loopholes, making it even more attractive for companies to invest and create jobs here in the united states. let's do this. make our economy stronger. if we make it easier for first time homeowners to get a loan, we don't just create even more construction jobs and speed up recovery in the housing market, we will speed up your efforts to start a new company and send your kids to college. let's help more young families. make our economy stronger. if we keep investing in clean energy technology, we won't just put people to work on the assembly lines, pounding in place, we will reduce our carbon emissions and prevent work costs of private chains down the road. -- climate change down the road. let's do this.

invest in new american energy to make our economy stronger. if we make high quality preschool available to every child, not only will we give our kids a safe place to learn and grow while their parents go to work, we will give them the start they need to succeed in school and earn higher wages. and for more stable families of their own. today, i am setting a new goal. by the end of this decade, let's enroll 6 million children and high quality preschool. that is an achievable goal that we know will make our workforce stronger. [applause] if we redesign our high schools, we will graduate more kids with real-world skills that lead to a good job in the new economy. if we invest more in job training and apprenticeships, we will have more workers coming back to the country.

if we make it easier for students to pay out their college loans, we will help a whole lot of young people -- [cheering and applause] breathe easier and take the jobs they really want. let's do this, let's keep reforming our education system to make sure young people of every level have a shot at success, just like folks at northwestern do. if we fix our broken immigration system, we won't just prevent some of the challenges like the ones we saw at the border this summer. we will encourage the best and brightest around the world to study here and stay here and create jobs here. independent economists say that a good, bipartisan reform bill that the house has now blocked for over a year would roll our economy and shrink our deficits and secure our borders. let's pass that bill. let's make america stronger. [applause]

if we want to make and sell the best products we have to invest in the best ideas. like you do here at northwestern. your nanotechnology doesn't just conduct groundbreaking research, it has spun off 20 startups and more than 1800 products. that means jobs. [applause] here's another example. over a decade ago, they try to sequence the human genome. one study found that every dollar we invest it returns $140 to our economy. i don't have an mba, but that sounds like a good return on investment. [laughter and applause] today, the world's largest genomic centers in china. that doesn't mean america is slipping, it does mean that america is not investing. we can't let other countries discover the products and businesses that will shape the next century and a century after

that so we have got to invest more in the kinds of basic research that led to google and gps, that makes our economy stronger. if we raise the minimum wage, we won't just -- [cheering and applause] we won't just put more money in workers' pockets, they will spend the money. they will in turn hire more people. in the two years since i first asked congress to raise the national minimum wage, 13 states 13 states and d.c. went ahead and raised theirs and more business owners are joining them on their own. it's on the ballot in five states this november, including illinois. [applause] and here's the thing. surveys show that a majority of

small business owners support a gradual increase to $10.10 an hour. a survey last week showed that two thirds of employers up the minimum wage should go up. more than half of them think it should be at least $10. so what is stopping us? let's agree that nobody who works full-time in america should ever have to have a family in poverty. let's give america a raise. [cheering and applause] it will make the economy stronger. if we make sure a woman is paid equally-- [cheering and applause] that is not just giving women a boost, gentlemen. you want your wife making that money she deserves. [laughter]

it the entire family a boost. it gives the entire economy a boost. women now outpace men in college degrees. and graduate degrees. they often start their careers at lower pay and that grows over time. that affects their families. it is stupid. [laughter] let's inspire and support women. [applause] especially in fields like science and technology and engineering and math. let's catch up to 2014. pass a fair pay law, make our economy stronger. while we're at it let's get rid of the barriers that keep more moms who want to work from entering the workforce. helping business and political leaders who recognize the flexibility in the workplace and

paid maternity leave is actually good for business. let's offer those deals to women. we want to make sure that men can purchase a patent child rearing. it's a good investment. california adopted paid leave, which boosted work and earnings for moms of young kids. let's follow their lead and make our economy strong. none of these policies i just mentioned, on their own, will entirely get us to where we want to be. but if we do these things systematically, the cumulative impact will be huge. unemployment will drop a little faster. workers will gain a little more leverage when it comes to wages and salaries. consumer confidence will go up. families will be able to spend a little more and save a little more.

our economy grows stronger. growth will be shared. more people will feel this recovery rather than just read about it in the newspapers. that's the truth. i'm going to keep making the argument for these policies because they are right for america. they are supported by the facts. i am always willing to work with anyone, democrat or republican, to get things done. every once in a while, we actually see a bill land on my desk from congress. [laughter] we do a bill signing. i tell them, look how much fun this is, let's do this again. [laughter and applause] but if gridlock prevails, if

cooperation and compromise are no longer valued, i will keep doing everything i can on my own if it will make a difference for working americans. [applause] i will keep teaming up with governors and mayors and ceos and philanthropist who want to help. here's an example. there are 28 million americans who would benefit from a minimum wage increase. over the past two years, because we have teamed up with cities and states and businesses, 7 million of them have gotten a raise. until congress chooses to step up and help all of them i will keep fighting to get an extra million here and there. with a raise. we will keep fighting for this. and let me say one other thing about the economy. often times you hear this from

critics. the notion is that the agenda i have outlined is somehow contrary to pro-business, capitalist, free-market values. and since we are here at a business school, i thought it might be useful to point out that bloomberg, for example, came out with an article today saying that corporate balance sheets are the strongest they've ever been. corporate debt is down. profits are up. businesses are doing good. this idea that somehow any of these policies like the minimum wage or fair pay or clean energy

are somehow bad for business is simply belied by the facts. it is not true. and if you talk to business leaders, even the ones who really don't like to admit it because they don't like it that - like me that much -- [laughter] -- they'll admit that the balance sheet looks really strong and the economy is doing better than our competitors around the world. so don't buy this notion that somehow this is an anti-business agenda. this is a pro-business agenda. this is a pro-economic growth agenda. i'm not on the ballot this fall. michelle is pretty happy about that. [laughter] but make no mistake, these policies are on the ballot.

every single one of them. this isn't some official campaign speech or political speech, and i'm not going to tell you who to vote for, though i suppose it is kind of implied. [laughter] but what i have done is laid out my ideas to create more jobs and to grow more wages. and i have also tried to correct the record, because there is a lot of noise out there. every item i just said, those are the facts. it's not conjecture, it is not opinion, it is not partisan rhetoric. those are facts. so i have laid out what i know has happened over the last six years of my presidency, and i

have laid out an agenda for what i think should happen to make us grow even better, faster. a true opposition party should now have the courage to lay out their agenda. hopefully also grounded in facts. there is a reason fewer republicans are preaching doom on deficits. the deficits have come down at a record pace. they are now manageable. there is a reason fewer republicans are running around about obamacare. because while good, affordable health care might be a famed threat to freedom, it turns out it's working pretty well in the real world. [cheering and applause]

when push came to shove and republicans had to take a stand on policies that would help the middle class and working americans like raising the minimum wage or enacting fair pay or refinancing student loans or extending insurance for the unemployed, the answer was no. the one thing they did vote yes on was another massive tax cut for the wealthiest americans. just last month, at least one top republican said the tax cuts for those at the top are, and i'm quoting, "even more pressing now than they were 30 years ago." more pressing! when nearly all the gains of the recovery have gone to the top 1%. when income inequality is at its highest rate we've seen in decades, i find it a little hard to swallow. they desperately need a tax cut

right now? it's urgent? why? [laughter] what are the facts? what is the empirical data that would justify that decision? you guys are all smart. you do all this analysis. you run the numbers. has anybody seen a credible argument that that is what our economy needs right now? seriously. [laughter] but this is the -- if you watch the debate, including on some of the business newscasts -- and folks are just pontificating about how important it is -- based on what? what's the data, what's the proof? if there were any credible argument that says windows of

-- when those at the top do well and eventually everybody else will do well, it would have worn itself out by now. we'd see data that it was true. it's not. american economics have never trickled down. [applause] it grows from opportunity for working people. that is what makes us different. i just want to be clear because you guys are going to be business leaders of the future. you were going to be making decisions based on logic and reason and facts and data. right now, you have got two startlingly different visions for this country. i believe with every bone in my body that there is one clear choice here. it's supported by facts.

this is our moment to define what the next decade and beyond will look like. this is our chance to set the conditions for middle-class growth in the 21st century. the decisions we make this year and over the next few years will determine whether or not we set the stage for america's greatness in this century, just like we did the last one. whether or not we restore the link between hard work and higher wages. whether or not we continue to invest in the skilled, educated citizens. whether or not we build an economy where everyone who works hard can get ahead. some of that depends on you. there is a reason why i came to a business school instead of another. i actually believe that capitalism is the greatest force for prosperity, opportunity the world has ever known, and i believe in private enterprise. not government. innovators and risktakers and

makers and doers driving job creation. but i also believe in a higher principle. we are all in this together. [applause] that is the spirit that made the american economy work. that is what made the american economy not just the world 's greatest wealth creator but don't rate is opportunity generator. because you are the future business leaders, that makes you the stewards. that is our people. as you engage in the pursuit of profit, i challenge you to do so with a sense of purpose. as you chase your own success, i challenge you to cultivate more ways to help more americans achieve their success. it is the american people who have made the progress of the last six years possible.

it is the american people who will make it your progress possible. it is the american people that make american business successful. they should share that success. it's not just for you, it is for us. because if the american people that made the investments over the course of generations to allow you to be here and experience the success. that is the story of america. america is a story of progress. sometimes halting, sometimes incomplete, sometimes challenged, but a story of america is a story of progress. and it has now been six long

years since our economy nearly collapsed. despite that shock, through the pain that so many felt, for all the gritty, grueling work and all the work left to be done, a new foundation is laid. a new future is yet to be written. i am as confident as ever but that future will be led by the united states of america. thank you, everybody. god bless you and god bless america. [cheering and applause] ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

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competition is underway. the nationwide competition will award 155 students. create a documentary on the three branches and you. it must be submitted by january 20, 2015. .org for morecam information. >> today, vice president joe biden will be speaking at a forum on youth employment. it is hosted by the u.s. chamber of commerce foundation and the urban alliance. c-span 2.age on "predator: secret origins of the drone revolution."

c-span 2. >> this weekend on the c-span a conversationt with retired u.s. supreme court justice john paul stevens. bill gates on the ebola virus out rake in west africa. --day evening, the demand director of the smithsonian's national museum of african art. tonight, war and the constitution. words, tv's after heather coxe richardson. then, the legal affairs editor at reuters. tonight at 8:00, historians and authors talk about world war i 100 years later.

saturday, former fbi agents on catching the unit bomber suspects. , the 100th artifacts anniversary of the panama canal. more on c-span.org and let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. call us, e-mail us, or send us a tweet. ,oin the c-span conversation like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. labor secretary thomas perez was among the speakers wednesday at the congressional hispanic caucus conference. his remarks focused on immigration and positive action. he spoke for about 20 minutes. >> many of us were thrilled when we got word that tom perez who in a magnificent job working

the civil rights division was nominated by president barack obama to serve as secretary of the department of labor. to become the secretary of labor, but to be the cabinet member on president obama's team who has traveled most often with the president over the last several months, as i mentioned. focusedame time, he has on ways that have to make all of us proud. he wants to make sure that everyone who works get a fair days pay for a fair days work. tois connecting everyone build jobs, he is promoting gender equality in the work lace. he's ensuring that people with disabilities and our veterans have access to equal implant opportunities. -- employment opportunities. he's insisting on safe and level playing fields at the work

place. he is transforming what we think of as our secretary of labor, and he's doing this all in a way that makes us so proud that he is an american and a member of our country. a lot of us think that that is just one step along the very successful path of tom perez. many of us believe that following the great work of eric holder as our attorney general for the department of justice, that we have a great name of someone who can be nominated to replace attorney general holder. i would place my vote with tom perez. it sounds really good, attorney general perez. [applause] i don't know if you agree, but perhaps what you can do is help me acknowledge the secretary of labor by giving him a warm round of applause and encourage him to become the next attorney general of the united states of america. our secretary of labor, tom perez.

[applause] >> good afternoon. i had a little bit of throat surgery 10 days ago. if i sound a little raspy, i apologize. my support for this institute and for the cause of opportunity i assure you is full throated. it's an honor to be here. xavier becerra is one of my heroes. he is one of the most effective public servants i have ever met. i want to say thank you to you, congressman, and friend, for all you are doing. becerra is a d.o.l. alum. she did great work there. esther aguilera is a neighbor and a friend, and does great work leading this fantastic organization.

congrats to all of you, and thanks for having me. the trial lawyer in me, i start walking a little bit. if you see me walking from side to side, it's because i can't help it. i was in new york yesterday with bill the brazeal -- bill de blasio. bless you. bless all of you, for that matter. [laughter] we were talking about opportunity for everyone. we were about 15 minutes from where my mother grew up in washington heights. casa?canos en la ok, here we go. my family got kicked out. my family had to leave, and my mother and her family settled in washington heights. to be there yesterday during hispanic heritage month was a wonderful reminder of how far we have come, and how far we need to go.

i look at some of the metrics of progress. artie duncan probably talk to you this morning about the fact that we reduced the latino dropout rate by 50% over the last 10 years. you look at the and insurance rate. latinos are the most uninsured of any population. that has gone down by 20% in the last year, thanks to so many people in this room, thanks to the leadership of president obama, and thank you to so many folks who got out there and got the word out in our communities. we are going to keep doing that under the leadership of secretary burwell as we move forward. that is a real point of pride. you look at poverty reduction.

we have had the largest reduction in the past year, one year reduction in latino poverty rates in the last 15 years. we are moving in the right direction. at the same time, we all know that we have a lot of challenges. we see these challenges. we live these challenges every single day. what i like to do is reflect on three lessons that i have learned over the course of the five years that i have had the privilege of serving. it has been an unmitigated privilege for me to serve under this president during these times. the president is all about opportunity, expanding opportunity. i have learned three basic lessons that i think have real relevance to this conversation. the first lesson i learned at casa maryland, which is a wonderful grassroots nonprofit -- you have got to make house calls, whether you are the labor secretary, whether you are the head of the civil rights division, or whether you are the chair of that nonprofit, you have to make house calls. i made a lot of house calls in

that job. i met a woman. she inspires me. she has been a janitor for over 30 years in houston. she is making eight dollars an hour right now. she is organizing similar folks to fight for a better life. she lamented the fact that she did not have health insurance. i explained to her, if you lived in california, you would have health insurance because they expanded medicaid. your governor made a choice, and it is a choice that is hurting you and so many others. that is why you live in the health uninsurance capital of the united states, which is unfortunate. they helped organize a labor union, and they helped organize low-wage workers. she has an optimism and determination about her. then i had the privilege last year of doing to my daughter's high school graduation speech. she went to a school in maryland, montgomery blair high

school, the largest school in maryland and one of the most diverse schools in maryland. before i did the graduation ceremony, i wanted to talk to some of the students. i met luis, a kid who i knew a little bit but not too much. is a classmate of my daughter, amalia. he is so smart. he was basically a straight-a student. he is a daca student. i said to him, you have my word that we are going to make sure your future is bright because you have done everything right. you continue to excel, and we need you in america. it is an economic imperative. when you make house calls and you see people like this -- i met other daca kids in our office. i met someone whose parents live in bangladesh and another whose parents live in the philippines. the thing i remember from those meetings were on mother's day,

all he could do because his mother had been deported is to call her and wish her happy mother's day. that is not who we are as a nation. i bring this up because i think it's really important, and the president gets out here because he understands we can talk numbers all day, but this is talking about real people and the impact of public policy, whether it is access to health care, whether it is arne duncan's work in education, whether it is maria's work in the small business. whenever the context, we have to get out there. and we are getting out there. that is the segue to my second observation about lessons learned in the job that i have had the privilege of doing for the last five years. and that is, it is always most important to get things right. let me tell you what i mean by that. there was a horrific incident when i was heading up the civil

rights division in a town called shenandoah, pennsylvania. a young man named luis ramirez, a mexican national, was in the park with his girlfriend and he got murdered by a group of racists simply because of who he was, a mexican national. and there was an understandable outrage in the community. and a call, you need to take action and you need to take action now. i understood that call. at the outset, we disappointed a number of people because we didn't take action that in their judgment was swift enough. i could not tell you why then, but i can tell you why now -- because it is a matter of public record. what we learned in that case was that not only were they murdered because of who he was, but in the aftermath of the murder, there was a cover-up by the police department. we had not one, but two cases. what i learned in that context

was its most important to get it right. i will never ask people to be patient with me, because for some people, their life circumstances don't give them the luxury of being patient. for us, it is always important to get it right. i think we got it right in that case. similarly, when arizona passed sb-1070 and alabama past their immigration laws and i see their body language, i remember that time -- you're nervous tic is coming back, i can see it already. there was an understandable concern -- what are we going to do? you need to do something and you need to do something tomorrow. and i understood that, and we understood the attorney general and the president and everybody understood the national significance of that because our immigration system is broken.

at the same time, we had to take a very careful look because we knew there was a good chance that these cases would find their way to the supreme court, and we needed to gather and marshall it back so we could move forward effectively, and i believe we did. we had to get it right. we have no margin for error in the work that we do, and that is why it is so important to get it right. that is why i understand the impatience that some may feel. similarly, there is that sheriff in arizona that i spent a lot of time taking a look at. i got a lot of letters from a lot of folks. i'm going to stop right there, inside voice. again, the same thing. we need you to do something now. the fact of the matter is, we had to gather the facts. we had to do a fair and

impartial review, and take time. we were able to do that. another lesson that i learned, that it is so important in the work that we do to make sure that we get things right, and that is why i bring this up, because this work was so important. i will give you one more example. i have the privilege of working on some matters in texas involving the redistricting. as you know, that has the largest latino growth in the recent census. and the largest population growth, overwhelmingly latinos. and yet, when nature the districts, there was no additional opportunity in congress to elect the latino of their choice. there were other concerns. there was an understandable outcry. we need to do something, we need to do something now. i understood that instinct. it's always important to get things right.

i'm very proud of the work that we did in that case, because we were able to put a case together. two of them were appointed by republican presidents, and agree that what they did was discriminatory in the redistricting context. getting things right has always been our north star, and sometimes getting things right takes longer, and pacing is not a luxury. -- luxury that so many people who are suffering have. that brings me to my third and final observation, a lesson i've learned in my job. that is that leadership and values matter. i just happened coincidentally today to have lunch with two of my favorite people. one guy, his name is allie mallorca. the other is leon rodriguez. allie is the deputy secretary of the department of homeland security.

leon is the head of usdis. they have two of the most important jobs in the federal government, insofar as immigration discussion. i have seen their leadership in action. i have seen the leadership of their boss in action. i have seen the carefulness with which secretary johnson, the thoughtfulness with which he has been approaching these issues. it has singularly impressed me, because he wants to get it right as well. he understands the getting it right is always listening to everybody, making sure you understand every perspective, your employees' perspective, the community's perspective, every single perspective. that is what he is doing. that is what allie and leon are doing. i would respectfully assert that those departments, those components are in very good hands because i know their values and i have seen their leadership in action.

there is one other person that i want to talk about with respect to leadership, because i have had the privilege of having a front row seat, and that is the president. i have lived a charmed life. the opportunity to work in civil rights, the opportunity to expand opportunity at the department of labor -- today they issued a regulation enforcing the president's minimum-wage executive order, because we need to set an example at the federal government. if we are asking the private sector to pay a minimum wage, we need to do the same with federal contractors, and that is at the federal register as we speak. nobody who works a full-time job in this country should have to live in poverty. nobody should have to make the choices -- [applause]

no one should have to make choices between a gallon of milk or a gallon of gas. i speak to people all the time who tell me, there is no dignity in a 40-50 hour work week when at the end of the week you have to go to the pantry to get your food. that is not dignity, and that's not america. one of the reasons i love working for this president is that i have seen his moral compass in action. i have always said if you are trying to figure out what somebody stands for on an issue, go do some research on what they did before they were in the public spotlight. when you look at the president on immigration, his commitment to this issue dates way back to his time in illinois state government. way, way back. he has understood and as someone who has lived overseas, he understands that we are a global universe here in the united states and everywhere.

he understands that we are a nation of immigrants, and we are a nation of laws, and i have seen those values in action. i want to share a story that i had the privilege of having a front row seat on. it was a story a few months ago, we were together in minnesota. we were doing and event surrounding job training. we were with about 13 young women, average age was 17, 18 years old. they were all in this job training program, and they were all single moms. after all the press had left, the president had some face time with these folks. they were remarkable young women. they were trying to better their lives. they wanted to make sure that they could make ends meet so their children could grow up. you should have seen the look in

there i -- what a today? i hung out with the president -- look in their eyes. what did you do today? i hung out with the president. my mother was 18 years old when i was born. one of you may be helping to raise the next president of the united states. it can be you. then he turned to them, and said do you have any questions for me? the first question was, if you could accomplish one thing, mr. president, this year, what would it be? a nano second later he said -- there were no cameras in the room. this was a very intimate setting. he said, comprehensive immigration reform, because i have met so many people across this country who want opportunity, for whom opportunity continues to be elusive. congress has always worked on this issue together. for some reason, there are some

in congress on one side of the aisle in one chamber you aren't allowing this to come on, and you could just see his values and his leadership in action. and so, the upshot of what he has said and what he says today is simple. our immigration system is broken. the best way to fix it is through a bipartisan bill in congress, like the senate passed. absinthe that, the president, as he has done with the department of labor on minimum wage, overtime, so many other issues, he will not hesitate to take executive action. the question of executive action is a when question. the question of immigration

reform is not a question. the need for immigration reform is an economic imperative. it is a moral imperative. it is a national security imperative. it is an issue that is all about his values and his leadership. that is why i love working for this president, and that is why -- the most important thing i have learned in my job is you have got to get it right. i am confident that on immigration, we are going to get it right on the executive side, but we've got to get it right as a society in congress. i am confident that we can do it. and i have the same optimism that xavier becerra as in this issue. everywhere i travel, i talked to business leaders and they tell

me the same thing, we need immigration reform. i talked to daca young adults, and we owe it to them. i talked to face leaders. i talked to my republican friends who tell me privately, of course we need this. that is why i have such optimism, because the people in this room have been catalysts. i come from a movement, and i come from a world in which change doesn't happen from the top down. it happens from the bottom up. i was working for senator kennedy in 1996. there were so many times when they told us we could not do things, but we did it. i am confident that we are going to do it again, because there is so much energy and know-how and stick to -- sticktoitiveness. i know if is a kennedy were here, he would be telling you that he never gives up the fight. nothing worth fighting for will

be easy. and this ain't easy. but we will continue to make progress. let's get it right. and let's make sure that we understand our values, and let's make sure we do things that are consistent with our values. i hope you have seen through the course of five years the values of this president in so many different contexts in action. that has made my current job so much easier, knowing that when we are trying to make sure the low-wage workers recover the wages they are entitled to, that i got a guy who has my back, knowing that when we take action on voter id laws or redistricting plans or in the police setting, that we have the law on our side, we have the facts on our side, and we have leadership on our side. let's remember that, and let's remember -- let's get it right. let's continue to be persistent. we will succeed.

si se puede. thank you. [applause] the american enterprise institute holds a discussion on tackling global poverty today. you can watch the event live. president obama will be in indiana for a town hall meeting. we will have live coverage. >> here are a few comments we have recently received from our viewers. >> i would like to see you guys do a story on the effects of the

long-term unemployed. >> am watching "washington journal." here who areguys both on the same page regarding ideology. there is no discussion going on between them. i thought the idea of having a discussion is to have opposite viewpoints to make it more interesting. >> just a request in terms of issues, health, health care, food, super foods, and how that helps improve health. we hardly ever hear anything. >> continue to let us know you think about the programs you are watching. , or you canail us send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. the congressional hispanic

caucus is holding its annual conference this week in washington dc. immigrationssion of policy and the delay of executive action. this is about an hour. >> good afternoon. those lights are bright. comingou very much for and thank you very much for having me. before we start this important panel, i want to tell you why i'm interested in it. why i have left it to start covering for abc news and fusion, the immigration reform debate. my parents, my grandparents were immigrants. they came across many years ago in the 1920's. my grandparents came across from chihuahua, mexico into texas. they worked in the fields.

my grandfather worked in a factory and taught himself to read and write in english, and then he raised eight children, all of them professionals. many of them went to college. all of them have contributed to society. that is the reason why that is such an important issue to those in the hispanic community. i want to get to this panel as soon as we can, because it is a distinguished panel. i went to remind you that as we go along here, we will be taking questions from the audience, and there will be members of the staff who will be going around with microphones. we will call on you if we have -- if you have an urgent question. let me call on the panel first, see if they will come into the room. let's see if they will come into the room. [applause] ♪

let me start right here on my left, representative luis gutierrez, he is in his 11th term in congress. he is from chicago, where i first began covering his work in politics. we have known each other for that long. the representative is nationally recognized for his tireless leadership, championing the issues that are particularly important in latino immigrant communities. next to him is representative joe crowley. [applause] representative crowley is a lifelong new yorker and has served the people of the bronx

and queens since 1998. he is the vice chair of the democratic caucus and his efforts in congress have focused on building strong communities, creating jobs, increasing access to health care and housing, protecting seniors, and opening up educational opportunities for working families. representative joe crowley. [applause] anna navarro, a political contributor at cnn and cnn en espanol. she has played a role in state races in florida and most recently served as national hispanic cochair for jon huntsman's 2012 campaign. her work in the private sector has included representing clients and issues particularly related to immigration and trade. and those affecting policy. and you probably see her on the sunday panel shows. anna navarro. [applause] and last but not least is tony

suarez. president of the national christian leadership conference serving puerto rico. yet announced broken -- he has been an outspoken advocate. ladies and gentlemen, there is our panel. [applause] first, we want to talk about the state of play, what is happening now, where we are with immigration and where we hope we go and where we think we will go practically. i would like to ask you to take a couple of minutes and talk to us about that before we start the questioning. congressman gutierrez. >> it's a pleasure to be a with you this afternoon, and thank you, jim, for moderating. it's an honor to have you here. the last year, democrats and republicans were able to come

together and put together a comprehensive immigration bill and then there was a group of eight in the house of representatives which continued to work together on the bill. it became clear that we were not going to have the support of speaker boehner and the republican majority in terms of the process. the group disbanded. i continue to work with mario, a very dear friend of mine, and who has been a constant and consistent champion for immigrants, even within his own republican caucus. i think we should all be thankful to him for his fine work and dedication. [applause] but he and i in a group could not put this together. we recognized that early this

year in january, republicans came forward and said we will give more life and put our principles out there. one of the principles was american citizenship. you could extrapolate that we would legalize millions of people. and what did the democrats say? i guess we were so overjoyed that we were too overjoyed, because they took it back within a week. o, we were just kidding. [laughter] it was kind of a sleight-of-hand. they really didn't mean it. and then they said we would have to make -- wait until may or june for the republican primaries to be over and then, voilà, the majority leader lost and they said we are not moving forward. and the president came forward and said -- i was believed this, that speaker boehner and the president had an understanding and had conversations and a relationship, and part of their relationship was, we will work on the gratian reform -- on immigration reform.

once the speaker called them up by the end of june and said we are not doing this, now he says he's doing it after the election, the same thing obama said, after the election. then the president said, i will take action. i will use prosecutorial discretion, and what are we waiting for? we are waiting for the president to act. i think he should've acted before the election. i spoke to my daughter jessica yesterday -- [applause] i spoke to my daughter yesterday. she is in baton rouge, louisiana. and she said, daddy, is that lady landrieu a republican? and i said, why? and she said, because she is acting rather conservative and they keep complaining that all she does is vote against obama.

now they must be angry with her. and i said, no, daughter, she the democrats -- she is a democrat. the two words that they use, illegal immigrant, the basis of the campaign that they use. all we are doing is make people suffer even more and the political issue of immigration will be there. there are democrats who need us to come out and support, and what we have said to latinos is we are waiting until after the election as we can. we should not use the election as a barometer of what we will have justice and fairness for our immigrant community. [cheers and applause] i think that is where we are now. here is what i think. sometime before christmas some 5 million undocumented workers will be afforded an opportunity to come out of the shadows into the light of day.

and everybody in this room has to get ready to help them. to receive them. to be ready to help them. it's not enough that we marched and protested and we listed our voices for them. now we have to fill out the paperwork. we have to find them, get them the resources, because [speaking spanish] i don't care what the president does. it will be a difficult road. in june of 2012, we prepared for a community of one million. are we prepared for 5 million echo we have to get ready for them -- are we prepared for 5 million? we have to get ready for them. i'm done. the question is are we ready to act in defense of our community once the president does act -- the question is, are we ready to act in defense of our committee

once the president does act? [applause] >> i'm not following that. [laughter] >> you have the lovely position of being after luis. >> i don't think anyone could give a better answer to the state of play at this point than luis. last summer, when the senate enacted, luis was with me appear in new york with the faith in politics institute and we led a bipartisan delegate with eric cantor. we went to my district in jackson -- jackson heights. eric cantor gave a speech and a year later, he's no longer in congress and cannot help us at this point. it shows the volatility of the state of play of politics throughout the country. we cannot help the political cycle, the calendar that we live under. it is set right now, and it can change. we have to work around that as

well. we do have this time of waiting for the elections, because we are not going back to washington to work on legislation. that is clear. although i think we ought to come back to have a vote on the authorization of the use of force. that is my opinion and that's a separate issue. we should come back and debate that and have that vote. having said that, i think -- i know the latino community cares about a myriad of issues. this is an important issue to the latino community, but also to our country and the future of our country. the best and brightest and the bravest continue to come here to want to make america a better country. we need to welcome them with open arms. i think we will get it done because we have to get this done. it's in the interest of our country to get this done. the state of play, luis has given it to you, and i will turn it back with extra time. i don't usually do this.

[laughter] >> i will remember that. >> anna navarro, how has the state of play evolved and where do you see it now? >> i think right now, we are at an impasse legislatively. but i think we cannot allow ourselves to be at an impasse in the fight for this. we have hit a roadblock right now. and i think after the happiness that we all felt when there was a bipartisan agreement announced last year, and now we are disillusioned because of where we are and we cannot afford to be disillusioned. [speaking spanish] we have to keep pushing. it's also very important we

realize we are where we are at a crossroads as a community. how we act upon the set of circumstances will determine whether we become political pawns used at election time, or whether we outsmart the politicians and actually make them earn our support. as far as state of play, i am right now upset, disappointed, and i will tell you, i am angry with all sides. why is it always the latino immigration that has to wait? we have had nothing but big promises from president obama that have not been realized, and from the republicans not even promises. that is unacceptable. [applause]

we had a president who told us >> we had a president who said he would get immigration and harm done the first year. we let him get away with it is obamacare andd know these things and he got a pass. , again, ie promised executive action. .hat didn't happen somehow, it is latinos a half to end up waiting. everybody else gets their turn. latinos, you can wait because it is not convenient. to tell you this, the height of medical cynicism, could it be more blatant?

side, the goodan news is, when standards were announced that the beginning of withear, people were ok the standards. people were ok. the bestlitical sin is local cynicism because it was after the primaries. think that was one of the most -- they must misread races. it was eric cantor that cost eric cantor his seat.

>> there have been a lot of churches that are supporting immigration. is the coalition concerned? . i think the coalition is strong. that this year, we will have some type of immigration reform, either through an active god, which means congress do something or through an exit get it of action. the picture on the outside. situation it is

also horizontal. i suggest bless you right now. god.does matter to it does matter to where people. our yesterday, one of pastors went to arizona to identify his mother who died in the desert in arizona.

immigration came and deported him. he came back to provide for his children. he heard a truck and was fearful of immigration and he ran. they couldn't find him. he was in the desert for a month, and now he's dead. i tell my colleagues and my evangelical brothers and sisters, if you are pro-life, you cannot be anti-immigration. because this is a life issue. [applause] [cheers and applause] life is not just about conception. it's about that god cares about your life from the moon -- from the womb all the way to the tomb. as faith leaders at our 40,000 churches, we continue to fight for comprehensive immigration reform. there is no excuse for this to happen. this is the one issue that unites everybody in support, except congress. congress needs to come in line with their constituents. but thank you very much. -- >> thank you very much. [applause] that is where we are. let's talk about about where we are going. congressman iteris touched on this for -- good terrorists -- congressman guittierez touched on this.

let me ask you, first of all, what your production is about what the president would do. you said 5 million undocumented to come out of the shadows. who are those people, what do you expect them to do and how do you expect them to stay away? >> the first is, i will never negotiate a low number. >> that is optimistic. >> but were very realistic. every time i used to say something about what the white house would do, the white house would react and say, this is wrong and i can't do that. no one at the white house said they will not do 5 million people. that is the thing. they are nice for nice figure out what i'm going to do. that gives me optimism. >> if i were you, i would be scared. >> number one, i'm very optimistic. >> [laughter] >> number two, when we are sitting down with the president of the united states and hispanic congressional caucus,

one last thing that i think is very important, to show you how broken our immigration system the republicans fixed it back in 1987. there were people waiting for the visa. i proved to the government

that i am a citizen sponsoring an immigrant and i prove that we are later he married, they grant her a visa. the problem is, when i take her that toa or dublin or the country she is from, they say stay there for 10 years. the president can purl them in place. those are 3.3 million people who are legally trying to get through the system. ande are wives and children parents who are tried to get to the system and the president simply can say that i preload them -- i parole them. groups.e two

those are two things. if he picks 10 years, and then there's the dreamers. he picked 2007 and 2012. what is needed up-to-date? what is me change the date from 2016 to 2018? -- from 16 to 18? we have to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people and we need to prepare to help them. but we will lead no -- leave no one behind. this is a down payment. and we will work [speaking spanish -- [speaking spanish] [applause] >> let's talk about action and the house, aside from what the president does. at these in the house -- at least, in the house no one is talking the democrats running the house. >> whoa. >> it's a lonely conversation. [laughter]

it's likely germane similar to what it is now. what are the chances of anything progressing after the election in the house after the president makes whatever limited changes he makes unilaterally echo >> let's -- unilaterally? >> let's clarify, when luis and i are talking, it's at least five or six people talking at once. it's an important question, because we are talking about whatever the president us as far as executive order, it is not a temporary fix. it's a meaningful fix. it is numbers of people that can

help stay and that we can help contribute. that is what we're looking for, what we can do to slow this down as well, but that does not remove the responsibility of congress to act cognitively to get a bill passed. we are waiting to see what the results of this first election will be. i would not hold my breath waiting for a legislative fix between now and the end of the year. if there is any change in the senate, there is no incentive for them to act at this time. he will wait until next year. i think it is safe to say that the burden is passed in the senate. it'll be a good marker, but it will die in the senate and we will have to start the process over again. and the makeup of the senate will be to see if they can get to the 60 margin -- the 60 vote margin. it is a humanitarian issue. at the border security issue. at a national security issue. it has to be dealt with. and it goes back to her peeps, as the issue of whether or not in her party with her presented as we can have -- with her representatives, whether or not we can have a real debate about this. we have not been able to do that in the house of representatives.

they will be angry when the president acts in an executive order. they are angry whenever the president does that. this will be attacks. whatever he does after the election will be attacked. and he has worked with executive order to do something. i have high hopes. i really do. i believe the country will rise to the occasion. we have in the past. my mother was an immigrant. my father came from immigrants. they came to this country because it did big things. this is a big thing. maybe this for me is not as big a political risk as it is for others. there are other issues i'm willing to work on as well that present political risk for me. but i want to be things. but accomplishing this is one of the greatest things i can imagine doing in congress. and i have terminus faith that we -- i have tremendous faith at

we will do something. >> miss tomorrow, let's talk about what republicans have done -- anna navarro, let's talk about what republicans have done in congress. they did propose several, and all of them are pretty much border security bills. very few dealt with -- well, one of them dealt with streamers, but in a punitive fashion. -- with dreamers, but in a punitive fashion. in general, the reported security bills. what will it take for your party to move past border security and recognize that more money is spent on our border than has been spent on it in history? and then concentrate on the real issue of immigration reform. sex you know, i think that even though -- >> you know, i think that even though looking at these bills that you just talked about, some of them -- i mean, most of them did not go anywhere.

they were symbolic, but bad symbolism. i agree with you. they were symbolic bills that were pushed through by a small band of republicans that wanted to make the symbolic point, despite what it may mean for the party in general, for the country in general, and for relationships with latinos. but i think the majority of republicans -- and i talked to a lot of them both the house and the senate and out in regular america -- are hearing from their constituents, the state committee, the business committee, families, voters, and employers, and they are hearing over and over again that this issue needs to be addressed. there is wide recognition that the status quo is broken and the issue needs to be addressed. yes, there is a vocal minority and a lot of times, they are able to wag the dog.

there is a vocal minority who feels differently. they have punched above their weight and made more noise than they should have. but they cannot get anything done by themselves. i think most republicans do realize it, but they haven't figured out a way to move it forward. since brock obama has been elected president, we have seen -- since barack obama has been elected president, we have seen a democratic president and a democratic senate, nothing happened. we have seen a republican house and democrat senate. nothing happened. we may after november, we don't know, have both houses, the senate and the house under republican hands. and the question will be, is that dynamic going to be any different? will mitch mcconnell and john boehner be able to agree on something in a way that john boehner and harry reid have not? i'm going to steal some of his

space and hope for a modern or call. >> you see a republican majority in the senate actually being beneficial for immigration reform? >> yes. >> can you explain that to me? or to us. >> i guess i can do the faith thing. -- cannot do the faith thing. [laughter] i think that john boehner and mitch mcconnell have a good relationship. it is no secret that their relation -- the relationship between john boehner and harry reid is, at best, it nonexistent. i think both want to address immigration reform in a conference of way. it may not be what i want.

it may not be what most of us want. but it might be a package that addresses some of the major issues. >> and you think it will go past order security? >> yes, because i think they understand -- first of all, if there is only border security by itself without having some sort of trigger mechanism and be part of a bigger package, number one, i don't think the president will sign it. and number two, i don't think they will get it through. yes, if they want to get something through, it will have to be carried and sticks. -- carrots and sticks. and we as a community must have to come to terms that it may not be everything we want, but it might be something we want. and again, that depends very much on the election. it is very much a coin toss today as far as who it will be in the senate. i think republicans will keep control of the house. >> when you look at all of this and how politics -- if you take miss tomorrow's explanation of

-- miss navarro's explanation of why republicans have not put forward bills with comprehensive in the gratian reform and only border security, that it is a small group that has prevented republicans from exhibiting their real will, what they really want to do -- that is how i understood your point. >> let's remember that there were four republican senators who teamed up with four democratic senators who did put forward a conference of bill. >> in the senate. >> right, but there was also a small active group trying to do the same thing in -- and putting a lot of effort and political activity on the house side. they could not get it done, but they put in a lot of time and effort. i don't think it's fair to say that only bad things have happened.

neither the bad things or the good things have come to reality, but there has been a lot of effort on the good things as well. >> and i will let luis chime in on that. let me get your opinion on when you watch the politics of this, it must be from someone -- for someone outside of that realm, disappointing to see that occurring. if it is true that a majority of republicans believe the system is broken and needs to be fixed and a majority of the democrats do, but still nothing happens. >> for the last several years, what we heard from leaders in the house was, cover us, we will get it done. we will get it done november. we will cover it -- we will get it done in june. we stood and nothing happened. there was courage to get

something done. the problem is, there was not a marco rubio in the house on the republican side that would stand up and take courage and stand up to anybody, the tea party, and say, look, we have to get this done. as a pastor, i teach that there is power in prayer. but as a citizen, there is power in my vote. and the best thing i can do is tell my constituents -- and we are doing this with the work with the different organizations. what are we telling our people? you must show up to vote. i don't think congress has felt the consequences of us voting. as evangelicals, the 20% that voted for governor romney, 50% of that 28% of hispanics was evangelicals. apple not happen again. if you do not read -- not support immigration reform, you will not get the hispanic vote and you will not get the evangelical vote. you have to realize that. [applause]

>> let me ask the entire panel. louise, you can chime in with this as well. let me turn -- start with you on the end. the unaccompanied minor crisis that happened this year, the president in his interviews in explaining why -- one of the reasons why or maybe even the main reason why he delayed action until after the election is that he lost the support of the american people. and he blamed that on the unaccompanied minors crisis. that it frightened america and he needed time to reeducate folks about why they should support immigration reform again. do you agree with him? did you see people afraid because of what they were seeing at the border? >> i think the president made a profit out of my boss. he said in 2007, today's

complacency will be tomorrow's captivity. yes, kids are captive at the border. parents are captive. they are being sent home. we need to reinvigorate the situation. it is time for someone to act. if it is the president, the house, just someone, please, do what you say you are going to do. [applause] >> what effect do you think the unaccompanied minors created? >> number one, this is not american crisis. 78,000 kids showing up at the border of the most powerful, strongest nation in the world, it's a crisis of central america. it's a logistical headache for us that we can take care f. 125,000 showed up and i don't remember the republicans saying, don't -- send them back and that we will not receive

them. [applause] let's just understand that what the republicans did was use the children at the border and exploited them for political gain by saying they were criminals, that they were dirty, filthy criminals, and that they were coming here to destroy america. and that is what they said. i'm not adding or subtracting from the speeches they gave. one of them said they would bring the ebola virus to america. unfortunately, we have had the first case. and it is a tragedy in africa. they even use a tragedy in africa, because here's the problem that we have. the problem that we have is that of the 11 million undocumented, 5 million of them never crossed the border. it legal, illegal, illegal, illegal. those are the only people they

ever talk about. if you were to seal the border down, people would still overstay their visas. they would still overstay their tourist visas and work visas. people would still be in this country undocumented in the u.s. and now the new thing is that the terrorists are coming through. they have american passports. why would they need a coyote? you need a coyote if you don't have a passport. [applause] it just doesn't make sense. i think it's important to have these conversations. there are dozens of wonderful men and women in the republican caucus that want to get this done. but their leadership will not allow them to join democrats in the house of representatives to get it done. [speaking spanish]

but we cannot get it done because the leadership will not allow it. what did they tell them? everybody can't become a citizen. and i said, ok, everybody can't become a citizen. and they said, we have to do it in parts and pieces. even the president said, ok, let's start putting the pieces ogether. we said yes, yes, yes, and yes. and in the end, they walked away. i understand the democrats walked away before and did not show incredible current. but that was yesterday. i'm talking about who is in power and who has the capacity to do it today. but there is a difference. because my daughter told me, i don't see candidates for the u.s. senate that are democrats oing and using immigration against the republicans. no, it's republicans in

arkansas and the louisiana, in the carolinas, and across this country that are using immigration in order to gain a majority in the u.s. senate. and i'm supposed to believe that you're going to hound the hell out of the electorate and you're going to come back and be good to immigrants when you have won the election. i cannot believe that. [applause] i will add one other thing. the president said he has the authority to act. the president needs to act. if the congress of the united states will not afford our community justice and fairness, and we are waiting to do it according to their rules and regulations, then the president has to act. but let me be clear to democrats and republicans alike. if mitch mcconnell and speaker boehner, or any two leaders of the republican party watch this, it's wednesday. it's the day after the election and -- election in november.

i can hear them already. we are going to make priority of immigration reform, but the president better not spoil the well of acting unilaterally. no, no, no. the president got elected by 5 million more votes than mitt romney. he said to the dreamers that he would bring them. and that was a down payment. it is now time for the president to act. we will not accept an excuse on the democratic side, and we should not accept any republicans telling us to wait. [speaking spanish] [applause] >> if anybody else wants to add to that, i'm happy to let you at this point to take that on, or whatever you want to do. i do also want to take -- turned to the audience and see

if there are questions there. but before we go on, let me say something about what luis said. i agree with what -- a lot of what he said. you began the question as to minors on the border. did that change public opinion? yes. should it have? no. but did it? yes. but at the end of the day, you and i know that it was not that, that held the president back. it was mary landrieu, mark begich, and others picking up the phone to the white house over and over again and say, if you do executive action, you will cost us our election. they were just as political as the people you just talked about. and that should be unacceptable to all of us, that this is what those folks are doing. it may come down to louisiana. and i hope that they remember

that mary landrieu was on the phone asking the white house not to do executive action so she could save her seat. >> all right, let's go to the audience for some questions. the microphone as of here. go ahead. >> i want to thank all of you for being here. i'm kind of excited and nervous at the same time. but i have to share this before my question. i'm a state representative in phoenix, arizona, married to a person that is in process that was detained in the last session before finishing my session this term. it affects us all. but my question is this. and i'm confused. i understand the issue at the federal level here in washington. how that translates to my local area in arizona is that i'm a democrat, a registered

democrat, and i have my own democratic party whose priorities do not match that of the federal. i'm passionate about immigration. i'm organizing a massive market, you name it. but there is a very different -- reverend, again, the faith-based, pro-life, how does that translate to my christian churches? i understand that we got to organize and register and do that work. but there is a big disconnect. i don't know if that is only in arizona, or across the nation. what can we do? i have expectations for every elected official to start speaking the truth and speaking about their challenges within their party, because it shouldn't be a partisan issue. and you're right, it is unacceptable and it's up to us. where are we?

>> let me say first of all, that i think the issue of immigration and how we approach it should be a nonpartisan issue. i want to work with everyone that wants to work to solve the problem of our undocumented community, whether republican or democrat. but moreover, i have done that, and i've challenged my own party time and time again to be better. so that we understand way this works, right? i was disillusioned because i remember in 1997, i voted in -- against the defense of marriage act the test -- because i said, what two men and two women want to do, i did not wait for the country to wake up about gay and lesbian people. i voted my conscience. i think part of the problem with the democratic party with immigration is still this. we would not wait until after november if it was an issue affecting the gay and lesbian community necessarily. [speaking spanish] if this is about women's

reproductive rights and the minimum wage, if this was about a series of other issues, the democratic party would come together. but we are better shape today than we've ever been before on the issue of immigration as a democratic party. let me just say that. one of the things you need to understand is that every democratic senator in the senate last year voted for comprehensive immigration reform. and if just the democratic senators had voted for it, there would have been enough of hem to pass immigration reform without one republican. they all voted for it. and i think it's kind of a shame that mary landrieu, who voted for immigration reform, is now -- of course, by her republican opponent because she wants to win the election and being challenged on immigration. she is for fixing our broken

immigration system. did she call the president and say, wait until after the election? she probably did. here's what i say to everyone. register to vote, because every year, 900,000 latinos turn 18 and they are all american citizens. and we have 8 million of which 7 million are latinos that can become citizens tomorrow. i'm going to work on registering all the youth and making sure that those who can become citizens do. but i also will set up for our immigrant community, so they can know to register to vote for somebody because of principle and values. >> [speaking spanish] >> i get that. >> let me tell you about arizona. to me, it is very confusing to have a state that has such disparate characters. e cannot help you in arizona. but he will pray about it.

[laughter] >> i will pray about it, and let me add that at the state level, arizona needs to know that the son of an undocumented immigrant who came to this country speaking -- seeking amnesty and political asylum now opposes immigration. he needs to remember he is the product of an undocumented immigrant and he needs to stand up for others in arizona. when you go to the churches, don't go politically. go with the moral argument, because there is not a church in america that can argue against the moral problem that this is. ask i would like to see them i expect -- >> i would like to say that my exterior is with the members of the house -- my experience with the members of the house, they are prepared to take courageous votes if given the opportunity. the senate has acted and did take a difficult vote. and now they are up for election.

whether they returned to the senate or not is a political issue. hey took a courageous vote last year. the house has not taken a boat. and i've seen the house -- not taking that vote. and i've seen the house act. the violence against women act. i've seen them on san diego. i'm from new york. that was -- on sandy aid. i'm from new york. that was a difficult issue. and all of those issues passed the house with a majority-minority and a minority -- and a majority of the minority. i have the will on the floor to pass it without the majority of the minority. they just won't do it with immigration reform. they have the opportunity. there are a number of good republicans to support it, but they didn't have the political will to put it on the floor. flexibility here in the front. i think the microphones are back there. you will have to go back there.

i apologize. >> hello, i'm currently in public policy fellow. this question is for my congressman. and the other house member. i believe that undocumented individuals contribute. but i think this country is a sick addition -- addiction to cheap labor will stop what is -- i think this country has a sick addiction to cheap labor. what will be done for those who are currently employed and undocumented to not become discriminated against when they are no longer legally considered cheap labor? >> first of all, here is what happened. and i think we should all agree to this. undocumented workers in this

country, because of their undocumented status actually lower the wages for american workers. employers take advantage of that labor force and the ability to exploit that labor force. but listen, if you talk to anyone of the 700,000 dreamers that today have taken advantage of that, they all have the same social security card that i do and they have a work permit. and they work here in the workforce. they are no longer exploited. they can now participate fully. in bringing about, hence of immigration reform, -- in bringing about comprehensive immigration reform, we raise the wages of all americans and they are no longer stifled by using an underclass of american workers. the way to do it is through comprehensive immigration reform, so the wages of everyone can increase. let me just say this.

moving forward, foreign hands are going to pick the food in foreign lands, or in america. that is a constant that will continue. who is going to pick the lettuce and tomato and the cucumbers and the grapes? it's always going to be us. she said she doesn't leave not -- leave miami that much, but i was 45 minutes outside of miami. those in miami, they think of nicaraguans and cubans. and they think of puerto ricans. go 45 minutes outside of miami to anyone of the orchards, the orange orchards that are out there. it is mexicans. that is all that is out there. the point is, there will always

be a need for people to come to this country and to do the backbreaking work. i know we are ready to do that. >> i've got to pitch in here. yes, everything you said is true. but there is a need for much more than that. and we cannot just stereotype ourselves as people who are picking lettuce and tomatoes. it is something that we should be proud that our people are doing. but our people are also tilting -- building computers and operating on brains. and our people are also teaching in the schools. and we are an aging community, an aging nation here in the united states. we need the influx of new blood in order to do all the jobs. but let it not be said and that the image be -- and let the image be that hispanics are early this or only that. >> the reason i raise that issue -- >> [indiscernible]

>> because they keep saying, they should all just go. we should just all the port hem. -- the port them -- deport them. mitt romney said that they should all leave. >> and what did i say? >>anna, annna. my point is this. they do dirty, filthy, backbreaking work, and they still get accused of being on welfare and they still get accused of taking food tamps. [applause] let's be clear. [speaking spanish] who is going to do that other work echo -- the other ork?

and my only point to everyone here is, i want to make sure because republicans can sit down with me and say, we will give you all of the doctors to my computer wizards, they can all come. but don't bring any of those mexicans to work in our outer culture. they want to have a program of the past to deal with our agriculture industry. no more of those programs. [speaking spanish] [applause] >> if i could just add to this discussion just a bit. i just returned from houston, texas, where they are exhorting -- absorbing thousands of naccompanied children into the school children -- the school system. and i spoke to some of these children who had come here, many of them on their own.

little kids, 10-year-old kid to a comfort guatemala, honduras, on their own, on buses, crossing with coyotes. i asked them. there was a group of them at the table and i said, what did you want to be? why did you come here? doctor, engineer -- those are the people who are our future. they came here to get an education. their parents, many of them who are here, are probably working in the kitchen today. but the dream for their kids is o do what you are saying, to do that. most of us know, and we've seen the movies and documentaries that without the mexicans that have come across the border, undocumented at this point, we could not -- a day in this country without undocumented workers would be a very slow day. most of us know that. we have time for one more question. >> good afternoon, everyone.

i'm also from chicago. i'm a teacher there. >> i think you packed the audience. [laughter] >> no, no. i think we just packed the microphone. we are all disappointed that president obama decided to wait until after the midterm election. the problem is, the midterm elections may not turn out his way now. and according to what miss tomorrow says -- miss navarro says, there is a chance that republicans could take over the house and the senate. if that were the case, and i don't know if it is, and then the president may decide by executive order to put forth conference of immigration reform. but that also poses the following. if he does it by executive order, then what are the chances of the republican filing a lawsuit and challenging that?

but for mr. navarro --ms. navarro, they may pass some kind of -- and you say some kind of comprehensive reform. that sounds a little bit disturbing, because it sounds like they will water it down. they will do it some way because now they have control. wouldn't that bring us back to the same issue because it would not be comprehensive enough? we would not be solving this problem. >> i have to ask you to make your answers short. we do have to wrap up. do you want to take that first, anna? >> sure. if we are going to take over the house and the senate, we will have to push. i agree that if the president takes executive action, republicans will be angry. and i would say to my party, the best way to avoid executive action is to take legislative action.

pass something. do something. that is the best way to this or any executive action. if each branch does their job, you don't need to supersede the other branch. s far as watering down and what the comprehensive immigration bill is going to look like, i have no idea. i think we would see a lot of pushing from the different constituent groups -- business, labor, faith, etc., family reunification. i have no idea. i'm not ready to pooh-pooh nything. i will be cautiously optimistic until i see something that makes me pessimistic. until then, let me hold onto my little raft of optimism. >> we are going to hold the presidency to the fire. he has said that he would do something after the election. we are not sitting back and waiting after the elections anymore.

we are going right away to fulfill our promise, and more han we anticipated he would do before hand. he owes that much to us at this point. it comes back to what you said before. 100 years, my family has been here. my grandparents came here poor. they never anticipated that their grandson would be a member of congress today. it's exactly that kind of courage that these people today, that these little kids are experiencing. i have a nine-year-old son. i could never imagine him going around the block, much less a desert to come here to the united states. but it's about the fulfillment of a dream to be everything they can be. and we ought not to deny it. we should welcome it. [applause] >> you asked the question, what if they take over the senate and they keep the house and they file lawsuits and they obstruct? to me say, i welcome that fight.

if the president of the united states asked to protect millions of undocumented workers -- acts to protect millions of a not committed workers and allow them to come out of the shadows, here's what i believe. i believe that reverend suarez and the tens of thousands of people who are parishioners in his faith-based community are going to unite with the democrats, and some republicans in the house. i think that anna navarro and i started out fighting for nicaraguans so that over 100,000 of them today could have legalized status in this country. i believe that anna is going to fight. i think everyone in this room is ready for that kind of fight. imagine for a moment the president of the united states makes an announcement. we figure out who the 5 million, 6 million people are. we get ready to register them and the republican majority decides they will obstruct the process. they will be the end of the republican party as a national

party in the united states of america, because then it won't be that the democrats didn't act and that the republicans didn't act. it will be the last act. this will take me 30 seconds. we all understand -- o, better housing. they didn't come through. better education. it didn't come through. we will reduce your property taxes. but this is very different. this is a concrete example of justice for a community of people that we love and cherish and will defend. i'm ready for the president to act. and let me tell you something. whoever attacks the decision of the president to bring justice and fairness to millions of undocumented immigrants and allow them to have justice in this country, i'm ready for that fight and i'm ready to join everybody in this room in winning that fight. [applause] >> 30 seconds to wrap it

up. >> i will close by saying, don't lose faith and don't lose hope. the god that i preach, the bible teaches that he created this. the heavens, the sun, the universe, he did it all in seven days. and every time they have a meeting they say, do we really believe that there's enough time to get it all done? the god they believe in did this in seven days. i have faith. i seek faith over you. let's believe together. [speaking spanish] nobody can stop it. it's going to happen. od wants immigration reform. >> thank you very much for attending, and i want to leave the applause in thanking our panelists for a very interesting discussion. thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> the 2015 student cam competition is underway this. nationwide competition for middle and high school students will award 150 prizes totalling $1 hundred,000. create a five to seven-minute

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