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Theme Parks Investigation; Crisis at the Border
Aired July 15, 2014 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon in for Brooke today. Thanks for joining me.
The immigration crisis now envelopes a different phase, not one of the tens of thousands illegal immigrants who just arrived at the Texas border from Central America, but one profiled in the CNN film "Documented."
Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former journalist, he grew up in the U.S. after coming here from the Philippines at age 12. This video from a local newspaper shows him moments before Border Patrol detained him today. It happened at the airport in McAllen, Texas, on the Texas/Mexico border.
This Twitter photo that The Huffington Post obtained Vargas in handcuffs. He was there to show solidarity with the surge of people, many of them children, traveling alone, entering the U.S. illegally. Now, his friend, undocumented herself, is pleading for Vargas' release and for relief them Congress legislation that would make people like her citizens.
Vargas' friend, Tania Chavez, joins me now from McAllen Texas.
Tania, thank you so much. How are you doing?
TANIA CHAVEZ, UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH WORKER: My heart is broken, because an undocumented immigrant like myself is facing deportation at this moment.
LEMON: Can you tell me first -- can we talk about Jose first and then we will talk about your case?
Tell me, what happened to Jose Vargas? Were you there and was it clear why officers were handcuffing him?
CHAVEZ: No. We didn't know.
We got a phone call about 8:30 that Jose had been arrested. And so at that point in time, we started mobilizing our community to be able to come and show support and appreciation for him because the reason why he came to McAllen, Texas, to the Rio Grande Valley was to show support for the undocumented immigrants that are coming in from Central America fleeing for their lives.
And so I think it's just fair that we return the favor to him. He didn't know that he was coming to a zone that is highly militarized. There is Border Patrol everywhere in our community. And so he did not know there were airport Border Patrol, airport security, unlike many other places in the nation.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Tania, he's a very accomplished man. He's very researched. He's a filmmaker. It's hard for many to believe that he did not know the risks of going to McAllen, Texas, and going to the border. And many are wondering if this was done on purpose. What do you say to that?
CHAVEZ: No. This was not done on purpose.
I can attest that he truly came here to show his heart and appreciation for this community. He grew up in San Diego. He grew up in a border area that is not highly militarized like ours.
And so why would he come to make this a political stunt? I think if he came was because his heart -- he followed his heart to be able to show support. He came to this country as an accompanied minor, like these kids is coming. And today he faces deportation because we have a broken immigration system.
LEMON: Yes.
Let's talk more about that and about your particular case, because you made a very heartfelt plea after his detainment for his release and for Congress to act. And you talked about being caged. You said that were caged I think you said in the Rio Grande Valley. What did you mean by that, you were trapped? What does that mean?
CHAVEZ: The Rio Grande Valley, we're surrounded by either the international bridges at the south or by the checkpoints at the north.
We also have the Gulf of Mexico and more checkpoints to the west. And so we can't get out of this zone. We are trapped here. I lived here for 14 years of my life and like many undocumented immigrants in the area, we can't get beyond the checkpoint.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: So what you're saying is, you could leave, you could leave, but then you can't come back. Is that what you're saying? Or you could leave, but then you would be detained?
CHAVEZ: We can't attempt to leave the Rio Grande Valley. We can't attempt to leave because we will be detained. There's no way for us to go to San Antonio. There's no way to -- even though we are in the United States, we cannot go anywhere above the 100-mile radius of the border with the Rio Grande.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: You said that you have two advanced degrees and you can't do anything with them. And, listen, I'm going to play devil's advocate here, because people
will say, if you have those two advanced degrees and you can go to your home country, the country where you were born -- I know that you were brought here as a child -- and you can help them out there, you can use those degrees. Why is that not an option for you?
CHAVEZ: Am I going to take the education that the United States paid for? Because I don't own anything to the United States.
I don't owe any student loans. The United States paid for my entire education. Are they going to kick me back to Mexico to go help other people? This is my home now. I left -- United States when I was 14. This has become my home.
My value system has been developed here. My friends, my family is here. Yes, I have family in Mexico. Yes, my parents are in Mexico. And I can provide with them. They live in a country where the economic level is way below that of the United States. And me, I can't afford sending the money, because I don't earn enough with the two master's degrees that I have.
And so how come -- why would the United States kick me out? Do they really want me to go share my wealth of knowledge that they have given me to another country? Is that what they want?
LEMON: No, but I think the question is not that why would the United States would kick you out. The question is, again, is that why wouldn't you go to Mexico with the knowledge that you have of the United States and the education that you have gotten in the United States to help make the situation better in Mexico, if you feel that you are trapped here and caged and you can't go anywhere? You can go back there.
CHAVEZ: Because this is my home. This is my home.
And if I'm going to do anything, I'm going to do something for my people who have become my family in the Rio Grande Valley. I want liberation for them. I want President Obama to be able to provide administrative relief to the hundreds of families who live here in the Rio Grande area and the rest of the nation.
It's a shame that we can't get above the checkpoint to see our families who live above the 100-mile radius. That's why I don't leave, because this is my home.
LEMON: What do you say to the people that...
(CROSSTALK)
CHAVEZ: I am an American.
LEMON: We have seen protests there for people on both sides saying we must help these people. We have seen protests from people saying, you know what, we can't afford them. They must go back.
What do you say to those people who say, listen, we can't afford in this country to have thousands and thousands of people, even if their children are pouring in? It's a drain and a strain to the economy. How do you respond to that?
CHAVEZ: I think that if we can afford money to go have a war in another side of the country -- in another side of the world, if we're having war in another side of the world, then we can afford being able to have these children here, because they are fleeing for their lives.
They are fleeing for their lives. And so I think that this nation should welcome them with open arms. They should welcome the rest of the undocumented families who live along the Rio Grande Valley and who live in other border communities.
LEMON: Tania Chavez, thank you for coming on CNN. I appreciate you telling us your story.
And I should point out that Customs and Border Protection are not commenting on this specific case yet.
Another protest sprouting up over the undocumented immigrants is near a ranch in Arizona. The ranch is about to house some undocumented children who arrived without their parents. Some demonstrators are supporting them. Others say the undocumented are unwelcomed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm protesting the invasion of the United States by people of foreign countries. This is about the sovereignty of our nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you're an oracle resident?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And what about the kids that are on the bus? Do you think you're going to be frightening them at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so. After they have been all the way up through Mexico, I don't think anything is going to frighten them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And as protesters face off in the streets, get ready for more confrontations on Capitol Hill.
Congress has just 12 working days to pass some kind of relief legislation to ease the immigration crisis and there's a bipartisan bill that may have a better shot of passing than the nearly $4 billion President Obama has proposed.
A bipartisan bill by Republican Senator John Cornyn and Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar could offer the following, allow illegal immigrants from Central America to voluntarily waive a hearing, give judges 72 hours to act on asylum claims, and authorize 40 new immigration judges. With me now is chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash to talk
about that.
Dana, it's such a complicated story and especially when you hear her story and you story, you hear Jose Antonio Vargas' story and about all of the children who are coming over. Something has to be done pretty quickly. Of course, the question is, can it be done, just 12 days? What are the chances of a bill passing in that time?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the issue you just talked about, the legislation that was formally or will be formally introduced at some point today we think probably has the best shot at getting through Congress.
However, it is very likely just one piece of the puzzle. What you're hearing, big picture, mostly from Republicans and some Democrats as well, is if there's any chance at Congress, particularly the House taking up any kind of financial aid, money, it's got to be done hand in hand with policy changes.
And the most prominent and most popular policy change is the one you just described to change that 2008 law, so that things are the same for illegal immigrants from Central America and other countries as well. However, that might not just be the only policy change. There are other issues that House Republicans are talking about.
Likely going to see something either at the end of next week -- this week or next week that will probably address all of those things. Whether or not the House-passed bill will get through the Senate, that's an open question, but you're definitely getting the sense, Don, that there's more momentum to do something rather than nothing. A little bit of a different feel than just last week.
LEMON: Dana Bash, thank you very much in Washington.
Coming up on "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER," Jake sits down with former Vice President Dick Cheney for a live interview. He's going to ask him about everything from immigration to Iraq to the Middle East. That's at 4:00 Eastern today right here on CNN following this broadcast.
Next, the results of a six-month CNN investigation that involves dozens of child sex predators who worked at some of the most famous theme parks arrested for their predatory behavior after hours away from work.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know, it's where every child's dream comes true, where you're supposed to feel safe and kids can be kids. As parents, you will want to pay close attention to this next story.
It's an investigation involving child sex predators and some of the most famous theme parks. As you're getting ready to pack the family fan and head to Central Florida's Walt Disney World, Universal or even SeaWorld, you're going to want to see what we found in our six-month investigation.
We're talking about a pattern of theme parks, employees arrested in sex stings after work hours.
Here's CNN's investigative correspondent Kyra Phillips.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are people you would least expect. Some are married with children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have been on Craigslist looking for a friend.
PHILLIPS: Others have been working with children for years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I work around kids all the time at Disney.
PHILLIPS: This man even admits to having sex with an underage teen before getting caught.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We talked and kissed.
PHILLIPS: All of them employees at Florida's Walt Disney World, known as the happiest place on earth. All of them arrested. A CNN investigation found since 2006 at least 35 Disney employees had been arrested for sex crimes against children, trying to meet minors for sex, or for possession of child pornography.
And it's not just Disney. Five employees were arrested from Universal Orlando and two from Sea World. So far, 32 have been convicted, eight have pled not guilty and two have not entered a plea.
PHILLIPS (on camera): To be clear, none of these cases involve children or teenagers visiting the parks. However, according to law enforcement, despite the most stringent background checks, child sexual predators are still being hired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that it was wrong to come here to meet a 14-year-old?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): This is 40-year-old Allen Treaster, who police say advertised himself online as "big teddy bear for younger chaser." He was a concierge at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, previously working the Toy Story ride. This is Treaster getting arrested after police say he showed up to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old boy, hoping, according to his text messages, to fulfill a fantasy. Treaster was actually communicating with an undercover detective. He has pled not guilty. However, listen to what he tells detectives during his interrogation. He actually confesses to having sex with a teenage boy just three and a half weeks before this Polk County sting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you still went there for that, to have sex with him, knowing that he was 15-years-old?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was that another fantasy? I mean that was, again, a younger age. So -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess.
PHILLIPS: That's right, Treaster admits he drove to Georgia to have sex with a 15-year-old boy he met online.
ROBERT KINGSOLVER, FORMER DISNEY EMPLOYEE: My life is ruined, my family's life is ruined.
PHILLIPS: Forty-nine-year-old Robert Kingsolver was a maintenance supervisor at Disney's Magic Kingdom, monitoring and fixing rides like Tea Cups, Winnie the Pooh and It's a Small World. He says he loved his job. Especially the children.
KINGSOLVER: To see the look on the children's faces, to -- you know, when they get to see, you know, Prince Charming or maybe running into Mickey, that was the best part, is to seeing kids glow and seeing their heroes.
PHILLIPS: That all ended in February, when Kingsolver pulled into this drive way, not knowing that he was walking into a sting operation. Within seconds, he is caught and arrested for trying to seduce and lure a 14-year-old child to have sex. Take a look at the graphic text messages between Kingsolver and the undercover detective who was posing as an underage girl. Kingsolver says he's a cuddling and snuggling kind of guy, who enjoys giving oral sex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bottom line is, obviously, you were talking to an undercover law enforcement officer, you weren't talking to a 14- year-old girl. OK. The bottom line boils down to, that conversations that you had maybe with a girl later on, was sexual in nature, was it not?
KINGSOLVER: Yes, it was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
PHILLIPS: Even though he admits to police he wrote the messages, he tells us he was just trying to protect the girl. He has pled not guilty and says his family is standing by him.
KINGSOLVER: They love me. They know me. My kids know me, and they know how much I care for kids, they know how much I love them, all four of my kids. And they know that their dad is not somebody that would go out and hurt a young child. They know their dad is somebody who would go out and protect a young child at any cost.
PHILLIPS: And the arrests are continuing. Four Disney employees were caught in sting operations in just the last five weeks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: When we come back, we're going to hear from our investigative correspondent, Kyra Phillips, and we're going to hear what Disney had to say about this and what we found about arrests of employees at other Florida amusement parks.
We will also hear from the congressman, congressman says needs to happen so theme parks do not hire employees who turn out to be sex offenders.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Back now with more on our investigation.
We have been telling you about a series of employees at Florida's Walt Disney World arrested for sex offenses. While none of the cases involve children or teens visiting the park, CNN investigative correspondent Kyra Phillips reports that the problem appears broader than just Disney, prompting one congressman to call for changes.
As you will hear, he wants theme parks to be able to polygraph employees who work around children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Our investigation reveals year after year, Walt Disney World employees are getting arrested for child porn and in sex stings set up by Florida Police agencies. And it's not just maintenance workers like Robert Kingsolver. It's security guards, a performer, a costume maker, even a pastor.
(voice-over): This is 50-year-old Cedric Cuthbert, a former custodial manager at Disney World's Port Orleans Resort. And also a pastor. Police say he was downloading child pornography and soliciting a child for sex online while on the clock at Disney. And at the same time writing a sermon for his church.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you have to say --
PHILLIPS: Cuthbert pled no contest and was sentenced to six years in prison.
GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY SHERIFF: We go after these predators with a vengeance.
PHILLIPS: Grady Judd is the sheriff of neighboring Polk County, known nationally for his aggressive approach to child sex predators.
(on camera): I talked to a number of these men, and they said, it's entrapment, I was totally set up. JUDD: What else are they going to say? Are they going to get on national news and say, I'm a pervert? I'm a child predator? I seek sex with little boys? No, they're not going to say that. When they tell you that, look them in the eye and say, you're a liar. What you really are is a pervert, a sexual pervert and a child predator.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have never done this. I have no bad record. I can't lose my job over this. PHILLIPS (voice-over): This is 32-year-Old Patrick Holgerson, a
Disney street performer and VIP tour guide in training. He's seen here in photo after photo posted on his Facebook page. He tried to run from police, when they say he showed up to have sex with a 13- year-old boy. It was a sting. Holgerson had engaged in graphic sexual chats, even sending a picture of himself with Mickey Mouse, and it got more explicit from there. Holgerson has pled not guilty. He too told police he was just looking out for the child.
HOLGERSON: I was going to see if he was really doing this, and I felt it was wrong and I was going to actually call it once I left here.
PHILLIPS: Disney declined our request for an on-camera interview. But in a statement said, "We have extensive measures in place, including pre-employment and ongoing criminal background checks. And computer monitoring and firewalls. The numbers reported by CNN represent 1/100 of 1 percent of the 300,000 people we have employed during this time period. We continue to work closely with law enforcement and organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as we constantly strengthen our efforts.
So what does the co-founder for the Center of Missing and Exploited Children say about sexual predators being hired at businesses that cater to children?
ERNIE ALLEN, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL CENTER: This is a real threat.
PHILLIPS: Ernie Allen is the president of the International Center. He says for every sexual predator that gets caught, there are still thousands of them we don't know about out there trolling for children.
ALLEN: Most of those who have criminal records are the dumb ones. They're the ones who have gotten caught. Most of those who prey upon children don't have criminal records.
PHILLIPS (on camera): Is there more that Disney could do?
ALLEN: I think there's more that Disney can do, there's more that everybody can do. It's hard to imagine a company that's tried harder to address this issue than Disney.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Disney's competitors, Universal and SeaWorld, face the same challenges.
This is 23-year-old Matthew Cody Myers. Universal Studios fired him after he was arrested in Polk County's most recent sting. Police say he showed up to have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So when the sex was instigated by you --
MATTHEW CODY MYERS, FORMER UNIVERSAL STUDIOS EMPLOYEE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you say to instigate the sex act?
MYERS: I was like, would you want to? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Want to what?
MYERS: Have sex.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take some deep breaths?
MYERS: I'm trying.
PHILLIPS: Myers told police he wouldn't have really gone through with it, and he has pled not guilty.
Universal told us, "We have zero tolerance for this kind of activity. We deal with situations such as this immediately and permanently." Like Disney and SeaWorld, the company also said, "All our team members undergo thorough background checks as part of the hiring process."
SeaWorld said, "The safety of our team members and employees is our top priority," adding that it has, "policies and procedures in place, and we take appropriate action as needed."
JUDD: What we're doing with Disney and everyone else is we're putting shackles on them and then wondering why they can't win the race.
PHILLIPS: Sheriff Judd says businesses that cater to children need to go one step further and use polygraph tests.
