s >> good morning everyone. my name is officer antrobus. i'm the public information officer for the united states capitol police. my title is public information officer.s i'm an officer. the united states capitol police our responsibility in conjunction with our law enforcement partners is to ensure the safety of those attending the inaugural ceremonies throughout the weekend. first and foremost, we want everyone to enjoy the democratic process and this historic day. with any event that occurs on the capitol complex, safety is our number one priority. that said, safety and security for guests, public, et cetera, is not carried out just by us, but in partnership with our law enforcement community,

metropolitan police, united states secret service, park police and other entities as well as public safety entities. the partnership that we have established to create a pretty robust plan has been in the works for many months and while i cannot go into detail about those -- about the security plan, please know we have trained extensively to address any issues that may come up during the day. thank you. >> thank you, officer. i appreciate that. as someone that did communications before heading back to the campaign last year, the officer had the easiest job because he can say i'm not allowed to say that. that is the main day, monday, couple of other events we wanted to highlight. saturday is a big day for us, two traditions that were started in 2009 by the first family, national day of service and kids' inaugural children's concert.

the national day of service will be taking place across the country, events in all 50 states and a large event down here on the mall. chelsea clinton has joined us as the honorary co-chair and will be appearing at the mall event in the large tent that you have seen as you have driven down 14th street and will be joined by eva longoria, ben folls as well as 100 organizations from all across the capitol region and folks will be able to go down and talk to these people. it's a fair-type atmosphere and learn how to serve in our community. we will have events in all 50 states. right now we are on track over 2,000 events across the country and this is the first inaugural committee that has paid for

staff in all 50 states because this a priority of the first family to see this service day, both to honor the memory of martin luther king junior and also a tradition we hope will live on and become part of inaugurations regardless who is in our position in four years. one more event on saturday evening, the kids' inaugural children's concert. this was started by dr. biden and first lady michelle obama. an extension of their work they have done through the joining forces initiative to help honor and support military families and will take place at the convention center, which is where both balls will take place. we will put out details of talent. we have put out an initial list of talent that will be appearing at the balls on monday night and the kids' concert. this is a logistical lift to get that all pieced together as a puzzle and we hope by friday to announce which acts will be appearing.

over half of the audience will be made up of military kids and this is a great place to honor the men and women and families that support them. on tuesday, jumping ahead, there will be the traditional prayer service taking place at the national cathedral. the first and second family will attend. this is a tradition that is part of most inaugurals and we will be announcing the running show on that. we are working with the cathedral who will be there and the president will be there and nice to cap off four days of public celebration. i think that's everything we've got in terms of the run of show. i'm sure you will have a number of questions. making sure i didn't miss anything and the number of events that we cover. i think that's about it. more than happy to open it up to questions at this point. and again, i would just be remiss if i didn't say thank to

all of our partners and law enforcement partners headed by the u.s. capitol police and the united states secret service. >> one item of housekeeping before we go to questions, if i recognize you, if you could identify yourself by name and your news organization and in the time we have for questions, we'll try to get to you as many as we can. start in the front. >> nbc news. my question is for you, matt. you mentioned that you hope to have some significant improvements in security for monday. it's important for the public to get in, but here we are concerned with media. some networks missed air due to lines, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning. can we expect improvements on that? >> across the board there will be improvements in the flow of every person in and out of the capitol. we will be showing media guidelines in the next day or so that will make clear the

movements and we have been planning for many months to accommodate the individuals who have credentials. and everyone should be on the same page where folks can and can't go. we are making accommodations that will have more details in folks interesting on broadcasting from the capitol on sunday around the events that are happening that day. we have a good plan in place. >> if i could add to that not as much on the media side but the public side, we do have the advantage of having done this four years. a lot of the planning steps we took, we are trying to learn from some of the challenges last time. and one of the reasons we have consolidated the two balls into the convention center where they were spread over four, five locations, was to decrease our footprint and a more manageable process for law enforcement partners and folks who are

attending. our hope is that the flow in and out of the official ceremony and the other events will be smooth. i know they put out a great online tool for the public announced earlier, a mobile web app that matt can speak to, but speaks to what is going on here in d.c. and it's part of our effort to make sure that people across the country can be involved and live streaming of the actual event and lot of information on the day of service. and logistical information for people who are attending the event. between those tools and twitter and other social media to hopefully make this as smooth a process as possible and put in a plug for j.t.f. who has their presence online as well. we have seen a big leap forward on how we are using social media to make it a smoother event. >> i was wondering if you could

address how much -- what the cost is, what the price tag is for all of the preparations. and also in addition to the hispanic people involved, any other hispanic celebrities or national leaders that will be joining the celebrations over the four-day --? >> i'll deaver on the cost issues. there are a -- i'll defer on the cost issues. ascertaining an overall cost before the event is difficult. we tally up some of these bills after the event. in terms of the hispanic community's involvement, the president is committed to making sure and the leaders involved are making sure that this is an event that reflects america. there are a number of groups not just from the hispanic community but from other communities that really show not just our geographic diversity but also

cult yourself. the inaugural poet will be a hispanic american.the benediction is being given by a cuban american. and eva longoria. but i think when you look up on the official dais, it does reflect the country. >> and to that point as far as you know latino participation, senator schumer invited reverend luis cortez and has done a tremendous amount of work to fight crime and poverty and make

sure that individuals across the country have access to affordable housing and affordable education and senator schumer will open with a prayer in recognition of his long history of service. >> and if i could really quick, this doesn't speak to the hispanic-american community, but looking through my notes, we wanted to make sure that everyone knew that evers williams who is the widow of slain civil rights meger fers will be kinging off an event. so we think that that will be a nice way to open the event and a nice nod towards the civil rights movement in the part it has played not only in the president's life but in the country's life. >> i just want to know how many

foreign dignitaries are coming and if there is a list for that and where they will be seated. >> from our standpoint, i believe we are still finalizing the list of individuals who will attend and we will have more information on that in the coming days. the diplomatic corps has been seated on the platform. about 1,600 guests that are seated on the platform and the president and his party and the vice president and his family and guests, governors, the house and the senate, supreme court, joint chiefs and the diplomatic corps will be there. it's a group north of about 150 generally, but more details on that in the coming days.

>> the question is for mr. colburn. there have been questions raised about the transparency of your committee in regards to donor- related information that hasn't been released. could you address those. >> the committee according to the regulations, has to file 90 days after the inaugural takes place and will include information on donors and this is unique to the committee. it is a carveout on the regulations. we are providing donors on a weekly basis, the names given to the community. this is a step above the regulations placed down by the f.c.c. and go to our web site. >> it's not a transparent -- >> i said at the beginning, we don't want follow-up questions. we want to give everyone a chance. >> we are on track to meet the goal.

we have every comfort we will have the resources we need to put on all the events we discussed and feel comfortable at our fundraising. i'm not going to get into specific numbers. >> you haven't told us anything about the president's day on sunday. could you talk about the official swearing-in and what else he will do that day. what will he do for the day of service and -- >> i can answer, i don't know to a number of those. i don't know where bruce springsteen is. he is not part of the talent line-up. i don't know where the boss will or won't be. on sunday, this is a schedule that is driven by our partners at the white house. and those are questions they can answer. when inauguration day falls on a

sunday, the public is held the following monday which is what we walked through with matt, myself and the colonel. that being said, according to the constitution he has to be sworn in on june 20 by noon. small ceremony and pool press, so it will be available for the people to see. it will be in the blue room. the president will literally walk in. chief justice roberts will be there to administer the oath and will be using the robinson bible for that. this is the first lady's family bible. he will do the oath and that will be it. it will be a quick official, but very important ceremony. the vice president will do the same thing earlier that day. that is due to scheduling. that will be up at the vice

president's residence. again, with immediate family. he will be sworn in on the biden family bible. the same one will be used on monday that he used four years ago. in between those two, a wreath- laying at arlington. this will be different that you have seen. much more low-key affair and very similar to the one they did four years ago. two of them laying a wreath and marking the importance of those who have served their country and given their lives as we get ready for the events on monday. that's what i know. [indiscernible] >> both the bidens and the obamas will participate on saturday. that will be here in the metro area. we have a number of cabinet officials that will be participating and we will be making announcements on that in the coming days.

as you know, odds are you will know when it happens, but they will be doing something and that will be the entire family. >> just a follow-up on the fundraising question, if you have leftover funds, where do you plan to use those funds? presidential library? >> you know, i can honestly i don't know. there are rules that regulate what we can and can't do with those funds. i know some funds were used to do repairs on the national mall through the association that governance the national mall. that's a bridge we'll cross when we come to it. but there are a number of civic- minded things to do if we are lucky to have access funds when it is all said and done. >> cnn. how many law enforcement agencies and officers will be involved in the security on the day of the inauguration? and also, how large of an area will be closed off with street closures?

>> first, to answer your question, we cannot go into detail as to how many law enforcement officers will be present for the inauguration. and could you repeat your second question for me? >> how many agencies? >> i can't go into detail. >> how much will be closed off. >> we have road closures in effect and i can provide you with information on those. [indiscernible] >> with all events that happen on the capitol complex, we train constantly to address them. as far as specific threats, i can't answer that right now, but just know that united states capitol police with our law enforcement partners have

trained constantly in regards to issues that may come up. >> two logistical questions. there are credentials for roaming on the mall outside the capitol area. what does that get you that the public doesn't get? how do you get across the mall and pennsylvania avenue before the parade starts? does everyone have to go around the capitol and lincoln memorial? >> this is a supersatisfying answer, we can get back to you. we have a team that concentrates on logistics. that was an issue four years ago with getting across pennsylvania. i can follow up afterwards and put you in touch with the right folks.

>> what's your best guess for the running time of the ceremony from start to finish and parade from start to finish? >> i can handle the ceremony portion of it. we expect that the announcements on the platform, former presidents will begin around 11:00 and 30 minutes to announce everyone that will be seated on the platform. senator schumer opens the ceremony at 11:30 and expect the president to take the oath at noon and will be a couple -- beyonce immediately after that to wrap things up and the final musical act. and hope to have everyone back inside at 12:30. music begins at 9:30 in the morning and v.i.p.'s, past presidents will begin heading out to the platform at 9:45 in

the morning. after the inaugural speech and the performances at the end, the president will head back in. takes the oath at noon and hope to have everyone heading back in. >> the parade duration? >> i love any show that opens with chuck schumer and ends with beyonce. this is a more traditional-sized parade. our parade four years ago was long. we are aiming for 2 1/2. but they can change based on weather and other events. i would also just say this parade is a little bit than what you might see at the macy's day parade. people don't stop. this is a moving parade and there is two elements that is important for planning purposes.

for media that is covering it, the presidential escort, the colonel discussed with the limos down pennsylvania avenue to the white house. there is a short break after that, before what we consider the parade begins. this is just so those individuals, the president and first family can go out and be positioned for the first elements of the military and civilian units.>> this day jean -- the staging elements are focused where? >> you can speak to that best, colonel. >> as you can imagine for all the participants in the parade with approximately 10,000 participants, there is a huge logistical dance. staging will happen at the

pentagon parking lot and will go through secret service screening and security screens and get everyone lined up in the proper formation so the five divisions are clear and everyone is in the correct order. and there are actually logistical teams assigned to each division to make sure they get on the right route and once they get past the white house reviewing stand, there are different areas designated for each of the elements. >> i was wondering if you can talk about there are contingency plans in case when you wake up and there is snow on the ground on monday morning. >> we do have a weather contingency plan. it's going to be similar to past

inaugurations. last time it happened was president reagan's second inaugural. it will be moved inside to the rotunda and the joint committee in consultation with the presidential inaugural committee would make on sunday afternoon so everyone has time to adjust. >> the only thing i would add, our goal is to have this event go forward. that being said, we aren't going to put anyone in harm's way. the real driver on that decision-making process on sunday will be safety. as you know, we were here four years ago and cold doesn't slow us down. we'll deal with that as it comes up. look, each element of this outside of the actual swearing- in are traditions that are important to the president, important to the first family and important for the country to really show what our transition of democracy is all about. again, our hope is to be able to move forward with as many of

these events as possible regardless of what the weather is. >> on the other issue -- why the reversal from four years ago as good giving more transparency. a reversal -- what specifically what decision was made to change that? donors' request? could you raise more money? >> to be honest, none of those were the considerations. my understanding is that we just kind of -- each of you -- they are not continuations of the same committee four years ago. we are lucky for some of us who did it the last time. and this was the decision that was made in terms of disclosure and there is the f.c.c. requirement, this was our

attempt to go above and beyond that and add a level of transparency. >> over the weekend and on monday, are there telephone numbers we can call if we need to check up on something? who is going to be available to answer phone calls? >> ma'am, one more time, your question. >> is there a phone number that we need to check on anything, maybe an arrest or who can we call? >> you can call me. i'm the public information officer for the capitol police. i would be the person that -- [laughter] >> i'll talk to you afterwards. i will give it to you. >> lots of people may be needing that number. >> fair enough. 202-224-1677.

>> couple other things on that. as you pick up your credentials, there is a media guide in that. that media guide is current when it went to print, which is last wednesday. there is an online version of that which is 2013pic.org, which will be updated. i don't have the number handy, but much like the other national events like super bowl or other events that the secret service coordinates with local and police departments, there will be security issues. we will get that to you. most of that information should be in that media guide. >> you want to talk about that as well? >> i have gotten a number of questions over the last few days when the media guide will be

available. we anticipate later today or tomorrow morning and have background information of everything you are going to see at the ceremony and anticipated and projected, emphasize on those words, time line for the ceremony itself. that is subject to change based on what happens on monday. we anticipate that and the flow of events and all the details about that and our media guide should be public this afternoon or tomorrow morning. that will be on our web site inaugural dth senate dth gov and i'm sure everyone will have that. >> how big a crowd are you expecting that you might come to this event and could it be easier logistically than 2009? >> the short answer on that is that the presidential inaugural committee doesn't do crowd

projections or crowd counts after the fact. media outlets often do. this is more in line of traditional inaugurations. four years ago was historic. you usually get larger crowds when there is a change of power and the first african-american president created more. this will be larger in size and scope. we hope it will be logistically as smooth as possible. all of the partners up here as well as a number of folks have been working very hard to make it as smooth as possible. we beg folks' patience. these are large events. the weather could be cold, dress warm and be prepared to be outside and to work with us to make this as smooth an event as possible.

>> in terms of media participation, how many requests for credentials did you receive and how many did you give out? >> i don't have a specific number, but it's thousands. it is one of the most covered events in the world. it has international significance not just national significance. we have thousands of media organizations that apply for credentials. and matt can speak more to the capitol and what they're expecting and we try to accommodate. we want this to be as public an event as possible and an event that people here in the united states and around the world can join as a symbol of what this country is all about.>> from the washington post, cocoa --

"washington post" -- there's a lot of interesting tickets made for the parade and the ball. one critic on the hill is saying this can be seen as in-kind work and how many tickets are available for the public. >> i can't give you a specific percentage but can tell you about the universe that make up the ball tickets. certain percentage were given to the general public for purchase. that is unusual and unique to president obama and this inauguration. traditionally there isn't a public sale. we say thank you to folks who have supported the president, that includes staff members, that includes folks that contributed to the president's campaign. but includes volunteers. we worked very hard to make sure that tickets were made available for purchase to thousands of our volunteers to say thank you and have them participate in this event and the commander in chief's ball and i touched on this earlier, this was a tradition started by george w. bush. and president obama thought we

should continue and one of his favorite parts of the entire weekend. that will be "travel wise" twice the size last time. and they will be attending free of charge. we wish we had more tickets and would like to include as many people as possible but we have struck a good balance with the size of the event and the size of tickets. >> is there anyone who hasn't asked a question? please. >> i'm wondering about the kids' concerts, half of the awedenens is made up of -- audience is made of up military family. >> some armed forces representatives and i don't have the details handy. make tickets available to d.c. school kids who have worked with the first lady's office. and it is a ticketed event. it will be at the convention center. but it is free of charge to

military families and the d.c. school kids. >> on the other ball, the nonmilitary ball, how many people will be attending that and one of your advisers called it open press. what do you mean by open press, because i thought we had to have secret service credentials to cover that. >> our use of open press means that you could have applied for a credential and we give credentials out. and they are given out on a space basis and a full riser just as if the president was giving a speech or campaign event. some of the size, we don't know yet. we will be using as much of the capacity of the convention center as possible. and again, last time we had 10 official balls, this time that is two. we had six that were i believe six that were hosted just at the convention center.

so we are doing two in the same space we did six last time. one of the lessons we learned by spreading out our talent, we weren't able to program it in the way we wanted it to. you go to one ball, you see one or two acts. we have a full program throughout the night for all the attendees. both balls, and if you are there, you will get a much richer experience and help us with crowd flow issues. >> these are for credentialed press? >> that's right. everything has to be credentialed for security reasons. >> you made it clear that you need credentials. >> our panel has agreed to stay and answer questions informally after the news conference and on behalf of the national press corps, i want to thank them for coming on a busy week for all

these individuals and thank those who joined us at today's press conference. thank you. [captioning performed bynational captioning institute] [captions copyright nationalcable satellite corp. 2013] >> now a look at the east side of the capital building and some of the people and operations for the inauguration.

we will have live inauguration weekend coverage here on c-span. we will bring you remarks from first lady michelle obama later this afternoon, and tomorrow live coverage from president official swearing-in ceremony. the smithsonian national museum of american history has a large

collection of presidential inaugural artifacts. we spoke with harry rubenstein, chairman of the politics division who shared the objects from inaugurations past. >> here you are in the division of political history, and i have a number of object from our inaugural collection, which goes back to george washington, all the way to the present, and this weekend, we will be collecting additional material. inaugurations are these wonderful events. in many respects, they are like great, american holidays, like thanksgiving or the fourth of july, they are part of an american tradition -- an important one that celebrates american democracy, certainly

one of the great contributions to the world and to all of our lives. that is with this material is. we try to document the individual inaugurations and the whole part of it -- not just the official part -- the parts that everyday people participate in as well. inaugurations serve a simple function. on one hand, there was a constitution every president had to -- in the constitution every president had to take the oath of office, and that was not only to serve in this office, but to protect the constitution. they are the branch of government to preserve this form of government. there is something very reassuring about this notion that every four years, whether it is your candidate or your opponent, they will be gone

after a certain length of time, and that is the celebration of the in and out of the presidency that makes it so important. we can date our collection to these brass buttons that were made for george washington's first inauguration in new york city. they are a simple brass disk, often with the letters g w on them, and you could pin it to your close or sell it on. it demonstrates the relationship between the presidency and the citizenry, which is really the key, and really when inaugurations are part of. there are these wonderful smash -ups -- part coronation, part celebration of american democracy. that relationship is really key.

they are also celebrations of national unity, and there is a little bit of partisan gloating. one of our great treasures is this flag from thomas jefferson 's first inauguration in 1800. you can see, looking at this banner, what it says -- the eagle holds these ribbons, and on one it says t. jefferson, president of the united states, and on the other, john adams is no more. that celebration, the union and be out, -- the unit in the out, that is what we are looking for , the relationship. you can look at these inaugurations as touchstones along our national narrative of

the changes that have taken place. some of them are technological. the question of george washington writing in a carriage, somebody else in a car, the introduction of radio, television and the internet to record these things -- there are different steps along the way to record, but a continuity -- a kind of reassuring continuity that is important for holidays. you know that thanksgiving in our houses like this. we serve mashed potatoes this way. we have our inaugurations this way. there is very much the same kind of spirit. i pulled a few simple things to give you a sense of the taste and feel of inaugurations. one aspect of inaugurations really from the very beginning is the inaugural ball. these are celebrations in which this candidate, now president,

is introduced to the public thomas as well as celebrations of everybody coming together -- public, as well as celebrations of everybody coming together, recognizing supporters, and in the early days introducing this politician to the diplomatic corps in washington. so, here is just a sense. here is an invitation for james k. 1845. inauguration in this happens to be for the $10 ball. polk and tw oh inaugural balls. one was the -- had 2 inaugural balls, and then one was for the everyday citizens. they confuse the invitations. the diplomatic corps got the invitation for the two dollar

ball. there were the diplomat's wives dancing with their gardeners. this is a common story. we collect this kind of insanity -- this kind of material. this happens to be the abraham lincoln inauguration, documenting that formal sense, but there is a quality to these inaugurations that are very important because the tone is very carefully constructed, often. sometimes you lose your control, such as with polk, but often times everybody knows that every aspect of an inauguration will be examined for meaning, what is being said, the undercurrents -- do you ride up to the capital in a carriage in splendor?

do you walk back as a man of the people, as jimmy carter did? there is careful balance. when you look at some of this material, you can see over time that, in fact, they are carefully crafting it as well. i have always been amazed in looking at jimmy carter's inaugural serial, how informal his material tends to be compared to other presidents, and it is clearly a statement that following the nixon years, the imperial presidency, they were going to have a residency of the people -- presidency of the people. you notice that on his tickets, rather than having an inaugural ball, he has an inaugural party , which is a clear statement. then, you can come back to ronald reagan, and lo and behold, no surprise, there is a

rejection of the jimmy carter years, with a very formal, gold tickets to inaugural balls, and clearly it is an inaugural ball. the program that seems sort of informal for his, becomes pinched very formal -- becomes very formal just a few years later. this says something about those administrations and what they are trying to conceive and produce during those events, and it also says something about all of us as well -- something about the nation, its feelings, what it was looking for because they are certainly trying to play off of that as well. part of the material that we collect is just about the enthusiasm. now, inaugurations are meant to be days of national celebration

and national unity. they are not, obviously, always that way, so these kind of souvenirs that people might create, just as in the days of george washington -- you know, here are these brass buttons, these little penance that people could buy from the vendors on the street and take home. i particularly like this. this is a little glass tray, sold on that day to mimic a card that says mr. and mrs. john f. kennedy announce a change of address to 1600 pennsylvania avenue, and then it says at home, january 20, 1961. now, a lot of the stuff is made with a little sense of humor, enthusiasm, a little exuberance, and that is really what we are trying to capture in this collection. so, the idea that people

actually get license plates -- these are good for a day, maybe a week, you can put them on your car. you are part of the celebration. go to the parade. this happens to be from kennedy , 61. you can watch from below for those that are a little shorter. you see this continuity, is ongoing of the material, and this expression of exuberance in a lot of the material. kennedy, and then 50 years later, here is one for the obama parade. you can see it in the individual things that people make. my colleague was standing in the crowd next to a woman wearing this hat at the next inauguration, and i think it just speaks -- the kind of

enthusiasm that we all witnessed on the mall in 2009. april came full of support, excitement, -- people came full of support, excitement, enthusiasm, wanted to be part of this larger experience, and i think that is, in part, what inaugurations are all about. >> route inauguration day, c- span pot -- c-span's website will have features. you can look at c-span.org. >> i think every first lady brings their unique perspective to this job. if you did not, you could not live through it. to the extent that this feels natural to me at any level, and i would never have thought that living in the white house and being first lady would feel natural, it is because i try to make it me.

i try to bring a little bit of michelle obama into this, but at the same time respecting and valuing the tradition that is america. >> the first ladies, their private and public lives -- c- span is teaming up with the white house historical association for a first of its kind original series, "first ladies -- but influence and ima in airing over two city -- seasons. >> los angeles mayor antonio vee a ragosa talked recently about immigration, and he said the time is now to fix immigration policy and he called on congress to tackle the in control legislation. he spoke at the national press club for about one hour.

>> good afternoon, and welcome to the national press club. my name is teresa warner, and i am the 105th president of the national press club, the leading organization for journalists, emitted to the rest of the future -- committed to the press's future. for more information, visit www.. press.org. to donate to programs, please

visit press.org/institute. behalf of members worldwide, i would like to welcome our speaker and those attending today's events. our head table includes guest of our speaker and working journalists that are club members. if you hear a close, -- applause, these note members of the public are attending, so it is not a lack of journalistic integrity. egypt objectivity. i would like to -- objectivity. i would like to welcome members. you can also follow the action on twitter, using #npclunch. after the speech concludes, i will ask as many questions as time permits. i would like to introduce our head table guests, and i would

ask each of you to stand up briefly as your name is announced and -- announced. patrick, retired national press go board of governors member. riza, julio, freelance journalist, anthony, immigrant rights consultant, asian pacific gentle, -- center, and guest of the speaker. richard simon, "los angeles times." janet, national council of la raza and guest of our speaker. i was it the speaker for just -- i will skip the speaker for just a moment. bob wiener, newsmaker and midi member that to organize today's event. hector sanchez, chair of the

national hispanic worship agenda and guest of the speaker -- leadership agenda and guest of the speaker. jeff, al jazeera, governor elect and speaker committee member who organized the event. michelle, immediate task resident, national association of hispanic journalists. larry gibbons, gannett news service. thank you all for joining us today. [applause]before becoming los angeles's 41st mayor, public service came early to antonio villaraigosa. during his youth he became a farm worker, volunteer and activist leading student walkout. this led him on a path, taking into the state assembly, city hall and the inner circle of the democratic national committee and he chaired the 2012 convention in charlotte.

regarding the topic of immigration, mayor antonio villaraigosa has said the time is now to pass comprehensive immigration reform. he has slammed congress for doing nothing on the issue, yet sunday on "face the nation" he said he was heartened that the public and senators john mccain and others have been discussing solutions, but given the country's current fiscal food fight is it realistic anytime soon? republican senator marco rubio think there is a way and said so this past weekend in "the wall street journal." with trial balloons coming from senator rubio and others, how does the mayor feel about the host of federal and state initiatives on immigration? it is not the only topic on the mayor's agenda. he is been discussing gun

control, the economy and many other matters. some have taken notice of his travel to latin america, and some are asking whether a position in the obama administration will be part of his future. please join me in the coming to the national press club, the mayor of los angeles, antonio villaraigosa. [applause] >> thank you, thersa for that introduction, and for inviting me here today at the national press club. before i start, i grew up in a home where we are used to serving ourselves, so whenever i am served, i like to think our servers. if we could give them a big hand, please. [applause] i want to think particularly the members of the press club for this opportunity to speak to you all today.

i am truly honored to be here at one of our country's most venerable institutions of in less than six months my final term as mayor of los angeles will come to a close. with each passing week i take another step toward what one would call the transition from who's who to who's he? the sun may be setting on my administration but i am not writing off into the sunset just yet. the agenda is still packed with challenges. many of those present challenges still demand action. chief among them is immigration reform. there are a few more fundamental questions that we face and who we welcome to our shores, how we secure our borders, what we do to include the members of

undocumented men and women who work hard and do the hardest work? and how do we keep them safely together with their 5 million citizen children? and nearly 2 million dreamers who know no other country but this one. this question goes straight to the heart of who we are as people. at stake is our bedrock rights and responsibilities of debt -- of american responsibilities. ladies and gentlemen, it is time we give clear and consistent answers to these most basic questions. now was the time for real immigration reform. comprehensively -- comprehensive reform. common-sense reform. humane reform. reform that is cemented by our most sacred values.

a reform that serves our country, and alters our economy, and respects the immigrants who come here in search of nothing else and nothing more than a better life. this costs strikes a deeply personal chord for me. at the heart of one of my proudest moments as an elected official. in march 2006 1 million people marched to los angeles city hall. on that historic day 1 million people threw off the yoke of suspicion and fear and stepped out of the shadows. moms and dads, kids, grandmas and grandpas. people who worked hard, who were humbled, who were tired of being scapegoated, tired of being told to go back where you come

from. they were home. they are not leaving home. they wanted a response from me, the mayor. some -- in fact, many on my staff said do not go out there. "your job is to fix potholes. leave immigration to the fed's." but when 1 million people marched to war front step, they deserve a welcome. i said "i do not see illegals here." that got me in trouble. sometimes you have to say it figuratively before it becomes true. and no human being should be "illegal."

that is our moral imperative. that is our political challenge in 2013. to fix our broken immigration system, we will restore a basic american covenant. we are a nation of immigrants. we have a long history of welcoming people from all four corners of the earth to our shores. history is a source of national pride. this history is a source of national profit. immigrants of children started a whole 40% of our fortune 500 companies. some of the planet's most recognizable brands have combined revenues of 4.2 trillion dollars. that sum is greater than the gdp

of every single country in the world except the united states, china, and japan. we are big in freedom and opportunity because we fill -- we fulfil the social contract of significance sorts. if you apply yourself, if you work hard, if you join and participate in american society, doors will be opened. you can achieve a sense of prosperity and dignity. not only for yourselves but for your children. in exchange for hard work and loyalty we promised to give immigrants a grip on the ladder. we will provide access to education, to resources, to chart a path to full participation in our society that is transparent and

fair. unfortunately we have lost touch with this tradition of openness and opportunity. for the last two decades we have not kept our side of the bargain. we have created an immigration system that as long on enforcement but short on opportunity. a system where states compete with one another to draft more and more draconian anti-immigrant legislation. a system that happily capitalizes on the labor of millions of undocumented men and women but then refuses to extend them the basic rights and privileges that most of us take for granted. we created a system no longer in step with our cherished values and our ideals. in november americans faced a fundamental choice. a choice between keeping our

broken system or reviving our immigration compact. the american people made the right decision. they rejected a policy based on fear. they embraced the hopes and dreams that people like salvador durantes -- they are not citizens, they are dreamers. anthony came to the united states of america from the philippines when he was 12 years old. salvador came to america from mexico when he was too. they worked hard. they excelled. they made us proud. their hearts overflowed with passionate desire to give back to the place they called home. anthony is determined to let the world know that there are many asian-pacific island dreamers. he works with the api youth. educating them, inspiring them,

lifting their voices to be heard. he is a patriot to the bones. salvador's dream is to join the military. to stand tall in america's uniform. to fight for the country that has given him so much. this has been his goal cent -- this is been his goal since he was a kid. he opened the door of opportunity for young people and pointed the way for by establishing important principles to guide immigration reform. immigrants must take personal responsibility for their actions. but as they do we must provide a meaningful path for it to become full members of american society. we have every right to enforce

our laws and protect our borders. but we must balance this with the need to encourage the aspiration of america's immigrants. these are principles that the american people through their support behind in november. ps of the principles that must guide immigration reform in the coming months. with these principles in mind, we need reform built on the following six policy pillars -- one, the pathway to permanent residency and citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants must be at the court of reform. two, legalization should be earned. but not unattainable. it should be a process, not a punishment. it should include a criminal

background check, a test of english language skills, and the payment of back taxes. 3, family unification continues to keep priority of our immigration policy. the goal must be to protect the sanctity of the family. keeping families together not only keep capital in the united states, it also maximizes the human potential. these immigrants start family based small businesses and grow our economy. despite the economic benefits and moral imperative, millions wait over two decades to be reunited with family members. this must change. four, a hard-working talent of hard-working immigrants fuels our immigrant -- fuels our economy. as the president has suggested, let us stapled a green card to

the diplomas of foreign students getting advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math. we need to expand -- we need to expand the h1vb visa program. 5, immigration reform must include an effective and efficient employment verification system. such a system can and must prevent unlawful employment, a record as employers and employees who play by the rules and protect america's fundamental rights. 6, we must protect our borders through smart enforcement. according to the migration policy institute, immigration enforcement takes its share of federal law enforcement spending. today undocumented migration is below zero.

we will not meet our immigration challenge through enforcement alone. the goal of our immigration enforcement policy should be the removal -- we should deport serious offenders. we should not deport people whose serious crime is a lack of papers. by deporting such people we remove the trust between law-enforcement and the immigrant community. if you break up families and of five children of the love and protection of their families all in our zeal to enforce the law according to data, three-fourths of those depotting have no convictions. those in the communities must be part of the overall reform. it is a time to put an end to the practice of deporting non serious criminals. our neighborhoods would be safer

and our families would be more secure. reform cannot wait another political season. already we are hearing the voices of those who did not learn the lessons of november or who have chosen to ignore them. this is the right year, they say. the agenda is too crowded. you even had some point to the tragedy of sandy hook elementary. washington should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. congress is fully capable of enacting the legislation and comprehensive immigration reform. -- of enacting gun legislation and comprehensive immigration reform. [applause]

not to mention sequestration and not defaulting on the credit of america. other voices are calling for a piecemeal approach. they are advocating the waystation of permanent residency. they are advocating reform for just the highly skilled. instead of balancing enforcement with integration, they are calling for us to double down on the policy of widespread deportation. the time for half measures and one-sided approach is over. the bottom line in this debate is full citizenship. there can be no second-class citizens in the united states of america. [applause] this does not just make moral sense, it makes economic sense. the los angeles chamber of

commerce notes, "when the head of a household becomes a citizen, family income rises almost 14%. if we legalize the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the united states, we give our institution a shot in the arm over the next decade. federal government would see $4.5 billion in more tax revenue over the next three years." we knew that creating a path for citizenship would also help create a path away from the fiscal cliff. so let us make 2013 the year. immigrants do not deserve half a handshake. they deserve a full embrace. mark the land of opportunity for some with the land of opportunity for all. we may come from different backgrounds, speak different languages, and worship in different ways. but all of us are pursuing the

same american dream. it is a dream that brought my grandfather to mexico to los angeles one century ago. he had very little money. even less english. but he had an unshakable faith and a relationship between the hard work and the war. he left mexico because the country was too divided. there was just a rich and poor. my grandfather did not believe that birth was destiny. he believed that where you were born should not determine where you end up. that is why he came to america. in 2013, let us raise our voices above the partisan den andbring a message of hope and promise to our fellow americans. let us achieve immigration reform that brings us back to our glorious promise of liberty

and justice for all. thank you very much. [applause] >> do you think republicans who are pro immigrant will find success in convincing their colleagues to agree with legislation that offers a pathway to citizenship for the eight to 12 on -- for a 8 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants. >> i hope so. i believe we need comprehensive immigration reform that includes a full path to citizenship. i note rubio has talkedf about four pieces of legislation. we do not want that to be an excuse for not doing something around comprehensive immigration. assuming the qualified and had a background check and meet the

requirements i have outlined, i would hope there is bipartisan support for that. i was with senator mccain in passing the green room. he expected to see real reform on this issue. he is one of the eight senators who is coming together to work on this issue. my expectation and hope is that we will have a bipartisan solution. this issue should not be a democrat issue or a republican one. it should be one that we can all get behind. it conforms with our values and with the need of infusing our economy. >> critics of immigration reform site that half the area's after concessions are made, the flow of illegal immigrants does not decline. would that happen again this time? >> the flow of future

immigration will have to be addressed this time around. one way to address it is the issue of addressing a social security card that cannot be counterfeited. making sure employers are not hiring and exploiting these people. and making sure that the quotas that we put into our countries, especially the countries in the western hemisphere, are realistic. we share a border with mexico. latin america is in our hemisphere. people from that part of the world have come here and will continue to come here. we have to be realistic in addressing that flow and addressing the need for smarter and more realistic quotas for this part of the hemisphere.

>> because of their election defeat in november in which many hispanic votes for democrats, he you believe that immigrants are interested in a bipartisan immigration reform? >> i was a chair at the democratic party convention. i was a surrogate for the president throughout the campaign. i'm a mayor. we may come with our party labels, we tend not to be at or -- as orthodox. i will say this. i hope there is bipartisan support. i believe that there will be bipartisan support. you mentioned something -- i know you are reading a question

-- you mentioned, i think the election has something to do with it. let us be honest, 77% of latinos voted against the republican party. i'm sorry, 71%. i haven't studied that i have never seen asians vote in that number against republicans, 74%. it was within the vitriolic nature of the debate. when you call for deportation of 11 million people that is understandable. there is not a nation in the world that has deported 11 million people. when you continually talk about the border with mexico, you are not acknowledging that 30% of the undocumented do not come from latin america. they come from other places.

i'm hoping that the election is one of the reasons why there will be bipartisan support. i hope that another reason will be that people realize that this kind of debate to fix the broken immigration system does not conform with our values -- with what makes us proud as americans. i do expect something is going to happen. >> republicans have insisted that the completion of border enforcement must come first before the support of immigration reform. how can you change your mind on that -- how can you change their mind on that? >> i know in congress, particularly in the house, faxed to not seem to matter on a lot

of issues. when the migration policy institute has documented that we have a net - 0 immigrants crossing the border -- when you spend 24% for more border enforcement than we do for the fbi, the dea, the atf, and other federal law enforcement agencies, at some point we have to acknowledge -- and we have deported more people than any time before. est to acknowledge that the time is now for a balanced approach that keeps families together, that addresses the other points that i mentioned as well. >> can the coalition of blacks, latinos, and other communities sustain the obama campaign?

are we looking at a true shift in the rhetorical landscape? >> i will let the pundits -- i will punt that one. i do not want to talk about the campaigns as much. i will say this quickly. i think what we saw was a seminal shift in the electorate. and if the republicans don't go to the center, they continue to be dominated by the far right, you're going see them lose more and more. -- you didn't mention young people at the end of the question, young people, blacks, asians, latinos, women. at some point it does not look good for them. i prefer focusing on this immigration issue, if i could