tv Inside Story Al Jazeera June 7, 2024 2:30pm-3:01pm AST
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as wales will run, garza thousands of the stadiums hoping indiscriminately displaced really forces are systematically targeting health care infrastructure. hospitals of one of the only safe options to seek refuge until they became targets from wages war from hospital . i remember seeing a soldier inside the hospital, alger 0 world investigates where the east ran is violating international. no, but targeting supposedly a new crisis doctor on hospitals on out to 0. well, joe biden is new immigration plan work. the us president assigned and executive orders of curve the flow of asylum seekers that the southern border to departure from his policies when he came to the house. so is this move motivated by the upcoming election? this is inside store the
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welcome to the program and several then a, it's a plan and limiting the number of asylum seekers allowed to cross the southern border of the united states. joe biden said after signing the executive order this week that he was doing what he could to address the border issue. he blamed republicans for not reaching a bi partisan border security deal in congress. the us has seen record numbers of asylum seekers that as border with mexico and the issue has dominated the campaign ahead of november's presidential election. so we'll be talking more about the politics of handling immigration in the us with our guest 1st though. this report from this, again, from, is detained at the southern us border after weeks on the road. as a presidential executive order to clamp down on migration comes into effect, these people could now be deprived the right to seek asylum deported, or turned back to mexico. presidential biden's order bars and to reach
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a new arrivals if more than 2500, the regular crossings are recorded in a day. if they will to this is unfair. it's unfair because how we suppose to know that they are already over the limit and they can always say that they already exceeded 2 and a half 1000. and then everyone has to go back. that's like a trap. us official said this threshold has already been reached. large groups of migrants from venezuela, cuba and other countries and central america brought record numbers to the us mexican border last year. in december, more than 10000 people were crossing into the us every day. that's an old time high by the nor do use the republicans pushed him into a corner when they blocked his bi partisan immigration bill. this last move has drawn criticism from republicans and split the democrats. this is election year politics. and by the way, we've seen this game before, apparently the democrats have one playbook, which is create a crisis. and then
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a couple of months before the election. do something very mild to address the crisis and say, see, problem solve. the move is a sharp political, you turn from biden, upon taking office he had pledged, and the heavy handed immigration policies of his predecessor, donald trump. the order will likely face legal challenges from rights groups who say providing asylum is part of the nation's international obligations. like the united states has been a pekin of hope for those leading persecution, violence and oppression. today's executive order undermines that legacy us voters ranked immigration as the top problem, the country faces this year. according to the research agency, gallup trump wanted to build a wall on the border during his presidency, and promised master potations, if elected again. come november, those heading to the southern us border won't get to say,
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if this i'm getting food ultra 0 for inside story. the that's bringing our guests, they're all joining us from the united states today in baird, delaware, chris jamara, victor raj, a president and ceo of the nonprofit organization, global refuge in minneapolis, amy cocoa, republican strategist, who is also the 1st female majority leader in minnesota state legislature. and also in washington, leon, fresco and immigration attorney and a former deputy assistant attorney in charge of immigration at the department of justice during the obama administration. a warm welcome to all of you, chris. i'll start with you and with the what's happening on the ground right now as we speak. we are, as we record this program less than 2 days into this new reality at the us southern border right. where asylum seekers are being shut out of the asylum seeking system we saw at the top of that report, people being rounded up,
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some of them handcuff taken by border agents on buses. what is happening now to them under the new executive order? sure, so um, so this order is implementation when my friends have been apprehended crossing the border. agents have a policy matter. generally ask them if they fear harm, if they return to their home country that's required by law many say they do. and after passing and initial screening, they're often allowed to remain country while they wait for a hearing on that can often take years given the rather jarring backlogs. we see in the immigration course these days, i think that is a bi partisan problem where you know, across the board, it's an issue that needs to be solved. but once the rule is in place now, many migrants can be turned back rapidly with less of an opportunity to voice up here. and that's because the new standard demands that micros practically volunteer . and then, you know, kind of the reason that they are free,
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they can also apply for different forms to relieve other than asylum which have a much higher bar. and those people won't qualify for that. how long does it take for them to get deported at the moment? and so it's, it's still too early to tell that we're, we're seeing a change right now, but it would be pretty summarily. and i think it's also important to understand that i'm writing hours or days or hours. does that, does that seem like a reasonable ballpark as to what's actually happening? yeah. so before you told us, if they go through the asylum system, if they say they fear harm, if their return, that's when they go start going through the asylum system that could take years. now we're talking about hours or days and, and by the way, hours or days and they don't get their claim examiner. right. so if you have some, once a threshold is head and customs and border protection starts returning people that as a matter of a, of a quick interview. and then they, they could be,
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they could be in would be returned. and those who are qualifying to be able to enter the country, they would still enter that system where they are entering the backlog. and they could remain for a year or so. there are going to be some folks who would still be allowed to enter, but they would be coming through a much higher threshold to meet asylum or some of the other trafficking loss. okay, leon, i want to throw this to you. and i know this is also well within your wheel house. i don't want to get too technical, but at the same time we have to get a little technical for people to understand what's happening. cool, under this new executive order, actually qualifies. now to enter the country, well, people who got claims under the convention against torture, which is that they say that they're actually going to be dr. dukes persecuted, which is by them all by the tortured. they can still remain in the process to stay in the country and try to get released from the board, asians, and also people who are entitled to something called withholding of removal, which is something if a gradual higher than asylum, which doesn't give
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a path to citizenship. but woodside, is that a, you have a, your, a persecution on the base of your res religion. national origins, also rhodes or political opinions you can say, while the price is in your country, is in existence, but want that song of existence, the government of been moved to depart you. so those are the people who are there are international law obligations. they will be the ones that wouldn't be permitted to stay, but even they won't have to meet a higher threshold. now, in order to a articulate that blame, and it'd be nice to raise all back to all these things because the government is not just going to grab, it's a basic model explanation anymore. they got those survive a higher branch home. and so it see if the government actually some parts for a 2nd leon, you're talking about you're talking about thresholds, but i actually saw the questions that the border agents prior to now we're asking
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migrants and they ask them for questions. right. and those questions are all about whether those people are afraid that they will be persecuted if they go home. and if the broad answer is yes, across those questions, then those people have a claim to silent. that was the logic that prevailed prior to now correct. as well, yes. in certain circumstances you would still go to what's called the examiner from the citizenship and immigration services next. and so depending on how much the tension space there was, if they could detain you or that they would show that you didn't have that fee or later, or they could actually remove un. but the problem was they haven't gotten any remains, but they're not sufficient. the tension space, so a lot of those people who need the visual appraisal simply got released into the united states. okay. and, and by the way, to, if, if any of our viewers are thinking, oh wow, this just got all legalistic and complex you. the reason we're going through it is, and i, and i wish all of us could really understand this is the migrants are going through
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this. they get to the border more often than not. they have a very shaky grasp of english. and now all of a sudden they're in this very complex, typically admin, american, i have to say administrative, legal system where you're checking all sorts of boxes if he has to go there, if no, go there, etc, etc. so that's very ality. all right, let me just one more for you, leon before you have an amy, thanks for your patience. what are the numbers right now? so of um, there were about $4500.00 people crossing the border illegally per day. and so does that mean 4500 people are supposed to be sent home per day? well that, that number has actually been reduced recently to in between 3504000. and of course, all this 2500. but nevertheless, yes, theoretically speaking, the way this is the radically to all the work is all of those individuals down in town. 3rd, are actually supposed to be sent back. but the question is, what is back? because if they're not mexican manager old, will mexico, i'd say,
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sending non mexican national the back to the go or not. well, how are you supposed to depart people back the website to our venezuela or in china, where those countries won't like to bring their people back? and so that's what reads a lot of problems along the border. us, amy, your republican strategist, as we said now, republicans have rigs by and over the coals for this. they said it's election year politics. but this is a very sort of law and order and measure that under other circumstances you, if you didn't tell me this was a bite and ego a bite, an executive order i could have probably would have believed that this was a republican executive order. so why republicans not happy with it? sure, well, i mean, i think in general, this issue has been on the, on the public as mine since by and took over, right. even if perception wise biden's policies were not all that different from trumps even from the beginning. and even though you but trump was perceived as
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tougher, right? he said was going to build a wall. he never functionally really built much of a wall. but there was perception and that's and then and then, and then co ed combined with that perception slow things at the border. that was the reality. is that since biden took office in january of 2021, we have never, they buy their own definition. they have overwhelmed at the border at $2500.00 illegal crossings per month. error per day. i'm sorry, and we have not been below 2500 since he took office. and so it is seen as you haven't been controlling this for 3 and a half years. and now 6 months out from the election, you decide to get tough. i mean, it does look political because it largely is political. and so i don't think it is. i don't think it's the policy that they have an issue with. i think it's the, you know, that, that it looks political, that you were giving some numbers the number as of
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a border crossings. illegal border crossing started increasing even before the end of the trump presidency. so when trump, with an office towards the end of his presidency, was $40000.00 illegal border crossings a month by the time biden took office, it was already 70, so it already almost more than doubled. there was a very low point. 70000 a month, 70000, a month visited by the way these numbers are coming from the u. s. customs and border protection website. uh and since then they went from $70000.00 a month from the beginning of biden's term to they picked in december at $250000.00 a month. so almost times 4. and that kind of helps explain partly why we're here because the reality is on the ground and the numbers on the ground have really changed what the republicans want to see happened in as well. i think that they would support these types of policies. here's the problem, i think that everyone agrees by part of secondly, that the system itself is, is,
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is unfair. it is laborious. it is broken. um it's yeah, it's the fix that is the issue because i think that you know, the poor progressive left feels that it needs to err on the side, obviously of humanitarian and making it making things a lot easier. and folks on the right just believe that security and safety needs to be the top priority by and revamping the system. and that continues to be the argument back and forth, back and forth for, for everyone. and then politics comes into play, frankly on both sides, but in particular, for republicans with 3 percent of them saying that this is their top issue along with and this is interesting. 43 percent of americans saying that terrorism, a threat of another terrorism attack is their issue. and so those things from my perspective and my understanding, um they go hand in hand for, for, for a, you know, almost 50 percent of the population. they're worried about the border security and
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a very real way and, and that just can't be ignored when coming up with a solution. and a very often it trumps. and that's no pun intended. um, any kind of negotiations that go on and really puts a damper on revamping the system, which i don't think there's any disagreement on either side that the system is just terribly broken. yep. there's something you said, it's really important and the polls bear this out. this is the top issue for voters, and by the way, this surprised me. i thought when i woke up today, i assumed it'd be economy was the top issue for american voters because it often is, but it's not. and hasn't been in that a sense. basically the beginning of the year after the emigration numbers peaked in december and you saw the pulling numbers january, february through april, showed that then became a much bigger issue for american voters crush. amy amy talked about the fix, right. everybody agrees there's a problem the, what's the fix and there, there, there are plenty of smart people in government and every us administration,
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at some point it has to tackle immigration. and yet i, i don't think that there's anybody to whom we can point to say, oh they have, they have to fix. they have the solution. yeah, i think that's exactly right. and i think, you know, you both mentioned it, the pulse of, of what the americans care valid. certainly we're gracious of the top issue, but it's important understand kind of what they think about emigration. americans largely support a policy framework that ensures a secure, orderly border as well as robust mentoring protections. and so i think the question is how do we get there? i think there is an opportunity for the, by the ministration to do what it can. but of course, there needs to be congressional involvement so that we can have a holistic policy where we manage our southern border that we create legal pathways such as guest worker and family reunification programs. so that reduces the number of people who are coming to the southern border that we build up our safe lability
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offices in the region, which would allow migrants to apply from abroad rather than undertake these 1000 mile treasures. journeys often um, you know, feeding into the system of priorities and the human smuggling operations that we provide the resources for the department of homeland security. has that not happening? has that not happened to some extent under biting the ability to apply from abroad? i was under the impression that has been expanded. is that not correct? so yeah, so the bottom administration has done what it has to can through executive order, which is creating humanitarian pearl programs, which, you know, is one of your panelists mentioned. many of these programs are temporary pathways. um, so this is not a solution in terms of like an asylum claim. um, but it is him strong in terms of determining what is the standard for legal asylum at or southern border. that is where you need congressional action because it is
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determined by us law and bite and tried to get a law passed. right. he had this bi partisan bill. what was in that? yeah, so this started by partners part of that and bill um was interesting because you had folks like senator langford, who have never been um you know, criticized as being soft on um you know, the southern border who were really a co offering this along with senator cinema, what is your loud for? was a similar policy in terms of um, you know, a cap on how many people could attempt to cross the border before the restrictions imposed. but it also created legal pathways. and i think that's where the audience sees to understand the part of why you're seeing such a significant uptick at the southern border is because so many of the other legal pathways that immigrants in the past would have used for family unification for economic migration. those pathways are severely restricted, or they're essentially backlogged in a way that they are functioning. and so that as in part,
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while you're seeing all the pressure of people coming to the southern border as an immigration organization, we don't want economic migrants or people who are coming, you know, for better life coming to seek asylum because that's gaming system. we walk people who are swing for their lives to have that pathway, that it's not, as i say that again, because i think a lot that i think that's going to be important for many of our viewers to kind of conflate things sometimes. um, because it is complex asylum seeker again is you go into a country saying i, i fear for my life, i'm going to be persecuted if i stay in my country. so i need your protection that's claiming asylum. you're saying. the other type of migration which can be economic migration or people who are fleeing even climate change, we're seeing that for people who are leaving their countries in south america, for instance, because they have no crops, no. so those are not the ones that you are trying that a group like yours is trying to protect. and so it's a great question because on climate migration is actually
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a key concern of global refuge. the reality is, in our lifetimes, we will see people who are fleeing for their lives because their homes have become uninhabitable. so we actually believe that asylum, or other cover uh, kind of my friends who are truly looking for the life. but as you said, for people who are coming for a better life, who are coming for economic reasons, they shouldn't be seeking asylum, they wouldn't be qualified for asylum. and, and frankly create the economic pathways. the recognize that the us has the lowest birth rate since a substance have been tracking this issue. we had about 9000000 jobs that are unfilled. there is an opportunity for us to have the vibration. we need to power our economy. but also allow for those were fleeting for humanitarian reasons, to access the asylum system that they can only access once they reach us. well. okay, leo, and there's a question i've been dying to ask you because you have worked in government, you were on the senate judiciary subcommittee on immigration,
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you have drafted integration legislation, some of the past them that didn't i believe um. yep. so you're on both both ends of that. i'm really curious to find out how to republicans and democrats when there are no cameras. talk about this issue, because in front of the cameras, there's a lot of name calling. but behind the cameras, what do they say? as well, i think when you get people of good faith in the room who actually want to achieve something, then people actually work together constructively to try to come up with these bi partisan compromises where they know that there has to be given tags on the side of the progressives, you have to give them the concepts of not being on this. they have all border crossings across the border. you have to say look, that i have to come to an a, b bought these pathways that we can produce and, and, and job to appointment. i make claims, but not just show up on the grounds. and on the right there is that understanding,
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hey, we can have the 0 power in for any of abrasion. we have to have places against our predictable where people can show up and know that there will be a visa available, and they need certain criteria. and that's understood, the problem is very few people are willing to get into these rooms anymore because of the political thoughts are very, very hon. you're almost immediately, you get all the you are abandoning the core of the party, whichever party side the jury in. and they becomes harder and harder as easier prizes to get people who are willing to do the work that is necessary. and phase the right from the base on either side that you will phase. if you make any migration compromise, then that's a real problem. you, it is, so you're, you're telling us that of course there are plenty of people for favor deal making and a more sort of middle of the middle of the road approach. but they basically, those voices are being drowned out because of just
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a polarized political climate in which they, they can't come in front of the camera and own that position that we were saying. yeah, absolutely. have you thought of 90 percent of the lawmakers in congress and brian that they will say something along the lines of what i'd say that needs to be the deal, but they can't get in the room because the costs of getting in the room and make the grades and compromise are too high, as opposed to the benefits of just staying out of the room and read the big part of the lines on immigration and just moving forward and doing nothing. and that's unfortunate until i do like braces requires jane. you won't be james, because because i'll wait the benefits of change politically for the people who wouldn't be making the changes. it's amy, is that not a big factor in what we're seeing right now? there was this bi partisan bill that by and tried to pass through congress didn't work, and that's why he said, oh, well, the republicans of type my hands. now i have to do this via an executive order. and the republicans,
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they weren't my understanding is they could have got on board with this new immigration law until trump said, no, i don't want it. this is not going to, this is going to hurt me in the campaign. this is going to give a wind to buy it and, and you know, a minus and it's going to be in the minus collins and me so i don't want it. and after that republican said no, we're, we're, we are no longer getting behind this immigration reform. i think that's how this one went down. but i just want to say it's disingenuous to say, this is the only time it's happened. so this has played over multiple congress is over multiple administration unfortunately. and the onset this well there, i mean center you mentioned center langford center. rubio made a run at this years ago. there are many prominent republicans that have made a run at a bi partisan immigration reform bill and, and both sides to kind of a, you know, it streams on both sides have beaten those back. and so we can do this. and the other difficulty is, i would say that while the border, the legal crossings are searching and you talked about the numbers already, so i won't belabor them. it makes it doubly difficult to come to that but,
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but that is, is, that is reality. but there's a, those are just like, i mean the through the multiple administrations, we have failed on this and i think it's just really, i think it's disappointing for everyone to see america's founded on welcoming people. to us. we have a demographic issue. we need a workforce labor we, we want to be both morally and economically that beacon for the world. i think we all agree on that. and we have this massive political and then bureaucratic system that is really getting in the way of that. and so i, i would say that there's also bi partisan dist disappointment in that. you know, it's interesting what you said about how america is founded on immigration. it's such a big component of the american identity. you travel around america and you'll speak to people who are as american as apple pie to use that cliche. and your last name, where are you from and there and they're in there in michigan and they'll say,
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i'm greek, right? they've actually never been degrees, but their grandparents were from greece and people say, i'm greek, i'm italian, i'm syrian, etc, etc. and people really identify with their, you know, uh, foreign routes. donald trump, to name just only donald trump, the 45th president. his grandfather is from bavaria in germany. and so the question chris goes to you because your bio says that when you were a baby, your parents came from sherlock and flooded a civil war, a country that was on the brink of civil war. and you've obviously been tremendously successful. but what you do, how is this whole notion of america is built on, you know, the positive force of integration? is that all just a cliche now? i sure hope not, cuz i certainly believe that you know, my daughter's life will be easier because my own parents live were hard and you may hear my one year old in the background. so sorry for that. but to me that the american dream um and i think it has, in part powered how the us has become
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a superpower. but it is really different right now because, you know, we, as an immigration organization get a task from the right and the left. i do think that we have forgotten our history. to some extent, we have allowed politicians to grandstand and score political points by other immigrants. and the truth is they are us, they're just the newest generation and we've, and i still feel like when you don't turn on the tv, if you don't pick up a paper, when you go into communities that are both conservative and liberal, people get it in a personal way. uh, but it takes some conversation because i think right now people do see what's happening in the southern border. they feel like immigration is out of control. they've seen some of the busing to new york city in chicago and, and there is this scarcity mentality and i think we've got to change that. all right, that's all the time we have for today's discussion. but thank you very much to oral
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or guess for joining us today and for making the time in their day. chris jamara, victor, roger, amy, coke, and leon fresco. and thanks you too for watching, you can see the program again, any time by visiting our website elses or com for further discussion, go to our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash a inside story. you can also join the conversation on x r handle. there is at h, a inside store, from me serve any and the entire team here. bye for now. the to interrogate the narrative is the u. s. has continued support for israel affecting it's global standing. there's no question about it. the united states is effectively complicit to the genocide challenge the rhetoric. yes, they look that correct, but so in the international community, can we also say that dells? the cornerstone of democracy is having
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a free and open democratic pro upfront without 2 zeros here to report on the people often ignored but who must be hurt. how many other channels can you say will take this time and put extensive followed into reporting from under reported areas? of course, we cover major global events that are passion lives and making sure that you're hearing the stories from people in places like how is fine video regions. and so many others. we go to them, we make the effort, we care district, the
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