Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

President Bush's Call for Immigration Reform Coming Under Fire

Aired August 27, 2001 - 09:20   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush's call for immigration reform is coming under fire this morning. Now while the president is talking about changing the way we deal with immigrants from Mexico, some say that reform should apply to all immigrants.

Our Jeanne Meserve standing by in Washington. She's got more on that.

Good morning, Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

And I have with me a couple of gentlemen who have a stake in this battle, Julian Bonds, the chairman of the board of the NAACP, and Eliseo Medina, of the Service Employees International union. Thank you both for coming today.

You're having press conference today to talk about equal opportunity immigration. What do you mean by that? And is that what the president is talking about, Mr. Medina?

ELISEO MEDINA, EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION: Well as you know, there's some debate going on right now about reforming the immigration laws of this country. Unfortunately, the debate is centered on whether it's going to cover only workers from Mexico. Our belief is we need to have an equal opportunity employer. There is no such thing as Mexican work, Irish work or Polish work. Work is work, and they ought to be rewarded, and all workers ought to have the right to legalize.

MESERVE: Mr. Bond, why this special emphasis on Mexican workers by the administration?

JULIAN BOND, NAACP: Well, it may be because Governor Bush was governor of Texas and he has a special affinity for Mexico and knows President Fox. But as you know, immigrants come from all over the world, and we think any immigration legalization program ought to apply to everyone.

MESERVE: Now as you know, Mr. Medina, the president said last week, no blanket amnesty, we're just not going to see it when it comes to illegal immigration. What would you like to see out of this administration? And realistically, what do you think you can get? MEDINA: Well, I think first of all, that it ought to cover all workers who are in this country, who are paying taxes. who are contributing to this country. And I think that we hope that at the end of the day that the administration and the Congress will do the right thing and reward the hard-working immigrants who are in this country.

MESERVE: Well, are you talking about a blanket amnesty?

MEDINA: Well, I think that we're talking about is making sure that everybody in this country, that has a job, that is contributing, gets legalization. That's not blanket amnesty. It doesn't mean that anybody can come from any country in the world, but those that are here and contributing ought to be recognized.

MESERVE: Mr. Bond, you know the political realities, that there are many, Republicans in particular, in Congress, who oppose any liberalization of immigration. What do you think is going to come out of this administration?

BOND: Well, we hope they'll say, this is an opportunity for both political parties, and it's an opportunity for all Americans to welcome and embrace these people who make such a great contribution to us. This is not a political issue; this is an American issue, and all Americans ought to get behind it.

MESERVE: But you know, there was a recent study that said this is a no-win situation for Republicans, but if in fact, there is more legalization, it is likely that those people will eventually vote Democratic?

BOND: Well, both the Democratic and Republican parties are going to have to appeal to these new American voters and say, here's what we stand for? Do you like it? You don't? Vote for us if you do. It's up to the parties. It's not up to the people.

MESERVE: Mr. Medina and Mr. Bond, thank for both for joining us today. We're likely to hear a lot more about this immigration issue next week. President Bush meets with the Mexican President Vicente Fox.

Leon, back to you.

HARRIS: Thank you, Jeanne. We will see you in a bit.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com