. and i'm ali velshi. watch, i'm actually going to walk off the set. >> hi, everyone. this is aljazeera aljazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. swearing in. republics take control on capitol hill. what needs to be done, and what will actually happen? our special report, the new congress. mexican migrants with tighter security in the u.s., the growing immigration crisis across the border. deep impact. immigration again workers losing jobs, and pay to play. high-tech in your home.

and in your pocket. the real cost of your privacy. >> we begin with a new day on capitol hill. for the first time in eight years, republicans have control of both houses of congress. the biggest gop house majority since the great depression. republicans will set the agenda for the next two years but they're up against a president looking to put his final stamp on his own lel see. libby casey is live on capitol hill. >> the first congress is a big event, lots of celebration and pageantry and colleagues coming together for a fresh start. blue this year, they jumped into the thick of the fight revealing tensions that we're likely to see in the year ahead. familiar faces but with new power.

senate majority leader following on his promise to make the keystone pipeline the first order of business. >> let me say that we're anxious to get to work here. >> reporter: but the gop got a clear message from the white house. the president will veto the keystone bill, just like he threatened to do in the past. >> if this passes this congress, he wouldn't sign it either. >> that's not stopping some republican and red state democrats who introduced legislation. but republican leadership is not just fighting the white house. >> the speaker elect john a boehner. >> speaker john boehner had to survive a revolt from the right flank of his own party. conservatives are convinced that republicans should do more to challenge obama. in the end he keeps the gavel and the power that comes with speakership. >> thank you, thank you.

now with the pomp and circumstance behind them, members of congress can get to work and the republicans control the agenda. >> do you solemnly swear that you will defend and support the constitution of the united states. congratulations, you're now members of the 114th congress. >> . >> and in this 114th congress the house is expected to vote on the keystone bill on friday. the senate was expected to take it up in committee tomorrow, but that has been postponed because of partisan fighting over timing and just how the bill would get to the senate. john, that sparring is a sign of what is certainly to come. >> libby casey, thank you. outgoing senate majority leader, harry reid, was not on capital today. the injured nevada senator did meet with his leadership team in washington. reid is working at home on

doctor's orders after an exercising accident last week. he posted youtube plans about the coming year. >> we understand that the rich are getting richer and the poor getting poorer and the middle class is being squeezed out of existence. and we're going to do everything that we can. >> the 75-year-old's injuries included a concussion and broken ribs, and reid said that he'll be back in congress as soon as the doctors give him the green light. more coming up at the bottom of the hour. at the white house today a promise from president obama and the leader of mexico. he told enrico that the u.s. will help mexico end the murderous drug cartels. mike viqueira has more. >> reporter: to a certain extent, the abduction and the

presumed killing of the students has overshadowed this visit. as the two leaders met in the west wing, protests from a very vocal group. protests all over mexico in the past months as the 43 students were presumed abducted by local law enforcement officials in mexico and presumed perhaps with the knowledge of the federal initials and that's the allegation, and it has wracked mexico and it's politics, sending the president's approval ratings to the lowest of a mexican leader in two decades. president obama sat in the oval office with his mexican counter participate, and the president spoke briefly about the controversy surrounding the students. >> our commitment is to be a friendly supporter of mexico in

its efforts to eliminate the scourge of violence and the drug cartels that are responsible for so much tragedy inside of mexico, and we want to be a good partner in that process. realizing that ultimately, it will be up to mexico and it's law enforcement to carry out key decisions that need to be made. >> now, $2 billion has been sent to mexico by the u.s. government to help fight organized crime increase the security atmosphere in mexico over the last six years so many critics say that president obama is not being forceful enough and he's not doing enough to stop this cartel violence in mexico. >> and these two leaders also talked about cuba, right. >> they talked about cuba, and president had nothing but good

to say about t there are economic ties and political ties between mexico and cuba. and president obama pressing the human rights situation in mexico. coming up in panama set for april. so the president moving on that. and he mentioned that it as part of what the president did in announcing that he wanted to raise relations with cuba, prisoners have yet to be released and that's immersed in controversy now. >> today's meeting comes two months after president obama's action for deportation of millions of migrants. and that's when thousands of unaccompanied children showed up on the nation's doorstep.

hidy jo castro is at the border in texas with more. >> just behind this border fence and renosa, mexico, a city where migrants rest up for their crossing into the united states. but fewer are coming now. it has dropped by 60% since it's peak in the summer, and we went back over the other side of the border to find out why. they accompany him in photos. the wife and daughter live 150 miles away in corpus christy, texas where up until 5 months ago they shared a life together. he had been a pastor, and a traffic stop led it his deportation. >> my heart is broken, half of it is there he says. 65 migrants are staying at the shelter in renosa, mexico, just

across the rio grande. the rest are central miles per hour and the place is nowhere near as full as it was this past summer, when young adults and teenagers traveling along flooded all corners. the pastor said that those who are coming have a tougher time getting there. and the police are stopping people from using the freight train to travel north. mexico has deported 40,000 central americans this past year. but still they come. it took 25-year-old joel 5 months. there were no jobs in his country, no opportunity. and he looked to the united states for answers. [ speaking spanish ] >> behind the shelter is the rio grande, america a stone's throw away. they have come so far yet for

most of the migrants here, this place is the end of the road. he says that he plans to return to honduras because he sees no hope of crossing now that the u.s. has stepped up its border security. and he is also biding his time, hoping that immigration reform in the u.s. will offer him a legal way to reunite with his family. his wife and daughter are both u.s. citizens. but because he has been deported eight times his applications to reenter the country have been denied. [ speaking spanish ] he hopes that president obama will be moved to reunite torn by the border, and obama's recent action does help 4 million undocumented immigrants in the country. 3/4 of them are mexican ands this a point that he thanked obama for today. >> heidi joe castro.

thank you. and the former governor of virginia is going to prison. robert mcdonald was sentenced today on corruption charges. he will serve two years at a minimum security prison for 11 counts of fraud. his sentence agains next month. one of the three aljazeera journalists imprisoned in egypt made a plea for freedom today. he has been there for 174 days, long with the others. the judge ordered a retrial. in today's new york times he said that the journalists are caught in a dispute. he wrote, we have been pawns in geo political gain that have nothing to do with our work as

emmer potential professionals. a lawyer is working to secure his release. >> obviously we're pleased that he was granted an appeal. and we're working with senior levels with the egyptian government. and when we have further news to announce, we will, but obviously, we're protecting canadians and freedom of expression, and journalists. >> zahara, a member of the egyptian rule of law association, and she's in dallas tonight. and what do you make of this? >> well, i think it shows that there's a new option available in addition to the pardon that has been discussed. this new presidential decree that has been issued, allows at least two of the journalists with a foreign passport to be tried in their own country or to use their sentences or play their sentencing in their home country. >> would this give the sisi an

out? >> yes. he has been looking for an out. and he's got a problem because on the one hand, he's saying i have to respect the judiciary and i can't interfere with it, because egypt is a sophisticated developed country, and on the other hand, there was a clear show trial and you had no evidence, and the judge is quoted as saying that the three defendants were brought here by the devil to threaten egypt. so he's trying to find an out. >> why would he be looking for a way out of this mess? in many ways, the mess he created. >> well, he claims he didn't create it, he claims that it happened before he was president, though there are questions of how much influence he had. but he wants out because it's very bad publicity for egypt and it's not stable. and it's threatening rights,

civil rights and political rights and that's not going to bring in tourists or investors which is what he's most concerned about. >> a retrial was set in the case, a mistrial declared. so where would that be headed? or would this happen before the new trial begins? >> well, theoretically, he could issue the pard innocent. and if this presidential decree has been issued and it's effective, he could invoke it innocent. and if he doesn't, they will have to wait until the retrial starts, and if they're not released on bail by the new district level judge they will essentially rot in jail until the next trial. >> he could pardon them, but that has not happened. and there are a lot of people who think that probably won't happen right? >> i don't think it's going to happen unless he feels he has gotten everything that he wanted out of qatar. this is a proxy dispute and the

journalists are caught in between. he has go gotten qatar to shut down -- and i expect that he wants more concessions out of qatar, and when he gets what he wants, he will be issuing the pardon. >> we hope that they're out soon and thank you very much. >> today new york's governor remembers his father, mario cuomo as a philosopher and father and poet. andrew delivered the eulogy in new york city. bill and hillary clinton and new york mayor bill deblasio attended the service. the three time new york governor died thursday at the age of 8 2. in his honor the empire state building is lit up in the state colors, blue and gold. coming up next, long shot. why the opponents of dog racing in florida have an uphill race

against the casinos. and the best tech toys on display this week, but could they put your privacy at risk?

>> u.s. crude oil has fallen below $48 a barrel. and american workers are starting to feel the pinch. they will layoff 800 workers due to drilling equipment. and prices could affect other businesses. tom achermann reports from bradford pennsylvania. >> outside of the mcdonald's restaurant in bradford, pennsylvania stands an relic from the first well drilled in

1859 this one is still pumping, and so are hundreds more scattered around the town. she's so-called tripper wells can draw up to a couple of barrels a day from the huge pool of crude that lies beneath the surface. >> it will probably go another hundrediers if we're allowed to do it. we don't get regulated out of business. >> looking at them individually, the wells don't seem impressive, but there are more than 400,000 of them operating in the u.s., and they account for 11% of u.s. total oil production. in 2012, by comparison, these marginal wells, matched all of qatar's output. and the latest in hydraulic fracturing could extend the working life of these wells, but as the price of crude has fallen by almost half in the past year, many operators are

shutting down. they say that the profit is not there, and burdensome government rules threaten their long-term survival. >> at least at $100 oil, this was some possibility of compliance, but losing almost 50% of the price of your product over a 3--month period it's just stifling and suffocating. >> the steep price decline has forced big companies with expensive fracking costs to curtail their retention plans. in the u.s., dropped by 40% in just the month of november. suffocating. >> the steep price decline has bill klein spent 70 years in the oil drilling business, and he doesn't know how long his town can keep it in business. >> the refinery doesn't have enough oil to run. god bless bradford, because there won't be anything left.

>> but if the price of crude doesn't start recovering soon, no amount of oil that's still left to pump here will be enough. tom achermann aljazeera bradford pennsylvania. >> tech companies are giving us the glimpse of the future this week at the show in las vegas. and many of the gadgets collect and store more personal data raising concerns about the future of privacy. our science and technology correspondent, jake ward is live in san francisco with that. jake? >> good evening john, in las vegas, the topics range from self driving cars to 3-d printing, but the notion of inserting sensors into even the smallest projects raises privacy concerns about all of the new kinds of data that those gizmos are going to collect about you and me.

>> reporter: at the consumer electronics show, the home of big and bold ideas, the focus is much smaller. tiny tech to put more of you and your life online. >> sensors, things that they have never talked about before. that's because they're getting smaller and lighter and cheeper and helping these companies get out in front of what they want their habits and routines. >> beginning last year, it was like basketballs, and this year, baseballs and crock pots and onesies and all sorts of things with sensors built in. >> that means these sensors are exposing us in new ways. because they reveal where we go, and when we're awake and asleep. and the software that is analyzing that data has sophisticated portraits of where we are. things like visible car keels and traditional electronics with connected sensors, as small as 3 millimeters across, and even our bodies can be monitored on a constant basis.

>> the more opportunity for exploitation, and we take it a very seriously. >> there's a lot of convenience to all of this, but there's a lot of danger too. many of the companies that are descending here in vegas have never been in the sensor business before. and they may not know how to safeguard that data against intrusion. >> these companies may have good intentions, but if 2014 has taught us anything, it means that your texts and emails are vulnerable. now, in 2015, from our time of rival and the lights we turn on when we walk in the door, a whole new world of data is up for grabs. >> john, it's worth mentioning here that the consumer electronics show has for the first time this year, a big cyber security portion of the show and companies are putting millions of dollars into trying to protect themselves, but we're talking about a whole new kind of data.

cars talking to thermostats and telling vital things about when you're asleep and you want to get home, and all of the things that have never been done before, because they have never been hacked before. and if we have learned anything the hackers are incredibly creative. >> jake ward, thank you and now to florida and the big money and controversy over greyhound racing. more than half of the 21 race tracks are in florida but track owners lose millions of dollars every year, so why keep the dogs running? sheila macvicar explains why. >> >> greyhounds have been running around tracks in florida for decades. it brings up a black eye from animal welfare groups. >> they spend 20 hours a day in

their came and it's a life of confinement. >> greyhound racing is also dangerous for the dogs. hundreds are injured sometimes horrifically. state records obtained by america tonight, on average one racing greyhound dies at a florida track every three days. state never maria sacks a former prosecutor, ran her own investigation into how the dogs are treated. >> people of florida once they really find out what really goes on behind the tracks, behind the lights, behind the excitement once they see what's really going on. they're going to say enough. >> those that argue for an end to dog racing have unlikely allies. >> it's a business opportunity that loses $2 million a year. >> they mandate that track

owners keep making money losing races if they want to keep lucrative poker rooms. he would like to keep a much more limited greyhound racing schedule but he can't unless the florida legislature pantses a new law to decouple the two. but the decoupling law has come before the legislature twice before and failed. there are powerful forces with deep pockets lined up against it. >> this issue isn't really about dog safety or anything else. it's a of larger debate over the expansion of gambling. >> at the center of that debate, the very powerful seminole tribe who control gambling in north and central florida. the seminoles don't want tracks shutting down the dog races and casinos with slot machines.

the decoupling bill faces an uphill fight. and florida's greyhounds will most likely be racing all out next year. fort meyers, florida. >> you can see more on sheila's report tonight. but still ahead the special report, new congress, the key issues facing lawmakers if they can overcome the gridlock. and plus, race in america. growing tension and can congress really help bridge the divide?

>> changing of the guard. day one of republic control on capitol hill. swept into power on a wave of dissatisfaction. >> we recognize the enormity of the task before us. >> and a flood of cash.

but also on the issues. >> immigration the key stone xl pipeline. what will top the republican agenda? will anything actually get done? >> if this bill passes this congress the president wouldn't sign it either. >> and what's in it for america? our special report, the new congress. >> hi, every. i'm john siggen thaller. tonight, for the first time in 8 years the house and the senate are under republican leadership. this congress was elected in the most expensive campaign in history $3.7 billion. a lot of it spent by corporations and lobbyists, so what will they get for their billions? plenty of issues need attention. >> congratulations. >> a moment of elation for the 114th congress, sworn in today. >> mr. speaker.

>> soon to be replaced with the reality of hard work on some tough issues. from the economy to the environment. to immigration. but there are some serious obstacles. for the first time during his presidency mr. obama faces a republican-controlled house and senate. and senate machine or the leader, mitch mcconnell has declared that with the shift in power, serious adults are in charge here. the first bill will be the keystone xl pipeline. it will carry oil from canada to texas. it has support in the house but it's opposed by some democrats and viper meant lifts, though it's billed as a job creator. >> keystone is something that i'm looking for in the early stages of the senate... that makes a difference, that enjoys bipartisan support that can actually get out of the senate. >> but today the white house promised that the senate will

veto any keystone bill passed by the republican congress. there are other issues on the congressional agenda, including job creation and cutting the budget. and many members of congress still want to appeal the affordable care act. obamacare critics want to end what they call an illegal mandate that forces people to buy coverage, and they want employers to limit to 40 hours a week instead of 30. >> if they want to take healthcare away from people who just got it, they will meet stiff resistance from me. >> expect immigration to be pro and center. the republicans are trying to defund and lock the president's recent executive order that would delay deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants. immigrants. they will be less inclined to

work with the white house. >> i've never been persuaded by the argument that if it weren't for the executive actions they would have been more productive. there's no evidence of that. so i'll continue to do what i'm doing. >> this week, the president heads to michigan, arizona and tennessee to promote jobs, home ownership and college education. this campaign is leading up to his state of the union address two weeks from now but the republican leadership may determine just how much the president can accomplish. >> there may be a spirit of compromise that the white house and the president can strike. they want to prove that the president wants to sign bills even if they're not exactly as he would write them himself and he definitely doesn't want to be president -- >> the first test of the possible compromise will come in a few days. house republicans are expected to hold a vote on the keystone

xl pipeline this friday. paul is here with that. >> well, john, the house has passed several keystone bills in the past. and they're expected to pass another one too. they still don't have the 2/3 majority they need to override a presidential veto. but that doesn't mean that they're giving up. the fight has been going on for years now, and during that time, it has changed with the economy and oil production, so the question is, can the republicans still make the case for keystone? there was no mistaking the message from the white house. even if a new keystone xl bill gets out of congress, it's dead on arrival at the oval office. >> you can confirm that if this happened in this congress, the president wouldn't sign it either. >> setting the staple in yet another battle in the long war over keystone. if it's ever built, it will

carry tar extracted from canada some 1700 miles to nebraska. there, it's connected to existing pipelines on the gulf coast, but it has been stalled for six years at the obtaineddiancanadianborder. >> the bill is not passed. >> that was a no vote in the senate back in november. democrats have long called it an environmental nightmare one that would accelerate climate change and pollute water. but with republicans running congress, new sen promises that the pipeline will be among the senate's first order of business. house speaker john boehner says that the american people overwhelmingly support the pipeline.

today, no to more american energy and no to more american jobs. itit make good economic sense to build now oil from the tar sands is thick and heavy to difficult to ryan. refine. in congress, those. >> one more about the future vote in the senate. reportedly, he has 63 votes but john, that's still four short of the 67 needed to

override the veto. let's look at the breakdown of the house and the senate. and here's david schuster. >>ion, let's start by looking at the change in balance on capitol hill. and last year, with the democrats, and republicans have 45 senate seats for this 115th congress, the republicans control and now to the house at the end of the 113th congress, republicans controlled 134 seats and democrats 201. and as of today republicans control 246 seats, and the one vacancy, michael grimm was elected in november, after pleading guilty to tax evasion yesterday. let's look at the freshman class. 13 new senators, and 12 republicans, and one democrat. 11 men and two women.

and there are 32 republicans and 15 democrats. 47 are men and 11 are women. overall, 104 women will serve in the 114th congress, 20 in the senate. and 84 in the house and that's more women in congress than ever before. >> thank you and today's congress is also more diverse than ever before. but the 114th section begins at a time of heightened racial tensions. demonstrators are speaking out against the death of unarmed black men at the hands of police. last month the protests went from the streets to capitol hill. and several took part in a hands up don't shoot demonstration on the floor of the house. democratic congressmen and members of the black caucus, joins us from washington, and

man, welcome to the program. let's start with ferguson, missouri. and there has been a lot of discussion about the ferguson grand jury, and it has to do with race reeses, relations but beyond talk, what else can congress do? >> well, we certainly are evidenced by the failure of the grand jury to indict in the death of eric garner, which was witnessed by everyone because it was captured on videotape. there's a broken criminal justice system as relates to the seeming inability for justice when used by an officer against a civilian. so hearings by the judiciary committee that i serve onto see

if we can do things in a different way. to allow things to take place. and john, there's an inherent conflict of interest. when you have a prosecutor attempting to pursue a criminal charge against a law enforcement officer when those same prosecutors rely on the police department each and every day to make their cases. >> . >> a lot of conversation about the militarization of the police especially in ferguson, missouri, with the lack of oversight of the police. there was a vote last june that would have clamped down on that and you voted no. can you tell us why? >> well, at the present time, which was pre-ferguson, i was persuaded by the argument of some as it relates to the new york police department, that the use of some of this equipment is appropriate in limited circumstances given the terrorism threat that we face in the aftermath of

september 11th and we all understand what took place when more than 2700 americans lost their lives. >> do we need all of this equipment? >> it's clear, as a result of what we have seen subsequently, is that the program is overbroad, that the monitoring of the program is lax. and we need a complete reevaluation. >> some have suggested that the race relations have worsened under president obama and are you concerned that in some ways that the president has not been proactive enough in the issue of race relations? >> well, i think that there are several instances where the president has stepped forward in an eloquent way in the context of race relations, but the one that comes to mind, in the aftermath of the trayvon

martin situation that he could be his son. and it touched a lot of people with that observation, but the president of course is not the leader of latino or black america or white america he's the president of all america and with his racial background, it's something that he can do in the next couple of years. >> congress has been at gridlock and is that something that's going to change? >> i'm hopeful with the house of representatives and the senate to promote the president's agenda, blamed everything in terms of legislative action and the broken congress on the president, is no longer a credible line of attack to use. >> we will see whether or not that happens. congressman jefferies, thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> coming up next, immigration

the president has a plan, and many republicans don't like it, and will the new congress try to stop it? and plus, social media on capitol hill. how america's newest lawmakers are getting their messages out.

a >> and a look tonight at the u.s./mexico border in texas and immigration will be a key issue for this new congress. president obama issued an executive order delaying the deportation of millions of migrants. the cofounder and the managing director of "united we dream." and she's from ecuador and they came with her family at 13 as an undocumented student. christina, welcome. >> thanks for having me. >> how does the community view this new congress? >> i think it's of no surprise that you really see republicans taking hard hits, with this

executive action that was put in by president obama last year that will benefit immigrants, including latino immigrants, with people like my parents who will be able to come out of the shadows and pay a fine, fill out the form and be able to work in the country and live without fear. >> i want to talk about your family for a second. but i want to sort of just repeat what the republicans have said. no amnesty. no amnesty for people who have come to the united states illegally. how is that going to play in the latino community? >> i'm not surprised. we have seen the record of republicans. they had the opportunity to pass reform in the last congress and they chose not to do so. and they have been advocating and trying to get rid of the

daca program [ audio difficulties ] and so i am not surprised that republicans are now [ audio difficulties ] what's very clear to us, the republicans attack on this program that the president just enacted, is not an attack only on the president but it's an attack to my family, and to our entire community. so for us, it took us a lot of work to get here, and we advocated a lot. and we share our stories and we're in protests and marches so our message to the republicans, bring it on, we're here to defend it. the fight that they're putting up attacking the program. >> the president's executive

order. >> basically attacking the programs through legal means but also that they will cut the funding for homeland security. >> with the executive order. >> my parents have been here for over 60 years and they will be able to apply when the application process starts. >> and if the republicans reverse this? >> i feel very confident -- >> they said that they want to stop it. >> well, one thing is for certain, that our community will continue to defend the attacks from the republics and i feel very confident about the position that the president took particularly because the legal authority constitutionally all of the legal experts have said that the president has the authority to do this. and what we're seeing here, it's really a political game from republicans. they had the option to do

something for a solution, and they chose not to. >> they're in the majority and we'll see exactly what happens. >>what happens. good to see you and thank you very much. when it comes to staying in touch with their constitients, many lawmakers take to twitter. and it could play a role in this. >> john, today's incoming 114th congress is embracing the tool that the kids are using called social media, 140 characters or less. and if they take a clue from there are peers, we should see keystone pipeline and isil and asking constituents questions like from this possible 2016 presidential contender, marco rubio. [ audio difficulties ]

yes somewhat yes. the new jersey senator is the current mvp of twitter with 145 million followers. he's a twitter machine using the platform for bipartisan. here's a tweet for the snowfall. any in dc need to be shoveled out? i think that i can get senator rand paul to grab a shovel and help. senator, i personally could have used some help. the spirit of getting things done among the freshmen members, congressman burn tweets, i'm looking forward to getting to work when the congress kicks off tomorrow. what issues do you want to take up? and he tweets, sworn in fellow

representative murphy. we're ready to get things done, and he even used the hashtag come together. we asked our community if they liked the optimism: at the very least hopefully we can look forward to congress tweeting about the new season of "game of thrones." back to you john. >> still ahead government gridlock. how the president and lawmakers could find a way to work together.

>> the former senate majority leader started this 114th congress from his washington home. nevada senator rarery reed,

recovering fromrecovering from -- harry reid, recovering from an exercising accident, and he said that he will be back to capitol hill as soon as the doctors give him the go ahead. we have been talking a lot about the congressional agenda, but much of what happens in 2015 has to do with what's happening in 2016. >> reporter: there's an essential irony here. we have heard from leaders in the past days, talking about the need to govern and they can do it with minimum drama on capitol hill without all of the vitreal of the last seven years. many of the people that they're trying to clear the field for so the presidential race can get all of the attention and not shift the fight to congress. most of the people likely to do the fight on the leadership side, those who are going to be running to live in this building here beginning in january of 2017.

they include those who have already been in authority in the government, leading the effort in republicans and conservatives. and there's rubio and on the democratic side, [ audio difficulties ] running from the left. and the liberal icon from vermont --. >> describing the recipe for gridlock. [ audio difficulties ] >> it's the democrat's worst fear that he'll go behind them. [ audio difficulties ]

>> on "america tonight" - gone to pot. one year in the rocky mountain mother load big money is changing hands. the rise of the legalized marijuana trade is a downer for some communities, hospitals and law enforcements. >> we want the supreme law in this land the supreme court to look at this issue and tell us once and for all whether or not what colorado did was legal or