what are we going to do if he makes all these changes? we won't be able to afford to see a doctor and pay all these bills. i was wandering what the democrats are going to do with all of this? i'm wandering what they are going to do about this? have you any idea? host: that has to be the last word. we'll continue tomorrow. news makers is coming up next. thank you for joining us on this sunday morning. the house will gave el in at 1:00 eastern. the first round of vote also happen somewhere after 12:00. the final vote to happen sometime this evening. we hope you'll tune in today into tonight as the debate and votes happen in washington. thank you for being with us on this sunday. enjoy the rest of the weekend. have a great weekend.

. . >> good to see you. >> have fun.

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>> joining us this sunday is representative gutierrez. the task force chair for the hispanic caucus. thanks for being with us.  >> a pleasure to be here. host: here for the questioning is peter nick last and rick dunham, washington correspondent for the houston chronical. thank you for being with us. let me buy again with the issues of health care and immigration. because initially you opposed the health care bill because of the language with regard to immigration. what changed in the legislation? guest: well, i supported the bill when it first came before the house. the senate version of course was different. i think many of us remember

when president barack obama came before the house floor to give an explanation and encourage us to get the work done. kind of pivotted to the left and looked to the republicans and said, you've been wrong and you've been unfair because nothing in this bill contains any provisions, any tax benefits that could benefit undocumented workers. he said illegal aliens then. two days later he said the washington -- the white house issued a statement saying moreover, even if you go to the exchange to purchase your health care, we want to make sure that you're legally here in this country even though there would be no taxpayer dollars, even though you would use your own money to buy it. i thought that was mean, over the top, unnecessary, bad public policy. and they then interjected immigration policy into the health care debate and we responded. now, what happened was we couldn't -- when the house passed the bill, it didn't include that language.

unfortunately, now we're back to the senate. so i and others decided that we would engage this white house in a conversation and a dialogue about that. so what -- i know what my goal was. my goal was to refocus this presidency on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform, to make it a priority. i think we've taken steps towards making that reality. host: do those who enter this country illegally have any rights to health care? guest: none. except emergency health care which every human being does. when you show up and you're in critical condition, you're in the emergency room -- which is part of bhy i think this is such bad public policy, is you understand that there are 4 million american citizen children, they're born here in this country, whose parents are undocumented. why are you going to prohibit them from purchasing health care that can help cover their children? because that germ doesn't know borders. that germ isn't afraid of an ins agent. it simply comes into the

classroom, work place, society in general. let's allow them to purchase their health care with their own money. moreover, let's get comprehensive immigration reform. which is what the rally today is about so we don't have these issues any more to deal with. host: peter. caller: thank you for being here, congressman. republican senator graham of south carolina warned that if health care passes, immigration reform might be dead for the year. he is so concerned about the processed used to pass the health care he might with draw his support for health care reform. he is so far the only republican senator to cooperate on the separate in drafting the legislation. i wonder if you could talk about senator graham's announcement. >> he is a friend and ally and a necessary one. let's begin from the premise you can't pass comprehensive immigration reform unless it's in a bipartisan fashion. it won't be like the health

care bill, it must be. there aren't enough democrats in the house of representatives or in the senate to on our own get homplekensive ggration reform passed -- comprehensive immigration reform passed. but we shouldn't mix one with the other. we did that before. we set the precedent straight on not mixing immigration policy with health care policy. and here we go once again doing the same thing. the plight of our immigrant community is in and of itself one that we should respond as a legislative body. and i don't know, do the republicans really want to say one more time no to a vast growing more influential and more powerful community of latinos and immigrants in this country? do they simply want to say no and kind of have a bleak future where they continue to be the party of smaller and smaller numbers here in america? let me put it to you in this context. 2004, 8 million latinos voted

in the election. 2008, 10 million voted. and it's going to continue to increase every year. why would you want on such a critical issue to walk away from such a large community? when in effect, you really do share with them their aspirations and their goals. which i know in his heart lindsey graham does. >> well, given all the latino votes cast for barack obama in 2008, what do you think the leadership has come of the white house on the issue? i know many latino activists were concerned that there was only sentence devote to immigration reform in the state of the union speech in january. are you satisfied with the leadership from the white house on this? >> no. and we have said that. why are people coming today? i don't know if it's going to be 50,000, 70,000. i don't know. i know from chicago there are 120 buses. 10,000 people are coming from my city of chicago and i know there are tens of other

thousands coming. what really precipitated or what was that fuse that really lit the whole movement to come into washington, d.c. today on this sunday? it was that one sentence. it was a sense that the president said it because it was obbletri, obblegratri didn't give much enthusiasm to his words. his body language and tone was i'm going to say this and get on with my speech. and so we said we're tired of being invisible. we're tired of this lack luster kind of response to what is truly a human tragedy in america. the millions of undocumented workers whose families are being destroyed, whose families are being ripped apart, who are exploited every day in the workplace. america is greater than the treatment it's giving such a vital and such a core working community of america which are the immigrants of this nation.

>> congressman, democrats control the house and the senate as well as the white house. i want to get your analysis of why we haven't seen more action on the hill. you presented legislation in december. we have this framework on the senate side which is not really legislation right now. why have the democrats not moved forward with it and what can the demonstration today, what can you do to try to press the leadership on both sides of the hill to try to get some action this year? >> it failed twice in the senate. there has been a decision already made that it's going to need to pass through the senate first. as all of you know, many things get through the house of representatives and then fail because of inaction in the senate. in this case, we want action in the senate. it's always been our priority. it's always been the game plan. get the senate to act. so what's different? do we control both house sns absolutely.

but you know, when the president comes at the state of the union, the country really does stand still for a moment. every tv station, lots of radio stations. all focus on that message of the president. and he gives his priorities. he gives a direction of where he wants to take the nation both as the leader of all americans, but also as the legislative leader for the majority party in this case, the democrats. and what we want and what we believe we are -- the president is responding, is to making it a priority so that we can get it done. my hope is that today i'm certainly betting on that the vote will be close but we will pass the health care proposal today in the house of representatives, that the president can make this a kind of priority. let me just say this. when he was candidate barack obama, and he was crossing the nation, he would say i want to pass comprehensive immigration reform the first year of my

presidency. i want to sign that bill in the first summer of my presidency. these are words that he actually articulated. we want to help him. we want us to embrace us. so what's the rally? the rally is a call. we're not invisible. we are here. we want you mr. president to lead us. >> this is a president that comes from your hometown and yet you sound frustrated with him. >> but i'm hopeful. and i'm sorry that it doesn't -- it's been really a very difficult first 15 months. my hope is that today we're going to turn a page. i know that the president is sending an address to those who are going to be out there today. i'm hopeful. we had a really good meeting. the president met with us not this thursday, the thursday before. i saw him at the rose garden event at the signing of the stimulus bill. we shook hands, we spoke.

i really am much more hopeful maybe than i'm letting on. in terms of turning that page and his embracing us more fully and really energizing and putting a few -- i think of that barack obama in 2004 that just lit up the democratic convention. and fe could bring some of that energy and passion to our issue i know we can win. what do i want? just like abraham lincoln, the emancipation proclamation, just like linden johnson and the civil rights act, i want him to hold that pen and sign a comprehensive immigration bill that will bring people out of the shadows. i want him to be that president that goes down in history and having done that. unfortunately, up to this point westbound a struggle but i think it's -- we have had a struggle but i think it's a strugthal will lead to very good cooperation from here forward. at least that's my hope. >> before he holds the pen, does he have to hold a hammer

over democrats? how strong is the support among democrats in the house and senate? we've heard some resistance and as you said, in the senate some of the wording on immigration in the health care legislation would be a warning to you. >> you know, we agreed early on just on the health care point, you know, we thought it was bad but we were going vote for the health care bill even though it denied legal immigrants to the united states for the first fie years any participation in the health care reform. but moreover, look, democrats have been procrast nating, republicans have certainly been putting up every barrier possible. we need to move this forward. that's why we need this president this president of change, this president of change, transformation, commitment. this president who understands these issues to lead on this issue. so we're putting our focus and our attention today there.

but let me be very clear, we want him to be our leader so that we can march together and then confront the obstacles together. there's been a disconnect between the community-based organizations, between the richness of all of those of us that are fighting on the frontline for immigrant rights and this presidency. we want that to end. we want this president to succeed. we want this president to engage us as our leader on this issue. so let me just say in the house, i remember sitting down two or three years ago with rahm emanuel in chicago, and he's a tough vote counter. we were in his office back in irving park when he didn't have a sweet there at the white house on the west wing. and we went through. we got to about 190 democrats that he and i agreed with and rahm always having to be open over who would or would not vote for a comprehensive immigration reform. so, look, i'm confident that in the house there are -- again, i

said it in the beginning. we need to do more to reach out to republicans but we also need to make sure that our base is strong. in the senate i worked with senator kennedy and senator mccain. congressman flake and gutierrez in the house and mccain and kennedy in the senate. we worked for two years to put a bipartisan proposal together. we can do it again. republicans do exist. we need to bring forward a bill that they see has an opportunity of winning. how can we ask republicans to risk their political capital if we in a leadership position have not set the stage for a victory on immigration reform? once we set that stage, once we show them how many votes and once they see that it is possible, i think we will have more support from them. it won't be a lot, but we don't need a lot. we need 10, 15 prnts of the republican caucus to join us. but we need to show them leadership on this issue also. >> congressman, we hear from the white house that the

immigration strategy will be very similar to the health care strategy, that the white house will give great latitude to the senate. they will see if the senate can work out a compromise. if one presents itself, the white house will get on board and declare its support. we saw in health care there were great delays. we saul some of the drawbacks of this strategy. i wonder if you can comment. would you like to see a different approach when it comes to immigration? >> sure. but you know what? i want to see an approach. that's whalely what's been lacking here. there's no game plan. there is no approach. there's no setting goals and objectives, really. there is really a lack here -- there's nothing really going on. that's overstating it. it's like start, stop, start, stop. we never quite finish. so, look, i'm looking forward. i am happy that senator shumer

and senator lindsey graham are working together. i was delighted to see their blueprint. is it far from legislative? sure. but the majority leader reid has said he will put time on the senate floor. i know that chairman lay hi is looking forward to seeing the bill so that he can call for those markups. and what i'm saying to my party, the democrats here today, what we're saying to them is chair man lay hi is the chairman of the judiciary committee, let's get a markup. we know he believes in us. let's get that floor time on the senate. let's get them to finish that blueprint and turn it into legislative language. then see what obstacles present themselves. instead of always saying, you know it's a hard job. maybe we can't get there. it's so difficult. so we never begin. we have to start being optimists and stop being so pessimistic. i think we're pessimistic because we don't want to engage because it's a difficult thing

to do. it's not easy, but it's a necessary thing to get done for our nation. >> what is the timetable here? we're in an election season. members are going to be campaigning home in their districts in the summer and fall. but what time does a bill have to move in the senate for this type of shot at passing? >> my real feeling is april. you know, we're going to go on a recess for a couple weeks, spring recess. i think there's foing be -- going to be plenty of time. i believe most of the legislative language is already done. you can't really change comprehensive immigration reform that much. there are certain pillars and standards that are already clearly delinyated. sure, there are changes that lindsey graham is going to want to make and schumer is going to put his stamp on it. there is only so much you can do. so my feeling is let's get it

done. and what we're coming here to washington, d.c. by the tens of thousands to say, we want to see it get started in late april. we want to see the legislation introduced and the markup begin so that in may or june we might get some floor time. which senator harry reid, the majority leader, has said. and then, look, today's march and coming together in washington, d.c. is about one step of a continuum. there will be town hall meetings, there will be people visiting their congress, with their senators on the 10th of april i will be with the majority leader at a huge rally in las vegas. on may 1, there will be organized events across this nation. i really believe that if the legislative prosess starts and we can't get things done in april and get this process then we need to go back to the field. then we need to do what the suffradge movement did, the civil rights movement, the labor movement. we need to go back into the field and create the conditions

by making sure that the american public understands the immorality of not having comprehensive immigration. the abuse and the exploitation. tell the story of that soldier that comes back from iraq only to find an order of deportation for his wife while he has been risking his life. tell the story of the american citizen dying of cancer with his wife being deported. the 4 million children. let's hear their voices and thou they live in fear that their parents are somehow going to vanish and di disappear in the middle of the night because an immigration agent is going to take them away from them. there are stories that abound that if the american public saw the abuse, the exploitation of women in onion fields and in gar lick fields in california and sweat shops in l.a., in those meat packing plants in iowa and nebraska. if they saw the exploitation of those women by their managers, they heard those voices, i just know that america -- and that's part of what we want our

president to do, to start a campaign so that we all hear those voices and listen to those stories, because that immorality i think will be such that the american public will respond in a genuine and in a full fashion to incorporate them and embrace them and protect them. >> a quick followup. >> congressman, what are the political repercusions for democrats if there's further delay on this issue? president obama initially said he would deal with this in his first year. if nothing happens this year, might there be a back lash at the polls? will latino voters stay home? what dow f do you expect will happen? >> look, i'll try to put it to you in this perspective. president barack obama, what a wonderful thing, hispanic woman on the supreme court, expansion of health care services for children, even including immigrant children. more educational opportunities, pell grant increases and

educational opportunities, housing and coming back to make sure that housing opportunities are expanded. so many great things. you know what? they're all going to be lost because the key issue that is going to be on the minds, that issue that really is an issue of passion in the heart of our community to include all of us, to bring us all out of the shadows and into the light. immigration reform, if you don't do it i really think there are going to be a lot of people that will simply question whether they should have any loyalty to the democratic party and whether this party really responded to them. that's why it's important that the president react from a political point of view to show that the promises that he made in the campaign, he is ready to carry them out as president of the united states. i think in the mid-term elections you will see a fallout and i think in the next general election it's going to be the key question, where will latinos go? will they say the republicans have treated us so badly, and

so poorly we can never go there and therefore we need to stay with democrats or will we simply say shame on both of you and simply exclude ourselves from the political process. >> last time immigration came up, president bush was in the white house. a republican was there. you had support from a decent number of republicans. this time, the republicans have been trying to stop legislation from passing in general. i was wondering about three specific republicans who could play key roles and see what you think their temperature is right now. congressman flake is one. you would mentioned him earlier. he was somewhat critical of the proposal you released in december because it dizzf did not have a guest worker program. senator cornyn from texas is another one. he is the head of the republican senatoral committee, their campaign arm. but he has been an advocate of comprehensive reform of some sort in the past.

i was wondering if you think he could be brought on board. and senator mccain is the third, the key person in the senate. but he has had a primary opponent who is running at him from the right, j.d. heyworth who has been very critical of his work on immigration reform. what do you think the prospects are for those three key republicans? >> i think first of all, you know, when i spoke to senator mccain six years ago, i think, we sat down and had our first conversation. and he said you know, i'm going to have to get the republicans to understand that we're going to need to find a way to legalize the undocumented workers in this country and bring them out. and you're going to have to work on those democrats so that we can have a future flow of workers, a continuous flow of workers to provide for the needs of our labor force. i think we're still there today. as you so well put it, my friends and my ally in this fight, congressman flake.

but i think i also know what -- you can't spend two years in one of those cubby holes over in the senate arguing over language in a compromise immigration package that we put forward and not come to know what's in someone's heart. i'm hoping the primary is over in arizona and that he comes back from that process and that we can reengage him. he's important because he understands these issues from the border. and you know something? he understands the i had sinksies of the legislation. my friend again congressman flake here, i understand -- let me explain to you why i did it this way. i did it this way because i said, listen, at this particular point what i want to do is revenue the democrats. -- rev the democrats. we will have the majority of the democratic caucus will be on the bill i introduce