most of the people that do take those drastic steps that risk their lives do so because they're desperate to get back to the U.S. because they have family there.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, on the U.S./Mexican border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Quickly now, we want to get you to Bonnie Schneider in the severe Weather Center. And Bonnie, we're talking about Alex still a tropical storm, still capable, weak?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A weaker tropical storm than it was. The latest advisory has the winds at 50 miles per hour, Tony, so that is weaker than we had earlier this morning, but it's still intense. Look at the thunderstorms that are rolling into Texas and Louisiana right now. With those storms, we do have a tornado warning.
Let's zoom in right here. You see Rockport, Aransas Pass is under this tornado warning. Now, this will go until 10:30 a.m. central daylight time. And what's happening now is Doppler radar has indicated that there is some rotation in a thunderstorm near Rockport. So, we'll have more on that. Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: OK. I think we're going to get right to the president now. He is making remarks on immigration reform.
Let's take you to the President of the United States.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- outstanding secretary of labor, Hilda Solis, and members of my administration, all the members of Congress.
(APPLAUSE)
Hilda deserves applause.
So all the members of Congress, the elected officials, faith and law enforcement, labor, business leaders and immigration advocates who are here today, thank you for your presence. I want to thank American University for welcoming me to the campus once again. Some may recall that the last time I was here, I was joined by a dear friend and a giant of American politics, Senator Edward Kennedy.
And --
(APPLAUSE)
Teddy's not here right now, but his legacy of civil rights and health care and worker protections is still with us.
I was a candidate for president that day. And some may recall, I argued that our country had reached a tipping point, that after years in which we had deferred our most pressing problems and too often yielded to the politics of the moment, we now faced a choice: We could squarely confront our challenges with honesty and determination or we could consign ourselves and our children to a future less prosperous and less secure.
I believed that then and I believe it now. And that's why even as we've tackled the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression, even as we've wound down the war in Iraq and refocused our efforts in Afghanistan, my administration has refused to ignore some of the fundamental challenges facing this generation.
We launched the most aggressive education reforms in decades so that our children can gain the knowledge and skills they need to compete in a 21st-century global economy.
We have finally delivered on the promise of health reform, reform that will bring greater security to every American and that will rein in the skyrocketing costs that threaten families, businesses and the prosperity of our nation.
We're on the verge of reforming an outdated and ineffective set of rules governing Wall Street, to give greater power to consumers and prevent the reckless financial speculation that led to this severe recession.
And we're accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy by significantly raising the fuel efficiency standards of cars and trucks and by doubling our use of renewable energies like wind and solar power, steps that have the potential to create whole new industries and hundreds of thousands of new jobs in America.
So despite the forces of the status quo, despite the polarization and the frequent pettiness of our politics, we are confronting the great challenges of our times. And while this work isn't easy and the changes we seek won't always happen overnight, what we have made clear is that this administration will not just kick the can down the road.
Immigration reform is no exception.
In recent days, the issue of immigration has become once more a sense -- a source of fresh contention in our country, with the passage of a controversial law in Arizona and the heated reactions we've seen across America.
Some have rallied behind this new policy. Others have protested and launched boycotts of the state. And everywhere, people have expressed frustration with a system that seems fundamentally broken.
Of course, the tensions around immigration are not new. On the one hand, we've always defined ourselves as a nation of immigrants, a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America's precepts.
Indeed, it is this constant flow of immigrants that helped to make America what it is: the scientific breakthroughs of Albert Einstein, the inventions of Nikola Tesla, the great ventures of Andrew Carnegie's U.S. Steel and Sergey Brin's Google Link. All this was possible because of immigrants.
And then there are the countless names and the quiet acts that never made the history books, but were no less consequential in building this country, the generations who braved hardship and great risk to reach our shores in search of a better life for themselves and their families; the millions of people, ancestors to most of us, who believed that there was a place where they could be at long last free to work and worship and live their lives in peace.
So this steady stream of hard-working and talented people has made America the engine of the global economy and a beacon of hope around the world. And it's allowed us to adapt and thrive in the face of technological and societal change.
To this day, America reaps incredible economic rewards because we remain a magnet for the best and brightest from across the globe. Folks travel here in hopes of being a part of a culture of entrepreneurship and ingenuity. And by doing so, they strengthen and enrich that culture.
Immigration also means we have a younger workforce and a faster growing economy than many of our competitors. And in an increasingly interconnected world, the diversity of our country is a powerful advantage in global competition.
You know, just a few weeks ago, we had an event of small-business owners at the White House. And one business owner was a woman named Prochi Davidas (ph), who came to this country, became a citizen and opened up a successful technology services company.
When she started, she had just one employee. Today, she employs more than a hundred people.
This past April, we held a naturalization ceremony at the White House for members of our armed forces. Even though they were not yet citizens, they had enlisted.
One of them was a woman named Pearla Ramos (ph), born and raised in Mexico. Came to the United States shortly after 9/11 and she eventually joined the Navy.
And she said, "I take pride in our flag and the history that forged this great nation and the history we write day by day."
These women and men and women across this country like them remind us that immigrants have always helped to build and defend this country and that being an American is not a matter of blood or birth, it's a matter of faith, it's a matter of fidelity to the shared values that we all hold so dear.
That's what makes us unique. That's what makes us strong.
Anybody can help us write the next great chapter in our history.
Now, we can't forget that this process of immigration and eventual inclusion has often been painful. Each new wave of immigrants has generated fear and resentments toward newcomers, particularly in times of economic upheaval.
Our founding was rooted in the notion that America was unique as a place of refuge and freedom for, in Thomas Jefferson's words, "oppressed humanity." But the ink on our Constitution was barely dry when amidst conflict Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which placed harsh restrictions of those suspected of having foreign allegiance.
A century ago, immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Poland, other European countries were routinely subjected to rank discrimination and ugly stereotypes. Chinese immigrants were held in detention and deported from Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay. They didn't even get to come in.
So the politics of who is and who is not allowed to enter this country, and on what terms, has always been contentious. And that remains true today. And it's made worse by a failure of those of us in Washington to fix a broken immigration system.
To begin with, our borders have been porous for decades. Obviously, the problem is greatest along our southern border, but it's not restricted to that part of the country. In fact, because we don't do a very good job of tracking who comes in and out of the country as visitors, large numbers avoid immigration laws simply by overstaying their visas.
The result is an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.
The overwhelming majority of these men and women are simply seeking a better life for themselves and their children. Many settle in low-wage sectors of the economy. They work hard, they save, they stay out of trouble. But because they live in the shadows, they're vulnerable to unscrupulous businesses who pay them less than the minimum wage or violate worker safety rules, thereby putting companies who follow those rules and Americans who rightly demand the minimum wage or overtime at an unfair advantage.
Crimes go unreported as victims and witnesses fear coming forward, and this makes it harder for the police to catch violent criminals and keep neighborhoods safe. And billions in tax revenue are lost each year because many undocumented workers are paid under the table.
More fundamentally, the presence of so many illegal immigrants makes a mockery of all those who are going through the process of immigrating legally. Indeed, after years of patchwork fixes and ill- conceived revisions, the legal immigration system is as broken as the borders. Backlogs and bureaucracy means the process can take years.
While an applicant waits for approval, he or she is often forbidden from visiting the United States, which means even husbands and wives may be forced to spend many years apart.
High fees and the need for lawyers may exclude worthy applicants. And while we provide students from around the world visas to get engineering and computer science degrees at our top universities, our laws discourage them from using those skills to start a business or power a new industry right here in the United States.
Instead of training entrepreneurs to create jobs on our shores, we train our competition.
In sum, the system is broken, and everybody knows it.
Unfortunately, reform has been held hostage to political posturing and special interest wrangling and to the pervasive sentiment in Washington that tackling such a thorny and emotional issue is inherently bad politics.
And just a few years ago, when I was a senator, we forged a bipartisan coalition in favor of comprehensive reform. Under the leadership of Senator Kennedy, who had been a long-time champion of immigration reform, and Senator John McCain, we worked across the aisle to help pass a bipartisan bill through the Senate.
But that effort eventually came apart. And now, under the pressures of partisanship and election-year politics, many of the 11 Republican senators who voted for reform in the past have now backed away from their previous support.
Into this breach states like Arizona have decided to take matters into their own hands. And given the levels of frustration across the country, this is understandable. But it is also ill-conceived.
And it's not just that the law Arizona passed is divisive, although it has fanned the flames of an already contentious debate.
Laws like Arizona's put huge pressures on local law enforcement to enforce rules that ultimately are unenforceable. It puts pressure on already hard-strapped state and local budgets.
It makes it difficult for people here illegally to report crimes, driving a wedge between communities and law enforcement, making our streets more dangerous and the jobs of our police officers more difficult. And you don't have to take my word for this. You can speak to the police chiefs and others from law enforcement here today, who will tell you the same thing.
These laws also have the potential of violating the rights of innocent American citizens and legal residents, making them subject to possible stops or questioning because of what they look like or how they sound.
And others -- as other states and localities go their own ways, we face the prospect that different rules for immigration will apply in different parts of the country, a patchwork of local immigration rules where we all know one clear national standard is needed.
Our task, then, is to make our national laws actually work, to shape a system that reflects our values as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. And that means being honest about the problem and getting past the false debates that divide the country rather than bring it together.
For example, there are those in the immigrants' rights community who have argued passionately that we should simply provide those who are illegally (sic) with legal status, or at least ignore the laws on the books and put an end to deportation until we have better laws.
And often this argument is framed in moral terms: Why should we punish people who are just trying to earn a living?
I recognize the sense of compassion that drives this argument, but I believe such an indiscriminate approach would be both unwise and unfair.
It would suggest to those thinking about coming here illegally that there will be no repercussions for such a decision. And this could lead to a surge in more illegal immigration. And it would also ignore the millions of people around the world who are waiting in line to come here legally.
Ultimately, our nation, like all nations, has the right and obligation to control its borders and set laws for residency and citizenship. And no matter how decent they are, no matter their reasons, the 11 million who broke these laws should be held accountable.
Now, the majority of Americans are skeptical of a blanket amnesty. They are also skeptical that it is possible to round up and deport 11 million people. They know it's not possible. Such an effort would be logistically impossible and wildly expensive.
Moreover, it would tear at the very fabric of this nation because immigrants who are here illegally are now intricately woven into that fabric. Many have children who are American citizens. Some are children themselves, brought here by their parents at a very young age, growing up as American kids, only to discover their illegal status when they apply for college or a job.
Migrant workers, mostly here illegally, have been the labor force of our farmers and agricultural producers for generations.
So even if it was possible, a program of mass deportations would disrupt our economy and communities in ways that most Americans would find intolerable.
Now, once we get past the two poles of this debate, it becomes possible to shape a practical, common-sense approach that reflects our heritage and our values. Such an approach demands accountability from everybody: from government, from businesses and from individuals.
Government has a threshold responsibility to secure our borders. That's why I directed my secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, a former border governor, to improve our enforcement policy without having to wait for a new law.
Today we have more boots on the ground near the southwest border than at any time in our history. Let me repeat that. We have more boots on the ground on the southwest border than at any time in our history.
We doubled the personnel assigned to border enforcement security task forces. We tripled the number of intelligence analysts along the border. For the first time, we've begun screening 100 percent of southbound rail shipments. And as a result, we're seizing more illegal guns, cash and drugs than in years past.
Contrary to some of the reports that you see, crime along the border is down.
And statistics collected by Customs and Border Protection reflect a significant reduction in the number of people trying to cross the border illegally.
So the bottom line is this: The southern border is more secure today than any time in the past 20 years.
That doesn't mean we don't have more work to do. We have to do that work. But it's important that we acknowledge the facts.
Even as we are committed to doing what's necessary to secure our borders, even without passage of the new law, there are those who argue that we should not move forward with any other elements of reform until we have fully sealed our borders.
But our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only with fences and border patrols. It won't work. Our borders will not be secure as long as our limited resources are devoted to not only stopping gangs and potential terrorists, but also the hundreds of thousands who attempt to cross each year simply to find work.
That's why businesses must be held accountable if they break the law by deliberately hiring and exploiting undocumented workers. We've already begun to step up enforcement against the worst workplace offenders and we're implementing and improving a system to give employers a reliable way to verify that their employees are here legally.
But we need to do more. We cannot continue just to look the other way as a significant portion of our economy operates outside the law. It breeds abuse and bad practices, it punishes employers who act responsibly and undercuts American workers, and ultimately, if the demand for undocumented workers falls, the incentive for people to come here illegally will decline as well.
Finally, we have to demand responsibility from people living here illegally. They must be required to admit that they broke the law. They should be required to register, pay their taxes, pay a fine and learn English. They must get right with the law before they can get in line and earn their citizenship, not just because it is fair, not just because it will make clear to those who might wish to come to America they must do so inside the bounds of the law, but because this is how we demonstrate that being an -- what being an American means.
Being a citizen of this country comes not only with rights, but also with certain fundamental responsibilities.
We can create a pathway for legal status that is fair, reflective of our values, and works.
Now, stopping illegal immigration must go hand-in-hand with reforming our creaky system of legal immigration.
We've begun to do that by eliminating a backlog in background checks that at one point stretched back almost a year. That's just for the background check.
People can now track the status of their immigration applications by e-mail or text message. We've improved accountability and safety in the detention system. And we've stemmed the increases in naturalization fees.
But here, too, we need to do more.
We should make it easier for the best and the brightest to come to start businesses and develop products and create jobs.
Our laws should respect families following the rules, instead of splitting them apart.
We need to provide farms a legal way to hire the workers they rely on, and a path for those workers to earn legal status.
And we should stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents, by denying them the chance to stay here and earn an education and contribute their talents to build the country where they've grown up.
The DREAM Act would do this. And that's why I supported this bill as a state legislator, and as a U.S. senator, and why I continue to support it as president.
So these are the essential elements of comprehensive immigration reform. The question now is whether we will have the courage and the political will to pass a bill through Congress to finally get it done.
Last summer I held a meeting with leaders of both parties, including many of the Republicans who had supported reform in the past, and some who hadn't. I was pleased to see a bipartisan framework proposed in the Senate by Senators Lindsey Graham and Chuck Schumer with whom I met to discuss this issue.
I've spoken with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to plot the way forward and meet -- and then I met with them again earlier this week. And I've spoken with representatives from a growing coalition of labor unions and business groups, immigrant advocates and community organizations, law enforcement, local government, all who recognize the importance of immigration reform.
And I've met with leaders from America's religious communities, like Pastor Hybels: people of different faiths and beliefs -- some liberal, some conservative -- who nonetheless share a sense of urgency, who understand that fixing our broken immigration system is not only a political issue, not just an economic issue, but a moral imperative, as well.
So we've made progress.
I'm ready to move forward. The majority of Democrats are ready to move forward. And I believe the majority of Americans are ready to move forward.
But the fact is, without bipartisan support, as we had just a few years ago, we cannot solve this problem.
Reform that brings accountability to our immigration system cannot pass without Republican votes. That is the political and mathematical reality.
The only way to reduce the risk that this effort will again falter because of politics is if members of both parties are willing to take responsibility for solving this problem once and for all.
And, yes, this is an unemotional question, and one that lends itself to demagoguery. Time and again this issue has been used to divide and inflame and to demonize people. And so the understandable, the natural impulse among those who run for office is to turn away and defer this question for another day -- or another year -- or another administration.
Despite the courageous leadership in the past shown by many Democrats and some Republicans -- including, by the way, my predecessor, President Bush -- this has been the custom.
That is why a broken and dangerous system that offends our most basic American values is still in place.
But I believe we can put politics aside and finally have an immigration system that's accountable. I believe we can appeal not to people's fears, but to their hopes, to their highest ideals. Because that's who we are as Americans. It's been inscribed on our nation's seal since we declared our independence: e pluribus unum -- out of many, one.
That is what has drawn the persecuted and impoverished to our shores. That's what led the innovators and risk-takers from around the world to take a chance here in the land of opportunity. That's what has led people to endure untold hardships to reach this place called America.
You know, one of the largest waves of immigration in our history took place a little more than a century ago. At the time, Jewish people were being driven out of Eastern Europe, often escaping to the sounds of gunfire and the light from their villages burning to the ground. The journey could take months as families crossed rivers in the dead of night, traveled miles by foot, endured a rough and dangerous passage over the North Atlantic. And once here, many made their homes in a teeming and bustling Lower Manhattan.
And it was at this time that a young woman named Emma Lazarus, whose own family fled persecution from Europe generations earlier, took up the cause of these new immigrants. Although she was a poet, she spent much of her time advocating for better health care and housing for the newcomers. And inspired by what she saw and heard, she wrote down her thoughts and donated a piece of work to help pay for the construction of a new statue, the Statue of Liberty, which actually was funded in part by small donations from people across America.
Years before the statue was built, years before it would be seen by throngs of immigrants craning their necks skyward at the end of a long and brutal voyage, years before it would come to symbolize everything that we cherish, she imagined what it could mean.
She imagined the sight of a giant statue at the entry point of a great nation.
But unlike the great monuments of the past, this would not signal an empire. Instead, it would signal one's arrival to a place of opportunity and refuge and freedom.
"Here at our sea-washed sunset gates shall stand," she wrote, "a mighty woman with a torch. From her beacon hand glows worldwide welcome. Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp! Give me your tired and your poor," and, "Your huddled masses yearning to be free. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
Let us remember these words, for it falls on each generation to ensure that that lamp, that beacon continues to shine as a source of hope around the world and a source of our prosperity here at home.
Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(END OF COVERAGE) HARRIS: The President making remarks on immigration reform and discussing the tensions around the immigration reform debate in this country. The president blaming partisanship and election year politics for the lack of work by Congress on immigration reform. The president making the point that the country has more boots on the ground along the southern border than at any other time in our history, adding that fencing and border patrol agents alone won't get the job done. Businesses who knowingly hire undocumented workers have to be punished.
Speaking seemingly to undocumented people in the country, the president asking that those here illegally come out of the shadows, get right with the law, pay taxes, and learn English. And there you have it, the president outlining the elements of comprehensive immigration reform as he sees it.
Now the question is what next? Let's take a break here on the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: All right, let's do this -- we're going to get you to Bonnie Schneider in a second. But we've got to tell you the Atlantic season's first hurricane is now a tropical storm. But Alex could still cause all sorts of problems as it moves inland along the border between Texas and Mexico. The storm made landfall late yesterday, about 100 miles south of Brownsville, Texas. It's biggest threat right now, flooding rains. There's also a threat of tornadoes.
Speaking of which, let's get to Bonnie Schneider. You've got a new -- is it a watch or a warning?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's a watch right now, Tony, but don't be surprised as we go through the day, we are anticipating more warnings to be issued. We had one earlier for coastal Texas.
Look at the rain sweeping across the panhandle of Florida down through Northern Mexico. This is one intense tropical storm. It came in as a Category 2 hurricane, a strong one at that. But now a tornado watch until 8 :00 tonight for much of south Texas. So we could still see these thunderstorms suddenly produce a tornado.
The latest conditions with Alex -- maximum winds at 50 miles per hour. A strong tropical storm. And you can see, as our satellite plays, the eye that formed, the storm really wrapped up, wound up and intensified before it made landfall in Mexico's coastline. And that was late last night around 9:00, 10:00.
The heaviest thunderstorms continue between Houston, Texas and Corpus Christi. So if you're driving, watch down for sudden downpours. The track continues to take the storm inland and it weakens, it'll dissipate and become a tropical depression likely by tonight -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Bonnie, thank you. Coast Guard crews will fly over the Gulf oil disaster zone today, to assess the impact of what was hurricane Alex. This is day 73 of the disaster and the focus is on trying to resume clean-up and containment efforts disrupted by the storm. Officials say residual effects from Alex may last for days.
A massive new oil skimmer could dramatically boost the clean-up. It arrived in the Gulf from Virginia yesterday. The tanker is described as the world's largest oil-skimming vessel. But it has never been tested. Oh, boy. The ship's owners say they are waiting for approval to begin work.
Now the man handling the $20 billion BP claims fund is out with a caution. Kenneth Feinberg said tourism claims may not be eligible for compensation. That's not what our guests want to hear ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Baker Clark owns the Best Western Navarre Beach outside Pensacola, Florida. Kenny Glavin is with us, and he runs the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi. Emily Gonzalez is with us and she is the sales and marketing manager for Kaiser Realty in Gulf Shores, in Orange Beach, Alabama.
All right. Everyone is on board. Let's get started here.
Baker, this is the beginning obviously of peak season for Navarre Beach and your Best Western there. What is the outlook for the holiday weekend?
BAKER CLARK, BEST WESTERN HOTEL AT NAVARRE BEACH: Well, right now, tonight, we would normally have a full house going into the weekend and we're about 20 percent occupied. Tomorrow afternoon to tomorrow night we've got about a 50 percent occupied house. Saturday and Sunday we're at about 70 percent. Normally we'd have 100 percent right across the board.
HARRIS: How much --
CLARK: Next week -- sorry.
HARRIS: How much is a weekend like this -- the summer in general -- account for your entire year's profits?
CLARK: About 80 percent.
Our season runs from about middle of May, until the middle of August. We run pretty near 100 percent occupancy all during that period. With that being said, we're running about 50 percent across the board so far. It looks like it's going to get worse. I will say our beaches are fairly clean.
HARRIS: Hey, Baker, is the top concern the oil? Is that what is holding down the bookings, or is the overall sluggish economy playing a role in this as well?
CLARK: Well, in April the economy looked like we were going to have a pretty good season this year. The oil has absolutely devastated the summer season.
HARRIS: OK.
CLARK: Like I said, the beaches are fairly clean, they're doing a pretty good job of cleaning it up every night. But it's mostly what people are seeing on TV.
HARRIS: So, Emily, let me turn to you, Jimmy Buffet planned a concert for the holiday weekend but had to postpone because of concerns for hurricane Alex.
Did you see a spike in bookings on the announcement that Buffet was coming, and what's been the impact by the decision to postpone?
EMILY GONZALEZ, KAISER REALTY: We actually did see a nice spike in our holiday weekend. We could attribute 20 percent of our Fourth holiday season directly to the Jimmy Buffet concert. People decided to come to the Gulf and we saw a nice jump.
With the change, it hasn't been too difficult for us. We had great number of people decide to stay. And they're going to come down and enjoy themselves and enjoy our beaches and everything else there is to do in the area and we're very excited about that. And for a small group that was actually here last night, he did a surprise performance at Lou Lou's, his sister's restaurant here in the area. So about 2,000 people got a very intimate Jimmy Buffet show last night.
HARRIS: Well, if you would, describe your beaches.
How are you looking down here?
GONZALEZ: The beaches? It's day to day. It's just like anything else you could expect with weather and tides. Some days it's absolutely beautiful. Caribbean-blue water and you know, white sugar- sand beaches that literally squeak under your feet. And some days the tar is here and the tar balls are coming in.
Right now with Alex out in the Gulf and the high moon tides with the full moon, we're looking at five to six-foot seas and the tides are really high in. And it's not tar that we're having a problem. It's just normal beach ocean debris. And Gulf debris that's washing in. And that's being picked up just as quickly as it comes in by our crews.
HARRIS: All right. And Kenny, let me turn to you. Your hotel, Four Points by Sheraton is actually opening today? Is that correct? Is this the case of the worst kind of timing?
A sluggish overall economy and the worst-ever disaster of its kind landing on your doorstep?
KENNY GLAVIN, FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON IN BILOXI: Well you know, we survived Katrina. This was a coast landmark and it's been refurbished to be a Four Points by Sheraton Biloxi. We definitely have some concerns. It's almost like waiting for a hurricane. We've had some weathered oil come ashore. For the most part the beaches are in really good shape. And we're relying on some of our marketing to highlight some of our casino entertainment and other events and attractions on the coast.
HARRIS: And what are your prospects for this weekend and beyond? I mean, have you adjusted your outlook, your projections for say the first six months, or the first year of your new operation?
GLAVIN: Well, we did because we were greatly concerned about the advance bookings. But what is happening now, it looks like people are waiting to the last minute to make that decision. I think this Fourth of July weekend is going to be OK. We have what we've labeled the "curious tourists." They're actually coming down, not only for vacation, but to check it out and see how much the oil may be affecting the area. It's a great opportunity to let them know that our beaches for the moment are OK. But you know, we do not know, it's a big unknown, what the future is going to be like.
HARRIS: Well, thanks to all of our guests. Kenny, thank you. Baker, thank you. Emily, thanks to you, as well. And the best this holiday weekend.
It's a big one for you, we know and the rest of the summer. We appreciate it, thank you.
Let's get to a break here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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