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American Morning

A New Immigration Plan from President Bush; Third Indictment in Duke Rape Case

Aired May 16, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A new immigration plan from President Bush. So what do Americans think? He wants extra security, guest workers, and quick action by Congress. Can it really happen?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Keith Oppenheim in El Paso, Texas, right on the U.S. border with Mexico. What are people here saying about the president's immigration policy? That reaction coming up.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian in Methuen, Massachusetts where residents are dealing with the worst flooding in 70 years.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jason Carroll in Durham, North Carolina, where a third Duke lacrosse player has been indicted, and he's speaking out about it. Hear what he had to say coming up.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And a dangerous home coming. Some victims of Hurricane Katrina are now facing some serious health threats from their replacement homes. We have a special look just ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.

President Bush calling in the troops. In a primetime speech last night, he revealed plans for immigration reform. He wants up to 6,000 National Guard troops from four southern border states backing up Border Patrol agents. Live now to the White House and our correspondent there Ed Henry.

Good morning, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

A snapshot poll done for CNN by Opinion Research suggests the broad public liked this speech, 67 percent who watched saying they had a positive opinion of the president's plan, but this speech was also aimed at a narrow conservative that who hold the key on Capitol Hill, and they're still not onboard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): A call to action from the president, after a candid admission about the problem vexing the nation. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't have yet have full control of the border, and I am determined to change that. Tonight, I'm calling on Congress to provide funding for dramatic improvements in manpower and technology at the border.

HENRY: The boldest step, calling for deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard troops, to crackdown on illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border.

BUSH: We have enough Guard forces to win the war on terror, to respond to natural disasters and to help secure our border.

HENRY: Democrats responded that the guard is already stretched too thin. And issued a challenge of their own to the president.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), MINORITY WHIP: The president has the power to call up the National Guard to patrol our border, but now he must summon the power to lead his own Republican forces in Congress to support a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform.

HENRY: The president did try to coax fellow conservatives to the middle, with another pitch for his guest worker program.

BUSH: America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. We will fix the problems created by illegal immigration, and we will deliver a system that is secure, orderly and fair.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: But that's still a tough sell to conservatives who consider the president's plan amnesty for the nearly 12 million illegal immigrants already here in America -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Ed, we said this many times, it's difficult to find the middle ground on this one, isn't it?

HENRY: That's right. And that's why the president is getting credit from people within his own party, and then the Democratic party as well, for trying to bring both sides together, but it's a deep divide, especially in an election year -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Ed Henry at the White House, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to have reactions this morning from both the northern and southern borders of the U.S. We start in the south, with CNN's Keith Oppenheim. He's live for us in El Paso, Texas, which of course is along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Keith, good morning to you.

What was the reaction there to the president's speech last night?

OPPENHEIM: Mixed responses, Soledad. And by the way behind me is the Santa Fe Bridge, which connects El Paso to Juarez, Mexico, and there are many people here who are concerned that adding National Guard troops to help the border patrol, even though it would just be in a supportive role could militarize the border. A lot of concern about that that you'll to hear in a moment, but there are also people who feel that there are -- that the Border Patrol really needs some help, and it's about time, and people who are particularly concerned that there are too many criminals, specifically drug traffickers, who are crossing into the U.S. illegally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes it more safe for the people who live here. You never know some of the people that cross, they got criminal records or things like that, so you don't know what could happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember the last time that they did something like that back in South Texas, a person was killed by a Marine, and they did away with it. And now they're going to do it again, and unfortunately, something like that's going to happen again, and then they're going to realize that the military has -- should not be put on the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIM: That last gentleman you heard from was specifically referring to a 18-year-old U.S. citizen who was killed by Marines nine years ago in Redford, Texas. The Marines were cleared of wrongdoing but that incident, in some instances, Soledad, makes people feel that adding military in any shape or form could create more violence, more escalation on the border.

Back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: Keith, give me a sense, I mean, paint a picture for all of us about how illegal immigration affects people living in El Paso every single day.

OPPENHEIM: It's interesting, because when you talk to people in El Paso, they say that much of the rest of the country doesn't understand life in a border town, that illegal immigration is something they deal with here every day, and I think that fuels their responses, different as they may be. Some people are worried about militarization on the border, or other people, as you just hear, are concerned about criminal trafficking.

Back to you.

S, O'BRIEN: Keith Oppenheim for us this morning. Keith, thanks. Again, he is in El Paso, Texas, this morning.

Concerns different when you look north, the U.S.-Canada border,more than 5,000 miles long, and some fear tougher measures there could severely hurt businesses.

Scotty Greenwood of the Canadian American Business Council says this: "We're concerned that you don't have a one-size-fits-all policy. The challenges on the southern border are completely different than those along the northern border."

Along with trade differences is tourism, especially when you look at Niagara Falls. Some tour operators already say that they've got lots of cancellations because of new passport requirements that don't even take effect for another two years.

Coming up this morning at our half hour, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is going to be our guest. We're going to talk with him about the president's new plans -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: It's the worst flooding seen in New England in more than 70 years, ponds, now massive lakes, streams, raging rivers, and it's all become a nightmare for people who live there. About 1,500 people out of their homes this morning. More rain is coming.

AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian in Methuen, Massachusetts, right near the New Hampshire border this morning.

Good morning, Dan.

LOTHIAN: Good morning, Miles.

Certainly it has been a nightmare for many folks. This is the scene that see all across New England, these sandbags that people have been putting down even to keep water from going into their homes or their businesses. In this particular case, it's to shore up the shoreline of the Spicket River. It is four feet above the floodstage, but we're told while other rivers have peaked, this one has not.

The other concern has been the dams. Various communities have these older dams, and there's so much pressure behind them that there's a concern that it will break. This one last night, there was the thought that it would give at any moment, but now officials are cautiously optimistic that it will hold. And everyone across New England is hoping they'll be able to get a break later today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN (voice-over): Torrential rain turned calm waters into roaring rivers. A force of nature swamped buildings, bridges, roads and cars across northern New England. In Exeter, New Hampshire, a crew with sandbags races against the clock.

SCOTT LEBAUDE, NEW HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAY DEPT.: We're keeping the water out of the park so it doesn't take the park with it.

LOTHIAN: In Manchester, New Hampshire, Gerard Fredette grabs his video camera to capture what he says is history in the making.

GERARD FREDETTE, MANCHESTER RESIDENT: This is the worst since 1936.

LOTHIAN: Back then, Fredette was just seven years old. The spring storm lasted 13 days. FREDETTE: The whole area was a disaster.

LOTHIAN: History has not exactly repeated itself, but that's no consolation for residents left pumping out flooded homes.

ASHLEY WOOD, STUDENT: A few of my other friends' houses have been flooded completely.

LOTHIAN: And counting the loss. Like Kim Reynolds, a nurse from Salem, Massachusetts.

KIM REYNOLDS, SALEM RESIDENT: They had about five feet of water in the backyard, which in turn went into our basement, and it was over our heads in the basement.

LOTHIAN: She captured the damage on her picture cell phone.

REYNOLDS: Our furnace is underwater. Our hot water tanks are underwater. We have no heat. We have no hot water. We have no oil. And we're kind of like living by candlelight right now.

LOTHIAN: The National Guard has been activated in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, emergency supplies are being trucked in and shelters are meeting the needs of hundreds of displaced residents. Some communities are overwhelmed.

LT. JOHN O'LEARY, SALEM FIRE AND HAZMAT DEPT.: It's big trouble right now for everyone, and we're trying to do the best we can to help everyone out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: Ever since the conditions started to get pretty bad here, starting Friday and certainly over the weekend, millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into various waterways, and so in addition to all that problems official haves in trying to contain flooding and trying to execute evacuations, they now have to deal with containing all of this raw sewage -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Dan Lothian in Methuen, thank you very much.

Those stubborn wildfires in Florida still a big problem this morning, but there is some good news to report. In Edgewater, on the East Coast, authorities have lifted an evacuation order for about 1,400 homes, 800 acres now charred in Volusia County, and the five- miles stretch of Interstate 95 remains closed indefinitely this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN; Remember the story, remember the name Ken Gourlay? He's the guy took the Fifth Amendment at the recent congressional hearings on child Internet pornography? The guy is now in a Detroit jail. Gourlay, a 28-year-old computer consultant for Michigan, was arrested yesterday on 10 felony charges, including criminal sexual conduct, contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Justin Berry, who's now 19, accused Gourlay of luring him to Michigan when was 13, and he testified -- you'll remember his testimony before Congress. He testified that Gourlay molested him, and then set up a Web site that charged a monthly fee for videos that showed Barry performing various sexual acts. We had spoken just the other day to the district attorney, remember, in Michigan, saying that they were very closely monitoring the case, so now we have an arrest to report.

Now three Duke lacrosse players who are facing charges in that rape investigation. The third, the former team captain, David Evans, is the first to publicly defend himself. There he is there.

CNN's Jason Carroll live for us in Durham, North Carolina.

Hey, Jason, good morning.

CARROLL: Good morning to you, Soledad.

And you know, David Evans said yesterday that he actually felt relieved to be able to speak out on behalf of himself, his family and his team members. He says he's absolutely innocent. He says's he's been cooperating with investigators ever since the very beginning.

During a public statement yesterday, he also said that he took a polygraph test for his attorney, a test he says he passed. He says he even offered to take a similar test for the district attorney. He says that offer was denied. Evans defended not only himself, but he also spoke on behalf of the two other team members who were also indicted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID EVANS: I am innocent. Reade Seligmann is innocent. Collin Finnerty is innocent. Every member of the Duke University lacrosse team is innocent. You have all been told some fantastic lies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Evans voluntarily turned himself into police following his statement. The 23-year-old former senior from Bethesda, Maryland was fingerprinted and posted bond. His attorney, Joe Cheshire, says that the evidence the district attorney has collected against Evans is weak. That's what he called it. The D.A. said in a statement yesterday that he does not expect anymore further indictments, and so that's where we stand at this point, in terms of this case -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: This is just getting to be such a strange case. Jason, let me ask you a question. How did it work? Did the alleged victim pick him out of a lineup?

CARROLL: That's exactly how it worked. The alleged victim picked David Evans out of a photo lineup is exactly how it worked. And during the lineup, she said he looks like the one who assaulted me. He looks just like him, without the mustache. She said she was 90 percent sure, but David Evans' attorney, Joe Cheshire, said Evans never had a mustache. So this could something that could be problematic for the prosecution down the line.

S. O'BRIEN: This case is so odd. It'll be interesting to see how it all ends up.

Jason Carroll for us this morning. Jason, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Washington's archbishop is stepping down. Cardinal Theodore McCarick is resigning, and the Vatican accepting his resignation just within the past hour. This coming to us from the Associated Press. The cardinal is 75, and it is church policy they tender their resignation at that age. There are reports Pittsburgh's bishop, Donald Wuerl, will replace McCarrick. No confirmation of that just yet -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, much more on the president's big immigration speech, if you saw it last night. How did his proposals play with his conservative base? We're going to take you to Ohio for a closer look at that.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Have you heard the president? He wants to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops along the border. But will it work? A CNN Fact Check coming your way.

S. O'BRIEN: Plus, we talk to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. We'll have his take on the president's proposals and how they're going to impact his already overburdened department. Those stories all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

A short break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: National Guard troops, border fences, guest workers. All part of the president's immigration plan. He spelled it all out in his Oval Office address last night. How are people reacting today? Let's get right to Washington, D.C. and CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

Hey, Bill, good morning to you.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: So give me a sense. I mean, obviously, the goal was to try to mollify the conservative base, not alienate your Hispanic voters, which they're relying on heavily. And also, kind of front the idea of a compromise between the House and Senate. How did he do?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think the president really took the side of the Senate here. He supported comprehensive immigration reform, which is the word that is used to describe a package that is not just border security and enforcement, but also a guest worker plan, a program that would eventually lead to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are already in the United States.

Will he succeed in selling this to House Republicans? It's doubtful. He did have a couple of things that they will like. Tougher border security, including sending those National Guard troops. But the question is raised, will it be enough troops? Will they be on the border long enough? Will they be able to perform functions that will really seal the border?

Also, an end to the very controversial catch and release program, in which illegal immigrants who not Mexicans are arrested, then given notices to appear in court and then released because they can't be sent back to Mexico. They're not Mexicans. He says he's going to end that program, which is very welcome news for a lot of people. Will it be enough to persuade House Republicans to accept a compromise? I'm doubtful.

S. O'BRIEN: Sixty-four thousand dollar question there. Let's go to the polls. I want some analysis. You can do it for me, Bill. First the question was the overall reaction to the speech. And these are from people -- the poll is not sort of everybody, but people who saw the speech. So it's not totally random. Here are the numbers: 40 percent very positive, 39 percent somewhat positive, 18 percent negative. What do you make of those numbers?

SCHNEIDER: That's a very positive response, only 18 percent negative. Forty percent very positive. Remember, people who watch the speech do tend to be somewhat more Republican than the voters as a whole. But that wasn't the best response he's gotten to other speeches. In fact, it was lower than any speech we've measured since he took office, lower than most of his Iraq speeches, lower than his State of the Union speeches. So, yes, a positive response, but not a blockbuster.

S. O'BRIEN: He got a little jump, too. If you look before the speech and after the speech -- let's throw this poll up for a final poll. The opinion of the immigration policies. You see there these numbers, 42 percent before the poll; before the speech, rather. Sixty-seven percent, that's a nice boost.

SCHNEIDER: That is a nice boost. And we even checked because of some 40 percent of the people interviewed were Republicans. We said, well, let's take the Republicans out. Did he do well among Democrats and Independents? And the answer is yes. The president did appear to have considerable success with the public. But, of course, as we were saying at the beginning, the real target audience he's after is House Republicans, that conservative base. They're the one who are going to have to buy a compromise and it's not clear that they're willing to sign on just as a result of that speech.

S. O'BRIEN: Not yet at least. All right, Bill Schneider for us this morning. Bill, thanks.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: A CNN "Fact Check" now. President Bush has laid out his plan to put up to 6,000 National Guard troops on the Mexican border, as we just told you about. But will his proposals be effective? Carol Costello has been checking into this in the news room. Hello, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Miles. The big question -- and good morning to all of you. know, it's interesting to read the editorials today. "USA Today" saying President Bush outlined an appealing blueprint, but "The New York Times," boy, it blasted the president, calling his plan to deploy the National Guard a victory for the fear-stricken fringe of the debate. So, will it work?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: Good evening.

COSTELLO (voice-over): President Bush wants more boots on the U.S./Mexican border. His plan would send up to 6,000 National Guardsmen to serve in support roles along the roughly 2,000-mile divide.

ROBERT BONNER, FMR. U.S. CUSTOMS CHIEF: I think they'll have real impact in cutting off the -- and choking off the flow of illegal migration that we're seeing across the Mexican border.

COSTELLO: Up until last year, Robert Bonner was the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a position he held since its creation in 2003.

BONNER: There are border patrol agents right now that are not involved in apprehensions because they're involved in essentially surveillance and the detection of people crossing the border. The National Guard can replace those border patrol agents, freeing up those border patrol agents to make arrests and apprehensions.

COSTELLO: But where would those National Guard troops come from?

GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY: I think they can do this and they'll do it with volunteers in short tours of duty, and then longer term volunteers as they become available.

COSTELLO: CNN military analyst, Retired Major General Don Shepperd, says the guardsmen he has spoken to are not concerned about being stretched too thin. He says the troops would rotate through the four border states and fall under the command of the governor of the state they're in.

SHEPPERD: This is something that guard troops do all the time. They assist law enforcement and state agencies.

COSTELLO: Still, there were problems during Hurricane Katrina and that has some worried.

DAN RESTREPO, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: You're going to have folks under different chains of command. And as we have seen in the response to Hurricane Katrina and elsewhere, multiple chains of command can get very confusing for the troops on the ground.

COSTELLO: Dan Restrepo is a former Democratic staffer with the House International Relations Committee. He's now a senior policy adviser with the Center for American Progress.

RESTREPO: It seems that the National Guard, unfortunately, are being deployed to protect the president's politics as much as they are to protect the border. The president is talking about this as a temporary measure. And perhaps temporary in White House parlance means Wednesday, November 8th, of this year.

COSTELLO: Robert Bonner disagrees.

BONNER: The president of this administration is serious about getting control of our border and this is a reflection of the emphasis that he's placing on that issue.

COSTELLO: The president wants to make an initial commitment of a year, and then slim down the number of troops as the number of border agents rise. Bonner and others say if the plan goes into effect, expect the guardsmen to stay at least a couple of years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Of course, the more down to earth questions, or should I say the bottom line questions, as you heard, the guard will be deployed temporarily to free up border agents to make arrests. But how do we pay for all of this and other parts of the president's plan? Electronic surveillance was mentioned, high-tech security fences. And you know, they all cost money and there are no specifics, and actually no mention of money in the president's speech last night.

M. O'BRIEN: Carol Costello, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: New information on that massive government database of phone records. Coming up this morning, Andy's going to tell us which phone company said they never handed over any of your records.

Plus, a New York City deejay -- did you hear this story? -- arrested, for things he said on air. We'll tell you what he said. We'll tell you why some folks think that he actually crossed the line from free speech to a crime.

Those stories ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, the man in charge of Homeland Security will join us. We'll ask him if the president's National Guard border plan is a little more than window dressing.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You would wake up. You could feel like a weight on your chest. I mean, you could feel that you couldn't breathe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Those infamous FEMA trailers. First slow to arrive and now are they making Katrina victims sick? We'll explain. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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