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CNN Saturday Morning News
After Being Held Captive For Almost Three Months, Jill Carroll Heads Home; Bill Clinton Speaks About Immigration Reform; September 11 911 Tapes Stir Painful Memories; Human Trafficking At The Border; Gustavo Arellano Interview; The Life Of Pope John Paul II
Aired April 01, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the long journey home is half over for freed American hostage Jill Carroll, who landed in Germany just a few hours ago. There's a picture. She is expected to arrive in the U.S. this weekend. Now, Carroll was, and you recall, held by kidnappers in Iraq for 82 days.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A sleepless night of storms across parts of Indiana. There are reports a tornado touched down in the Indianapolis suburb of Greenwood, ripping apart a few buildings. Witnesses say a funnel cloud dropped out of the sky. In North Dakota, a flash flood left one person dead.
NGUYEN: This is Houston, one of the places around the country where they are trying to get out the vote for the New Orleans mayor's race. Civil rights leaders want satellite voting centers set up in cities now housing displaced New Orleans residents.
In our 8:00 hour, we will talk live with the president of the NAACP, Bruce Gordon.
And in our 10:00 hour, Jesse Jackson weighs in.
So you want to stay tuned for all of that.
HARRIS: America's top diplomat was heckled by antiwar demonstrators during a visit to Washington's closest ally, but you wouldn't know it from her smile and wave. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a foreign policy gathering in Britain that the U.S. has made thousands of mistakes but is pursuing worthy goals in Iraq.
NGUYEN: French President Jacques Chirac says he'll sign a controversial jobs bill, but he wants some changes. The compromise offer didn't stop another night of demonstrations in France. Take a look.
The bill would allow employers to fire young workers without cause for two years. Mr. Chirac wants to trim that down to one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A meter separating the two spacecraft. A good closure rate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: In with the new and out with the old. A Russian Soyuz capsule has docked with the international space station, bringing a fresh crew. The Russian and American were joined by Brazil's first astronaut.
From the CNN Center, good morning, Betty.
NGUYEN: Good morning.
HARRIS: This is CNN...
NGUYEN: I like you in pink. You look nice. We match.
HARRIS: It comes to the pink material this morning.
NGUYEN: You're so pretty in pink.
HARRIS: This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, 7:00 a.m....
NGUYEN: It's already started, folks.
HARRIS: ... here in Atlanta, 2:00 p.m. at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Good morning.
Tony Harris in pink, reporting for duty.
NGUYEN: Loving it.
And I'm Betty Nguyen.
We want to thank you for being with us today.
Coming up this morning, we've seen the protests, we've heard the chants and the cries of thousands. So now we are crossing the border, heading to the brick yard just four miles outside the U.S. Hear what Mexicans have to say about the controversial immigration reform bill.
And ladies, how well stocked is your ovarian reserve? Hmmm, an odd question.
HARRIS: What?
NGUYEN: Well, if you're trying to put off childbearing, the clock may be ticking. Yes, we know that. But one new test can tell you how many eggs you have left in that basket.
Plus, a violin virtuoso barely in his teens. He stands out as one of 20 teenagers changing the world. We're going to meet him next hour on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
HARRIS: There is no place like home. That thought has to be going through Jill Carroll's mind this morning. The American journalist is making a stop in Germany and heads home this weekend, after being held captive in Iraq for almost three months.
CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us by phone from Frankfurt with the latest -- Paula, good morning.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Well, you could tell, the smile said it all. As you saw those pictures of her coming off the plane at Ramstein Air Base, she looked absolutely delighted. She had a big smile. She looked very at ease with herself. She was chatting and laughing with the military personnel escorting her off that plane.
Now, she landed about 9:00 a.m. local time. That's about 2:00 a.m. Eastern. And Ramstein is the biggest air base in Europe. This is where most military and civilians, if they're injured or if they've been rescued, come out of Iraq and Afghanistan. It's a stopgap before they go on to home.
And she was then whisked away. She popped her luggage in the back of a military van and was whisked away. Whether or not she's had a debrief, we don't know yet and we expect she would have had a couple of health checks, to check that everything was OK. But from looking at her, she just looked delighted to be free.
And very soon we are expecting her to head home and go and see her family in Boston.
HARRIS: Paula Hancocks reporting for us.
Paula, we appreciate it.
Thank you.
You know, there's been a lot of talk about some taped comments Jill Carroll made as she was being released. She was critical of the U.S. government and praised Iraqi insurgents.
Did she mean it or was it forced propaganda?
Listen to this videotape excerpt posted on an Islamic Web site.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL CARROLL, "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR": There are a lot of lies that come out of the American government, calling the Mujahedeen terrorists and other things. I think it's important the American people hear from me. The Mujahedeen are only trying to defend their country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, Carroll's father told her employer, the "Christian Science Monitor," that his daughter had to make the comments as a condition of her release.
That brings us to our e-mail question this morning. What do you make of Jill Carroll's critical comments of the U.S. government?
E-mail us your thoughts, weekends@CNN.com, and we'll read your responses throughout the morning program.
NGUYEN: Well, the calendar may say April 1, but there is no fooling about the weather. It is April Fool's Day, though. But check this out.
HARRIS: Yes?
NGUYEN: This is not a happy sight. In Indianapolis, a suburb overnight there, witnesses saw what they say was a funnel cloud drop from the sky. The storm damaged several homes and businesses.
And in Hawaii, rain has flooded roads, several homes and a mall. Rain has been falling continuously in parts of Hawaii since February 19th.
Can you believe that?
HARRIS: Are you kidding me?
NGUYEN: Yes. Too much rain. Too much of anything is always a bad thing.
And a terrible night across the Midwest. A line of storms tore up homes, knocked down power lines and injured several people.
HARRIS: All right, let's get the latest on all of this stormy, stormy weather.
Reynolds Wolf upstairs in the CNN Weather Center -- Reynolds, good morning, sir.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
HARRIS: Well, you've seen the pictures -- massive immigration protests in L.A. Atlanta, Arizona, Virginia and other places across the country. Thousands of people rallying against bills in Congress designed to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Former President Bill Clinton spoke on the issue last night on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So the real dilemma is here how can we avoid being foolishly xenophobic, trying to be cruel to hardworking people who are paying taxes and doing jobs other people wouldn't do in America, giving them a reasonable path to citizenship without punishing people who wait in line and obey the law, and still trying to make sure that, through technology and other means, we do a better job to protect our borders from potential terrorists, from narcotics and other things that are real trouble.
I mean it's a -- it's -- in other words, it's complicated. But I know that the bill that's making its way through the Senate seems to me to be closer to what I think should be done. I have no problem in the world having more border patrol guards and stiffer border enforcement for security reasons.
But I don't think it is practical or wise for us to try to denigrate or demonize a lot of the undocumented immigrants who came here and are working hard paying taxes and making a contribution and sending the money back home to their folks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: We will talk more about immigration reform at the half hour with the writer of a column called "Ask A Mexican."
Volunteers with the Minuteman group kick off a new month long campaign today. They're back on the lookout for immigrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico borders. The Minuteman group of volunteers grabbed attention about a year ago, when they helped patrol borders in Arizona.
NGUYEN: Other stories making news across America.
Searches begin today at two landfills in Pennsylvania for a missing college student. New Jersey freshman Joe Fiocco was last seen a week ago and traces of his blood were found around a trash bin outside his dorm. No other details at this time. We're going to keep you posted on this one.
A California home damaged, but not by a storm. Instead, by a car. It happened during a police chase of a stolen vehicle in Oakland. The stolen vehicle went out of control and crashed into a house, fortunately missing a teenager inside. The driver was taken into custody.
And then there were five. A Washington woman delivered quintuplets this week. My goodness, she's probably a tired, tired mom right about now.
HARRIS: Mostly, mostly.
NGUYEN: Mother, four daughters and son are doing fine. Courtnee Stevenson, her husband Mike and their 3-year-old daughter live in a mobile home. The question now is where are they going to live with all these new babies? Their church is trying to raise money to provide them with a bigger home that volunteers will build.
HARRIS: Still ahead, the voices of 9/11, haunting and heartbreaking. Ahead, newly released 911 calls from inside the World Trade Center. NGUYEN: What do the people across the border think about immigration reform right here in the U.S.? We're going on the have that point of view.
HARRIS: And 40 isn't fatal.
Who said it was?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: But if you're thinking about a baby, time is not on your side.
Which do you choose -- career or family?
Ahead...
NGUYEN: That's a hard one.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. A new test can help answer that question, and it is an age old question, to be sure.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: She is at war with online predators and Shannon Sullivan is just 14 years old.
Coming up at 8:00 a.m. Eastern, see how one teen is educating other kids, and even police officers, about the dangers of logging on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Checking our top stories this morning, you'll see her in just a second. Former American hostage Jill Carroll is -- there she is -- is in Germany this morning, the first leg of her trip home from Iraq. She is due back in Boston some time this weekend.
In New Orleans, spreading the word. Volunteers are going door- to-door, telling residents how they can vote in this month's primary election in the storm-ravaged city. Today, the Reverend Jesse Jackson will lead a march. He wants to draw attention to the mayor's race and the rights of displaced voters across the country.
And a lot of stormy weather to talk about. Heavy rains and flooding pound Hawaii. And as many as three possible tornadoes damaged nearly two dozen homes in central Indiana.
NGUYEN: Well, newly released recordings of calls made to 911 operators moments after the September 11 attacks stir some painful memories. The tapes reveal desperate attempts by emergency workers to bring calm to the chaos on that fateful day, and in one case, it reveals the final moments of one victim trapped in one of the burning World Trade Center towers.
CNN's Mary Snow reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATOR: All right, you said you've got 100 people where?
(CALLER OMITTED)
UNIDENTIFIED NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATOR: 106th floor? Are you guys trapped in there?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another call at 9:02, just one minute before the second plane hit.
UNIDENTIFIED NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT OPERATOR: Do what you think is best. No, I cannot do that. We are getting millions -- millions of calls, sir.
SNOW: One after another, operators tried to keep callers calm.
UNIDENTIFIED NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATOR: All right, just keep some windows open, if you can open up windows, and just sit tight.
NORMAN SIEGEL, ATTORNEY FOR 9/11 FAMILIES: You know and we know that you can't open the windows at the World Trade Center.
SNOW: Norman Siegel represented nine families who joined "The New York Times" in forcing New York City to release all the tapes.
AL REGENHARD, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: I think we can learn from our mistakes, the mistakes that were made. And the only thing that can come from this -- and I owe it to my son and all those who died -- that we do better in the future.
SNOW: The city released audio only of the 911 operators to protect the privacy of families. But the family of one of the 28 callers who were identified chose to share their son's final moments. Chris Hanley was on the 106th floor of the North Tower.
CHRIS HANLEY: OK. Please hurry.
UNIDENTIFIED NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATOR: All right. Just keep the windows open, if you can open up windows, and just sit tight. It's going to be a while because there's a fire going on downstairs.
HANLEY: We can't open the windows unless we break them.
UNIDENTIFIED NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATOR: OK. Just sit tight. All right, just sit tight. We're on the way.
HANLEY: All right. Please hurry.
JOSEPH HANLEY, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: It's kind of painful to hear it again, to hear him, you know, alive like that. But I thought he distinguished himself very nicely under a great deal of pressure.
SNOW: Also on the recordings, examples of operators expressing helplessness to each other.
UNIDENTIFIED NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATOR: It's an awful thing. It's an awful, awful, awful thing to call somebody and tell them you're going to die.
SNOW: As the 911 calls continue, the operators' voices change from struggling to understand to a growing sense of desperation, one operator finally telling a caller repeatedly, "God is here. God is here."
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Many women hear the tick, tick, tick of that biological clock. Yes, my mom reminds me of that every time we talk.
HARRIS: Really? Does she now?
NGUYEN: Oh, yes.
HARRIS: I'm going to get your mom on the phone.
Well, a new test...
NGUYEN: Let's not.
HARRIS: ... may silence that noise.
So are you close to your -- this is a terrible way to say it -- but I, well, are you close to your expiration date?
NGUYEN: What?
HARRIS: Ew.
NGUYEN: I don't like that -- hi, Danielle.
DANIELLE ELIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.
More news from us globally.
In Pakistan, the country's first group of women ever to receive air force wings.
We'll have that and more when we go global after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: You know, it was supposed to be a celebration, but instead a dinner cruise in the Persian Gulf ended very tragically.
HARRIS: It sure did.
With more on this story, Danielle Elias at the International Desk -- and, Danielle, good morning. ELIAS: Good morning, Tony.
We begin off the coast of Bahrain, where rescuers continue to search for survivors or victims of a cruise ship disaster. At least 57 people from some eight countries died when a boat capsized two days ago. Now, rescuers managed to pull 67 people from the water, but they're still searching for at least two missing people. Authorities are trying to determine what caused the boat to sink.
Hundreds of students protested in the streets of Paris. This after French President Jacques Chirac announced he will sign a controversial jobs bill into law. But he says he will ask for a compromise. Now, on Friday, Mr. Chirac said the trial period for young workers should be cut from two years to one and employers should give reasons for the firings.
Now, with ceremonial pomp and aerial acrobatics, Pakistan inducted the first four female pilots into its air force at a grand parade. These women were among the 36 aviation cadets who got their wings. The female cadets had to go through three-and-a-half years of preparation. This included rigorous general service training, military education and flight training, and jet aircraft. So, of course, congrats to them.
Well, now, speaking of women, women who would delay motherhood for a career hear it a lot -- the tick, tick, tick of the biological clock. Now a test can predict when the clock will run out. It's on sale in Britain and it may be available in the U.S. by the end of the year.
Here's CNN's Paula Newton with the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For every woman ever told you can't have it all, there are millions still trying. And Georgina Wickenden is one of them. She has a great family, a 1-year- old son and a thriving pool business in England. At 34, it seems a cruel irony that just as her career picks up, so does her biological clock.
GEORGINA WICKENDEN, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: Most women want to have children. Most women want to have a career. If you're going to decide between the two and get the best out of life, then you need some tools to make you -- to help you decide what you're going to do.
NEWTON: One of those tools, a new fertility test developed in Britain. The Plan Ahead test measures your ovarian reserve, literally how many eggs a woman has. Its results are valid for two years.
DR. BILL LEDGER, INVENTOR, "PLAN AHEAD": And what the test can do is give early warning to people whose biological clock might be ticking quicker or possibly reassurance to people whose biological clock is going along at a slower rate.
WICKENDEN: It's not going to answer all questions about fertility, and they never did promise me that that would be the case. But at least now I know that my ovarian reserve is OK.
NEWTON: It's the kind of reassurance women are willing to pay for. The mail order test costs about $320. When you receive the kit, you take a simple blood test, mail it in, a lab measures three hormone levels and then in a matter of weeks...
DOMINIQUE EDWARDS: That is my result.
NEWTON: Dominique Edwards (ph) had the answer she was looking for, an above-average egg count.
EDWARDS: This is one of the biggest advancements since the pill. It's always that sort of unknown -- you don't know if you can or not. And the test, the Plan Ahead test takes all the guesswork out of it, really.
NEWTON (on camera): Predictably, the idea of all this has really taken off, but it's also opened up a mine field of ethical questions.
(voice-over): Dr. Patricia McShane is a practicing fertility specialist in the U.S. who worries some women will be falsely reassured.
DR. PATRICIA MCSHANE, FERTILITY SPECIALIST: I would be very reluctant for people to just try to rely upon this as a predictor of their fertility.
LEDGER: It is better to know the truth and have an understanding of what your own body's biology is doing than live on in blissful ignorance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, Lifestyle Choices.
NEWTON: The Plan Ahead test could be available in the U.S. as early as this year. Its inventors hope it will, in fact, lower the rate of infertility by telling women exactly when their biological clock is about to stop.
Paula Newton, CNN, Chippenham, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, the dream of a brighter future has thousands each year risking their lives to try to illegally enter the U.S.
HARRIS: So how do they pull off such a dangerous trip?
We take you across the border inside the journey, when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Reynolds Wolf and here's a look at the Fairway Forecast.
The best place to play golf in the country would be Orlando, Florida this weekend. Check out the sky conditions for Saturday and Sunday; if you're making it a three day weekend, all the way into Monday. Partly cloudy conditions, high temperatures rising up into the mid-80s, beautiful conditions. And nighttime lows cooling back into the 60s. But perfect to get out there for the front nine and the back nine. It should be picture perfect.
I'm meteorologist Reynolds Wolf and this is your Fairway Forecast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone.
Now in the news, Jill Carroll is on her way home from Iraq. A U.S. Air Force jet flew the journalist to Germany a few hours ago. She is expected to arrive in the U.S. this weekend. Carroll's kidnappers released her on Thursday. She was held hostage in Iraq nearly three months.
Heavy rains make for slow going in parts of Hawaii. A section of a major freeway and several homes on the island of Oahu were flooded. Customers evacuated a mall yesterday when more than a foot of water filled some stores. The downpours also caused a sewage spill and closed the Honolulu Zoo.
Election voters are going door-to-door in Houston. They're letting Katrina evacuees know about New Orleans' election. That election is scheduled for April 22. But some civil rights leaders worry many evacuees won't be able to vote. They plan a protest rally and march in New Orleans today.
Next hour, NAACP President Bruce Gordon joins us.
And at 10:00 Eastern, we're talking with the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Google's co-founders and CEO say no thanks to a pay raise. They're sticking with their current annual salary of just $1. But don't feel too sorry for them, though. They're billionaires with all their shares of stock in Google.
And set your clocks an hour ahead before going to bed tonight or you'll be late tomorrow. Daylight savings time kicks in across most of the U.S. The official change happens Sunday morning at 2:00 local time.
Keep you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
NGUYEN: Illegal immigrants wanting to cross into the United States have several options. Many are dangerous, few are cheap, none is guaranteed. For some who make it close to the border, the final leg of the journey often starts at a virtual depot for human trafficking.
CNN's Rick Sanchez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called the brick yard, a place only four-and-a-half miles from the Arizona border where would-be immigrants gather for a chance to sneak into the United States.
Jose is from Veracruz, Mexico.
(on camera): What are you going to do when you get to the other side of the border? (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
JOSE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
SANCHEZ (voice-over): He says he'll find a job. A brick yard is what this used to be, but now amid the bricks and hogs, a cottage industry has developed. This is now a transit post, if you will, where immigrants are shuttled in and shuttled out.
KAT RODRIGUEZ: It's become this way because we basically shifted traffic by the policies we've enacted. We've had a policy of militarizing the border, sealing down urban areas, shifting traffic, migrant traffic, into more isolated desert, desolate terrain.
SANCHEZ: Kat Rodriguez is a human rights organizer who's monitored the shift in undocumented immigration away from urban border towns like Nogales to more rural areas like Altar, Mexico. They arrive there from throughout Central America, and from there, they're shuttled 60 miles, to the brickyard, and from there, another four-and- a-half miles to the border town of Sasabe.
(on camera): We're in Mexico and that is the U.S. point of entry. Undocumented immigrants can't get through there, so they're dispersed instead, either to the right or to the left, through the desert.
(voice-over): And through the desert we saw vans shuttling immigrant immigrants, like Benjamin (ph) from Guatemala, who left home more than a month ago with nothing but this bag.
(on camera): (SPEAKING IN SPANISH). You have some shoes.
BENJAMIN: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
SANCHEZ: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH). Another pair of jeans.
BENJAMIN: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
SANCHEZ: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)?
BENJAMIN: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
SANCHEZ: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
BENJAMIN: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
SANCHEZ: This is all you have in your entire life?
BENJAMIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): What he can't show us is his money. That's hidden from lurking coyotes and bandits who take advantage of desperate immigrants.
RODRIGUEZ: The majority of migrants that I've talked to often expect to get robbed.
SANCHEZ: And there's the desert with its cactus, snakes, scorpions and scorching sun. It's a journey that kills dozens every month, but yet many of these immigrants keep crossing, some repeatedly.
Elizabeth Madrille (ph) lives in Tucson and helps newly arrived immigrants.
(on camera): You've seen some of your clients arrive, get deported and they're back the next day by dinnertime?
ELIZABETH MADRILLE: Exactly. Exactly.
RODRIGUEZ: It's an absolutely ridiculous idea that you can seal the border.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): So what is the better option? Human rights workers like Rodriguez say there should be a screening process to allow immigrants to enter the U.S. legally; if need be, charging them the $2,000 they now pay to coyotes to get across.
(on camera): If you could pay that $2,000 legally and be allowed in the United States, (SPEAKING IN SPANISH), would you pay it? You would pay it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): They say the backlog in immigration makes it impossible for them to wait, so they keep coming along this newest route along the Arizona-Mexico border.
Rick Sanchez, CNN, Sonora, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Wherever immigrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border, the end of one journey marks the beginning of another. Now with Congress debating immigration reform, the thousands of Hispanics nationwide are raising their voices to protest tougher proposals.
That's no surprise to Gustavo Arellano.
He writes a column called "Ask A Mexican."
And he joins us bright and early this morning all the way from Los Angeles.
Good morning to you. GUSTAVO ARELLANO, "ORANGE COUNTY WEEKLY": Hi.
Good morning to you.
NGUYEN: We appreciate you being on the show.
A lot of times we talk about the Mexican community here in the U.S. We want to talk to you this morning about the Mexican community in Mexico.
What do they think about this illegal immigration debate? What are their sentiments on all of this?
ARELLANO: Well, a lot of the immigrants that are in that country, in Mexico, they want to come over to the United States. And it's logical because Mexican immigrants sending back remittances to the -- to Mexico constitute the second biggest source of income for Mexico after oil. So any -- any legal -- any easier way to come legally into this country, it's -- they're going to be in favor for it.
NGUYEN: Well, do they recognize at all that there is a problem securing the borders, that there is a problem with illegal immigrants crossing over?
ARELLANO: I don't think they do, because what they see is just an economic argument. They want to come into this country and they want to work. And then they do want to keep some of the money here, but they do want to send money back to Mexico, and especially in Mexico, which has something called the Three For One program, which is for every dollar that immigrants in the United States send back to Mexico, the Mexican government matches it on a federal, state and local level.
So they -- anything, any money that they can send back here to Mexico, they -- they're going to want to get. So in terms of legal issues, they don't really care about that.
NGUYEN: Now, this is an issue that really strikes close to home with you, because your father crossed over and he played that cat and mouse game with immigration authorities.
Tell us about that.
ARELLANO: My father came over to this country in 1968 in the trunk of a Chevy along with three other men. They crossed the Tijuana-San Diego border right there -- here in California. And he was an illegal immigrant for a couple of years and then he got married to my mom, who was a legal resident, and that allowed him to be here in this country legally.
But then the 1986 Amnesty Act, that allowed him to become a citizen. And ever since then, he's been a great American. If anything, now he doesn't like illegal immigrants. And if that's not assimilation, I don't know what is.
NGUYEN: Really?
OK, so there is some sentiment by Mexicans that this is something that needs to be controlled, that there is a problem?
ARELLANO: There is a problem and they -- the way they view it, they don't want -- nobody wants to be an illegal immigrant. They'd rather want legal immigration or maybe even a guest worker program, something that makes it easier for people to come into this country and if they want to go back, then go back to this country. And for those people who do want to assimilate and become Americans, there should be that option.
But if you have the current situation, which really allows unfettered immigration, illegal immigration, and there is no border control, then you're going to have the situation that you have today, which is just a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment and a lot of resentment on the side of Latinos and immigrants themselves, thinking that Americans don't want them here.
NGUYEN: But what about Mexico's responsibility, Mexico's responsibility to provide jobs, to provide housing credit, so that people want to stay within the country and not cross over into the U.S.?
ARELLANO: I agree. The Mexican government is corrupt and inept. And, in fact, you know an administration is really pitiful when their big economic reform is to send more of their immigrants into the United States.
But the Mexican people themselves, what are they supposed to do? Obviously, they could try to elect a government, a new government, but there is a problem in Mexico. And so rather than try to solve that, they'll just go into their country. They're not going to care about political reform so much as they want to care about their immediate survival.
NGUYEN: And Vicente Fox, on his last term. He, of course, had that summit with President Bush and the leader of Canada there.
Do you think anything came out of it? Can Vicente Fox do anything at this point?
ARELLANO: Not at this point. This is already the 2000 -- this is 2006. There is going to be a new president this year. He's always been a lame duck, actually, just because he was the first non-PRI governor -- or president -- in over 75 years. And so there's still a ruling party and they would not allow him to institute any serious reform because they were -- that party was afraid that he would be able to take the credit.
Hopefully the next president, whoever that may be, he might be able to institute something better than what Fox has done, or, more specifically, or more importantly, have better economic reforms in Mexico so more Mexicans stay in Mexico rather than having to go into the United States. NGUYEN: Well, wasn't NAFTA supposed to do that? Wasn't NAFTA supposed to create jobs so that people will stay inside Mexico and have those jobs available to them so they'd have a better life?
ARELLANO: Well, that's what the Clinton administration told us. Obviously, that didn't work out. If anything, that just allowed more immigration to -- more migrants to come into this country.
So there has to be some sort of reforms.
But I think, also, with NAFTA, it gets to the root problem of immigration in general, which is it's an economic reasoning. It's economics that bring people here. There's jobs here in the United States that Mexicans are willing to do for peanuts while Americans, they're not willing to pick seven -- they're not willing to pick strawberries for $7,000 a year. Meanwhile, somebody from Central America or Latin America or anywhere else in Latin America, they're willing to do it.
NGUYEN: Well, what about, just quickly, if you would, the argument that, you know what? If there's this guest worker program, if there's this -- this ability to move into citizenship, all this is doing is creating amnesty for people who are breaking the law?
ARELLANO: I don't necessarily -- I don't have a problem with amnesty. Obviously, people who come into this country, they have the motivation to do something with their lives. I think that makes a great American. And I think there should be more immigrants into this country, well, as it is right now.
And if there is an amnesty, though, you shouldn't just allow them in scot-free. There should be some sort of penalty program. And, also, there should be some sort of method to make these people into Americans. The fact that they were willing to risk their lives crossing into the desert, that shows a good -- a good potential American to me.
NGUYEN: A lot of issues still to be worked out, obviously.
Gustavo Arellano, columnist, called "Ask A Mexican."
Thank you so much for your answers this morning.
ARELLANO: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Tony.
HARRIS: Still ahead, this weekend marks one year since the death of Pope John Paul II. We'll look back on those tense moments with the people who stood by his side and those who fought for his life.
NGUYEN: Plus, he has mastered the violin, raised more than $200,000 for charities and even written two novels. But the amazing part -- he is only 14, just 14 years old. Next hour, how this teenager is saving lives with music.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: I'm meteorologist Reynolds Wolf.
And here's a look at your Allergy Report for this morning.
If you happen to be anywhere in the Northern Plains, your allergies, well, they're pretty much non-existent. However, there are many cases reported on parts of Louisiana, back over to Mississippi, Alabama and even along the Florida Panhandle and in Georgia, as well. Only moderate cases through portions of Texas and into the Four Corners. Quite bad, though, once you get into Utah.
I'm meteorologist Reynolds Wolf and this is your Allergy Report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, illegal immigration has been a hot topic all this week.
Our Veronica de la Cruz right here at the Dot-Com Desk joins us with more -- Veronica, good morning.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.
Yes, like you were just saying, a hot topic.
HARRIS: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: A heated debate this week in the Senate, as well as across the country. You've seen all those protests.
HARRIS: That's for sure, all over the country.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, all over the country. And we're following this story online, as well. And if you'd like more on this fiercely contested issue, you can always log onto CNN.com.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ (voice-over): More than 11 million people live in the United States illegally. This gallery shows the growth of illegal immigrants through the years and breaks down the percentage by origin, with 56 percent coming from Mexico.
The majority of undocumented illegals have jobs in construction, agriculture and cleaning services.
Protests over a Senate bill that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant are happening across the country. This gallery highlights a few of them, like these students rallying outside city hall in Los Angeles or this young lady stating, "I'm not a terrorist, I am a worker" during a march in Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: And to find more on this debate, you can always log onto CNN.com/politics.
HARRIS: All right, are we going to do the countdown of the most popular?
DE LA CRUZ: We are.
HARRIS: Is that later this morning?
DE LA CRUZ: That's coming up.
NGUYEN: Drum roll.
DE LA CRUZ: I like the tie. You and Betty are color coordinating this morning.
NGUYEN: Yes. Hey, I told him, he's pretty in pink. There's nothing wrong with that.
DE LA CRUZ: You are. But, you know...
NGUYEN: Think pink and be proud, Tony.
DE LA CRUZ: ... you've got a big spot right there.
HARRIS: Oh, is that when I look down and you pop me in the face here?
DE LA CRUZ: No, that's when I say April fool's. But
NGUYEN: Oh, this is April Fool's Day.
That's a nice tie.
HARRIS: All right, you know what, Deidre (ph)? What's next? This is...
NGUYEN: Close-up, please. He's ready for his close-up.
DE LA CRUZ: Pretty in pink.
HARRIS: Look, I could have shaved a little closer this morning.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, you look lovely.
HARRIS: Ladies, thank you.
DE LA CRUZ: You're looking lovely.
NGUYEN: Uh-huh.
We're showering you with compliments.
I think you can get used to this.
HARRIS: Well ...
(CROSSTALK)
DE LA CRUZ: He's blushing.
NGUYEN: He's not buying any of it.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Yes, I'm blushing.
Yes.
NGUYEN: All right, we'll move on.
Here's a quick look at the morning's top stories for you.
Jill Carroll arrived at an airbase in Germany just two days after her captors released her in Baghdad. She is expected to board a plane for the U.S. some time this weekend.
The fight over New Orleans' mayoral election is going to the streets. Activists say Louisiana isn't doing enough to make sure displaced residents get a chance to v. A federal judge said no to postponing the April 22nd election and later today, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and other civil rights leaders will march in protest of that decision.
Plus, severe weather in the Midwest to tell you about. These are pictures of a suspected tornado in central Indiana. Several buildings were damaged and the storm downed trees, as well as power lines. Earlier, flooding in North Dakota killed one person and the National Weather Service is predicting major flooding in the Grand Forks area during the next week -- Wolf, what do you say about that?
HARRIS: OK, he is one of the...
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: In just a couple...
NGUYEN: He's doing his meteorological thing.
HARRIS: ... of minutes, we'll check back...
NGUYEN: We'll talk with him soon, yes.
HARRIS: ... with Wolf, Reynolds.
He is one of the most beloved figures of the last century, Pope John Paul II.
This weekend, CNN's Delia Gallagher, with unequaled access to the Vatican, takes a look back at the final days of the man known as "the people's pope," a man who may soon be known as Saint John Paul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH AND VALUES CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): February 24, 2005 -- just two weeks after his celebrated release, John Paul II was rushed back to the hospital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Pope John Paul II on a respirator after a serious medical setback.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Honestly, I think a lot of people were surprised that the pope had gone to the hospital the second time. The first question was, you know, did he go home the first time too soon? Is this time worse? And so, obviously, we all start drawing the worst case scenarios.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: This time it was more serious. The pope needed a tracheotomy to breathe.
DR. RODOLFO PROIETTI, DIRECTOR, POPE'S MEDICAL TEAM: The procedure was absolutely necessary to save the Holy Father's life. All other concerns were secondary to performing the tracheotomy.
GALLAGHER: Dr. Proietti warned the pope this procedure could cost him his voice, potentially disastrous for a man whose words were so vital.
Cardinal Camillo Ruini was one of the pope's closest aides.
CARDINAL CAMILLO RUINI, VICAR OF ROME: He agreed. He agreed because he knew that without this, he couldn't live. He couldn't go on. And he thought maybe I can learn to speak.
GALLAGHER: The 30-minute operation was kept secret until it was over. The condition of the pope's voice was a mystery. But his written words upon awakening were telling. "To Mary," he wrote, "I once again entrust myself. Totus Tuus." I am totally yours.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: This special -- this special "CNN PRESENTS" two hour documentary, "The Last Days of Pope John Paul II: The Untold Story." It airs tonight and tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, topping our "Wows of the Week," listen up, Tony.
HARRIS: All right.
All right.
NGUYEN: It's great to have good neighbors, I mean, really, it's great. When fire gutted Annie Smith's home in Grangerland, Texas...
HARRIS: Yo!
NGUYEN: ... her longtime neighbor rescued Annie and her dog, as well as cats, from this inferno. Look at that.
HARRIS: Look at that.
NGUYEN: But this is no ordinary hero. Oh, no. Jim Sherman is blind, and so is Annie.
HARRIS: What?
NGUYEN: Yes. They keep tabs on each other with baby monitors in each house.
HARRIS: Well, it's quite a collection of jewels and cash stuffed in an expensive Louis Vuitton bag. The problem is it was left behind on a San Francisco park bench by a husband who was supposed to watch his wife's purse.
NGUYEN: See, that's why you never leave it up to the husband.
HARRIS: You don't trust it with us. You know, you really don't.
NGUYEN: No.
HARRIS: Luckily, it was turned into police. A million bucks worth of pearls, emeralds...
NGUYEN: Yowza!
HARRIS: ... and diamonds, including a 12-carat stone, was returned to the owner. No word on the husband's punishment, but gauging from the contents of the bag, it could be costly.
NGUYEN: Oh, yes, it could.
And pucker up. Lemons -- check this out -- as big as soccer balls. We're not kidding. Lemons as big as soccer balls. They are growing on lemon trees throughout a village in Cyprus. So, if you're given these lemons, well, make lemonade, a lot of lemonade. That's a huge lemon.
HARRIS: Wow! You know, you really...
NGUYEN: How does that happen? What is the, Miracle Grow in there or what happened?
HARRIS: I don't know. But you get a sense of it next to the baby. It's as big as the baby there.
All right, Reynolds Wolf is standing by for us upstairs...
NGUYEN: That could be dangerous.
Watch out for falling lemons -- Reynolds.
WOLF: I'm telling you, man. Those are like watermelon size. Those are like canned hams or turkeys, man. Those are some big lemons. Look at those, man.
HARRIS: One more look at it, huh?
NGUYEN: Look at the size of those lemons.
HARRIS: Next to the baby. Look at it next to the baby.
WOLF: I know. The baby's terrified. That kid is going to be scarred for life. Goodness gracious. I mean, those are -- that's some big stuff.
NGUYEN: Oh, my.
WOLF: We've got the potential of some lemon-sized hail forming in parts of the Central Plains later on today; also the possibility of tornadoes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Thousands -- really?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: Thousands of viewers so far? I mean, I -- we appreciate it.
NGUYEN: And we hope there's a few hundred out there.
HARRIS: Early, have weighed in on this morning's e-mail question.
We wanted to know what you thought of freed hostage Jill Carroll's comments criticizing the U.S. when she was in captivity.
Here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: There are a lot of lies that come out of the American government, calling the Mujahedeen terrorists and other things. I think it's important the American people hear from me. The Mujahedeen are only trying to defend their country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK, now, her father says she was forced by her captors to make that particular statement.
So, here is our e-mail question of the day. Let's throw it up here. What do you think of the comments?
Lots of e-mails, as we mentioned. What do you make of Jill Carroll's critical comments about the U.S. government?
NGUYEN: Well, this person, Jason in Oklahoma says: "As far as I'm concerned, Jill could have said anything she wanted to, to get out of the situation."
HARRIS: And this from Heather, who writes: "Jill Carroll could very well have been forced to remark in that manner. But still, the fact remains that many Americans are upset with this war."
Thank you, Heather.
NGUYEN: And we've got a lot more to tell you about with these responses.
HARRIS: Oh, there's more?
I'm sorry.
NGUYEN: Yes -- oh, and the rest of what Heather had to say.
HARRIS: OK.
NGUYEN: "Many have said worse than Jill Carroll. I'm just relieved that she has been released."
So, let us know what you think.
Send in those thoughts. Here's our question -- what do you make of Jill Carroll's critical comments about the U.S. government? E-mail us, weekends@CNN.com.
HARRIS: And the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING begins right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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