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Lou Dobbs Tonight - October 21, 2004
Partial Transcript[...]
DOBBS: Tonight, an alarming new study confirming what we've been reporting here for more than a year. An invasion of illegal aliens into this country is of great and rising concerns to millions of Americans, a majority of Americans, and most Americans now believe the government isn't doing enough to stop illegal aliens from crossing our borders.
Bill Tucker has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans make a very clear distinction between legal and illegal immigration. Eighteen hundred people were surveyed, both immigrant and nonimmigrant, in a poll of National Public Radio, Harvard's Kennedy School and the Kaiser Family Foundation.
MARCUS ROSENBAUM, SENIOR EDITOR, NPR: We have sort of a live wire sitting out there that I think nobody's willing to touch right now, and there's no real reason to because you're not going to solidify your base. You're not really going to bring any people over to your side, and I think that everybody's just kind of keeping away from it on a political front.
TUCKER: Sixty-nine percent admitted they're concerned about illegal immigration. The top reasons: Taxpayers have to pay too much to provide social services and that illegal immigration increases the likelihood of terrorism.
KRIKORIAN: Illegal immigration creates an environment of lawlessness and anarchy that makes it impossible to effectively screen -- whether at the border or at airports or what-have-you, effectively screen who's coming into the country and keep out people who shouldn't be.
TUCKER: Sixty-six percent of those surveyed think the government should crack down on the issue.
STEPHEN PELLETIER, HARVARD OPINION RESEARCH PROJECT: There is a concern that the government needs to become a little more strong in enforcing immigration laws and doing something about immigration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: But on the issue of guest worker programs, 72 percent of the group overall don't think guest workers will return to their country of origin when they'e required to do so.
And, Lou, not even people who support the program by a margin of 61 percent think the guest workers will go home when their time's up.
DOBBS: Well, the -- obviously the debate is underway now, and so we can expect at least a clarification, if not a resolution in the issue in the months ahead.
Bill Tucker, thank you.
This new study comes as the White House is pressuring Congress to remove some immigration control measures from the massive intelligence reform legislation. Those measures would put more Border Patrol agents on our borders andnd expedite the deportation of illegal aliens.
Ed Henry has the report from Capitol Hill -- Ed. ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Lou.
That's right. It looks like a little bit of news here this evening. House Republicans may be giving in a little bit on those immigration provisions.
You know, senior lawmakers like Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins are here trying to hammer out a deal on a broad, sweeping intelligence reform bill, acting on the 9/11 commission's recommendations, but the major stalemate has been the fact that these immigration provisions have been blocking a deal over the last couple of days.
They've been meeting around the clock, trying to break through, and we understand that just in the last couple of hours, House Republicans have agreed to drop a key provision. It's the so-called expedited removal provision, which would have expanded the government's power to deport people trying to enter the United States illegally.
House Republicans are now saying that they'll drop that in exchange for increasing the number of detention beds at various immigration detention facilities across the country. This could be a significant development.
I can tell you we've been trying to reach Senate negotiators to see whether or not they will accept this compromise. We're expecting some sort of a response from them tomorrow, a counterproposal, but, right now, Senators Lieberman and Collins are behind closed doors working on this and other provisions.
It's significant because, as you mentioned, the White House, Senate Republicans as well as House and Senate Democrats have opposed these immigration provisions. House Republicans have been holding firm.
And today, some 9/11 families came forward and said they think these immigration provisions should stay in, they should not be knocked out, that securing the borders -- that's the most important reform that could be made.
But, right now, it looks like the House Republicans could be giving in on at least some of that -- Lou.
DOBBS: And a critical component of it, Ed. In point of fact, do the Republicans really believe they can put a fig leaf over this because these are -- this principal provision is one of those that the third most powerful person on Capitol Hill, that is Congressman Roy Blunt, said that there would be no compromise on.
HENRY: That's right. You're -- Lou, absolutely. This is going to be very difficult for House Republicans to sell, if, in fact, they move forward on this, because Republican leaders like Blunt, Tom DeLay and others have said they're going to hold firm, that immigration reform is perhaps the most critical part of this overall restructuring because they say, if the borders are not secure, this will be a worthless effort. The problem, though, politically for House Republicans could be that with the election coming close, there's heavy pressure from the 9/11 commission and the 9/11 families to get something, anything done right now, and though Tom DeLay and others have been saying they would not just take anything, they wanted firm, good reform, maybe they will give in at least partially on these immigration provisions-- Lou.
DOBBS: OK. Thank you very much.
Ed Henry.
Leaving the Republican with a nice piece of political dancing to do since these reforms are part of the 9/11 commission recommendations.
Ed Henry reporting from Capitol Hill.
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