host: that is harrisburg, north carolina. we thank everybody who called for the segment we are going to take a look at the euro of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. there are new responsibilities for that hero. we will take a look at what with responsibilities are dan friedman of hearst newspapers. >> t count the countdown is on and as we approach the iowa caucuses, we are the only place where you can watch these events unfold as

they happen. whether it is a campaign rally, houseit party, town hall meetin, if we are covering a policy speech, nobody else is going to give you that unfiltered look at the candidates as they work the crowd and talk to voters and make a sales pitch so we will be covering all of the candidates and then keep an eye on what wha happens because we will be the only network that will actually take you to the public and the democratic caucus. so if you've ever really wondered how it allif y happens, watch c-span. the founder's objectives ans

ecby security played that such a small role for themsu chan ad b cybersecurity issues faced>> today. a hundreds of millions of the billions of us now are forever choosing things other than security.we are cing the we are choosing the speed of thd perf performance, if the security is maybe between five and ten o's e the list for whatever else they say. security really doesn't pay a >> watch the communicators tonight at c-span2. washington journal continues. >> every monday on the program, we take a look at programs by the federal government, initiatives by the federal government not only with a cause but accomplish this week. we take a look at that bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms. the guest joining us is dan friedman, the washington correspondent.

good morning. as far as it comes to firearms, give us the scope. >> a broad range of enforcement activities. guns, alcohol, tobacco, firearms come as the name implies, but by far its major focus is on guns and firearms and much less so with alcohol and tobacco. >> when it comes to firearms what are the range of activities, what are they involved in? >> they are involved in first and foremost the whole licensing question that anybody that is engaged in the business of selling firearms must be licensed. the wall does have exceptions for those who make occasional sales from the collection or add to their collection.

but anybody that is making a profit out of selling firearms must be licensed so that is a major part of the activity and then beyond that, they have 2400 or so special agents who are out in the field and participate in task forces with other federal law enforcement or other local law enforcement and go after criminal gangs that use guns to traffic guns so it is an integral part of the federal law-enforcement efforts to protect violent crime. >> host: if someone wants to sell firearms for living, they went to visit your establishment, make sure they are doing everything correctly, what happens as far as a store owner is concerned? >> guest: batf has 700 or 600

observations and investigators and they go to gun stores and do audits to make sure all the guns that come through are accounted for. there is 700 investigators for 50,000 i think it's more i have it in my story in 2013, 137,000 license holders. so you could go if you are a store owner you you could go five to eight years without ever seeing an inspector. >> the president and the recent action against guns, first of all tell us what that means for the atf. >> guest: in the executive action, atf was earmarked for 200 extra agents and investigators i just described and in the president's budget that will be rolled out in next

february, next month just a few days from now, there will be $35 million requested for these 200 additional agency and it will be up to congress as to whether to approve them or not. >> as far as congressional approval, is that expected to have been or will there be a fight about these extra requests because it came to an executive action? >> guest: as you know when there's a political dimension to an issue, there will be conflict. so yes i would predict there would be and another point i would make is atf is expecting 500 or more to retire between this 540 or so eligible to retire this year. whether they retire or not is not known but the 200 agents could catch up and it's just atf

trying to stay in place or keep from falling far behind. >> host: our guest is with us to talk about the work of the atf as a money segment (202)747-8000 for democrats. the executive action, from leary clay the group i think it is the judicial watch takes a look at this issue and says when it comes to the atf saying saying that "congressdaily" her to agree with them obama claims the power to change the governing statute by interpreting the lawsuit alleges they don't have the legal authority enacted by congress and to redefine and its enforcement activities who dealer in the firearms engages in the business of selling firearms the change of interpretation for a livelihood or make a profit with one or two guns a year. but you put some context and not?

>> guest: that's the question. and there was a hearing in the senate hearing last week i went to average this issue was debated head-on and as represented by others, this is existing law. this does nothing to expand the law and the question of the stepped-up enforcement just re- iterating to the gun owning, the gun buying and gun selling where the dividing line is. and the response from the panel of witnesses selected by the majority said well if that's the case, then why did the administration feel it's necessary to restate it, what is that all about and the claim is that this is intimidation.

they are trying to spare gun owners who after the current law could legally sell firearms occasionally. they are trying to intimidate them into not selling because they don't want them to be fearful of crossing the line and selling without a license, which entails criminal prosecution. >> host: our guest is with us to talk about the work. the first call from iron of ridge wisconsin you were on, go ahead. >> caller: i have a comment and any question. a question. my comment is if it is already a law that is established, why would we take executive action to enforce into second, my

question how far does the law go in establishing what can be done as far as the rights to be taken? >> i think the caller raises good points and that exactly is what was up for debate. the question of how far it goes into this a restatement of the current law and if so why do you have to restate its like if you continue to do it as you have been doing it? i'm not a spokesman for the administration but i think that it's fair to say that they believe that the law was fuzzy and people were not being mindful of it. so, there needed to be in their view a concrete statement as to where the dividing line is. in terms of the second part of the question, the law allows --

this has been on the books and has its own fascinating history -- but it is a federal firearms protection act of 1986 and defines that anyone engaged in the business must get a license that makes very specific extensions for gun collectors. if you own a gun and you want to sell it to me, that's okay because you're not making a profit. you're not selling guns with regularity. so, this is where the debate is at and the administration would claim that this is not an aggravation of gun rights and president obama in his speech rolling this out went to great

lengths to say this isn't about sports shooters this is about making sure that anybody who buys a gun has a background check done on them to the greatest extent possible. >> host: was here from david davis and in indianapolis, democrats line. >> caller: to keep us as consumers as we all are because it's in the constitution like alcohol verse 22 things that's making alcohol not legal but you forgot one word, consume. and it still makes it legal. you will never be able to take your guns away. it's the first amendment. we are the people that built this country. the architect might have drawn it but he will never walk the high beams were peeled to do the same thing that americans have done and americans fall apart

because we are sell outs. we need to quit selling out to everybody else and be americans. what is american? we didn't get this country, we took this country. and as far as guns, it is never going to happen because you are going to have all of your criminals. taking away guns is only going to help -- >> guest: those are legitimate points and i hear them a lot from the gun rights side. i would say that the decision of the supreme court the last five or six years established that the second amendment does in fact entitled individuals to own guns and keep them in their homes. and that is a settled law and i think everybody on all sides of the issue understands that.

i think that there is a kind of light motif running through the gun rights world were worry that any incremental step by the white house or by congress to install gun control or to limit in any way that right of gun owners is a purview to seizing guns in the plan and i really don't think that even if the president wanted to do that but he could. and i think the caller is suggesting that. >> host: from new hampshire, mark on the republican line. >> caller: good morning, gentlemen. 1961, there was the fire treaty. hillary clinton signed it when

she was in the state department, and john kerry signed it and i'm just wondering what's going on now. will mr. obama tried try to pass this off what's going to happen tonight will leave it we'll leave it there. thank you. >> guest: i'm really not familiar with the issues and i don't want to speak to some that i don't know about. i would sincerely doubt that this white house or any white house would sign on to some international treaty that would limit gun rights. i think that it would be political suicide. >> host: are decentralized in dc and where are the branches centralized? >> guest: the atf is based in washington, d.c. and has a number of facilities in the washington area for the responsibilities that don't get a lot of attention like arson and explosives.

and yes they have about 25 field divisions across the country with agents and investigators and those agents very often are just the only agent out of their trying to firearms investigations most often in the task forces with local police and state police. >> host: we have a viewer on twitter that says how many prosecutions have there been in the last year set to start with is a strong purchaser and what is the atf jurisdiction? >> guest: the purchaser is someone who purchases the gun for the purpose of getting it to somebody else often times somebody that isn't qualified to own a firearm. so this is against the law. when you buy a gun from a a federal unlicensed firearm, you learn you have to sign a form

that says you are buying this for yourself. it becomes difficult to prosecute straw purchasers because you could buy a gun and sign the form and why the ak-47, any gun you want and then decide the next day i don't really need this, but my neighbor who really likes this gun and maybe i will sell it to him and that would be perfectly legal. so, a lot of straw purchase prosecutions such as they are -- and i don't think there have been many, go to the question of what was the intent of the seller, so they are very hard cases to do for the most part and what you see is often times, just the clear-cut cases for instance someone walking into a store in brownsville texas or

tucson or phoenix for that matter and by the 20 ak-47's and carrying them out into the beer given to the mexican drug cartel connections and bigger than spirits across the spirit across the border into mexico. this was the underpinning of the fast and furious scandal a few years back. >> host: is that atf's jurisdiction or another branch? >> guest: they happened to had to police that come and then again, the obama administration and other like-minded people in the senate will argue that there is no gun trafficking statute. there needs to be the trafficking statute that would put some teeth into the law so that the straw purchasing would it just be kind of a legal risks like that would entail some serious jail time.

>> host: susan is up next for the guest. >> host: >> caller: i'm curious, $35 million passed by obama for 200 agencies is a lot to me. i want to know how much does this go through the complicity that they have with the atf and the fast and furious and the justice department eric holder. i think you're being a bit naïve to say for one a moment obama isn't interested in taking our guns. this is a man that has proven by his statement he said you can take your healthcare and keep it or your policy and keep it. he is a liar. i have no reason, and anyone out here thinking thinking in the real world has no reason to think one moment that isn't his plan. i would like to know if you could tell me about the money though please. thank you. >> guest: i haven't researched the money. i can only imagine that 35 million is not just for one

year, but it's spread out over a number of years. that is easily the way these things work and i would say they have 2400 had about 2400 agents but that hasn't changed a lot in decades and so they would say i think that the prospect of agents retiring they are treading water and trying to keep from going beneath it. and in terms of the take guns away, let's just sort of realistically look at this. obama has a year, almost a year left in office. i would say the greatest evidence in your favor is the president's statements about the art only advanced industrial civilization nation that has this gun violence problem and of

course the other nations in question, australia, canada, england have strong gun control laws and it's difficult to buy or own a gun and there are very severe limitations. this, obviously the president and other like-minded people on capitol hill have my earpiece societies in terms of the realistic prospect of that happening, you can call me naïve. i don't see it over the course of the next year. i think everybody knows there is a shadow between the idea and the reality. the reality is much too strong and gun ownership in the united states is too far in place. there's 30 million out of there and no one has taken anybody's guns any time soon. >> host: a billion dollars for 2015 by that atf.

also as the guest mentioned about 2500 special agents and a firearms application inspections done and thousands of firearms inspections done. dan freedman has covered other related issues for 2500 it seems like a stretched thin workforce as far as making these things happen. >> guest: i think that there are so many that would say we are a total bargain getting all this service or sin, firearms, explosives, regulations of the explosives industry, some alcohol, moonshine still come and cigarette trafficking enforcement at a bargain-basement price. i would leave it to the viewers and congress and others to work out whether it is really

representing that much of a bargain. but it is an agency with a long history of being thinly stretched and under resourced and having to fight with the nra for decades and decades and then finally congratulating the '90s after just two decades of solid combat carved out a niche for itself which is violent crime in urban areas and they even toyed with the idea of renaming themselves the violent crime bureau to better accentuate the role that the agents played in the task force the task forces in places like washington or bridgeport connecticut, albany new york fighting the games. >> host: reno, nevada democrats line. >> thank you, c-span you are doing a great job.

thank you for your expertise in the subject. i have a quick comment and please i would like you to take a swing at this and address. my comment, this isn't 1950 anymore with ranchers and farmers inviting rifles and shotguns to hunt. we are in a whole different era and it should be obvious. so my question is what in the world can we do to get some balance? i hear a lot about the rights of gun owners and that's all i hear about. i never hear that the right of society to have some kind of balance. how can we address the specials and the big cities, the ability of the groups to buy military styled issue weapons never dreamed of in 1950 available and we now have an armed group in

oregon holding federal land and the governor of oregon has asked for them to step in and they haven't so we have all kinds of people who feel enabled now to do things they never did before. .. get some kind of balance and dry up some of these types of weapons. no one has an absolute right in this country. we don't have a right to absolute free speech. how can we have a military issued weapon? all of the points the caller raises are legitimate. rolloutt obama in his did have some words addressing this issue. there has to be a balance of rights. what about the rights of the

people in south carolina to have .ree religion or assembly the children in newtown connecticut and the teachers and factory -- faculty who were victims of mass murder. least on the gun-control side of this letter, there is a recognition of rights and the need for balancing rights. the arsenals and the types of weapons that are i've had aut there, lot of communication with the national shooting sports founda tion. they referred to ar-15's and other military weapons as modern

sporting rifles. that sporthe point shooters, hunters, they want the latest weaponry. they want what they had in wartime. to world war i or world war ii. hunters and sport shooters wanted something that was the to the m1 rifle. they wanted something to the springfield. they wanted action. this is a debate that's going to go on. the chances of an assault weapons ban would dry up once the chances of that is in congress are no.

his guns are here to stay. in any case, if such a ban were to be put in place, there would still be 30 million guns out there. many of them are assault rifles. >> host: harvey from oklahoma, republican. you were on with our guest dan freedman up person newspapers, yes. my question is basically if they start stepping in and taking, putting laws on the guns to eventually they will take the guns and if they do that they will eventually waste the constitution. imago into socialism. nobody explained to the general public what socialism is. my question is, is that where we are going? >> guest: i don't believe so. as i've said obama has a year left in office but one thing i

do find interesting is that the gun debate in the 2016 election is going to be joined as it never was before. anyone who fears the gun is going to be taken away i think will be listening and watching these candidates very closely. in previous election cycles the democrats or the much tiptoed over the gun issue for fear of alienating red state voters. but now you see in the democratic debates hillary clinton and bernie sanders are kind of falling over themselves to claim the mantle of the most proactive gun control supporter. hillary is saying let's challenge the nra. that never would have taken place in previous election cycles. >> host: the discussion about manpower at the atf came up at the hearing on the senate side.

it was what the attorney general loretta lynch, was asked about it, the status of people retiring and possible replacement for i want to pay you a bit of the interchange and get your thoughts on it. >> my understanding is that atf is going to have the retirement of 544 special agents this year. i can't say how many are going to retire but it certainly appears to me that with adf being an enforcement agency, that you're going to lose people and that that's going to have an unfortunate effect. do you have any comment on the? >> yes, senator. thank you for raising that important issue. adf like so many agencies is seeking a situation where some of the towns of agents are soon ableo retire. we hope they will not but we know that we will lose some. it's also important to note the

request that would bring an additional 280 agents and investors onboard star would not increase the size of the agency. it's not a request for additional fte so to speak but the budget to hire to fill the existing slots that are vacant now or soon be vacant turn one could you ask him context transfer it absolutely. we've been talking about that, pedro. gewirtz i picked up on in that video clip would not increase the agency, dried up. the atf has a long history of being under the thumb, sort of the favorite whipping boy of the gun rights, the nra in particular. those 200 agents, it really depends i think on how many agents retire and that's kind of

an unknown. could be less. i think 540 is the upward number but i don't think even from an atheist perspective and the most optimistic scenario you're going to get a huge increase of atf agents. you have to remember that there is just a small number of agents and investigators who police the gun owner, guns licensee or guns licensee world. something of atf agents at gun shows that they're pretty much there to answer questions and to be a proactive type force, a positive force. you get a lot of praise from atf people for gun dealers who are flagging individuals who look alike they are straw purchasing gun dealers who deny purchases because something just doesn't look right or smell right in a

customer come in who doesn't seem to know very much about guns and is just reading off a list. i think you really have to look at the atf as pretty much an underfunded agency that is sometimes scared of its own shadow and not a bunch of jackbooted thugs as john dingell memorably called them in the early '80s. >> host: as far as becoming an atf agent what's the minimum requirement? how much do they make? give us a sense of what it's like being asked for is, financial side of being an atf agent. >> guest: that i can't say. i don't think any federal agent at the street level is wildly well compensated, especially considering the risks that they undergo. it's a great career for young people who want to go into

federal law enforcement. you've got to be very dedicated. a lot of long hours. it's not like i'm tied -- on tv. i did i write a lot in bridgeport, connecticut, and a lot of it was just this isn't like tv. this isn't like tv. the guys spent a lot of time sitting on a place which is just sitting in his car waiting for somebody to come out the door, get in a car and note their license number and so when. you fall asleep board you are playing with your phone you could miss something. a lot of sort of boring hours interspersed by some moments of sheer terror. remember that these agents, unlike some of the other federal agents, if they are knowledge on somebody's door or going to somebody's door you can probably bet there are guns on the other side. that can be disquieting aspect if you go to the atf website that gives you a list of requirements that it does take to become an agent. a u.s. citizen, take a special agent exam, passed the exams as

well. a complete list of requirements that the atf website. dan freedman issue to talk about the fear of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives. we refer to it as atf but explosives, have explosives always been added treasury explosives has been in their daily with for many years, but in the post-9/11 world the powers that be decided at explosives to the name to make sure that everybody understood that explosives enforcement is part of their mandate. >> host: the. has had its share of problems. there is a recent story basically sing a fast and furious gun was found at the height of el chapo. what does this means for the agency as far as instance before this court doesn't still follow along by critics of the managed to get past them as far as they're concerned? >> guest: i think the atf has a lot of albatrosses around its

neck and passengers will continue to be one. it was a scandal. i don't think there's any other way to describe it. i believe that most everyone within atf who was associated with fast and furious was either discipline or left the agency. atf itself is quite anxious to impress upon myself and other reporters that they've turned a page. that's a chapter behind them. there was a rather exhaustive inspector general report that came out about fast and furious. it had a lot of condemnation for the individual actions of the agent in charge in phoenix and others. but one thing that was in the report that didn't get a lot of attention was the resource question. basically a suggestion that atf

did offer a lot more than they could chew. they had a very ambitious investigation that was trying to link purchases in phoenix to transfer of weapons to mexico into the hands of the cartels. in doing so, for goodness knows only what kind of reasons, they thought it was wise to let a lone -- gun loaded with gold and to mexico so as to build their investigative database and eventually come through with a big indictment with lots of purpose. how the thought of going going to do that i have no idea but that was the in game. >> host: let's hear from al and harveyville, kansas, independent's line. >> caller: we as u.s. citizens are required to have insurance on our automobiles to protect people against damage or loss from operating them.

why not, people required to insurance for guns that they have to protect people from the damage or loss when they were operating a handgun? especially the people that open carry a weapon. >> guest: that's a very interesting point that you raise, and i know president obama and his supporters have often said she, you know, we require licensing for automobiles and insurance, as the caller mentioned. why don't we just do the same for guns? why do we have a regiment that's at least as difficult as the right to drive in this country so that guns don't fall into the wrong hands just like we prevent people who have a history of intoxication from getting behind steering wheels. and furthermore, they point out look out -- look at the history

of automobile regulations, seatbelts, the stepped-up enforcement, mothers against drunk driving, the whole awareness of drunk driving and devices that prevent you from starting up your car if you're intoxicated. if we had that, they will argue, if we had such a regiment in place for guns you would see a lot fewer accidental gun deaths, delivered gun deaths, mass shootings across the board. the hold safe technology, gun safes, smart guns, that's part of this debate and that was part of the president's initiative as well but smart guns by and large are opposed by the nra and the gun rights world. >> host: we will hear next from tony, silver springs, maryland. tony, go ahead. >> caller: i want to know if there's anything that can be done in the way of background

checks transferred thanks for the question, tony. i think that the short answer to that is not likely. not likely in the near future. the expansion of background checks was brought up in the manchin-toomey bill back in 2013 just a couple of short months after newtown, but it went down to defeat in the senate which at the time was democratic control. now that you the completely republican-controlled congress, i think the chances of any legislation like that coming up on mail. >> host: republican line. hello. >> caller: thanks for having me. want to just comment about gun control issue that americans are having. like the guy who just mentioned about congress taking control of

all situations. but might issue about gun control is that i'm a research researcher. i.t. research and i tried to study the laws and regulations and try to be more aware of what's going on towards gun control. our main threat to american is the islamic radical terrorism that is going on with isis. whatever to figure out about our president isn't that the second amendment rights is to protect the people, okay? not the government that it's to protect the people from public terrorists or other threats that can harm this country. that is the whole purpose of the second amendment. and now as you are unaware we are living in this world which is called the new world order, which is our elites, majority leaders are pretty much going to dictate or direct how this country is going to flow and is

going to function. i have a letter here i want to read -- cosmic we don't have that much time so h you could jt ask, go do what you want our guest to comment, question or comment, please? >> caller: if obama wants to take our guns and our right to protect ourselves from enemies, whether they be here in the states for over country, why are we giving the enemy guns to begin with? >> guest: i think the caller is referring possibly to the debate over the no fly list. which is in terms of background checks, there is no requirement that somebody on the no fly list that is kept by the federal government. those people are not barred from buying weapons. so the no-fly list my prevent

you from getting on an airplane but it would not prevent you from walking into a store and buy an ak-47 or an ar-15. the white house side of the ledger consider this an absurdity chuck schumer, chris murphy, others are saying that it just makes no sense whatsoever. the end of a response, i just talked to the nra about this and the response is that the list is way out of date, is overinclusive. teddy kennedy was once on, the late senator kennedy of massachusetts was once on the no-fly list. obviously, did not deserve to be there. many people whose names the window on that list and they shouldn't be prevented from buying guns. that is the debate on that particular issue. i wouldn't predict that anything is going to happen anytime soon, although i've been in washington for 20 plus years and nothing

surprises me these days host the want of the things our guest has covered this the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives, he's a washington correspondent. thanks for your time this morning. >> guest: good to be your. >> host: another program "washington journal" comes away tomorrow at 7:00. we appreciate you joining us today. see you tomorrow. ♪ ♪ >> on our next "washington journal" sean higgins of the "washington examiner" will be with us. also katrina with the "nation" magazine will talk about politics, campaign 2016. as always we'll take your calls and look for your comments on facebook and twitter. "washington journal" is live every day starting at seven eastern on c-span. >> tonight on "the communicators" "washington post" national technology reporter

craig timberg joins us from stanford university to discuss a series of articles for the post, net instituted. examines the creation of the internet, why security play such a small role and what subsidy issues face internet users today. >> as consumers hundreds of millions come of billions, are ever choosing things other than security. we are choosing the speed, performance, features and so security, i don't know, somewhere between 95 and 10 on the list of the priorities of most software developers for whatever else they say. able to execute expert josé security doesn't take. >> watch tonight at eight eastern on c-span2. >> the u.s. conference of mayors held its annual winter meeting this past week in washington. and didn't include a discussion of public safety in cities and communities engagement by law enforcement.

speakers include chicago mayor rahm emanuel, new orleans mayor mitch landrieu and baltimore mayor stephanie rawlings-blake who was president of this years conference. this is just under one hour. >> we are now going to move the discussion -- [inaudible] this is an issue that is very personal to me. following the tragedy of event, baltimore experienced this highest homicide rate per capita in history. this was the year after we reached the second lowest homicide rate in our history. unfortunately, i know that many of your cities also faced increasing gun violence, particularly homicide, had a

breakdown and relationship between the police and the communities that they serve. it is because of this alarming trend of reducing violence and strengthening police community trust have been top priorities for me as mayor of baltimore, and the conference of mayors. in just the less you are working group of mayors and police just produced a set of recommendations on strengthening police interview relations. many of those adopted by the president's task force on 21st century policing. following event in ferguson, new york city, baltimore and other cities around the country, our former president of sacramento mayor kevin johnson up on our working group which was guided by gary, karen, and essentially want to thank you for your leadership in that task force that we are now working with the cops office of the department of justice on the publication of the presidents task force recommendation and i appreciate that the office of director ron davis issue with us today. where are you? thank you very much for being

here. [applause] i wanted you to know, and make sure you know, that we now have a dedicated page on the u.s. website that provides you with information on the exemplary efforts in cities in this area and the resources available to help you government to task for recommendations and again what you think mayor karen friedman wilson and the uscm staff for making that happen. in august i convened a conference call others whose sins were expecting spikes in homicide. we discussed recommendations for quick action by the administration and by congress but the leadership presented into attorney general loretta lynch turn a sow violence she held in early october. and we discussed them with her privately the following month she said that we were spot on. and today we're going to talk about the challenges our city space relating to violence and police kennedy trust.

and successful efforts we could undertake to address these challenges. recent events in paris, san bernardino and in philadelphia have added to are concerned about potential terrorist attacks aimed at our residents and our police officers. we will discuss these issues with our esteemed panel of four leaders who live these issues every day. chicago mayor rahm emanuel was first elected mayor in 2011 and was reelected last year. he served in top positions in both the obama and clinton white houses and was a member of congress in between those administrations. mayor emanuel has always been one to take on the most pressing and difficult issues on behalf a both a city and a nation. new orleans mayor mitch landrieu, second vice president, is about halfway through second term as mayor. he previously served as lieutenant governor of louisiana and he has made reducing violence a top priority of his

administration. and next marc morial has been the president of the national urban league since 2003. he served as mayor of new orleans for two terms and he is a past president of the conference of mayors, having led our organization during the tragedy of 9/11. it's interesting to note both mitch landrieu and marc morial are now sons of former mayors of new orleans and that their fathers also served as president of the conference. and, finally, sam dotson joined the st. louis police department in 1993 and has served as its chief since 2012 before becoming chief he was operations director for the city of st. louis. i want to welcome them all to the stage. [applause] >> right.

we're all good? i am going to start the panel by raising a few questions. mayors, you will notice that our index cards at your table. if you would like to share a thought or raise a question, please write it down and hand it to one of the uscm staff nurse and they will bring it up. thank you very much for your cooperation. make sure in your, on the index card to name, to butcher name and the city which you represent. thank you. so thank you all very much for joining me on what i believe is one of the most pressing topics that we face right now. and let's start on a brief update on the current situation in your cities. at the biggest problems you currently face. i'll start with you. >> i would say they are consistent, which is guns and

gangs. obviously, have cities were not violence but we can put in place some of the toughest gun laws in the sense of criminal excess but guns coming, you know, from we know what shops they're coming from, where they're coming from and had a comprehensive national policy or regional policy would be much better than trying to grade your own policy. i would be one. the other thing is gangs. you can't allow gangs to become an alternative family structure for kids where those values are basically transferred to children. which is why we have put in place the largest most comprehensive afterschool summer jobs program. we now have 26,000 kids in summer jobs and close to about 25,000 kids in afterschool program. even last year, overall crime over the four years is down about 35%, we had an increase in

shootings and an increasing number sides. adolescence as a victim of shootings decline in the city of chicago proving what we all know that alternatives for kids where they are mentored, and a positive activity can have an impact on their safety. the two biggest threats in a sense of basic security and safety in parts of the city, guns and gangs. >> thank you. chief dotson? >> very similar to chicago's experiences. and are our number one concern to st. louis at 188 murders last year. the most we've seen since the mid '90s. 179 were committed with firearms. guns are our number one problem. when we do make a rest for individuals with guns we see a court system that doesn't give us an outcome. by al, i mean no change in job steps to the changing education steps, doesn't deal with substance abuse issues. we have to deal with those people are going to get that

violence. answer always an issue. i think we have to talk about police kennedy relations. one of the sessions they talked about the accountability that has to happen. we have to get better if we don't build on the accountability we can't attack the crime problem. >> thank you. marilou -- mayor landrieu? >> there's a couple things that are going on that transit i think we all need to recognize both mayor rawlings-blake and mayor emanuel, the violence on the streets of america is manifesting itself in a number of different ways all at the same time. when i was able to take over the police department for the most part bankrupt we were under the threat of instant degree. we invited the justice department to come in and begin to work with us on police community relations. simultaneously therewith, the files on the streets of america very similar to baltimore, chicago, we see it happening all over the place and then laid on

top of that you at boston, philadelphia, san bernardino and you have paris. what's beginning to happen, and the mayors know this already, is that cities are not special interest groups anymore. we are partners with the federal government and cities are becoming the tip of the spear on not on national security but public safety as well. and you have to do it in a way that august respects of course the constitutional rights of the citizens. there is a lot of stuff happening at one time that all has to be managed with the appropriate manpower resources that quite frankly the cities of america don't have right there. although crime is going down in america from 1996 through today, the temperature is much higher at the national security threat around potential terrorism on the streets of america have people of a heightened level of awareness that we are forced to confront all of those things. mike lee would be for the mayors

to talk to congress about the need to understand and to see that on the street where it matters whether things are taking place, with its federal employees, to the fbi, dea, atf, u.s. marshals office, or whether it's at the police officers, their function as one unit and after the resources to make the streets of america safe. we pulled ourselves out as part of what the federal government and the state governments to pursue safe but we are at a tough time last night. we have to figure out and, of course, like always we have to make it work with the mr. mudd of time and with limited resources. >> thanks. mayor emanuel's because i wanted to pick up on one thing the police chief said, and if you go through prisons, there is a common set of themes, the most common, high school dropout as it relates to violence. not only in afterschool summer jobs in chicago is at a record

high near 70% graduation rate for our software classes on track according to the university of chicago to 84% graduation rate. long-term, the biggest impact you could make on gun violence, getting kids to walk across the stage on graduation day. that is the biggest impact that we as mayors can have. [applause] after school, summer jobs, four years ago chicago after graduation rate of 57% which means 43 were dropping out. today it's nearly 70% and we are on track to the 84% and that would have the biggest impact. obviously, we've got right now to hit hard on guns getting into criminal hands, hit hard on giving kids an alternative to gain life as a family structure. so after schools and summer jobs. but getting into graduation day rather than to a courtroom, that's a you make the biggest impact on violence.

>> now i'm going to hit you with two questions, marc morial. i want to hear some feedback from you on the first question but also am going to pose this next question everyone and start with marc. but i remain optimistic in spirit, i think realistically we know that there is no reasonable gun legislation or reform that will come out of congress. so as a kennedy and as mayors what do you think that we can do to make a difference when it comes to getting guns off of our street in reducing violence? >> first of all of you think the comments of mayors. but let me thank you, mayor, and i appreciate the leadership of all of our college. i am the old got up here but i still have my hair, mitch. i want to contextualize this. because i've been were all of

you guys commitment and women, are today. because i spent eight years as the mayor of my beautiful beloved hometown in -- that mitch no leads, and led the most successful police reform effort in modern american history. we had 400 plus murders. we cut it by two-thirds. we lead the nation with the most number of civil rights complaints in 1994. by the time 2001 came, it was infinitesimal. what happened though is that after i left office, my successor dismantled the police reform efforts, leaving this mayor with the challenge of having to start the process all over again. now i sit in the seat as the leader of the nation's historic civil rights organization. ..

you got to avoid choosing between one or the other. your obligation is to the people. i told the police officers in my city when one challenge me and said -- and this is important to know -- will you back me if you are elected. i said, i will back you when

you're right. his answer was, i don't need you are right. the point of the matter is, the point of the matter is that the truth is is that you do have small numbers of police officers hold that opinion, but the challenge in many cities is the infection of culture, the idea that you have got to back each other no matter what. no public employee, no elected official should never support that notion and that idea. [applause] when i say on the problem, this nation is crying out for the national voice to be

lifted on all these issues. they have these debates in this town between special interest groups about gun legislation. you have to go to the funeral, investigatefuneral, investigate the death, deal with the consequences. we have got to make the discussion about these issues very real. many of you have put together very effective jobs. it is time for the national government to put the money on the table for young people to work. so i will say this just to turn it over, i really believe that this is going to define american cities in the future. we have to build bridges between police and community, recognize that the recession had a devastating effect and left many people locked up, and

the point of mayors, on the problem, solution. know the status and condition of your police department. ask the questions. how many civil rights complaints have we had find out, get the facts, know the situation. only by knowing can you avoid being bit, surprised, ambushed sometime down the line because of what you did not know. ask the question, find out where you are. >> thank you. >> i've got nothing to add, but i'm going to be a jewish mother. you have to move that microphone up. >> right there for you. >> the janet jackson mike. [laughter] >> you going to break out the video? we have another one right there on the table for you. i am going to go.

the basic question is what can we do absent national legislation to reduce the proliferation of guns in our streets? >> well, a great 1st step but all politics are local. municipalities in deregulate there gun laws at the local level. there is the reality. stay with incredibly liberal gun laws that make legislation to get reelected. urban centers, st. louis, we are left to deal with the proliferation of guns. you are left to control your budgets. we have to control the guns with legislation and meaningful outcomes. the vast for something as simple as an armed defender docket to track the successes, become experts at dealing with individuals in a cycle of violence that don't have the education and then find the pathways.

summer jobs are great answer. we have to have the ability and the local government to have the outcomes in court and legislation to keep guns out of the hands of those young people you're talking about. >> let me just jump in. i agree with him. you have to run to the fire. it should be clear to everybody that something has gone terribly wrong in america. at the moment we have dustups all over the country. as are not just one offs. when people say it's local, it's local until it's not. now it's an issue of national concern. you have the bombings in boston. that was local until it was not. the whole message is that we are not a special interest group.

this is the only place in america people can have an either or and/or as though the world was not clear. it is a lot more complicated. you don't really have to wait for the civil rights division of the department of justice to show up on your doorstep what they did was made. mother being supervised correctly, fired at the appropriate level? do you have the right kind of oversight when there is a police involved shooting? my experience, and you have had five consent decrees. it is transparent, and you

move into that. the community will get to the right place and in some instances is. they are all painful to go through. we have to find that now. on the side that mayor manual talked about long-term there is no question. out to be a social worker. the abuse problems. substance abuse, mental health. a three -year-old was shot we don't know the facts around it. i no that all of them, you do this when you go to funeral and you're looking at someone in the coffin but it's a police officer or

citizen that was killed that is dead. one thing that i think all america can agree on is that we need on safety. gun safety is something that everyone in america needs to get better at because we die and higher levels and higher rates than anywhere else. certainly we have more than our fair share in the city of new orleans. otherwise i can understand the complicated nature of having to make sure the police offices doing the right thing, the community is protected. at the end of the day everybody is from the same neighborhood. the people of new orleans of policing. but things at some point down the streets are telling us that everything is not okay. you can turn a blind eye to

this. turn to it, analyzes allit, analyze it, walked through it might go through the difficult discussions. >> i want to have a couple of perspectives about the nature of violence and urban communities today. there is an organized element of drugs and gangs operating only within many cities but also in concert with the same types of activities occurring in other cities. stolen weapons, fenced property the organize nature may operate like gangs operating in the 30s.

there are people that carry out the intimidation of witnesses, the effort to take the lives of those that may be invading our turf. there is an organized element to the violence that is occurring in many american cities. here is what is true, only a handful of police departments in the country with the sophisticated tools , resources, and mechanisms to infiltrate some of these illegal groups of really domestic terrorists so we also have to think about how we can build a stronger partnership with da, atf, fbi, the other thing after recognizes that 80 percent, 70 to 80 percent of all shootings in most

cities are never reported. they are never reported. you have to look at new mechanisms to report the shootings. the final thing you want to say, i established a protocol whenever a police officer was involved in the shooting. it involved in adam -- automatic and immediate investigation of the office of municipal investigation, a press protocol where there would be no opinion aiding by any police public information officers for anyone who work for me about what their sense of the incident was. i learned very early is that communities issues are inflamed when there is a rush to judgment.

your job is to ensure that there is a level this fairness. you need, the police departments under your jurisdictions in control, you need a protocol. how will we respond in the event one of our officers being involved, shooting a citizen, shooting at a citizen. you have a half a protocol and can be a bit transparent with members of the city council call police unions and others. i just wanted to get that in. as you think about how i can do with it you have to think about the very escalating public relation dynamics

because of the advent of social media, body cams combat --dash cams that i knew these times that did not exist 20 or ten years ago. >> wants to take a little. the police superintendent. we have gangs and all our cities. the truth is, a few individuals are creating the disproportionate amount of violence. as it relates to how without federal relations -- regulation on gun control your impact so in the six district we have embedded, and they are not allowed. they don't go to their office. they operate targeting the most violent individuals. so it's focused on

individuals with the greatest propensity and using federal resources in a coordinated way. they are trying that out. the 2nd, there are a few guns for the disproportionate comes happen. in chicago we passed, considered pretty modern and top-of-the-line gun legislation. we are not an island in the sense of proximity, and there are three gunshots that play a big role. we would like to see statewide the videoing of all gun sales. the individuals who created it is portion amount of gun violence on the street. they have some handcuffs given what congress has written about them.

they coordinated and localized way. targeting with both state, federal and local resources. >> i agree the embedding of federal officers is helpful. we have embedded officers and have a collaboration between all levels of the federal government has been helpful in tracking down. that one seller of illegal guns from outside of the state. every weekend without fail and we were able through the partnerships track that down and that is one of the issues that we brought up in our meeting with the

attorney general that this is not about cutting us a check. the federal resources in the federal partnerships in ways that affect real change in our community. >> that is the number one challenge the cartels, the drug systems apologize organizations. without the focus on that mentor on davidson the attorney general, that is where we need the resources to focus to disrupt the cycle. heroin is epidemic. >> i wanted to add something. the issue of the violence was really gripping and ripping american cities.

and like so many of you we had a frustration about the inability to move any meaningful, if you will, gun safety legislation through the congress.congress. this was just after the brady bill had been passed. the anti- assault weapon ban. of course, we were so, if you will, frustrated by what were facing that 30 of us actually filed class-action lawsuits against a gun industries. we learned about the power of the organized interest in support guns in this country. i am proud that we have, if you will, the courage and the guts, 30 of us. the 1st to stand up and say something certainly

needed to be done. if all we can do now is talk about a strong airtight background check system for all purchases of guns in this country and number two, a ban on assault weapons, james madison, alexander hamilton, thomas jefferson, and those fellas that wrote the bill of rights and the second amendment, i do not think they were thinking about an ak-47 or glock. i don't think that's what they had. all of the sport hunters of the world, i don't think that uses several weapons either. we have to confront and not be frustrated that there are strong interests in the country. we have to define the issue. safety, military style assault weapons, strong

airtight background check system, and i really urge is a vicious circle in the cycle and you can have a voice on one without having a voice on the other and mayors can integrate and bring all of these issues together. >> i'm going to sprinkle in one of the questions from one of the mayors. i don't know what part of new jersey you are from. the handwriting is a little where's mary 80. central. >> i just cannot read it. >> wewon't answer until you tell us what exit you are on

the highway. >> on the turnpike. so -- the question, where the conversation regarding police community is a specific topic regarding personal responsibility. >> i will take it. in every discussion i have with the faith-based community and not-for-profit committee whether it's in the african-american community for others everything always starts with personal responsibility. this is a misnomer. people don't engage in the discussion. always said essentially everybody is responsible. they are performing perfectly, you can ever replace a father or mother.

essentially the community has got to make sure they are all in or none of this can be done. it is everything. one particular strategy in terms of getting after this small number of people that are committing most of the crimes in certain neighborhoods which is essentially what you have is a three-pronged strategy. ron just identified and forth. it is not just a local police officer. that you have fbi, atf, ga targeting individuals that they know their intelligence something called the group violence reduction strategy with a have their eyes and

ears and then once they identify those folks are the best chance of prosecuting the most of them all at once. he used to be he would arrest them and indictment conviction. that is not the strategy, and this is starting to happen. us atty. and dist. atty. are starting to arrest these guys with conspiracy theories like they use with the rico statues. they have been indicted and convicted over 119 gang119 gang members and reduce the level of violence in those neighborhoods significantly. this is a tried-and-true practice that now needs to have the resources of the community. at the end of the day the part that works is calling the young men in who you

know and the court and say we know who you are. you're going to get a choice today because we want you to be okay. if you choose well we will put you in front. if you don't choose well and exercise your responsibility the way you are supposed to them we will have to do what is necessary to protect you from each other and to protect everyone else from you. you need resources, boots on the ground. this is the only discussion we are having were people only folks in need to fight the fight on the ground without the resources they need to fight the fight. we give them resources. this is a national problem and in some neighborhoods in epidemic, and we need to treated as such. >> i want to take on to point's. the place where we collectively can reinforce personal responsibility and

our public transportation system, we now have the largest reentry 2nd chance program in the united states. i believe the best way to make sure that an ex-convict is not a rear fenders a job. i can provide the opportunity, but you have to make a choice. if you don't make that choice there is nothing else i can do, but what i can do and what i is mayor to all we have to provide that opportunity in the same way with after school, summer jobs, there has to be an alternative. you have to make a personal choice. sometimes we don't time and i will give you an example. we are now 26,000 summer jobs. four years ago we were 14,000. we now make the kids sign a pledge to go on to college. to participate in the summer job program you have to show

initiative. it is a subtle thing, small, not going to be a game changer, but it reinforces the personal choices have an impact on your life. we have a role to play to help reinforce the positive choices, make sure they are consequences to the wrong choices and also always reinforce that you don't get a pass when it comes to the decisions you make. parents don't get a pass on being parents. it is important we reinsert. mayors, here i can

operationalize them. methodically and an undetermined way and go talk to kids. the talking about responsibilities, hopes, aspirations and dreams. the power of your image going in the classroom and i likei like to visit schools and go to classrooms, not just a large auditorium. also a great way to find out what's going on and put your ear to the ground to get a sense of what is happening. it is one thing to say let's talk about personal responsibility and another to use the pulpit, to use the platform, to use your

voice, to use your collective will to talk to young people on it every day all the time basis.basis. i'm going to issue that is a challenge to all of you. many of you do it. many of you visit schools. if you could do one per week, oo school in your committee you have an impact on how the zen people think and what they do and how they live. >> it is a two-sided equation. law enforcement accountability. we have to have policing agencies that look like the communities that we serve. we have to take immediate steps toward that. and that is what i am pushing to the officers. their experiences will be different. i want ai want a diverse police agency that has young people, young african-americans, what the community is about. they had the communities see

crime reductions. what are we going to do? we have to look like the communities we serve and be committed and a small number of people that commit the crimes and focus on the people that commit the crimes. >> the biggest thing we're trying to do in chicago, we can patrol a community or be part of it. if you're part of the community will build the trust and cooperation that is essential. >> this brings -- we can be here all day talking about this. i am sure sauce to talk all day. the prerogative is the moderator. we will start.

a lot of what this boils down to is trust. we know the issues that we face across our cities, there is no switch we can select to end racism, no button we can push to end income inequality, but there has to be things that we can do to include trust. what would you tell mayors to do? a commitment, a public commitment of 50 percent african-american. that shows a commitment. understand the differences in those differences are bad.

there is need to invest to make a long-term commitment and give the tools and training. every encounter as a potential to be a michael brown or eric garner. if make sure we have quality police officers. ..

they didn't worship, they were not quote, part of the fabric of the community. these are barriers to overcome. i fought and enforce ad strong domicile ordinance. there isn't the case one exists today in the city of new orleans. you have to hear what people are indeed saying. thirdly and importantly, you have got to embrace and understand that the philosophy of the tactics and strategies of community policing are not a cliche. it's about commanders having relationships with community leaders. it's about officers understanding that they're not evaluated on simply racking up arrest numbers. that what we are thinking about, what we want to focus on is overall reduction in violence. and that means understanding that the police department is

just one part of the system and that there are other parts of system like prosecutors and courts that are a part of it. to build trust i also think the mayors, again, must use their leadership to indicate that they're going to put their credibility on the line, to build that trust between officers, the police department and institutions and communities. it isn't an easy challenge. as i said, if you don't own the problem, you will never own the solution. >> thank you. >> i want to just, i want to echo that with bunch of exclamation points. do not be afraid of this. you have to run to it. this notion that somehow the community and in this instance the african-american community does not want to partner with the police departments is wrong. that is not correct. what they don't want is an oppressive police department making arrests based on race,

not behavior. a lot of crime taking place in neighborhoods people want to be proconnected. police department has to be of the community. you have to earn this. the mayor makes excellent point. the in new orleans, police department is the majority african-american. it looks like the city. but in the last five years everybody had to earn it back. you don't drive you there neighborhood. you stop and talk. somebody needs help you give them help. if somebody has to be arrested the consequences have to be meted out. they have to be fair and transparent. if there is police involved shooting in new orleans five years of consent decree, poib, shows up on scene. federal monitor shows up. independent police monitor shows up. all of a sudden there is thorough and transparent investigation so that the public knows that what's happening is fair. now, the outcome isn't always predetermined. in some instance, right the police officer did the wrong

thing. in that instance that officer getting indicted and or convicted and the mayor is exactly right, when that is wrong, the police department, unions have to say listen unthose circumstance when the officer did the wrong thing we're not going to stand there and justify that behavior. on other hand officer did right thing, life was in danger and defending other people, the prosecution and investigation work right way the community will often back it up. this is happens when they're part of the process and relationship between the two and there is trust. the only way to do this is hard way, earn it every day and over and over again. it is a trust but verify the situation. the circumstances that have occurred in our nation across all of our cities should demonstrate we do not have this right in america right now. there is upset on the streets. there is miscommunication. there is lack of truth. you have to get it back. the point is, it is gettable. the public wants to be one with their police department and

police department has to understand how they have to be one with the community as well. we're going to have to work through this very painful time. there is success on other side of this. you have to focus on it as though not just law enforcement issue but public health threat too. and all other stuff we talked about. you have to be good on law enforcement side. you have to be good on preventative side, deals with early childhood education, summer jobs, and opportunities for foles. >> i have always believed in community policing that every encounter between law enforcement and resident is a teachable moment. and if they walk away positive, you got something that you're going to draw on when you need it, which is essential to safety. the trust factor is not just a goal. it's a key ingredient to effective community policing what you need for safety. second, the public has to know there is a legitimate oversight. it's certain. and it's not biased. truth is we're working at that our city, other cities pause

there is a lot of judgment oversight is lax and there is not an accounting system third, and i think most important thing is helping facilitate where folks in the community see beyond the badge. there is a father, there is a, father or mother. there is a coach. there is a parent. people are more complex in their lives are not just uniform and a badge. in the same way the kids that they encounter are not just a kid with tattoos or a hoodie. that they too are siblings or parents themselves. get beyond the stereotypes. i've been facilitating these meetings across the city. i want to echo what some, everybody has touched on where i bring the local community police officer, community leaders, alderman. the community being most affected by distrust begging for the police department to host their roll calls out in the community, in the neighborhood,

not in the precinct. superintendent is to put a memo out, periodically we want you with some regularity, holding in fact the roll call you do in the department out there, in the community so it is visible because they want to see you. second, if you support the police department, go in and tell them you're doing a good job. they too need to hear periodically and have relationship. simple things. one of the things we're doing, obviously a third of our department in short order will have body cams. that there gives people trust another set of eyes. this came from a resident, a woman about two summers ago. we have officers on bikes mainly in the central business district, et cetera but we start ad pilot, we were opening up a play ground. this woman who -- 40 feet away started walking. when resident comes, okay what is this cutting ribbon on play ground. she comes and goes, i got

something to say to you. okay. i want to say thank thank you. you don't get that often in our jobs. what is that? every since you put police officers out on bikes they are stopping more frequently at the playground and park. now i let my older son walk my younger son to the playground and the park. so we doubled the amount, we're up to 400 bicycle police officers patrolling the neighborhoods and police officers, they will stop at the front stoop. they will stop at the playground. they're on the street corner when kids are leaving school. that interaction pays dividends. now we're thinking of expanding that even further. all the pieces of accountability, discipline, interaction, all things reinforcing all driving towards a trust factor that is about the cooperation for community policing and essential legitimacy and effectiveness of community policing. >> i can not thank you enough. one of the things that i have tried to focus on as president is really tackling tough issues

head-on. i think you have done that today. i know i'm grateful for this conversation. i hope all of you who are here as well. police give our panelists a round of applause. [applause] >> more from the u.s. conference of mayors now with government officials talking about their agencies respective roles in the nation's resettlement program. they discuss security concerns and ways to make the program more efficient. this was day three of the conference. this panel is just over an hour. >> okay. let's to ahead and get started. i want to thank everyone for being here today.

it is a, everyone else is heading out of town and actually coming in to washington. certainly appreciate y'all being here. we're going to try to start on time here at 9:30. we'll try to finish on time at 10:30. i know a lot of you have flights you have to catch to get out of town. mymymy name is tom tait. mayor of anaheim, california. we're city in southern california, 350,000 people. one of the most ethnically-diversities in the united states. i am co-chair of the immigration task force for the u.s. conference of mayors. we have a new, i have a new co-chair this year, jorge alorza. he is the mayor, relatively new mayor of providence, rhode island. jorge is a harvard graduate. decided to come back to his hometown of providence to, and is elected mayor just last year.

jorge would have been here except he feels he needs to be back in town to make sure that snow gets removed from the roads. i applaud that. one thing in anaheim we don't have to worry about. i got that going for me. we are, we are both committed to bipartisan immigration reform. we, and, anything we can do here at the u.s. conference of mayors to make that happen, i'm a republican, jorge is a democrat. as mayors do, we deal with these issues on the ground and we, anything we can do to move that ball forward to get immigration reform we will do. let's see, today we are going to discuss two important topics. primary topic is the nation's refugee resettlement system. it became very clear this last fall after the tragic events in paris and san bernardino that a lot of people don't know much about the refugee resettlement process. how individuals qualify to

become refugees. how they are vetted and how they get into our communities. we have key officials from three federal agencies that comprise that system and they will provide us with a primer of how that system operates. first however we'll hear from president obama's special assistant for immigration policy who will update us on the president's welcoming communities initiative. then we'll begin a discussion on refugee resettlement. i would like to first introduce felicia escobar to my right, special assistant to the president for immigration policy. felicia develops the president's strategy for building a 21st century immigration system. her work involves coordinating efforts across the executive branch to strengthen the current system and working towards passing of meaningful comprehensive immigration reform legislation. before coming to the white house felicia worked in the senate, for senator tom daschle and for senator ken salazar.

felicia, thank you for being here. the floor is yours. >> thank you, mayor tait for your commitment to staying in town. i know you want to get back to warm weather, warm and sunny weather. for all your commitment over the years and helping support the president's work and congress's work to pass immigration reform. we all know we're continuing to look for legislative action in that space. we had a good bill that went through in 2013. we weren't able to get that through the senate or through the house, i'm sorry. we're continuing our efforts to focus on fixing as much of the system as we can within the existing laws. and so i'm going to say a little bit the welcoming communities campaign but before that i would just remark there is, this was a week of in terms of president's other executive actions that he has been working on. his different action policies. as some of you may know the supreme court is going to hear our appeal of the injunction that was placed on the deferred

action for parents of u.s. citizens programs, the daca program. we know that a number of mayors, not everyone, but a number of mayors did sign on to a brief in support of that program because you all know, just like with immigration reform, bringing people out of the shadows actually helps with public safety, helps with the economy, helps people feel more comfortable talking to law enforcement. we'll see where that, where the litigation goes but we expect in the spring for there to be, for there to be hearing, more amicus briefs filed and eventually a decision in june. so we'll see where that goes. i just wanted to remark on that. thank you all for all of you who have been able to sign on to amicus briefs, thank you for your support. in terms of the other executive actions the president announced that we announced in november of 2014 creation of a new task force on new americans. really building on the work already happening at local level

and to the state level to some extent as well to try to create communities that are welcoming. speaking about immigrant and refugee integration. we are thinking about citizenship and making sure people who are eligible know about the process and will make the decision on their own whether they want to apply, thinking about immigrants as important parts of the economy. and as important parts of the local workforce. they create businesses. they are working in various industries. we want to continue to support them. the task force is also focused on economic integration of immigrants and refugees. and then finally also focused on link which istic immigration of immigrants. we know english is the language of opportunity here. we want people to retain, their language they come with. we also know that in order to help move up the economic ladder it is really important people learn english. there is a lot of work we're doing with the department of

education in particular to promote best practices happening at the local level to related to linguistic level and welcoming communities we're doing which is another tier of work on the task force for new americans. the work we're doing is really in partnership with all of our federal agencies part of the task force on new americans but also non-profits outside of government who have been working with cities and ngos and many others across the country to really promote welcoming communities. so we launched a, in september, last september the building welcomeing communities campaign. it is an effort to encourage folks already doing this work, take it to the next level, be very strategic about the work they're doing by developing refugee immigration plans that look across all sectors. we want the education community, labor and workforce and business

community involved. we need to bring immigrant groups and refugee groups together that don't always talk to each other but have similar barriers and concerns. all to the table to create, to create local plans that really, really work strategically and help advance communities. so, that is work we're continuing to support through this campaign. we want other people to support the campaign if we can. 48 communities are already a bart of the campaign. -- part of the campaign and next several months we'll organize regional communities around the country to highlight best practice, with folks already part of our welcoming communities campaign but encouraging others to come to the table as well. so we'll be having a convening next week in los angeles. great that the city of los angeles is involved but there are a lot of little towns and knot so little towns in the area around los angeles. we want to encourage others to come to the table as well. we, as i mentioned we're knot doing this work alone. we're doing this work with the

cities that are already involved but also national experts. i would just mention that welcoming america, an organization that has been working over the last several years to promote this work is a, is our formal national partner. mona fuentes from the d.c. office is here today. we have materials about the welcomeing materials campaign. i have a map up on the white house website. we're trying to make sure promoting folks already with us. we also have a fact sheet and commitment form norfolks that want to learn more or are already interested in the campaign. monica has some of those she can hand out to folks before or after the meeting. i would say when we launched the campaign in november of 2014 we were excited about it. but we didn't necessarily know what the world would bring, right? that the world events would bring in terms of really needing

to promote this bork in a proactive way because of the negative rhetoric out there. and really other last several months, with the, with the attacks that happened across the world, in paris and other parts of the world, and concerns about the refugee process and questions whether we still accept refugees, really made us, really excited that we were visionary and thought about creating this task force even before things like that happened. that, make people question whether we want immigrants and refugees in our communities. so as we know there is a lot of negative rhetoric out there. our job is to really help people understand the facts about our refugee system and about all of our immigration systems. i'm glad my colleagues from across the administration is here to walk you through that as we try to promote inclusive and welcoming climate, we want to

give people tools to proactively, proactively address issues and bring people together rather than divide people. which is really what the welcoming communities campaign is about. so we, you know, if you all are looking for things to do that are positive and proactive we really encourage you to be part of the welcoming communities campaign. we have all the federal agencies involved in the campaign, u.s., u.s. department of homeland security, department of labor, department of education, state, so many others that are also trying to provide technical assistance and tools to people at the local level as they're grappling with whatever issue they're grappling with, including crises that none of us can predict, right? so i would just leave it at that for now. happy to answer more questions. really the start of the hour, are my colleagues from the department of state, department of homeland security and health and human services that will walk you through the refugee,

refugee resettlement process and hopefully give you good facts to take back. we know there is a lot of rumors and myths out there. we want to make sure we're giving people the right information. i would just say that the president has been very clear that we, that he believes that our country has to live up to it is legacy as nation of immigrants and nation that welcomes those fleeing persecution. we can do that. at same time we also make sure that we're securing the our country and securing the american public from danger. so we believe we can do both. we're a big federal government. like you all, we can, we all have to do as local governments you have to do 20 things at a time every day. the same applies for us. we want to make sure we give you all the tools to then give your folks back home information about the process. i will turn it, maybe over to simon? >> very good. before we do that, any questions on welcoming communities before we go into refugee resettlement? any questions?

felicia, thank you so much. let me go ahead and introduce the next three panelists. simon henshaw is a career officer with the u.s. foreign service, currently sieve serve ing as a principal deputy of burr role of population, refugees and migration. he has carried outposts oversees and in washington. barbara strack, u.s. citizenship and immigration service, chief of refugee affairs division since november 2005. she manages the refugee corps and hid quarters staff to represent u.s. refugee admissions program. prior to that she worked in public and private sectors, directing a project on immigration, integration at the national immigration forum, serving in the policy office at the former immigration and naturalization service, working as council to the u.s. senate subcommittee and practicing law

in washington, d.c. firm. bob carey, to my left directs office of refugee resettlement and division of administration and families in the department of health and human services. he came from the international rescue committee where he held see executive positions. most recently vice president of the resettlement and refugee policy. leading agency refugee immigration, anti-trafficking and community development policy issues. before that he served as 10 years of vice president of resettlement overseeing ir csis stance to refugees. so the, why don't we start with simon to my right. welcome. >> thank you very much, mayor. pleasure to be here. thank you for the warm introduction. thanks to all of you braving the weather. if any of you are from the north as i am, planning to stay the weekend you're in for a treat. [laughter] there are nearly 20 million

refugees in the world. the vast majority of these refugees will receive support in the country to which they fled so they can voluntarily and safely return home. in fact, i i want to this point though not the main point of today's meeting. the vast amount of the effort of the united states government, my bureau and other elements in the u.s. government, vast effort we make when it comes to refugees is supporting them overseas. small number of refugees may be allowed to become citizens in the countries to which they fled but an even smaller number, primarily those who are most vulnerable will be resettled in a third country. however fewer than 1% of all refugees are eventually resettled in third countries. but of this 1%, the u.s. takes over half. the crisis in syria is dramatic illustration of the humanitarian situation refugees face. syrians are now the largest refugee population in the world

numbering over four million. another 7.6 million have fled their homes but are trying to survive inside of syria. government of turkey estimate it holds two million syrians. many are spread over jordan, egypt, lennon and -- lebanon and iraq. 25% of the lebanon's population right now syrian refugees. the united states has provided over $4.5 billion in humanitarian assistance for the region since the beginning of the crisis. this includes essentials like food, shelter, health care and education. while our main effort is aimed at supporting syrian refugees in the region we will resettle a small percentage in the u.s. and as i said before our program will be aimed at resettling the most vulnerable members of this population and as well as demonstrating our support for the countries in the region overburdened by high numbers of

refugees. while maintaining the united states leadership role in humanitarian protection, integral part of our mission is to ensure that refugee resettlement opportunities only go to those eligible for such prosection and who are not not ho are known not to present a risk of safety and security to our country. number one goal is security. those seeking to resettle in the united states and applicants to the program are subject to more intensive screening than any other type of traveler to the u.s. in order to protect against threats our national security. the department of state collaborates with the department of homeland security and collaborates with the centers for disease control and protection to protect health of u.s.-bound refugees and the u.s. public. our refugee resettlement program is premised on the idea that

refugees should become economically self-sufficient as quickly as possible. the department of state works domestically with agencies participating in the program to insure that refugees receive services in the first 30 to 90 days after arrival in accordance with established standards. during and after this initial resettlement period the office of refugee resettlement in department of health and human services led by mr. kerry, provides leadership, technical assistance, funding to states, district of columbia and non-profit organizations to help refugees become self-sufficient and integrated into u.s. society. upon arrival refugees are immediately eligible for employment. after one year required to apply for adjustment status of lawful permanent residents. five years after the admission the refugee granted lawful permanent resident status eligible to apply for

citizenship. the vast majority of refugees go on to lead productive lives, receive an education and work hard. some serve in the u.s. military and undertake other forms of service for their communities and our country. while as we are all aware the problem has become controversial in some circles in fact it continues to enjoy substance support from state and local governments and community members in the vast majority of locations where we work which is in 48 states, 173 cities and towns and 304 sites. as a public/private partnership it requires the support of american non-governmental organizations, charities, faith based groups and thousands of volunteers in support of the program in hundreds of communities across the country. we simply could not do this without support. in closing let me thank you for your support.

while starting life anew in the united states is daunting it offers unparalled hope an opportunity. it is a chance to escape violence and persecution but to start again. the assistance your communities provides helps newcomers find their footing and become a part of the community. refugees are not only one who is benefit though. they add to america's vitality and diversity and make substantial contributions to our educational and cultural life. thank you very much. >> thank you, simon. why don't we have, before we take individual questions, why don't we go through the other guests. barbara? >> thank you very much. thank you so much for the invitation to be here today to meet with the conference and your guests. as the mayor mentioned in the introduction, i work for u.s. citizenship and immigration services. we are an agency within the department of homeland security. and particularly with respect to

refugee resettlement we're the operational partner with the state department for the overseas portion of refugee resettlement. one of the things i have learned to emphasize in talking about refugee resettlement in the last few months is the fact that as, as simon describes, the vast number of refugees in the world and very small number of refugees able to avail themselves of resettlement. one of the things important to remember, really the united states decides which refugees we choose to offer resettlement to. really not a situation were the refugees themselves have the opportunity, in most instances to say they would like to come to the united states. in the first instance we're working with the united nations refugee agency, in terms of applying the criteria, who are the most vulnerable and who are candidates for resettlement to the united states. what people in my office do, most of them are based here in washington. but we work closely with state

department staff. we fan out around the world to locations where refugees live. we conduct in person interviews in those locations. we are typically in any quarter of the fiscal year we'll be in 12 to 15 different locations around the world. we're in asia and africa, the middle east, europe. so we try to go where the refugees are and where the need for resettlement is the greatest. we put a tremendous emphasis on the training that those officers receive. so they receive basic training and protection law but they also receive very detailed information about the particular populations that they're going to be working with. am i too close to the microphone thank you. so what we're doing with those interviews, at very high level two things. we're determining the is person refugee under u.s. law. we ask questions whether they have suffered persecution or have well-founded fear of

persecution. the other thing we're doing is checking whether they are admissible to the united states under u.s. immigration law. and that deals with things like, if someone has criminal history, if they would be a threat to national security. if they might have a communicable disease. there is a large number of grounds of inadmissibility. we explore those with one-on-one interview with the refugee applicants. the other thing that, that we do in the book ground while we're also interviewing applicants is uscis and state department have the responsibility for administering security checks that simon alluded to. and these security checks have been in place for refugee applicants since the immediate wake for september 11. there was a pause in refugee admissions back in 2001 while the white house and national security council took a look at security checks. they chose at that point, the

best set of suites, the best suite of security checks at that point. what we've done on representatives on the panel and other people not here with us, those checks have been enhanced over time. we added some things. we added department of defense fingerprint checks in 2007 when we started large-scale processes of iraqi applicants and that since has been expanded to applicants of all nationalities we started working with the national counterterrorism center and have broad checks against those with wider held information with within the government. that is part of enhancing checks a time goes on. that is continuing today. we're committed to that. the other thing i did want to mings as well there has been increased attention i think refugee resettlement with many communities and players who traditionally didn't have a high level of a awareness of the program and we realized that

our, our public communication materials needed some attention as well. so we worked hard on our website now, we have i think better information to help people understand who our refugees, what is refugee resettlement and what screens processes are that we take very seriously before people travel. i wanted to let you know, that is a resource that is there in general for education some is suitable for community meetings stakeholder meeting, there is information that can be downloaded and printed to be handed out to stakeholders who have interest what is happening in their communities. there is a short video narrated by secretary johnson from dhs. so we try to enhance those public information tools. we would be very interested in hearing back if there are additional needs that you feel in your community that would be useful that we can help communicate better. we're very interested in being partners with you on that public

communication. >> very food -- good. thank you, barbara. robert? >> thank you. i want to start out by just thanking this group here, both my partners and also the mayors and your representatives. the u.s. refugee resettlement program is very much a public/private partnership but the most important work happens at municipal level, the community level, and would not be possible without the support of countless volunteers and civic organizations that participate in the process. services to the most vulnerable to central to the mission of the u.s. resettlement program and our success as a nation of immigrants is rooted in american values, quality and opportunity which secure our commitment to fully welcome and integrate newcomers into the fabric of our nations. these benefits refugees and

families but also receiving communities. refugees come bringing talent, drive, they start businesses at very high rates. they go to work quite quickly. they pay taxes. they become involved as members of the society and they are an asset. so i think that's an important thing. they have always been a asset and central tenant of our country. they bring vitality and renewed ideas and that is demonstrated throughout the communities and economies. this is very much a public/private partnership. the u.s. refugee program, state department and hhs components of it work closely with non-profit organizations, voluntary organizations across the united states who bring to the process not only a large engagement of volunteers and religious institutions and civic organizations but also community

critmeant to this long and important tradition. the services that orr provide are closely coordinated in very coherent fashion. that is important to remember. these things do not happen -- in addition to the consultation process, processes that are lead by the white house before there is presidential determination as to the number of refugees to be admitted in a given year in the coming year that number is established in current year at 85,000. there are also municipal and community based organizations that consult at the local level. orr has partners in each state. there is in each state a state refugee coordinator whose charge is to coordinate the provision of services within that state and to insure that that coordination process takes place. there is also a state refugee health coordinator who insures that health services within the state are coordinated to insure

that that refugees receive both public health screenings they arrive. they are screened before admission and screened once again upon arrival to the united states. any ongoing medical issues and services are provided in a coordinated and efficient fashion. ref gee services include short-term cash and medical services. the primary directive is to insure refugees become self-sufficient as quickly as possible. so all the supportive services provided whether they be english language instruction, direct employment, psychosocial services, school adjustment programs or a host of other programs are all really focused on unsuring that refugees become self-sufficient as quickly as possible because the financial support provided through the

office of refugee resettlement to the states is quite time limited. financial assistance through the refugee cash assistance program has a maximum of eight months provision. refugees are categorically eligible as other individuals hop are legally present in the night would be for other services but there is a time limit on the cash assistance and expectation and the reality is that refugees become employed quite quickly and are quickly contributing to their local communities and providing that talent and economic benefit. we believe and this is echoed in the white house initiative a central tenet of the program, the refugees should be able to fully participate in all aspects of civic life. whether be involvement with schools, parent teacher associations, that they should be able and given the tools to speak, read and write english,

to transport, navigate the transportation systems, to become fully engaged in civil society. historically that is absolutely what has been done. we also, there are partnership is central part of the program. so not only national voluntary agencies which have affiliates in 49 of the 50 states that represents virtually every mainstream religious denomination as well as non-religiously affiliated entity as well. volunteers, whether re-engage ments with -- retirees, university engagement as volunteers broad range of society. as many i'm sure well aware a great deal of support within those communities which is only way it can function. it is wholly dependent on both

public fund and leveraging that to create private support for the program. receiving communities are critical. it is also, also critical that we as barbara reference and felicia communicate clearly and effectively about the program. what it does, who we're bringing. we've always done that, but we're striving to do it better more cogently and more effectively because it's a critical mission and a life saving mission. simon referenced to the u.s. program coming here for economic betterment and hire to save their lives and of their children. they are many coming here to rebuild their lives and opportunity to afford starting new life in secure and setting. that is reflected in contributions they make to their communities. i would like to reflect and underscore there is active consultation process. many of you are probably aware of it.

but there is consultation on both annual an quarterly basis in state and community level. every community which there is refugee resettlement program there is almost always actually a requirement is requirement there are regular convenes to brief civil society actors, schools, law enforcement. all of those parties who are involved in, coming into contact with refugees about the program, about the plans for future resettlement and needs for populations in advance of their arrival. whether it is torture, trauma, cross-cultural issues. so it is very much a private public partnership. we encourage you or your designees to engage in that process if you're not already doing so. it is very much a welcome part of what we do. and a critical part to insure the success of the programs that

we support across the u.s. so thank you for that support and engagement. we look forward to the continued partnership. >> thank you, robert. i will open it up to questions from the audience. mayor? go ahead use microphone. >> want to use the microphone? >> yeah. >> okay. i'll try to be brief. mayor starts talking about his town it is hard to be brief. >> that's true. >> i'm very inspired, robert, by what you just articulated. i think there are communities similar to mine that have been working with the immigration community for a long time. our community is a western suburb, northwest cook county half in cook, half in due page. i'm on border of three community colleges, four townships, seven school districts, a diverse

community with 40% or more first generation families, whether they're latino. whether they're from southeast asia. whether they're from bosnia, wherever, okay? we set up process with our community colleges, it took us four years because illinois is very much a stovepipe organization. i don't care what district, what you're talking about. to break down a barrier within the community colleges so that we could share across their borders. year-and-a-half ago in august we opened education and work net center. the community colleges disever disever -- discovered that we weren't being served. we're a small community. we're a mile wide and seven miles long. kind of crazy how we ever got that way. however, we put in place opportunities for first generation families and young people to get in english, second

language. think think he got like five different lives of i think second language. ged, move right in. many people have an education someplace else. get their ged so they get in the pathway to to community colleges, jobs internships. we're bringing it all together. it is in place. my biggest concern year-and-a-half doing this i will tell you, between the community colleges, my state rep, myself. we figured if 250 people aspired through that program in the first year, we consider it a success. we were well over 900 in the first year, well over 900 and there is still a waiting list. we're trying to continue the movement into the state of illinois that is so upside down. i can't tell you, we have fears about trying to keep these initiatives open. so we have the kind of

environment that's receptive and that's open, hearing what you shared, how can we be a part of the american dream for some of these people that are looking to get settled? if i put it up in the newspaper i would probably have everybody, oh, where is that guy coming from. but we need to find a way to help people integrate into our communities and to move to the next level and assure them -- our crime rate has gone down because people have h-o-p-oe and they want to be part of the pta and part of the communities. these ideas are flourishing, trying to in a environment where everybody is looking, peeling back the onion for everything, where is the dollar coming from? you have to pay the rent and folks that encourage others and have right people in place that are welcoming and open and help others with the pathway?

that is the kind environment i'm trying to establish and have established for community, being mayor for nine years i will take no for an answer. we have to find ways, what you're sharing, you're trying to find that i'm trying to say i think we have environment that is welcoming that could flourish in that. so we're here to help. we need to know what those needs are so we can, you know, sign up i guess, who knows. just wanted to comment. i don't know that is much of a question. i wanted to comment where we're at. i believe there is hope and opportunity. because our first generation families, want to go to work, cleanest house in town. it's a beautiful thing to see. i've got to see mint my driveway now. people come in and cement their driveway,. what is that all about. that is the kind of thing we do. i could go on forever. >> great comment.

maybe follow-up, is there federal funding opportunities for cities? is your city doing all these things and concerning where the funnies are from? >> is there grant or assistance to keep type of things open so we can assure these needs are continually met. >> any thoughts on that? >> through the office of refugee resettlement, we provide funding through states which then directed priorities throughout the state to serve refugee and nonprofit organizations and majority of the fund something going through the states and then directed out, according to priorities at the national level and you know, modified according to what are determined to be the priority needs. i mean we focus primarily on on

issues related to employment. and school impact for children and as well as english language instruction funded often through community colleges with funding at state level, provided through orr, as well as related transportation costs. the fund something not what some of us would like to see it. we have funding budget increase we're hopeful for that. as felicia talked about, a strong commitment from this administration and others in the past as well to this program as being important. but i think we have state coordinator in illinois. there is state refugee coordinator in illinois. that may be a good vehicle for determining what resources are, and advising how the resources can be accessed.

>> let me tell you, the state of illinois -- >> give you the mic back. >> i don't want to give you a history lesson on the state of illinois but there is so much conflict going on. state deliberately frozen our fund coming back to us. we were $800,000 in my community in arrears. talking about a town of 48,000 people. i was marching all over the place, listen, you support us, we'll support you. i'm talking to legislators that you know are from our area. oh, we've got to do this, got to do that i'm tired of it. we finally got them to have a bill, at least pass through money that they have already, should be monthly income. we're at $800,000. i was a madman. i ended up writing 34 letters to legislators personally had conversations with, thank you. but tell them we have to get past this because we've got to

work together. i would rather be down here in hammon -- harmony, rather than negativity. there are 900 type bills in illinois. the place is not functional right now. you don't have to go far to see the conflict between the city of chicago and the state. it is complete disaster. if i have to go through the state on anything, i'm reluctant, okay? we need some direct funds. city of chicago is 800-pound gorilla in the room because they will suck up everything that the surrounding counties or rest of the state has needs for. so if you have a little money out there, you know, you know where hand novemberer park will be, pretty far down on the pecking order. that is kind of sad. coming down here being a part of u.s. conference of mayors, we have to fine a way, i'm not saying bypass the state, but my goodness they're not working very well for us today. >> [inaudible]

>> i would add as part of the tack force on new americans we're working with the department of education and department of labor, in particular on the implementation, the new workforce law implementation. we're thinking a lot about how we can promote best practices and help people understand. how funding can be used. sometime people don't know necessarily how fund something used. with the ecb funding people are finding creative ways to support integration efforts, using those funds as well. department of education also launched something a few years ago called networks for integrating new americans project which was kind of a pilot project in five communities how we do more immigrant and refugee integration, using community college and community as hub, building more networks. because all the folks, we found were doing a great job, helping

with the esol piece of things but they needed to connect all the other dots with all the other networks in the community. maybe some people are eligibility for citizenship. they should learn about that. they're a captive audience learning english. maybe they need more skills to get into the workforce. make sure businesses are working with those community colleges and those spaces. we had a great -- only technical assistance grant but it wasn't a lot of money. what we found by connecting those folks with our federal agencies partners and national ngo partners they actually learned how to use other grants from department of labor. cis and citizenship work and others. those are a couple of other nuggets out there that he with, in our task force on new american progress report we highlight ad number of these efforts. over the next year in particular as we know implementation

happens we're talking a loot how we give cities and states technical assistance the know-how how to connect the dots. the new workforce law has a lot of tools that people can use that didn't exist before for using that money in creative ways to help immigrants and refugees. so. >> i think what the mayor craig is commenting with the mayors, there is way to bypass states and go right to the cities. that is feedback from us if there is way to do that. appreciate that. may slade from st. louis. >> thank you, mayor tait for taking leadership on this very important topic in our country. thank you for joining conference of mayors and importance of being proactive when dealing with immigration and refugees. we've done it in st. louis. we've had nothing, historically nothing but positive experience with our immigration community.

people are coming to our city because they're looking for a place to raise their family, to get a job, to be part of the community. and addressing refugees that come into our city. nothing but positive experiences and it's because as a community we have decided in st. louis that it is not only the right thing to do for families that come into our city and in to our nation but it is right thing to do for our future. as a city and as a region. we established the mosaic project which is regional project where we have philanthropic and corporate and civic and political communities coming together to make a statement, that we want to be a welcoming committee and we do a lot in educating the public and we talked to the press. press helps us get our messages out in a lot of different ways. so the work you're doing in getting out throughout the

united states, talking to communities is very, very important because knowledge really is important in this effort. there is a lot to know and, as i said, there is nothing but good to come out of a regional and a city effort to be a very welcoming community. we have a international institute that is there to help, to help refugees and immigrants into our city. new american find jobs, learn english, get connected with health care, learn what you need to know in the united states and in the city to be part of the community, be a positive part of the community. i am personally engaged in a lot of those efforts. we have a health care center for new americans that come to our city and it is not just for documented citizens as well. we know it is important that

everyone gets access to quality health care but i do think that, you know, really it's important that we elected leaders stand up to talk about and why it is important an how it strengthens our community. i mean we've seen with bosnian refugees, with vietnamese refugees and we have syrian refugees now is that these are individuals, as was said, that they really do want to be, they want something good and better for themselves and their families, and it is good not just for them but for all of us we make sure we help them with that effort. i will ask one question. it has to do with what, on the syrian refugees, the situation, what can we expect over the next year in terms of the amount of refugees that will be coming to the united states and, that i think that's kind of, because i think it is important.

we're already on record that we're on board and for full disclosure my grandparents came from syrian territory and emigrated to the united states back at the early part of the 19 hundreds. so, nation built on immigrants. vast majority of our ancestors were immigrants. i think in order to be a strong nation we need to continue to support the new americans that come to our nation. >> thank you, mayor. thank you so much for your support. this program would not work without support from mayors such as yourself. this is the strongest element of the program. let me say as an aside, my family came to the u.s. when i was five years old, so i'm an immigrant as well. much appreciate what this country has to offer those that decide to move here. for your question, our goal is

to bring in more than 10,000 syrian refugees in this fiscal year. we have a plan to achieve that. we make that number. to significantly increase it next year. but we don't have a specific number for the next fiscal year yet. >> we're going to help. >> thank you. >> i would just say thank you, also thanks to you, mayor, you have worked with the small business administration as a part of our task force on new americans. they actually launched, made in america campaign focused on promoting immigrant and refugee stories of people who accessed sba tools and then helped growth or start their business. i know that you have done that work. as a part of last year's world refugee day event we did at the white house, we honored champions of change, people immigrants, refugees themselves or folks been here for many generations helping to welcome immigrants and refugees. we honored and across lynn who is active in that event involved

in the st. louis mosaic partnership. we appreciate your partnership with sba and always great notmodel we have in st. louis. we want to lift it up. >> very good. >> city of new haven and, our immigration resettlement organization came to my cabinet meeting about a week 1/2 ago to indicate that they would be doubling number of refugees in our city and's well as doubling outside in our region. really came to thank all of the department heads for the work that they have done over the years in helping them to resettle people. my question, isn't so much about that. i hope this isn't, i'm just wondering if we can, as i talk to people, who have, are in the

process of citizenship sometimes it has taken as long as 17 years for them to actually get through the whole process. i was wondering if is once they make commitment to the country an want to be here. it seems to take inordinantly long amount of time? >> i will say a little bit about this. barbara may have some words as well. uscis is co-chair of task force on new americans and actually has been a real star in terms of the work that they're doing at the federal and local level to make sure that people know about the citizenship process. i want to make sure you get connected with the right field office at uscis. not sure about particulars of some of the folks that waited that long. there have been number of good

efforts underway. so they have a new grants program they launched at administration. last several years we give out dollars to ngos, cities, community colleges. help people get information about citizenship. . .

>> so that people, and sometimes a test is a thing that worries people. i don't know if i could do the citizenship civics test sometimes. and i've been in the federal government for many years. so that gives people some comfort if that's what they're worried about. and so, as i said, i'd love to make sure that you get in touch with the right people at uscis to address any individual cases, but also to figure out ways that you might be able to partner with them at the local level. they are all about community engagement and citizenship, and they're doing even more work on the refugee front as well. there's waivers for people who are, who are older who may have trouble with the english language requirement. we'd like to see those waivers, they're statutory, tweaked a bit so maybe people coming in as older refugees it's going to be hard for them to master get a

little bit more availability of those waivers for folks. but there is quite a bit we're doing, and we want to make sure that we're partnering with your community in that space. [inaudible] >> well, i think, you know, my city of anaheim, i'm very proud of the people of anaheim and how welcoming they have been to refugees and continue to. but there are also some concern about on the security aspect that somehow maybe there might be -- what assurances do we have that isis might not have an influence on some of the refugees and things like that? how does maybe if you could elaborate on the vetting process a little bit. >> sure, i'm happy to do that. as i mentioned, we to both biographic and biometric checks

on refugee applicants, so by biographic we use people's names, dates of birth and other types of information that we have. the, we collect a lot of detailed information from refugee applicants, we look at all of their documents. many, many iraqi and syrian refugees in particular are actually very heavily documented. people in the family have passports, they have family records, they have id cards, they have unhcr registration documents, and so we work with the where you typically say the interagency which is shorthand for the law enforcement community, so the fbi, for example, is involved with the intelligence community, with the national security community. and they're actually part of our training. so our officers, when they train specifically to interview iraqi applicants and syrian applicants, we've invited those kinds of national security and intelligence community experts in to help us be knowledgeable about country conditions. so we know the lines of

questioning to talk to people about, we can test what they tell us not just internally for credibility, but against known country conditions. and then there are technically the security checks. so that's watchlist information and other types of information. the checks themselves are kind of an alphabet soup. we talk about the class check which is a cons lap lookout and support system, there's something called the advisory committee, applicants who have been deemed to be potentially higher risk get a higher level of security check. we have interagency checks with the national counterterrorism center and other partners behind that. and all of those checks run concurrently in the background. it's not one and done. so if somebody is checked but it takes a while to perfect their case before they travel to the united states, up until the date that they travel, if there's any intervening derogatory information, we become aware of that. on the biometric side, we're checking fingerprints. so we check them against the fbi, but in addition to that

there's a system that's called ident that's run by the department of homeland security that's a compendium of fingerprints from a lot of other places. it's not necessarily derogatory. it could be, for example, an immigration encounter overe seas. so if an applicant ever went to a u.s. embassy or consulate and applied for a visa, their print might have been capture ld. and so when we talk to that refugee applicant, we're able to corroborate it's the same identity, it's the same nationality, that fingerprint was collected at a time and place that's consistent with what we're being told, and i also mention we check department of defense prints. so it's not uncommon our iraqi applicants in many instances had worked for the u.s. military or the u.s. government at some point in connection with that, their issued -- they're issued an id card, and their fingerprint is captured. so we can have an applicant tell us i'm at risk because i worked with the americans, and i'm perceived as an enemy of certain

interest, and we can check our fingerprint database and corroborate that the story they've told us is true. so we have lots of tools in addition to the in-person interviews. and it really is an interagency partnership within the department of homeland security, we have an agency called the office of intelligence and analysis. we talk to them as well as all the agencies throughout the administration that have an interest in making sure that the program is, has best beingty possible while -- integrity possible while we're meeting the humanitarian mandates that we've been talking about. >> [inaudible] >> yeah, please. >> even before we get to this very extensive process, a refugee will have had to register as a refugee in the country from which they fled. that's usually done through the u.n., but sometimes through local governments. and then we call from that -- cull from that list an average of 1%. so i'm just making the point that someone that was trying to get into our system would have

had to have registered as a refugee, sat around for months, sometimes years and then be lucky enough to be one of the 1%. and then we run them through this very extensive system to make sure that they're not a security threat. >> we have a follow-up question, but it is -- so if your intent was to do ill will to people of the united states, this probably wouldn't be the way to come to the united states. >> no, it would not be an attempt. but i don't want to suggest that we don't, the u.s. government doesn't take all possible paths into the country seriously and that we have security checks throughout the system. >> yeah. very good. it is about 10:30. in fact, it is 10:30. and some of us, including myself, have a flight to catch.

i want to thank all of our guests particularly for coming into town today when everyone else is leaving, and the traffic coming in wasn't too bad. i wish you all safe travels home, and i thank everyone who is here, the brave that have stayed this last day. thank you so much, and, laura, i want to thank you for all your help and for the mayors' staff, and we stand adjourned. thank you so much. [applause] [inaudible conversations]

>> a live look at the u.s. capitol now with both chambers not in session today. in fact, the house has canceled all legislative business for the week because of the effect of this past weekend's snowstorm is having on travel. members will return to the house next monday, and as always, we'll have live coverage on c-span. the senate, though, is expected to return this week, however, votes were postponed until wednesday on the nomination of john mike be billion vazquez to be -- john michael vazquez to be u.s. district judge for new jersey. you can see the senate live right here on c-span2. >> tonight on "the communicators," washington post national technology reporter craig timberg joins us from stanford university in california to discuss a series of articles for the post, "net of insecurity." he examines the creation of the internet, the founders' objective, why security played such a small role for them and what cybersecurity issues face

internet users today. >> as consumers, hundreds of millions, billions of us now, we're forever choosing things other than security. we're choosing the speed, the performance, the features. and so security, i don't know, i think it's maybe somewhere between 5-10 on the list of the priorities of most software developers, for whatever else they say. because they will tell you, and security experts will tell you, security really doesn't pay. >> watch "the communicators" tonight at eight eastern on c-span2. >> up next, a look at foreign policy and its role in the upcoming presidential primaries. from the council on foreign relations, this is about an hour. >> hi, good morning. my name is bruce stokes, and i'll be the moderator for our discussion today on foreign policy and the 2016 primaries. i want to welcome all of you intrepid people who have braved the threat of the storm today to

make it out here, and also i think i'm looking forward to our conversation about the storm of our primaries and what they all mean to us. because in a couple of weeks, we're going to be in the midst of it all. and one of the real questions, i think, is whether this will be one of those rare instances where this is a foreign policy election or an election that's driven in large part by foreign policy rather than domestic issues. we have a number of experts with us today, old friends. charlie cook, the editor and publisher of the cook political report, former colleague of mine at the national journal for many years. sam feist, who's the washington bureau chief and senior vp of cnn who can entertain us with stories about organizing debates. [laughter] and how foreign policy can take over debates. and jim lindsay, the senior vp

of cfr, director of studies and the maurice greenberg chair here at the council. and a longtime partner with pew on a number of surveys of cfr members. we're going to have an initial period where i lead a conversation up here, but we will have ample time for you folks to can your questions -- to ask your questions and make comments. i will get you out of here at 9:30, as promised. i would remind you this is on record. we are simulcast or live casting this, so this is not a typical cfr event where it's on what we used to call chat ham house rules and now are cfr rules, i guess. >> thank you. [laughter] >> but let me start it off by asking charlie cook, are -- the pew research center's survey in december found that for the

first time in years national security rather than the domestic economy was the leading concern of the public. now, this was in the wake of paris and the wake of san bernardino, and specifically terrorism was the issue that people were most concerned about. now, gallup came out with a survey in january that said concern about terrorism was down about, economy was back up as the number one issue. so i guess my leadoff question to you is do we anticipate or do you anticipate that this will be an american election where foreign policy plays if not the most important role, at least a disproportionate role? or will it still be domestic issues that drive the electorate? >> first, the answer is, no. i don't think this is going to be a foreign policy-driven election unless something event in the 60 days or so leading into the election. richard haas has asked us to announce that anybody that's here this morning gets a 25%

discount on their cfr dues for next year. [laughter] because you're so intrepid about coming here. you know, americans rarely, rarely, rarely vote on foreign policy issues. and it has to be a dramatic and immediate event happening leading into the election. and so i think, sure, i have no doubt -- i mean, san bernardino certainly did spike it up, but i think we can get under this more differencely. i think the mindset, you really -- john edwards used to say we have two countries, the haves and the have nots, for me there's a democratic country, independent country and republican country, and republican attitudes towards foreign policy is near apoplectic. things are on the edge. we're at to go into the abyss. and democrats, well, this is a somewhat elevating concern. and then independents in the middle but a little bit closer to democrats. but it really depends on who --

[inaudible] how big a role the it's going to play. >> let me -- although during the primaries we just did a poll in new hampshire that came out this week, and hillary does best on foreign policy, hillary clinton over bernie sanders, yet foreign policy among democrats is way down. >> yeah. >> and just the opposite on the republican side. foreign policy's the number one issue for republicans, at least in the new hampshire, and i think elsewhere as well, and donald trump does very well. so in the primaries it certainly, to your point, republicans are making foreign policy an important issue, and it's playing out that way which i think is giving donald trump more things to talk about that some of the establishment republicans have less to say and is giving him an advantage in the primaries right now. >> let's pursue this for a minute -- >> which is ironic. we ought to just sort of savor this for a second. >> yeah. well, our survey and others show that there's a real partisan split on foreign policy issues, that republicans are more concerned about china than

democrats, republicans are more concerned about terrorism and the war on terror, don't think it's working, than democrats. republicans are more supportive of sending troops to the middle east than democrats. as a chinese friend of mine quipped recently, his assessment of the republican candidates was that they believed in omni-directional bellicosity. [laughter] now, the question is omni-directional bellicosity only works if it resonates with the electorate. why do you think that republicans seem to be more afraid and, thus, and then in response to this more willing to use force than democrats? >> so i think it could be a couple of things happening at the same time. as you headed out of 2015 and into 2016, put aside the little

blip in the stock market, the economy was generally doing better. and be you're a republican looking for issues that you might be able to use against democrat, perhaps foreign policy might be more effective particularly if over the course of the next 11, 12 months the economy does recover. unemployment was hitting recent lows as we ended 2015. so that's a part of it in terms of tactics of the candidates, i think. but it also resonates with republicans, and trump's message from the beginning is playing, clearly playing on concern and fears among base republican voters that have been exacerbated by paris, exacerbated by san bernardino, and he's taking advantage of that concern and that fear, and it's working. >> but it's also worth pointing out that republicans traditionally worry more about foreign policy defense, national security issues than democrats. so what charlie pointed to, sort of this very strong partisan

difference between democrats and republicans and also independent s fall in the middle on which issues are important and how important they are existed before 2016. i don't think we should lose sight of that. in many ways, i agree with charlie's opening point about this not being a foreign policy election in all likelihood. there are rhythms in american politics, and we're seeing them play out here. >> although foreign policy, the unpredictability, is something that, you know, who knows what's going to happen in the world in august, september and october of 2016. we, as we ended 2015, we were planning a debate that we had in las vegas in the middle of december. and as we had started to plan that debate, it was going to be a debate that covered a whole range of topics, domestic, maybe some social issues, foreign policy, terrorism. that debate came about a week and a half after san bernardino, a couple of weeks after the recent paris, the second paris

attack, and, of course, it became 100 president a comarchedder in -- 100% a commander in chief debate. that is the only subject we did because that's what the news events dictated. >> it's important to keep in mind the fact that something matters to the voters doesn't mean it matters to the vote. which you sort of have to focus on to what extent we talk about foreign policy. is it in the case of the primaries differentiating among candidates, and i would argue in the case of republican primaries since the republicans are hitting the same basic theme, obama is too weak, we must be strong, reassert american leadership, i don't see differentiating among the republican candidates. >> you know -- >> just a minute, charlie. >> go ahead. >> the other question is will it change turnout, do you have people coming to the ballot box because of foreign policy? i don't see any evidence that's true. and the final thing to keep in mind is most people already know who they're going to vote for. they may not know it, but we look at all of our social science research which indicates people who tend to vote democrat

vote democrat and, indeed, the movable middle has over the years shrunk in size. if you go back to the '60s, perhaps 15% of voters in a presidential election from cycle to cycle may switch. now it's down to maybe 5%, 7%. so the number who are open to being moved is actually a lot smaller. i don't think we should lose sight of that -- >> that's, i think, a very good point. if you look at the overall self-identification numbers, we've never had more people who self-identify as independents. at least in our work, if you look at leaners to the republican party, leaners to the democratic party, actually, we aren't that, you know, divided -- we're divided, but there's no, the middle is not nearly as big. >> a lot of the tea partiers, for example, were -- they call themselves independents, because they don't want to be associated with a political party, but we know that they're republican. >> there are people that have some deep-seeded psychological need to call themselves

independents. functionally speaking, they're partisans. >> yeah. >> and so they vote -- an independent leans democrat, votes virtually as democratic as a real democrat. but to a point jim made a couple minutes ago, i'm sure chris matthews would not want to say this now that his wife's running for congress. [laughter] but chris used to say, you know, predictable overstatement, we have two parties in this cup. we have a mommy party and a daddy party. and the mommy party is a caring, nurturing party that's concerned about education and daycare and, you know, touchy feely stuff, and the daddy party is tough on defense, tough on crime, etc., etc. now, obviously, it's a gross exaggeration, plus very sexist. but the thing is, there's some underlying truth there that there are themes in each party that are very, very real. so it is perfectly natural for republicans to want to sort of rattle cages a little bit more

on the republican side -- or on the defense side. but i think the other thing though is that there is now a view among conservatives and most republicans that anything that president obama touches or thought about touching is evil, wrong, destructive, dangerous. and even if he hadn't thought of it yet, if he did, then that would be evil, you know? and, again, it's this apocalyptic, existential threat thing that's over there that i think sometimes -- and i don't want to be an apologist for president obama, because i think he's been a fairly mediocre president. but the thing is that it's, there's -- i think sometimes in politics if you hate someone so much, it really colors your judgment on a lot of things. and i think that they're totally, totally blinded by their hatred for him, therefore,

they're not necessarily making a lot of really objective judgments on -- >> although their dislike for hillary clinton is not wholly different than their dislike barack obama. >> it's close. it's close. yeah. >> but do you think because obama is president and this has been obama's foreign policy for the last seven years that to the extent that foreign policy is an issue in this election, it's really a referendum on obama's handling of foreign policy? then to get back to charlie's point about it's a referendum on obama, you know, we know in our sauer says that for years now people have said he's not tough enough, but it's republicans who overwhelmingly say he's not tough enough. actually, democrats think he's doing a fine tough job. but this question of the need to have a tough president, that perception of a president being tough, does it appeal to an authoritarian strain among some voters? i mean, there's some debate here about what trump's appeal is. it is to authoritarianism.

what does this say about the voters? >> well, and let me ask a question of these guys. is the question, you know, approve/disapprove president obama's job on foreign policy, it's almost a real question of how do you think things are going on in the world. >> yeah, yeah. >> and if things aren't going, you know, if they feel uneasy about what's going on in the world, then it's thumbs down. notwithstanding the feelings that conservatives have and republicans have towards him. >> but the issue of strong leader, that question we've been asking forever, matters. and it's mattered in election after election. americans tend to elect the person they see as the stronger of the two general election candidates. not always, but almost always. and i think that this is one of those years where that matters. foreign policy's a big part of it. sometimes can this person guide the economy and get us out of a ditch if that's what's necessary. but the notion of picking the candidate of the two who's the stronger leader is not new and

plays out almost every time. >> let's back up for one minute here. i want to ask jim, you know, we're debating whether foreign policy's going to be a lead issue in this election. when was the last time that foreign policy played a major role in a presidential election as we kind of think back about the outcome of past presidential elections? >> well, i would say that notion of a foreign policy election is sort of the white whale of american politics. it's very seldom sighted. we can sort of go who back and throw out candidates, 1968, humphrey versus nixon, but when you actually look at the policy positions of both men, they weren't that far apart, so it wasn't particularly the position on that issue that separated them. plenty of other issues going on in the country at the time. think of george wallace, and his popularity wasn't tied to the vietnam war. 1980 with ronald reagan, you can talk about the hostages, but there was also something called

the misery index, in the sense that the economy was not doing very well, interest rates in double digits. so it's very hard to sort of say that was an election that clearly turned on foreign policy. i do think you can see in primaries where foreign policy can matter and go back to 2008 with barack obama and secretary clinton, or then-senator clinton in which i think for senator clinton certainly at the beginning her position on iraq, the fact that she had voted for it and was unwilling at least at that point to apologize or repudiate her vote unlike several of the other people in the primary challenge at that time, i think, did give barack obama an opening. now, was that really a foreign policy issue, or was it a question as what democrats viewed as a major mistake that she didn't want to walk away from. >> bernie sanders is taking advantage of that same issue this time. >> yeah. >> it's one of the few areas where hillary clinton is out of step with her party, and she's

acknowledged that it was a mistake, that the war was a mistake, on and on, but he has used that issue -- >> it is amazing that what is that now, 8, maybe 14 years ago that that vote took place? >> right. >> and it's still thrown up as this is a bad judgment -- >> it's not as effective, but the issue of would it potentially distinguish between secretary clinton and senator sanders would have been tpp, the trans-pacific partnership. and very early on in the campaign secretary clinton took it off the table by saying, well, i have been in favor of free trade n favor of tpp, this one didn't meet my standards. and that essentially neutralized that issue that could have divided or separated the two candidates. >> and the iraq war vote could also have been a bigger issue for democrats if foreign policy was a bigger concern among democrats. but because it's so low, it's not at the heart of the conversation. >> okay, most democrats don't consider trade foreign policy. ..

>>

>> let me ask a question if you see economic policy dealing with china. when you ask people about their concerns is the economy economies economy or sever security not a military threat perce. but people see how etymon foreign policy protecting american jobs is a foreign policy concern even though it technically is not especially dealing with china. we have seen a little bit of china bashing'' the fact that he denies that calling on imports from china for

those ever remember that but it is reminiscent of china bashing in the prairies but it is also reminiscent of the china bashing especially. do we think this has any traction or is just noise to go away? >> is 2016 going to be foreign policy issue? it is about terrorism. all the other issues about china and russia a and north korea candidates are not engaging in them. what is the most important

issue not to say russian aggression we have to be careful not to overgeneralize and indeed if you watch his campaign to be very long on criticism of a terrible job the incumbent has done. sometimes that is the improper mrs. comeback to haunt them. that they don't have great policy solutions.

in with what they would do differently with current policy imena be the same zip code. >> at least the tonality especially by ted cruz and others. is there any hint based on past elections or is there no quarter to paint yourself into with a candidate? >> i think republicans that pain consoles in the quarter that democratic america with any given issue is it the way democrats think or

republicans? where not over how generally closer to where democrats are versus republicans. in if you believe donald trump's success so far is because the people they're supporting him are scared where it about their jobs to have five or tenures from now. behalf hong he is speaking directly to them and no fee is paid himself into a corner hot with the reagan democrat category.

and having success stick i see more republican / conservatives said is more populous. hi but it is more populist than anything else. and with what donald trump believes. and taking yourself into a corner is a good problem to have because you have won the election. but one of the things that have happened and then we have to walk back. with the nation status back in '92 to walk back from

that. and then to create a whole new room. spirit we're venturing into a broader discussion new york -- which is in a foreign policy but talk a little bit of my conversations with staff is a palpable concern is it just always at this point? because that is what you do over is a problem it was

fascinating to commence within dash endorsement of ted cruz. on the same data "national review" how can now with an issue of a symposium in within dash endorsement with the core of the establishment republicans. >> but that was just yesterday. >> different people have pet peeves with the establishment is increasing donald trump that is the biggest bunch of garbage.

they see him as a loser in the general election and. with a person they despise ted cruz. end they led the fight to torpedo the disability treaty. bob dole was humiliated on the senate floor to hold ted cruz personally responsible. they hate both of them or cruz is no use for donald trump but they're not embracing anybody. so who kisses you off more? space the increasing donald trump.

>> at some point to rally around and the other candidates but the roots of their fear that they not only lose the white house but of congress in the process. this rate to argue even if they get a right the republicans cannot lose the house unless something momentous happens. so where these lines are that cannot happen. when you have six republicans and though

democratic seats it is bad arithmetic. and donald trump has 35 percent of the votes. is reduced to 1228 and then six and in foreign into idle think that number expands a whole lot. then it comes to a point where trump that ted cruz has one-third establishment has one-quarter then the rest is up in the year and what they do at the convention i don't know. >> when do you think we will

have the sense of the democratic nominees? march 1st? march 15? >> is bernie sanders has a good day in iowa and new hampshire then south carolina is an interesting test to see dirty sanders among african-americans. the will be important at the southern prairie. and that will tell you the democratic nomination could be wrapped up early. to the republican side is much more complicated.

we begin some of the state's winner-take-all in the process keeps going for a long time. >> what are the caucuses about? the ideology and passion and energy? just for fun and gives bernie sanders the iowa caucus holding states that have caucuses wanted to percent of all the delegates. 100 percent of all delegates from new england. after caucus's new england is in college towns bernie

sanders has nothing going on. nothing about the subaru driving in birkenstock wearing to nominate bernie sanders. hillary clinton and not be dead democratic nominee to be moved and prosecuted and joe biden phone-number is inside. >> you said the same thing i said. i said look at south carolina. so i would like to turn this over. to make this a question and keep it short.

>> trump is building a hotel maybe it is a harbinger of what is to come. i just wonder if they are against the trend but to put that aside you haven't mentioned is a the periodic tendency to combine with the security element? because they care about immigration because they are afraid of their jobs. and the democrats and i worry about. who are the foreign policy

advisers? i have asked people is the turnout. there was an incredible flip if you look at people who are caucus goers with those that came to the caucus last time i wonder citrin outnumbers those that have sat through a five hour caucus but i have. >> cnn released yesterday unlike likely caucus goers trump 37 cruz 36 rubio 13. if you look at who voted

trump 37 but then it slips cruz 30 trump 28. the question is a turnout but this year are there new caucus goers coming out? and among the likely caucus goers. the get the 2008 when it was competitive and iowa is what clinton 55 sanders 38. we don't know full well turn out right now. >> having lived in iowa and participated in ambient air temperature matters a lot.

to get off your sofa to go out into the weather the colder it is the more likely they will sell home. >> is officially the older voters. who voted 2008? i've as an indicator on the republican side because it is so age driven everybody under 26 years of age to say only those to caucus then that changes things a great deal. >> and to your question had the support someone here are

the numbers in terrorism is baked into a foreign policy question 34% jobs in the economy. immigration and 11%. with a budget national debt. and after that it is a part of the conversation but it doesn't seem to be registering right now. >>. >> since you dismiss national-security as an issue.

how is that with national security to do differentiate the nomination? >> it matters much more to happen to this day in which candidates but it is more about the person and going back to the strong leader the foreign policy is one of those issues that allows you to establish your positions or rhetoric ronald reagan did this even when necessary wasn't the foreign policy. but use that position to talk about america's strength and use to those issues. even though farm policy is

not a tough issue as the electability factor asking the question if he should be the commander-in-chief not they will vote on foreign policy issues before a stronger leader. >> ago as a larger truck phenomenon. indri is not the word they are livid. they're filled with rage. truck is a vehicle for the anchor. the question is does this continue to the convention or will some sizable part to say i agree but to seek a

more plausible vehicle for the remainder. when i watched tapes of focus groups to know how to paint -- degree they are but after half an hour of talking you start to see some hairline fractures. i wonder about his temperament or his judgment or his personality. i think february is the last month and then the real stuff starts i think you'll see a substantial part to say i am having a hard time

visualizing donald trump in the situation room pleasant but the director of national intelligence. i'm not a single lois bail the to steer towards an alternative vehicle i suspect that will be ted cruz. after iowa he will consolidate rand paul will be no more. to be completely consolidated so i think you'll see a decent number of those people and start selecting a president. >> to different shooting much if you look bad it he

is out of tune with the republicans but in the sense with tens of thousands of troops to syria is now on the sideline so now they will do something so what strikes me is the first question what does that differentiate? because of war experience of someone like donald trump is for the reasons they just laid out. when u.s. republican voters experienced ranks way down at the bottom.

that is why look at governors that a strong chance to become the nominee. or at the back of the pack. so with the republican party experience and knowledge as a qualifying characteristic with half of the party. it is so overrated. >> so with a two-part question to be very interested everything you have read and heard that

when you think the director will come out with. again is a wonderful discussion ultimately who will re-emerge as the establishment candidate? >> the first question i have absolutely no idea. he keeps his cards very close to his chest but the polls are suggesting in two states right now. perhaps that third-place candidate to find themselves

with some momentum we're at the edge of double digits particularly in new hampshire where matters. but i wouldn't be surprised if there was a surprise in new hampshire the jury is out. >> just as they run as the two party candidate and would be considered to be the right wing steve neck of former speaker of the florida house who runs as the tea party party.

then he has been in the establishment guy as he would pull more red meat in his rhetoric. i don't think rubio is achieved party type of golf -- guy at all. but it strikes me the e-mail is so hot potato the fbi wants to get out of their hands. so handed to public integrity to say that is why they pay you the big money. the most important primary is 1400 new york avenue. and lord knows what they will do. if that is the only key

variable is what do they do? i have had conversations with various people in this seems like the proximity to classified material makes them more likely to think it can add up to secretary clinton but clearly it isn't anything like petraeus but it is more getting into new territory in. >> i'm a reporter for russian newspaper. with the issue of policy

with secretary clinton. in to what degree the current statements as they come to the white house on multiple occasions as bad as the relations war. so if she comes to the white

house and i agree with foreign policy issues edison terrorism related directly but americans are not voting isn't the issue. and for people to demonstrate their toughness and with those relations of any country. >> obviously we can dream of all types of hypothetical spent to decide in the baltics.

ended says the worse. does that arises to the level of rhetorical excess? is that an issue? >> you want to guarantee? but it would have to be such a significant move to feel is a direct threat to the united states and even as what you describe and to save five of them president mr. putin would have been suspected that. but don't think it will move.

but it creates problems potentially for secretary clinton and. so if she is the candidate with a talking point and then to do a good job without experience. >> for you based on the tactics could trump would be to clinton? >> i love polls at least the good ones i whoof and die by but sometimes she just wonder how seriously do i take this?

we see poling right now showing sanders growing stronger than clinton against various republicans including drug. and the database say and then they follow a lot less in the negatives go up and hillary clinton dash was 57 and that was a big number.

end with the noel lot about one thing and the attitudes toward stubble trump to be is developed now as there would be down the road. the short answer is i think republicans reduce something stupid but i just don't think they're going there. >> show of hands anybody in this room who believe one year ago donald trump would be the front runner raise your hand. >> for the audience there are no hands. [laughter]

i have talked to two union leaders that represents the private work force. and when asking about how the members feel about trump? so how many trump democrats are there out there for a general election? >> working-class white voters how many are voting democratic anyway? if it was made capturing in second place and only looking at ohio and

pennsylvania a lot of white union manufacturing and that trump phenomenon that is the place i want to see it but i want to fight the trend of foreign policy not playing a role. windows opinion polls were staying engaged. it is all about terrorism. and then to do this primary

season. >> but then they just talk about that going back august august 2014 to change the conversation who the candidates would be where the outcome of the vote. and what the public is thinking but it is important to keep in mind. to beg -- to put a big caveat. >> as to be introduced to isis is a growing issue but

it was barely in the newspapers settle. was two years later at this point what can isis do to shock america? and it would benefit republicans to take steps to inoculate yourself in i am test insensible and where is the economy?

that the candidates cannot campaign i made one note during this conversation that is the moneyline. the that is where i will cook dash a proper quotation from you. foreign policy and elections this time it is different. , often the not often you are better off to bet that history will play out.

nobody one year ago saw donald trump coming. and that is all absolutely true. will everything that we learned about politics be proven wrong this year? >> this is a different year. the for trump to win this one a depressant of what we know. and thanks to those who are watching to light streaming then we will carry on the conversation to talk about

trump's for policy in 2017. [applause] [inaudible conversations] is the neck as he approached the iowa caucuses and should do what he events unfold as they happen weather rally or

a house party or town hall meeting nobody else will give you that unfiltered look as they work the crowd and make their best sales pitch. we will be crisscrossing iowa covering the candidates who keep an eye on caucus night we're the only network that will take you to a republican and democratic caucus. watch c-span.

the. >> as consumers we're choosing things other than security procedures so between 85 ben ted on the list i dunno a pierides a software developers. there really doesn't pay.

when very happy to have the voice is the freedom i hope most of you know, that due to a family emergency our guest is unable to be here tonight but we are thrilled to be in conversation this evening the author of word warrior that drives on archives and the records as well as interviews with families and colleagues for that astounding career. as a star investigative reporter to pioneer

reporters until the story of a tireless champion equality and justice. that forever changed the nation a professor black radio in jazz profiles. she is interviewed by a senior writer and radio host and a writing professor and is raised in san francisco we do have copies that will be for sale so if you want

copies of the book as well. [applause] >> i have of you preamble words. without poetic rendering is itself and is a masterpiece with that story telling make solan want to know more. tell the family member leon but don't have enough time to get the work done. hit shows the finale which captured the author's

attention when she was at the smithsonian institute. it is an added bonus. what i broadcast by archive show when one's work is artistic beyond a temporal dimension so long ago addressed topics of family and community that often forgets of the first of democracy or the blacks of lena horne who faced inequality in the prejudice. another favorite was read to freedom. certainly a word warrior he mentioned in your book he

was a pragmatic optimist. what do you mean by that? >> as an optimist even though freedom justice and equality he felt once people came together to organize and consistently that was the optimism. and it wasn't because the people needed it but it had to be fight for through the words and action. >> so how do you get like that? where does that come from? >> boarded mississippi 1917.

as part of the great migration eventually moving from mississippi so we are unique his father owns the farm that we live bond with the early 20th century it was miniscule but his father and his mother earth were advocation -- advocates and their love sharing the had eight children and seven survived into adulthood. education was almost like a mantra. you would be educated to move forward.

he was the most famous his unit is brother was a professor at university of chicago claims but they were all accomplished to the of leon brother who worked in l.a.. the next oldest sister was in the building that i teach in now as a supervisor said she was really into science. and then taught in the public-school system but you

have siblings who may have not gone to the media. >> your book reminds me of the price of the ticket with the ceremony tell us about your rhetorical traces with their names if not their faces? he told his sister he did not like his birth name. by the time he became a teenager to take on a different than name. where did that come from?

at 13 or 14 and then becomes the next heavyweight boxer of the world. then a young kid who was the best. solyndra started writing of he figured if he is the best i want to be the best but something happened with that. he wrote to langston hughes talking about the 1930's. so he writes to him and sends copies of his poems in please critique. he wrote him back he said i have been to paris and

hollywood and new york dash carries around but finally sat down in literally critique them. the other thing he said are you a boy or girl? he probably said i need to be more definitive. and said with the name richard. and he was fascinated by keying richer the first. and that is as the name he adopted. >> if you look at the book

there are quite a few interviews and you could read those. so tell us about the research process. >> i found out because for the smithsonian institution in one of the shows and was responsible for producing this radio in the 30's and 40's. set to work with the praise earlier if you do something about this include richard

from. and it was the nbc affiliate. and that is what got me started. so why hasn't anything been written? and the things that i did find with the accomplishments but little what happened before or after so that is what led me on the path. he really was a poet. he was a good poet. so trying to figure out how

do i incorporate his policy with the right thing of the book with the early chapters he did talk about life and in mississippi moving up to chicago and but that was like. >> he had other shows beside destination freedom. but those that had inspired courage shows and that continued until recently. >> he got into radio because he was a child of the depression so bided time he could work for the family he

applied to the writers' project but with the idea that they could document what was happening during the depression. then he worked for the project because there was a radio division in the project were literally every single week men and women would write the script. so that is how he gets into when it to develop the skill to say i want to make a living so then he applies to various programs for the lone ranger and said are you crazy?

you were trying to write for a major series. radio may have been the most popular medium but you could count on very few hands those that worked so he was hired as a freelancer to write for the lone ranger. . .

>> i don't know if they gave them any credit. >> no, they didn't. >> that was called what comes tomorrow. durham wrote that in 1946-47. so we are talking about, you know, going back in time. but yeah, that theme carries forward through today. >> i thought it was fascinating when you tell us through one of the other person's in the story why soap operas are called such. can you tell us the name of the

woman he wrote for? she had a home office with a view of lake michigan. there were like five soap operas she was managing writing for. >> her name was ernest phillipps and she was called the queen of the soaps. back in the '40s she started the soap operas that became so poplar on the radio they wanted more. at one point she had four or five. general hospital, one life to live -- i cannot remember the names of all of them. but these were soaps that became so poplar and the networks wanted more so that she had to write all of these scripts. but think about it. if you are writing for a daily or weekly show and it is one that is massive. if you have five or six on different networks at different times you need help and you

cannot do that by yourself. she hired writers and called them dialoguers. they would take her concepts and create the script and the actors would perform it. durham became one of her dialoguers. none got on air credit but they took the ideas and manifested them. they were called soap operas because soap companies sponsored the show. >> durham wrote for the chicago defender as well and that is interesting particularly his firing. also when you talked about the black insurance company that couldn't get --

>> they could not get funding. there was a show with a script about this insurance company in, i believe, it was philadelphia but the bottom line was when this gentlemen went to get money to refinance the building -- this was during the depression -- they assessed the building and this was one of the major insurance companies for african-americans at the time and he thought he could get a $50,000 loan to tie him over through the depression. and they assessed the building for like $5,000. it was like never mind i will figure out something else. he went to the community and really sold the product. went back ten years later or maybe five years later and they were surprised he was still in business. and durham said that is because all americans, whether black or white, are good investments if

you invest in them and that just because a company is black doesn't mean you don't assess them properly. >> certainly in this book and looking at richard durham's life we find out, if we didn't know, radio is political and journalism is political within itself. he, gosh, he is an artist first and then a journalist. he wasn't going to compromise his principles and that meant he didn't always have an economic need because journalism wasn't necessarily a steady job because it was more like sort of working on contract almost. and in the midst of all of the things we are talking about he did get married to a wonderful woman that we get a chance to

meet in the pages and in the family as well. if you could talk about the economics of radio and journalism using richard durham's life as a background. >> let me piggy back on the fact he got married. we married a chicagoan. another woman whose family migrated to the north, to chicago, from in her case from chattanooga, tennessee. anyway, they meet in 1941 and he is, you know, just enthuised and she is this petite pretty little thing. but she is political and interested in the same kinds of things that he is interested in. and they get married in 1942. she has her eyes set on being a

teacher and goes back to school eventually and does that. she becomes really in the early part of the marriage the stable bread winner. he is workeriing full time but getting paid for every script. when he gets to the chicago defender he gets to a place where he says i can get a paycheck. but the economics of newspapers, and black newspaper journalist were not paid well. they were paid and paid on a regular bases but there was this idea we should be looking for more in order to make a living. that is how he got into the trouble at the defender. he was an excellent writer and i

say that over and over again but that gets into what is happening today and that is writers can e be -- it is not political but go after the truth to the best of their ability but what happens is that, you know, sometimes, you may anger some folks, even the readers or the publishers or whatever. he is covering stories about world war ii america and how world war ii america is affecting the black population in particularly. so he is looking at discrimination in jim crow, segregation in the military, and writing about that. he is looking at despairties in housing and -- disparities -- making sure black people say in one section or several section sectionsf

the of the city and not expand into chicago and elsewhere. but also he is starting to organize or work with people who are organizing within the chicago defender. there was a union called the american newspaper guild and it was designed to recognize people working in the newspaper and he lobbied for the chicago defender to be part of the union so they could increase their wages, have equal pay, and better working conditions and as a result of that he was fired. but he was another person and if he had a conviction he would follow that through despite the consequences. if he believed in something he

would work and fight for it and it if meant loosing a job or whatever he would do it. >> i hope this isn't a spoiler however they hire him back. he is so good with story telling and a fabulous story teller. he writes these beautiful stories and they always get published on the front page. he gets people to talk to him even when what they are saying is not necessarily politically correct or due don't want this on the front page of a newspaper. he interviewed this woman and i don't remember who she was but she said all of these things about black people and i remember one black person lived in my town, remember that story? >> in 1944 he is covering the

presidential election because we are -- there is about to be an election for the president. roosevelt is running for an unprecedented fourth term. and so he is interviewing these folks and he decides he is going to do a story about thomas dewy, the governor of new york who was running as a republican against president roosevelt. he goes to interview dewy's mother in her home town, a small town, in michigan. and there was this whole thing that michigan or that particular town like other towns in the north had had this rule if you are black once the sun went down you could not be in the town. he goes in and interviews dewy's mother and she said no, we

always welcome african-americans and we remember one family who lived here, one family, in the city. governor dewy's mother made anti semetic statements and he printed what she said. ms. dewy denied she actually said that. he said no, no, you did. and they went back and forth but that brought him a little not noterity. >> it was interesting he wrote poetry, great literary non-fiction, and all of these

awards. i think the paper got awards for his front page news. >> he actually got the awards. it was the newspaper gave him an award. >> he was the first person to get recognition from a president, i think truman, because what happened was he wrote for the defender and had a radio show. it was called democracy usa. and i am thinking democracy now? that is close. you think she took it? >> we had details like telling the whole story of dramatizing him. the fantastic stories were told in the democracy usa. >> the chicago defender decided

to explore maybe other ways to market the paper and figured radio is poplar let's try sponsor a radio program or show that would come on once a week and feature many women who through their accomplishments epitomize democracy. so you had a range of folks he focused on. he wasn't the sole script writer, there was another writer, but they did this and they within all of these awards. they helped to get the defender's name out there. the leadership really went up and the circulation went up during that time because they wanted to know what was

happening throughout america but also with the military and you know jim crow discrimination. >> you talk a little bit in the book about sort of the structure of the black newsroom. you had the mentor and the editor of the defender at the time, i think he is hatian -- >> he was, i think even today you probably find veteran news men and women who have worked in various fields, whether it is print or broadcast, but they mentor the younger generation of reporters who are coming in and trying to make their way.

she was highly educated with a degree from paris and he was the editor and chief of the chicago defender. he mentored everyone that came in and recognized that durham was an excellent storyteller but he was slow so they didn't want him to do breaking stories and put him on the feature desk and he became a top-notch investigative reporter so he could take longer to develop the stories and go out and write it. >> you mentioned a little bit about the writers that were part of the illinois' writers project and that seems like the writer's community was really tight. it was so interesting that, i am trying to remember, brooks -- >> brooks -- they were born the same here and they were in

elementary school together. for a brief time they went to high school together. in terms of the writers in the writers group, durham, when part of the illinois's writers project, was in this really kind of warm and inviting community of writers that recruited nelson auburn and others like the supervisor and catherine mcdone. and by the time durham joined the project richard wright moved to new york so he wasn't there but influenced everyone and wright was one of his mentors in terms of checking out the writing and being influenced by it. >> going back to the norewspape it was interesting the way the

assignments went, langston hughes wrote for the chicago defender and had the simple column and durham would tease him. it was almost like the journalist were sort of issue-dri issue-driven. and i was wondering as a person in the profession how do you compare, like, black press today to black press then? and i know you were going to mention, you know, our star reporter woman, so i wanted to give you an opportunity to bring her into the story >> if you know about ida wells story she was pioneer in the newspaper business and an advocate for freedom and justice

against lynching and she was a prolific writer. i wanted to play a clip or two during durham's destination freedom where she and the character that plays her talk about what her mission and goal was. i think it really kind of is a great example of what many reporters in the black press earlier on and maybe today think about their goal and mission. >> my mission was to resist tyranny and with this in mind i took my savings over to john jennings, the editor of the small memphis newspaper who wanted to sell it. >> i don't like the idea of doing newspaper business with a woman. no good will come of it. >> that is superstitious. >> perhaps, but i have a notion you intend to put into practice

a good principle that men only preach and if you do there will be trouble. >> i will try and be ready for it. >> what do you intend to print? >> i would like to print the true story of memphis and segregation and the education system here. >> maybe you can cut out the title free speech and i see with you on the staff we will live up to every word of it, too. >> when i played it for my students they were like that organ is old time. that is coming from an episode about ida wells that came during the destination freedom series. this next clip really just kind of tiplifies the stories that ida followed and championed.

>> reports of saying this man has been forced to live in a negro neighborhood. i went into the the grocer to buy bread and find why he wasn't wanted in business. i am from the free speech. you have been write ing to us. what is it? >> it is too late. trouble has started. trouble over who is getting the business of the black neighborhoods. something is coming. >> what? >> they have been lynching. i stayed until the last drop of blood was gone if anybody would stand with me. >> i will be with you. >> you are a woman. >> what man will stand with you? >> it would be like a portion of

the wilderness. >> sometimes one clear voice is worth a hundred cloudy ones. stick to your store and i will stick to my newspaper and every day i told the story of the growing pressure against him to abandon his business and how prejudice was used him against him like a weapon. the storm ruled and i was in the center of it. i found trouble but i had found the truth and circulation was rising faster than any of the local papers in the city. >> i think that gives you a sense of, not only his philosophy, but his poetic sense and the way he put the words in the character's mouth. the other thing is when you talk about ida wells' paper it came out in 1889 and 50 years later durham is working for the black press and his first story

basically was to go back to memphis and talk about the conditions there. one of the conditions she covered and tried to -- he -- get the power broker, edward crump, was the poll tax and the voter restrictions. and now 50 years later, we are still talking about voting issues. you can see that, yes, there has been progress, but there is also this kind of reoccurring and continuing need to fight. i think one of the things i found in doing the research about durham is that his philosophy, the thing he told his reporters when he was an editor, the thing he did as a writer himself, was that you had to use your words as a weapon. but you also had to do it over and over again because you could not write about it in issue one. you had to write about it several different times and in several different ways. for durham, it wasn't just about writing several different ways

for print, but using all forms of media whether it was television because he wrote for television, whether it was print, orally, radio -- his thing was you used all of that. and i think it also kind of speaks to what is happening now with black lives matter movement. yes, we are talking about black lives matter. he talked about it in his stories. but it is also that you need to organize and news that to get the message out. social media i think he would have been all over and found all kinds of creative ways to deal with social media and use that as a way to say black lives matter because and we said this several times in several different interviews and that is basically the story of

african-americans is the story that is recognizable to people around the world because many people are oppressed and under educated or underemployed or no or limited access to proper health care. if you look at our story in the country and extrapolate to the world you will find people will be interested in our story because it resonates with oppressed masses. >> and the themes of the story, whether it was in print or radio, certainly resonate because they are timeless themes. but he did it so artistically. >> he did. >> destination freedom particularly, because he is looking at people's african descent, and americans who did great things. you know the doctors, the

freedom fighters, the actors and actresses and even just regular folks that believe in justice. >> i was wondering -- was the editor or writer for mohammed speaks? >> he was the editor. >> what year was that? how did that happen? and segue into the the mohammed alli friendship and the book he wrote. >> durham was the editor of mohammed speaks in 1962 so the early '60s. it was interesting because his brother and sister who were interviewed said they were like why would you want to go work for a nation of islam? not because it was bad but because he wasn't religious. he didn't con vert to islam.

-- convert -- he saw it as a way of extending the reach and reaching people in another fashion. the thing about mohammed and the nation of islam is it was about getting information out to people so hopefully they would come into the nation but also to educate them. he also knew, elijah mohammed, because he wanted to reach masses of people you needed to have people who could write and report and knew what they were doing. if you didn't have that population or those people within the nation at that point then you go to the folks who did it and richard durham was one. his folks approached durham and another man named gus savage who became a congressman in illinois for about 12 years. and he asked them if they would

consider editing mohammed speaks and they both considered it. durham decided to do it. and he then moved in and started hiring staff. so the thing that was pretty unique about is that, like say the christian science monitor newspaper, durham decided and i am sure with the okay but elijah mohammed there would be some separation between the news of the world whether we are talking about chicago or the united states or international news, would be separate from news about the nation of islam and what was happening within the nation. and that seemed to resonate because the circulation continued to grow during his time. and the coverage of international stories about freedom struggles, whether it was south africa, kenya, china

or vietnam, were all covered in mohammed speaks. and the other thing is that the interviewing of many reporters who worked with durham they said he was the best writer on that paper and they all learned by seeing how he edited their work and that was that. but as a result of working as the editor that is how he got a chance to meet and work with mohammed alli. eileen was a spokesperson for the nation and when he was banned from fighting there was a whole question about how he was going to make a living. they sent him on lectures going to college campuses and they said what about your autobiography, tell the story of

your life. mohammed alli was a great talker and not a writer. they approached richard durham because they loved his work as an editor and asked him to go the credited ghost writer for alli's book and durham said yes and that is how the great is my own story came about. he spent nearly five years working on the greatest. it was with a top-seller and translated into many different languages. but for four years or so durham followed mohammed alli everywhere -- ali -- and interacted with his first and second wives and he was there and got to know ali.

durham's editor was tony morrison and she said she loved working with durham because he was such a good writer and liked working with ali even though she flirted with him first and she was like i am old enough to be your mommy. the only problem she had with the whole project was that durham kept promising a m manuscript and didn't deliver was he was traveling the road with ali. there was talks about getting another writer but he was so good and whenever he turned into the copies of the work or manuscripts they were great and he stuck with. the book came out in '75 and the film based on the book starring

ali came out two years later. >> that is awesome. so he obviously got a chance to meet malcolm-x, too, right? >> he probably did but i didn't find any evidence in my research they interacted. but i know given that he was the editor of their paper that he knew what was happening with malcolm-x. i am interested in finding out if he wrote anything about the whole dispute between malcolm x and elijah mohammed before malcolm left the nation and he didn't. his brother said that right around the whole controversy about if he would stay in the nation or not he could he was

expanding his world view and embracing a more traditional form of islam and thought it would happen more once the split happened. in terms of their relationship i could not find anything. >> for durham, this was coming full circle because he wanted to be the greatest because early on he was a boxer and for him to just vicariously be able to do this -- he ended up being the greatest. he is a silent voice. >> and he work would the greatest. -- worked with. >> for you were there any moments for you where, you know, there was sort of things coming together in the way it was like wow, and the work you do because he was doing the work before you

were born and now you are doing the work and teaching others how to do this work to give life to things that may not be made if we didn't have the print like this. >> one of the things i learned and feel really blessed to be part of is that in doing research and reading his writing it is poetic. for my writing for radio i want to try to continue that because it does make a difference and throws people in. it is not just -- here is point a, point b, and point c. there are ways you can slow into the points and do it in ways that are lyrical and poetic and interesting and hopefully whether it is on the page, or

again for the ear or for the ear and eye, will keep the, you know, listener's attention. one of the tips was just this past semester i had one my students -- we had a collaboration between my students and communications and our students and theater arts. and one was a play about mary church teril, the woman's suffrage leader. and i said we will perform this as a live performance and my students would deal with the sound of the music elements and the theater art students became the actors. they really had into it. it is really now okay, this is

written in 1949-1950, but here we are in 2015 and there is still someone to be learned about how you write for the ear a and/or a play that resonates about a historic figure but it is comptemporized and students get into it. so something 19-20 year olds can relate to. >> i think i am coming to the end of my list. i think you sort of talked about his a little but i will give you an opportunity. you don't present him as in fallible. he as a disability and is unsure of himself but keeps going. where does this come from?

he got this great radio training that is giving him tools to haul in the crafts. he leaves his wife, comes back and leaves his wife and not being able to provide for the family. he has a son who is a great jazz musicians. and i gave you a lot to talk about there. >> he is their only child. when durham was working on the greatest the book he hired his

son to work on capturing the whole meet up to ali's fight against foreman for the championship. mark goes out and he is getting color for what is going on and what is happening with ali and the training. that is unique because he is passing on his method of writing. he worked in all mediums. by the time he died, the last year or the year before he died, he became a speech writer and political strategist for washington who became the first black mayor of chicago.

here he is every morning he is writing on the campaign trail as washington is going around to the various stops. he is offering advise -- advice and writing speeches. he was flexible. some of it was necessity because he had to make a living but a lot was the whole idea that you can use your words as weapons and you can use them in the service of feeling justice and inequality. if that was in the political spe

speer -- sphere, cool. a newspaper, fine. writing television and writing scripts that was cool, too. and durham embodies something we all embody, well not all, but many who watch law and order, their claim to fame was ripped from the headlines. okay. so he ripped from many headlines and didn't write the headline himself so that in 1969, if you know about the black panther party and you know what was happening with the panthers in the '60s. in 1969 in december there was a raid by the fbi agents and chicago police department and other special agents against the black panther apartment of fred hampton and mark clark and they died in the raid that happened.

so the police claims there was a shoot out at 3-4 in the morning. but what ended up coming as was an investigator said it was a shoot-in. they did not shoot or didn't have the opportunity and the police just kind of went in to eliminate this threat of these radical black panthers. it was only a few months after the hampton and clark murders. show this shows you, yes, you can take what is happening in the news and life today and i think that if durham had been alive and still writing he would

look at police brutality and the idea of excessive force in the black community by the police force and find ways to dramatize and talk about the riots and the forces behind it. how did this relationship decline so strongly? why some do not trust the police and how did that evolve into what we are now and back then even. i think there are ways you can creatively talk about issues but yet pass the surface and go back to the deeper issues that help and talk about what are solutions. so you are not saying here is what happened, this is how terrible it was, but no, how do we move forward from here.

>> thank you for sharing your work with us. i read the race b a few years ago and i had the pleasure of meeting with the author and talking with him about the book. i know he was saying that a lot of the work he did alloweded the international community to become aware of the racial tension happening during the civil rights movement. did any of durham's work you found in the research have that international visibility and how does that contribute to the international community knowing about what was going on in america? >> in terms of being distributed internationally? >> not just distributed internationally but did his work have reach internationally to where he contributed to people

abroad knowing what was going on here when it came to race. >> i think just in terms of him working on various -- working in various media and working on various subjects. in 1945, he was here in san francisco because that was when there was this big conference that led to the formation of the united nations. you know, we take for granted the united nations existing and having existed for many years. but there was a struggle about what this was going to be. what the united nations would do to force the peace. and there was this coming together of all of these nations. one of the things he did and this was for the chicago defender was he interviewed and wrote articles about

smallernati smallernatismaller smaller nations and look at the charter and how that could include everyone. he was participating in an international meeting that did have major impact. the other thing was that in 1955 there was the bad news conference which was a meeting of the nation's of color. asian and african and not the major entities but the other nations coming together to talk about what they could do to, you know, cooperate and deal with issues. so he participated in that. i think in terms of your questions other than covering

these things and being a p participant and all about world wide interaction. thank you. >> maybe you can talk about the writing process and the time it took you to accomplish this and how you approached the subject matt matter. >> you don't want to know about the time. it took too long. i started this, you know, i found out about durham in the '90s when i worked on the smithsonian series.

i didn't get to it until the early 2000's because i was working on other projects. when i decided to do it i started research. and you talked about the people i interviewed, folks who are not with us like oscar brown junior and they were good friends, best friends. papal worked at the illinois writer's project and was a group writer there, vernon garret, columnist in chicago and they were friend and these people unfortunately are no longer here. in 2002, which is when i started the research, i had the opportunity to start interviewing these folks. and could go back to them several times when you know there were holes

>> and then really just focusing on the last few years it was all about writing and rewriting and ed editing. when i got to the publisher they said here is your word limit you have to have so many and i had almost twice as many so they said you have to edit this down. there is nothing to take out. yes, there is. i kept widdling and widdli- -- g and dwindling. it reminded me of working in the radio and you have 20, 15, or 5 minutes. and i don't care how great someone's interview is you have to keep rolling it down until it is there because you cannot go

over. and the same process with this. with radio, my first draft, i was writing as if i was writing for the ear. so i would write and say here this is a great quote let me throw it in word for word and people reading it, friends and colleagues were like what is this? why is this big chunk here? nobody is going to read this. this is not radio this is print. i had to go back and say okay, what do i do here. so that kind of process. there are a lot of things that didn't make it in but i could use it on my website or another fashion so that was the process. it was hard, though. 14-15 years, yes, ma'am, no joke.

>> how are you? >> good. >> can i ask your perspective on what do you think as the person who writes for yourself? what do you think is the recipe, or the common factors you see that people have that become great writers. in terms of life experience, perspective. what do you think maybe great writers have in common. >> that is a great question. one is perseverance. some people have natural talent for the words. butt if you are writing a particular medium, even the net,

you have to know because you think it or someone tells you that, that it is going to be interesting to someone else. you have to figure out how to craft it so that your mother, father, sister and brother may love it, but you know, joanne down the street could love it. you have to reach her and someone else. i think it is about persevering and being willing to rewrite and rewrite again and take criticism. i think that is one of the hardest things all artist have. it is great. what do you mean you don't understand? it is not about you. it is about you but also what you are writing about and make sure it is clear to someone else who doesn't know and love you. the other thing is, you know, we talk about talent and yes, some people are naturally gifted in certain ways. i think he was definitely

gifted. but harry ree had to work on hi. one of the illustrative things to me as a radio producer and writer, with the earlier illinois writing project, those scripts were terrible. it is not a play. it is radio. you will not see someone walking across the stage and being dramatic. you will only hear it. he had a bunch of characters and if you don't have a good sense of who is talking you are lost. you hear a male character, how do you know it is another male character and now you hear this woman. you have to convince the number of people that are going to be in the play and you can't be didatic.

unless you find a way to illustrate it i am lecturing to you. that is not drama. i think all of those things determine what kind of separates a good writer from someone who is just kind of, you know, putting their thoughts on paper. >> i want to add something from your book that you talk about particular writers and if you can mention those two. >> in order to be a good writer

you have to be a committed reader. if you see other writers it can inspire you. not that you want to copy but you can learn from. he was a teenager and read everything debouis wrote. if you read it now you will see not only was he someone who could look at the situation in the country and analyze it but he was also a miracle, poetic writer in his own way. dick dickens was one of the best he said. he could grab the reader's attention from the first words. it was the best of worlds, it

was the worst. all of that. the characters are still talked about today. it is because he found a way to get you into a story right at the top and then hopefully or not hopefully but keep you there. dickens was another. the other was langton hughes. he is langston was like a chemist and put words together to create wonderful poems and short stories. hughes was in radio for a moment or two or three so his dramas were exciting as well. so he loved those three. but he ready everyone. and whether he agreed with philosophy he read them so he

had a guide and he could sympathize with the ideas and use them on his own. >> a question. is being a professor of journalism and media how do you encourage or mentor younger writers at your university to tell the creative writing instead of writing stories or investigative journalism but being to as you mentioned earlier to write about solutions to whatever it is they are kind of hoping to express and being able to use the story telling form to capture people to buy in the solutions or practice them. >> yeah, that is a good question. i think in our department and

our department and all of the elements whether it is narrative or investigative news stories, in news stories, if it is hard news you have to tell the story and can't have an objective perspective. but if you interpret it to look at a situation and then you may need to interview people who can provide a broader perspective

but you can write a short or do something that looks at c contempory topics but deals with a solution and way to deal with it. i think there are many ways but the great thing is our department, many students take some classes together so that at the beginning level when they are viewing this, and are sophmores and freshman they do the same stuff and branch off in the junior and senior year. but they can take film directing and script writing and that gives them is broader sense of telling stories. i had students who grew up to be anchors and/or journalist and yet they will take the narrative courses so they understand that story telling can be, you know, what it can be and how they

might incorporate dramatic elements in the story telling. >> thank you. thank you both so much for this wonderful conversation. >> on the next washington journal, higgins of the washington examiner will be with us. and the nation magazine talks about politics in campaign 2016. we will take your calls and look for your comments on facebook and twitter. washington journal is live every day starting at 7:00 eastern on c-span.