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Lou Dobbs Tonight
President Bush Defends War in Iraq; Fifty Thousand Iraqi Soldiers Today Launched Security Operation in Baghdad; Democrats Can't Agree on Common Position On Iraq War Months Before Elections; Immigration Officials Announced Major New Illegal Alien Bust; Shocking Report On Disaster Assistance To Victims of Hurricane Katrina; Election Officials Required To Provide Ballots And Voting Materials In Numerous Languages; Senator Sessions Discusses Amnesty Bill; Flag Protection Act; Owner of Geno's Cheesesteaks Stands Fast to his English-Only Ordering Policy
Aired June 14, 2006 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, President Bush is back from Iraq, and he says he's optimistic about the progress of the war. But he declares our troops will not leave Iraq until they've completed their mission.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, news, debate and opinion for Wednesday, June 14th.
Sitting in for Lou Dobbs is Kitty Pilgrim.
PILGRIM: Good evening.
One day after visiting Baghdad, President Bush insisted that U.S. troops will stay in Iraq until Iraqi forces can fight insurgents on their own. President Bush said it's unrealistic to expect what he calls zero violence in Iraq. He says success in Iraq depends on the Iraqis themselves.
Suzanne Malveaux reports from the White House on the president's campaign to defend the way he has conducted this war.
John Vause reports from Baghdad on the new crackdown on insurgents.
And Dana Bash reports from Capitol Hill on the deep divisions in the Democratic Party about the war.
We begin with Suzanne Malveaux at the White House -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kitty, President Bush engaged in a wide-range press conference on various issues. But, of course, the focus really to bolster the Iraqi government, also to win the support of the American people. This comes at a critical time for the president, also at a critical time because those polls showing that the majority of Americans have lost faith in the Iraq mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MALVEAUX (voice-over): More than three years since the Iraq war began, President Bush is still trying to convince the American people the U.S. invasion was worth it.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was the right thing to get rid of Saddam Hussein.
Al Qaeda's real.
I also understand the stakes of this war.
MALVEAUX: The mantra is the same. But the administration insists this moment is different.
BUSH: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for this opportunity to visit with your cabinet.
MALVEAUX: Fresh from his surprise trip to Baghdad, President Bush says he's looked Iraq's new prime minister in the eye and now has a partner he can support.
BUSH: I saw firsthand the strength of his character and his deep determination to succeed to build a country that can sustain itself, govern itself and defend itself.
MALVEAUX: The White House strategy to recapture support for Iraq is threefold. First, seizing the moment. Introducing new initiatives, such as...
BUSH: Operation Together Forward started this morning.
MALVEAUX: ... a joint effort involving Iraqi and coalition forces aimed at bolstering Baghdad security. Also a new plan to drum up international aid for the Iraqis through the U.N.. And a pledge by President Bush to send his own secretaries of Commerce, Agriculture, Energy and Treasury to Baghdad to help the Iraqis revitalize their economy.
The second part of the White House strategy, acknowledging mistakes and missteps.
BUSH: I was asked at a press conference in the east room with Tony Blair, you know, mistakes. Abu Ghraib was a terrible mistake.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush also conceded that Iraqi troops need to be better equipped and rebuilding projects better planned.
The third part of the White House strategy, inviting new voices.
BUSH: I appreciate people's advice and I appreciate their candor.
MALVEAUX: To demonstrate that point, today the president briefed a group of bipartisan advisers, as well as the House and Senate leadership about his Iraq trip. Lawmakers are embroiled in a debate over how soon U.S. troops should come home. SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY WHIP: I think this is a particularly bad time to be sending the message to the terrorists in Iraq that we might be thinking of running just when they're running.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: What we did not hear was a new direction for Iraq. And I believe that we need a new direction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now, clearly, there is a change in tone at the White House, but not in policy. And, of course, the strategy meant to win Americans over to support the U.S. mission in Iraq, and at the same time to reassure Republicans who are afraid that they might pay for America's r frustrations over Iraq that, in fact, that will not determine the success or outcome of the midterm elections -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Thanks, Suzanne.
Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today said that the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan cannot guarantee that those countries will become successful democracies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: In those two countries alone, we have given more than 55 million people an opportunity to flourish in freedom. Not a guarantee of success, but a chance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: Now, Rice told Southern Baptists in Greensboro, North Carolina, that the chance of success, though, is worth the price.
Fifty thousand Iraqi soldiers and police today launched the biggest security operation in Baghdad in at least two years. Thousands of American troops are supporting the operation, but the crackdown did not stop all the violence.
John Vause reports from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even a widespread security sweep wasn't enough to stop this car bomb which left two civilians dead in northern Baghdad. "One of the terrorists left his car here and detonated it by remote control," said this policeman.
A police patrol was also targeted not far from here by a road side bomb. But no one was hurt. And Iraqi soldiers came under fire from insurgents in a Sunni neighborhood. No injuries were reported despite a 30-minute shootout.
The government called this Operation Forward Together. Hundreds of checkpoints were manned on roads into the capital, vehicles were searched. Police say they found Katyusha rockets and diffused roadside bombs.
Many Iraqis welcomed the extra security despite long lines of traffic in the searing heat of the Baghdad summer.
"We're getting late to work because of the checkpoint," says this man. "But this is good to arrest terrorists and seize car bombs."
For now, there has been no all-out offensive in the most violence-prone areas, neighborhoods controlled by militias and insurgents.
(on camera): No one is expecting quiet overnight, but the Iraqi government has now made a start. Operation Forward Together is moving ahead, albeit slower than many had expected.
John Vause, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: U.S. military officials believe they have identified al Qaeda's new leader in Iraq. They say he is Abu Ayub al-Masri. Other intelligence officials are not so sure.
Now, the former al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a U.S. airstrike last week. President Bush says whoever replaces Zarqawi will also be on the U.S. target list.
Well, as President Bush tries to seize the political initiative on the war in Iraq, Democrats appear divided, more divided than ever. Democrats seem incapable of agreeing on a common position in the war just months before the midterm elections.
Dana Bash reports from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just hours after returning from Baghdad, President Bush jumped into the Iraq political battle at home.
BUSH: There's an interesting debate in the Democratic Party about how quick to pull out of Iraq.
BASH: The president's Rose Garden rhetoric was straight from Karl Rove's election year playbook for Republicans worried about the war: turn the tables on Democrats by highlighting their differences on Iraq. Especially the dicey question, whether to set a timetable to bring troops home.
BUSH: I know it may sound good politically. It will endanger our country to pull out of Iraq before we accomplish the mission.
BASH: Democrats are divided. Senator Russ Feingold is among those who say pull troops out by year's end. SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D), WISCONSIN: I ask, what is wrong with having a clear timetable to bring our troops out of Iraq by the end of this year?
BASH: A day earlier, Senator Hillary Clinton was booed by Democrats for disagreeing with that position.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: ... nor do I think it is smart strategy to set a date certain. I do not agree that that is in the best interest of our troops or our country.
BASH: The heart of the GOP strategy is to force congressional Democrats to take tough votes on Iraq.
On Thursday, the House will debate the war and vote on a GOP resolution that links Iraq to the war on terror and says it is "not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for withdrawal."
REP. NEIL ABERCROMBIE (D), HAWAII: Our hands are tied, literally.
BASH: Democrats call the GOP Iraq debate a sham. Their hope is to cast Republicans as turning a blind eye to Bush blunders in Iraq. But some Democrats are worried.
Tim Bishop represents a New York district Bush won two years ago.
REP. TIMOTHY BISHOP (D), NEW YORK: If I vote no, one -- an unscrupulous person could say that I don't support the troops. If I vote yes, someone could say that I'm supporting the president, which, as I say, I don't support the way in which this administration has conducted this war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And Democrats on both sides of the Capitol have been meeting behind closed doors for days trying to come up with a unified political position when it comes to U.S. troops in Iraq. In the Senate, Democrats hope to offer legislation to "responsibly re-deploy" troops from Iraq, but, Kitty, they are struggling to come up with exactly when that would happen.
PILGRIM: Thanks very much.
Dana Bash.
Thanks, Dana.
BASH: Thank you.
PILGRIM: Well, U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan are on the offensive tonight against radical Islamist insurgents. More than 10,000 U.S., British, Canadian and Afghan troops have launched the biggest offensive since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001. Two more of our troops have been killed in combat in Afghanistan. Two hundred thirty American troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the war began.
Now, this new offensive follows a sharp increase in the number of insurgents attacks this year.
Indonesia has freed a radical Islamist cleric convicted for his role in the Bali terrorist bombings four years ago. Those bombings killed 200 people, many of them Australian tourists. But the cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, was freed after only 26 months in jail.
The United States and Australia immediately protested his release. U.S. and Australian officials say the cleric is the spiritual leader of al Qaeda's affiliate in Indonesia.
Still to come, stalemate on Capitol Hill over the Senate's illegal alien amnesty bill. We'll have a special report on that.
And among my guests, Senator Jeff Sessions. He says the Senate is defying the will of the people by supporting amnesty for illegal aliens.
Plus, you won't believe what happened to some of the money intended for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
And it's Flag Day, and elected officials in Washington are fighting over the flag.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: This just in to CNN. The House tonight voted to block any foreign takeovers of U.S. airlines. This is a story we've been following for you.
Now, the House amended a pending transportation bill to stop the Bush administration's plan to allow foreign control of our airlines. Congressman Frank LoBiondo and Congressman James Oberstar spearheaded today's effort. So, once again, the House has just voted to block any foreign takeovers of U.S. airlines.
We'll continue to follow all the latest developments on that legislation.
Immigration officials today announced a major new illegal alien bust as immigration reform negotiations appear on the verge of collapse on Capitol Hill.
We have two reports tonight. Casey Wian reports from Los Angeles on the new illegal alien sweep. It's called Operation Return to Sender. And Louise Schiavone reports from Washington on the worsening immigration reform deadlock in Congress.
We begin with Casey Wian -- Casey.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kitty, more than 2,000 criminal illegal aliens are now off the streets of the United States following a two and a half week crackdown by federal immigration officials.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice-over): These violent gang members have been terrorizing American communities for years. Now they're heading home, hopefully for good.
Nearly 400 members of the notorious MS-13 and other street gangs were among the almost 2,200 fugitive illegal aliens nabbed by ICE during a 19-day sweep dubbed "Operation Return to Sender."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These individuals represent the worst of the worst.
WIAN: They include Salvadoran Franklin Rodriguez, known as "Hollywood," convicted in the stabbing of a 13-year-old boy who is now in a wheelchair for life. And Jose Rios of Mexico, who has a 20-year violent criminal history and at least 13 arrests.
ICE says 146 of the fugitives have convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. The crackdown apprehended fugitive illegal aliens from 41 nations, including Iraq, Indonesia, Pakistan, Libya and China. The arrests were spread throughout 34 of the 50 United States, including more than 700 in California and 400 in Texas.
JULIE MYERS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, ICE: We can no longer allow the interior of the United States to be a safe haven for illegal aliens.
WIAN: ICE says more than 800 of the fugitives have already been deported. The rest are either in deportation proceedings or in the criminal system facing outstanding charges.
While Operation Return to Sender is a clear victory for federal authorities, it's also a reminder of how much more needs to be done.
JOHN TORRES, IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: If you were to go poll the state prisons, for example, there's potential data that there may be as many as 300,000 people in our state prison system. That doesn't account for how many people may actually be out on the streets.
WIAN: That number is estimated at 500,000 illegal aliens already under a judge's order of deportation still living in the United States.
ICE says by the end of this year it will have 52 fugitive apprehension teams operating nationwide, triple the number it had at the start of 2006.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: But until the nation's borders and ports are secure, there's no guarantee that those fugitives they arrest and deport won't be able to sneak back in to the United States -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Thanks very much.
Casey Wian.
Thanks, Casey.
Well, immigration officials today also announced the arrests of 55 illegal aliens working at sensitive sites inside Washington's Dulles International Airport. ICE says these illegal aliens were employed by construction firms and they were working inside areas that would have given them access to runways and airplanes. One of the illegal aliens had an airport security badge allowing this worker unescorted access to the airport tarmac.
Tonight, congressional leaders are unable to break a deadlock and begin work on an immigration reform compromise. A provision in the Constitution could kill the Senate immigration bill and chances for immigration reform this year.
Louise Schiavone reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It could be a real procedural holdup or just a good excuse. But for now, immigration legislation is stalled on what could be the road to nowhere.
Here's the problem...
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: A notice has been served on the Senate that a blue slip will be filed, which, in effect, says they will not consider the bill in the House because it has a revenue enhancement in it, a tax provision in it.
SCHIAVONE: A blue slip is like a legislative traffic ticket. A blue slip would be slapped on the Senate bill because, besides a guest worker program, a wall at the border, punishment for employers who hire illegals, and so on, the measure includes tax provisions, including one requiring illegal aliens to pay back taxes and another making U.S. workers overseas pay more taxes than they do now.
What's wrong with that? The Constitution says tax laws start in the House, not in the Senate. The same way, for example, that it's the Senate, not the House that confirms judges and cabinet secretaries.
REP. TOM TANCREDO (R), COLORADO: If they shot the Senate bill over here, it would be shot down in about a heartbeat simply because, for one thing, no revenue-raising bill can originate in the Senate. There's a constitutional problem.
So it can be stopped. I mean, they can try it. Have them send it. That's fine with me, because that's the end of it.
SCHIAVONE: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist suggests tacking the immigration bill on to a benign House tax bill that's been on the Senate docket so that it has a House bill designation. But Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid wants assurances that no other legislation will hitch a ride on that train. Senator Frist's office says he has offered those assurances.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE: And Kitty, it gets even more complicated than that. Congressman Tancredo says that lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol went home for Memorial Day and heard lots of protests about that Senate immigration bill and the eventual amnesty it offers, leaving some on Capitol Hill to wonder if in this election year it might just be better to let the clock run out on this session of Congress and start fresh next year -- Kitty.
PHILLIPS: Interesting stuff. Thanks very much.
Louise Schiavone.
Well, tonight this nation's leading Catholic bishops are pressuring Congress again to pass an amnesty bill for illegal aliens. During their conference today in Los Angeles, leaders of the Congress of Catholic Bishops called on Congress to "seize the moment" and pass an amnesty bill this session. Catholic bishops say this bill should also give illegal aliens a path to citizenship and contain no criminal penalties.
Also tonight, hundreds of National Guard troops are being deployed to four southern border states as part of President Bush's plan to secure this nation's borders. More than 1,000 National Guard troops are now expected to be in position on the U.S.-Mexico border by tomorrow.
These National Guard troops will not help Border Patrol agents apprehend illegal aliens. They will merely be performing support duties for the Border Patrol.
President Bush hopes to have 6,000 National Guard troops on the border by August.
Still ahead, the shocking new report on hurricane aid. We'll tell you what some victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita really bought with the money they received from FEMA.
Also, Senator Jeff Sessions will tell us why he's saying no to illegal alien amnesty and what he's doing to fight it.
And President Bush's aggressive new effort to push his Iraq policies. Will it help him in the polls? Three of the nation's most distinguished political commentators will join me.
Plus, on this Flag Day, the growing debate over an amendment banning flag burning. We'll have is a special report on that.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PILGRIM: A shocking report on disaster assistance to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A new government report says the relief efforts were riddled with fraud, wasted more than $1 billion of taxpayer money.
Jeanne Meserve reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-seven hundred dollars worth of diamond jewelry, a $2,200 all- inclusive vacation in the Dominican Republic, $2,000 for New Orleans Saints season tickets, $600 for strippers, $400 for adult erotica products, $300 for "Girls Gone Wild" videos, all bought with debit cards issued to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Your tax dollars at work.
REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: This is an affront to the American taxpayer, who has been fleeced by the actions of these criminals.
MESERVE: The Government Accountability Office estimates 16 percent of the payments by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about $1 billion worth, were made on fraudulent claims.
REP. BILL PASCRELL JR. (D), NEW JERSEY: We're talking about a lot of money here. We're not even talking about contractual fraud yet. Wait until we get into that.
MESERVE: Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe of unprecedented scope. Thousands upon thousands lost everything they owned, including identification. FEMA says its systems and personnel were overwhelmed.
DONNA DANNELS, FEMA: We just made the calculated decision that we were going help as many people as we could and that we would have to go back and identify those people who we either paid in error or that defrauded us and deal with that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: FEMA says it is making efforts to recover money. It also claims to have revamped how it verifies and cross-checks information. And by the way, FEMA will not be issuing those debit cards this year.
Kitty, back to you.
PILGRIM: Thanks very much.
Jeanne Meserve.
We want to now take a look at some of your e-mails.
Janet in Florida writes, "Isn't it amazing that the USA is trying to spread democracy in the world and at the same time giving ours away?" Tony in South Carolina writes, "Don't worry about the fraudulent documents. If Bush gets his way, it won't matter. Our own government will be handing out documents just as worthless. They'll be called citizenship papers."
And Susan in Philadelphia writes, "The only excuse I can envision for our current state of affairs is that Washington, D.C., is a gigantic vacuum that extracts intelligence, common sense from most who enter."
Sherry in Arizona writes, "Good for Geno and his speak English sign. I get fed up with having to push one to speak English. Enough is enough already. Speak English."
Send us your thoughts at LouDobbs.com. And we'll have more of your thoughts later in the broadcast.
Coming up, how one group is trying to make bilingual ballots a thing of the past. They say our voting machines should reflect the simple fact that we live in an English-speaking country. We say it's a novel idea.
And he is one of the most outspoken critics of the Senate's illegal amnesty bill. Senator Jeff Sessions will be my guest.
And the Geno's cheesesteak controversy. We'll tell you why its owner says he will not remove his speak English sign.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: The Senate Judiciary Committee is investigating multilingual ballots. And right now, election officials are required to provide ballots and voting materials in numerous languages. But several measures before Congress could end that.
Lisa Sylvester reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Voting in American elections in a foreign language. In Orange County, California, ballots by law must be offered in five languages. The county's fourth district supervisor says it's just a waste of money.
CHRIS NORBY, ORANGE COUNTY SUPERVISOR: The concerns are that the current Voting Rights Act is vague, it's arbitrary, and it also is very costly. Counties are spending tens of millions of dollars every election cycle.
SYLVESTER: Congress is considering whether to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act multilingual election requirements that are set to expire next year. Currently, 299 counties and 30 states provide ballots in a language other than English, including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Tagalog, and in the native language of 13 Native American tribes. Those who favor extending the multilingual provisions argue that it protects minority voters. SPENCER OVERTON, AUTHOR, "STEALING DEMOCRACY": Bilingual ballots give politicians and political parties incentives to reach out to communities that don't have strong English skills.
SYLVESTER: But a coalition of think tanks and individuals sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter. They point out naturalized citizens have to pass an English proficiency test and say there's no need for ballots in languages other than English.
K.C. MCALPIN, PROENGLISH: The message is why bother to learn English to become a citizen if we're going to give you ballots in your native language?
SYLVESTER: Two GAO reports found that multilingual ballots are not only expensive, they're rarely used. In Orange County, California, fewer than one percent of voters request information in a foreign language.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: And a new CNN poll this week found that 75 percent of respondents favor making English the official language and if this became a law, all official government business, including voting would be conducted only in English -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Makes a lot of sense. Thanks very much, Lisa Sylvester.
SYLVESTER: Well this does bring us to our poll tonight. Do you believe that ballots for U.S. elections should be offered in any language other than English? Yes or no. Cast your vote at LouDobbs.com. We'll bring you the results a little bit later in the broadcast.
Now this broadcast has commissioned a comprehensive nationwide poll on illegal immigration, border security and the legislation being debated in Washington. The survey definitely, definitively gauges Americans' attitudes on the critical subjects and tonight we'll examine five of the questions.
So here we go, 53 percent of those surveyed believe that who cannot read or write English should not be permitted to vote; 47 percent believe those who want to immigrate to the United States should not be required to have a certain level of education. But 63 percent believe immigrants should have a certain level of job skills.
And an overwhelming 93 percent of Americans surveyed agree that immigrants should be required to show that they do not have a criminal record. And fully 83 percent believe that police should check a person's citizenship status when making an arrest. Now, the immigration legislation now under consideration in Washington does not include all of those provisions.
America's opinions on illegal immigration and border security should affect the legislation Congress adopts and the one that President Bush signs. In his news conference this morning, however, President Bush explained the crucial role of public opinion in a democracy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: This elected government is going to have to respond to the people. And that's a big change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: Now, we should note that President Bush was talking about the elected government in Iraq.
Senator Jeff Sessions says the Senate ignored the will of the people in passing an amnesty bill for illegal aliens that would cost taxpayers tens of billions each year. A CBO report Sessions commissions says that the bill will also do nothing to stop illegal aliens entering this country. I asked Senator Sessions what the purpose of the Senate immigration bill is, if not to stop the flow of illegal aliens?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: That was the purpose, but the CBO numbers are based on the Senate bill. And they say, in a fact, there's no change in illegal immigration for 10 years. It would be 700,000 to 900,000 a year. If anything, that's certainly no less and maybe more than the current rate. So it really belies the argument that this bill is going to make any progress on enforcement. It certainly does not appear to.
PILGRIM: What does that say about the value of this bill, sir?
SESSIONS: Well I think it again is another indication that it is unacceptable, that it's terribly flawed, should never become law and will not do what it promises. It promises to enforce the border. And that's proven to be false. I think I've already said that, but the CBO confirmed it. Workplace enforcement is not there. And the future flow plans to allow millions coming in in the future at a much higher rate are just unprincipled and not valuable, not good for the United States. So we definitely need to review this legislation.
PILGRIM: House Speaker Dennis Hastert has said that he wants to take a long look at this bill and potentially hold hearings. Do you think hearings are appropriate? They're certainly not normal.
SESSIONS: No, they're not normal. But you know, the House has none of this so-called comprehensive approach to immigration. Theirs was focused primarily on enforcement. And so if they're going to consider the comprehensive bill at all, they absolutely should study it. We never had enough hearings in the Senate. This bill just basically came up and moved through with very few hearings directly related to the gray issues on immigration.
We just didn't discuss the real important issues in any significant way. For example, we've never considered whether or not we ought to adopt what Canada does, and that is to have a point system. Why haven't we even discussed that? It seems to me it makes an awful lot of sense.
PILGRIM: All right, you know, could this immigration reform bill be hammered out behind closed doors with the congressional leadership? Do you see it going that way?
SESSIONS: Well, that's a very dangerous thing. The American people's confidence in the government on a question of immigration is very low. They're very cynical. And if anyone thinks they can hammer out a bill and then ram it through without the American people being alerted, I think they're in for big trouble and just further erode public confidence in what we're doing.
PILGRIM: The Senate -- procedurally the Senate bill has to be attached to a House bill to avoid a constitutional issue. Would you support a unanimous consent to send to it the House?
SESSIONS: You know, I haven't made a decision about that. My personal view is we need to discuss this bill more. No one senator can block a bill from being considered, but can provide an opportunity for more debate. So we'll be looking at that.
PILGRIM: And timetable-wise, if this doesn't get to the House and Senate by August 1st, do you think it will make it at all in this session?
SESSIONS: You know, it may not. Then again, something could happen. But from what I'm hearing from the House, that they're so concerned about the viability of the comprehensive language in the Senate bill, not that they're so against the comprehensive bill, but just that they are uneasy and unaccepting of what we've done, then I think it's got a long way to go to become law, frankly.
PILGRIM: Let's talk about Republican Brian Bilbray's platform. He ran on an anti-amnesty platform. Do you think that that sends a message to Republicans for the fall?
SESSIONS: I absolutely do. I think the American people care about this issue far more than politicians will admit to themselves. We're almost in denial around here, it seems to me, about the importance of this issue. We talk about other issues when in the minds of the American people, immigration really is a seminal issue. It's a defining issue for our nation and for how they will evaluate their government officials.
PILGRIM: Well we're delighted you came on the program to discuss it with us again, sir. Senator Jeff Sessions, thank you.
SESSIONS: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Some lawmakers today in Washington did not miss the opportunity to use this Flag Day to their advantage. Perhaps the most notable event was a rally to support the Flag Protection Amendment, an issue many say is pure politics. Bill Schneider has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: We're really kicking it off today on Flag Day. We're stepping in to say no more.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has scheduled a vote on a constitutional amendment that would allow the government to ban flag desecration.
FRIST: We have a few unifying symbols, and chief among those are the flag.
SCHNEIDER: But the one thing this debate is not, is unifying.
SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D), WISCONSIN: This is a political effort, and we've had a number of these political efforts. The danger here, though, of course, is that this one is close.
SCHNEIDER: That's because a solid majority of Americans support a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. There she is, Miss America, speaking in favor of it.
HEATHER FRENCH, FORMER MISS AMERICA: Did you know that it is illegal to burn a dollar bill?
SCHNEIDER: Critics argue it's a matter of protecting freedom of expression.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The First Amendment protects not only speech we admire, but also speech we abhor.
SCHNEIDER: They see a constitutional amendment as a solution for which there is no real problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've said often that it's almost akin to dropping an atomic bomb on a sleeping city, because there may be a felon in the area.
SCHNEIDER: They smell politics behind the Republican leader's insistence on the vote.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: The motives of the scheduling are very, very clear.
SCHNEIDER: This is an issue that divides Democrats.
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: I want to call today on the Democratic leader to push his members to support this constitutional amendment. With that, this amendment will pass. Without that, I doubt it will.
SCHNEIDER: But there's no doubt that it will be an issue in the upcoming campaign.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SCHNEIDER: The hottest item in Washington this Flag Day, it's this ingenious self-waving flag, devised by inventor Richard Levy of Bethesda, Maryland. Now, the device is made in China, but the flag is made by Valley Forge Flag Company right here in Pennsylvania. You see right here, it says, "Flag printed in USA, assembled in China." Kitty?
PILGRIM: It's a great combination. Thanks very much, Bill Schneider. We couldn't do without you, Bill.
All right, just ahead, the president's surprise visit to Baghdad and the future of our troops in Iraq. I'll discuss those topics and a whole lot more with our political panel next.
And he's not backing down. The owner of Geno's Cheesesteaks says he has every right to ask his customers to order in English.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: The president's immigration legislation faces a rather uncertain future on Capitol Hill. But the White House is making the most of positive news for Iraq. So, joining me now to discuss the latest political developments and the upcoming midterm elections we have Ed Rollins, former White House political director under Ronald Reagan, Miguel Perez, syndicated columnist with "The Record" in New Jersey, and Hank Sheinkopf, Democratic strategist. Gentlemen, it's always a pleasure to talk to you.
Let's start with immigration. A big topic for this show. And a lot happened recently. Let's talk about Dennis Hastert who says he wants to take a long look at the Senate version of the bill. We have some people saying this bill may not quite make it through. It has to be attached to a House bill to actually go to the House. Where do we stand on this, Hank?
HANK SHEINKOPF, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, what he's doing is probably taking a long look at polls to be sure that whatever they come up with does not injure them significantly if it's to be reported out or voted on before the midterm elections.
The issue in Washington today isn't what happens to the American people, it's what happens to Congress. So anything that mitigates against that is going to be going in the other direction.
PILGRIM: Are we to be as cynical as that, Miguel?
MIGUEL PEREZ, COLUMNIST, "THE RECORD": Yes. I think it's dead. I think the bill is dead. And it may be a good thing for those who also want immigration, real immigration reform, a path to legalization for illegal immigrants. I think it is a good thing that it may be dead. Maybe, after the midterm elections, if we have a few more Democrats in House, we may be able to come up with something better.
PILGRIM: And yet the House version was considerably tougher. This leaves this stranded too, doesn't it? ED ROLLINS, FMR. WHITE HOUSE POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It does. I mean obviously, the House version could still being picked up by the Senate and run as an independent bill. But that will not occur. I think this is a strategy to kill the bill for all practical purposes.
I agree with Miguel. I would hate to see them rush to try to put something through that's inadequate. I think this problem is so significant, I'd like to see the new Congress come back and spend two years focusing on this thing and really find out how many illegals are here, what their qualifications are, make a long-term commitment to them and to the security of the country. And I think anything short of that is irresponsible.
PILGRIM: And yet when Congress goes home, they hear this is one of the top pressing issues of the day. And yet there's this wait now on it. Can we wait?
ROLLINS: Well, they can wait. And what's the top issue is still security. People want the borders secured. And you can argue that the Senate, my colleagues in the Senate or what have you, didn't let us do that. And I think the House are the ones that are really running and they're worried about it. And obviously you have the election in San Diego last week where Bilbray made his whole campaign on this issue alone. I think that's convinced a lot of Republicans not to touch it.
PEREZ: Security involves all illegal immigrants. Not just those that are coming over the Mexican border. And we keep talking about only the Mexican border. We should be concerned about terrorists coming to Canada. We should be concerned about illegal immigrants who originally came in legally and violated their visas. Almost half of illegal immigrants in the country came legally and then overstayed their visas. The bill in Congress now does nothing to correct this problem. That's a terrible solution.
PILGRIM: A lot of gaps in this legislation. Let's go to a poll, exclusive CNN LOU DOBBS TONIGHT poll on immigration, more than half of those polled say we should not allow people to vote if they cannot speak English. Do you agree with that?
SHEINKOPF: I don't agree with that. It has nothing to do with being a Democrat or a Republican. It wasn't so many generations ago that people came from other countries and probably had a lot of problems looking at that election ballot, couldn't figure it out. And language wasn't used at them as a discriminatory tool. If you're here, you're working, you're living a good life, you're obeying the rules, you're paying your taxes, you ought to be able to vote regardless of what your language.
PILGRIM: One of the arguments is expense. Do you think it's worth the expense.
PEREZ: It's not that expensive to come up with to translate a couple of documents. But again, if these people are here legally and they're citizens, they must know a little English to begin with. That's how they became citizens. So it nullifies the question. ROLLINS: I grew up in California. We've had the dual ballots for as long as I've been around. And I would argue very strenuously that we need to continue that. I would much rather have people be able to read correctly in their home language that they're most comfortable with and vote correctly for the people they want to vote for.
PILGRIM: And participate. Alright, let's look at another poll that we have done on immigration. Eighty three percent of the people said that the police should be required to determine the legal status of someone they're arresting. What do you think about that?
SHEINKOPF: Well, in some cities we have crime waves, although we're in a period in America were crimes pretty low, but when you have real things going on, and there's a shoot-out, I think the last thing you want to find out is the person's legal or illegal status. Kind of ridiculous. Local police need to do what they do best, which is take care of local police issues. Not worry about country of origin, whether you're an illegal citizen or whether you're an illegal immigrant or what the status of your green card is or process at that moment. Kind of ridiculous.
PILGRIM: Although a shoot-out is an extreme example.
SHEINKOPF: Doesn't matter. Average policeman in a patrol car, policewoman on a night shift, may go through 30, 40, 50, maybe 100 calls for service, some of which they respond to, others they don't. They have other things to do.
PEREZ: We want an illegal immigration to be able to call the police. Not to be afraid to call police. If your house is on fire, and there's an illegal immigrant down the street, you want him to call the police. He won't do that if he knows that he's going to be arrested, that's the bottom line. If there's a disease spreading in your neighborhood and he has it, he won't go to the emergency service and everybody will catch it. So it affects us all.
We have to be wary about these things. I think when these questions are asked, honestly, the problem is that people are not given both sides of the story. If they were told, listen, these are the ramifications of voting this way or going this way with this poll, then people would think about this.
PILGRIM: But we've had a shoot-out and a house on fire already.
SHEINKOPF: Let's putting it in more practical terms. American people want leadership on the issue. They're not going to get much leadership. They'll get a lot of discussion. Politicians are not going to do anything that puts their seat at risk, or the present construction of congress, depending upon your point of view, and that's the problem. Political leadership should say, this is what we need to do, this is real, it's appropriate and get working on it. At least have a national discussion. We're not having a national discussion. What we're having is something quite different.
ROLLINS: The critical thing on this issue, there have been several raids in the last week or two, there are a large number of illegal immigrants, we think of the good people who work hard, there's a large part that become part of the criminal element. They find out that someone has basically been part of a gang or been part of thievery or done improper things, then they need to be identified and sent back home or imprisoned.
PEREZ: Immediately, immediately.
PILGRIM: Let's just talk politics for a second. President Bush spoke to reporters this morning at the White House. He talked about his confidence in the future of the Republican party. Let's hear what he has to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: And I believe we're going to hold the House and the Senate. Because our philosophy is one that is forward looking and optimistic and has worked. We got a record to run on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: What do you think about that?
SHEINKOPF: He sure does have a record to run on. And if midterm elections are any indication of the popularity of the incumbent president, at a particular time, based upon his public opinion poll numbers, we know them very well, he certainly will be called to question on the record and his fellow Republicans will also be called to question on his record.
PILGRIM: Miguel?
PEREZ: I hope he's wrong. I hope the House is not held by the Republicans, because again going back to immigration, I think we need a Democratic majority that will be more sensible to the problem of illegal immigration.
ROLLINS: The president's had the best week he's had probably in two years. But one week does not make an election cycle. There's still a 50-50 chance that Republicans could lose the House.
PILGRIM: On that note, thanks very much. Hank Sheinkopf, Ed Rollins and Miguel Perez. Thank you, gentlemen.
A reminder to vote in tonight's poll. Do you believe the ballots for U.S. elections should be offered in a language other than English? Yes or no? Cast your vote at LouDobbs.com.
And coming next, he's been slapped with a discrimination complaint, but the owner of Geno's Cheesesteaks is sticking to his motto, this is America, speak English.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Coming up in just a few minutes here on CNN, its the SITUATION ROOM with Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf. WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Kitty. Just back from Baghdad, President Bush keeps his message on Iraq in the spotlight, but where do the Democrats stand on the issue of bringing home the troops? Are they closer to Senator Hillary Clinton's argument or Congressman John Murtha's? A key Democrat, the leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi will be my guest right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Plus details about the man many say who is replacing Abu Musab al Zarqawi as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.
And get this, at 26 years old, he always has President Bush's ear. So why would he be giving up a dream job at the White House? We'll introduce you to Blake Gottesman. All that, Kitty, coming up right at the top of the hour.
PILGRIM: Thanks, Wolf. We look forward to it.
Geno's, the Philadelphia restaurant that asked customers to place their orders in English is being charged with discrimination. But Gino's owner is not backing down. Bill Tucker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For Joey Vinto, owner of Geno's Cheeseteaks, it comes down to one word, cheesesteak.
JOEY VENTO, OWNER, GENO'S STEAKS: What is so hard about saying cheesesteak?
TUCKER: For the city of Philadelphia, it comes to this sign. "This is America, when ordering speak English." The city's commission on human relations filed a complaint in response which states that the sign is "discouraging patronage by non-English speaking customers all because of national origin and/or ancestry." The complaint was filed June 12th in English.
VENTO: We're not refusing anybody and we're not helping these people by not learning the English language, because without learning the English language they're going nowhere.
TUCKER: Much of Vento's ire, he freely admits, is directed at Spanish speakers which are a growing presence in South Philadelphia. Vento wants to know why bilingual means Spanish or English?
VENTO: You got the Korean you got the Vietnamese, the Japanese, Germans. They didn't get no special privileges. They learned the English language because they wanted to assimilate into the country. You can't have six or seven languages. There's no communication.
TUCKER: The way he sees it, he's doing those new to the English language a favor.
VENTO: And at Geno's all you have to learn is cheesesteak. What's it take to learn cheesesteak? TUCKER: It is not quite that easy. There's the with provolone or Velveeta decision and the with or without decision as in with onions or without.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Geno's has 15 days to officially respond to the complaint or request an extension. If the city and Geno's fail to reach an agreement, it goes to a public hearing. And if Geno's loses, the city would then order that the sign be taken down. Kitty, the fine if Geno's refuses to comply, $300.
PILGRIM: Really crystallizes the issue, doesn't it, Bill?
TUCKER: He comes off a little rough, but he makes some common- sense points.
PILGRIM: Thanks very much Bill Tucker.
Still ahead, more of your thoughts and the result of tonight's poll. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Now the result of tonight's poll: 95 percent of you believe ballots for U.S. elections should not be offered in any language other than English, five percent of you said they should be.
Now for more of your thoughts. Bill in Florida says, "I was hoping you could post the links on your Web site for national monuments for sale. I'm sure with this administration, they must be on the market. Everything else is."
Ross in Florida: "Instead of sending bricks to the congressmen and our president in support of the sham of a bill for guest worker programs, we should be sending dictionaries. That way they can look up words like 'oath,' 'integrity,' 'accountability,' 'loyalty,' and, yes, of course, 'amnesty.'
And Micha in Florida writes, "Did we declare a war on terrorism or not? If we did, then why in the world are we not securing our borders."
We love hearing from you, even if you don't live in Florida. Send us your thoughts at LouDobbs.com.
Thanks for being with us tonight. Please join us tomorrow. Among our guests, Mercedes Mujares, producer and director of the documentary "Cochise County, USA." It's a first-hand look at the devastating effects of illegal aliens on one community.
For all of us here, good night from New York. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now with Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.
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