incorporating the populations on a long-term basis within their orders. the response has been to limit legal avenues. refugee status, becomes one of the very few relatively safe and legal >> under those pressures, i think we have a different kind of international crisis. it is a crisis of policy and law , where our frameworks are not capable of coping with the numbers. not because those numbers are but it is a crisis of political will, and it is a crisis of political framework. the context, i read one out of every five people in turkey right now is a refugee of some sort. does that sound right? >> no. but that is true in lebanon.

lebanon is a country of 4 million people that has absorbed 1.1 million. by now, probably 1.2 5 million syrians. the equivalent in the united states would be over the course of nine years they absorbed 80 million refugees. turkey is a country of about 75 million. they have absorbed the largest number of refugees. that represents a smaller proportion of turkey's large population. small country like lebanon or jordan, and all of these are countries in the developing world. it bears mentioning that worldwide, refugees are housed 86% of all refugees are hosted by countries in the global south. thatemographic meeting of is very different than it would be for the united states or for the european union or for larger, wealthier countries to absorb similar numbers.

i think that illustrate some of the things we're been talking about. i just saw an article saying the united states is now up to something like 8000 syrian refugees. in 1975, the u.s. took in 150,000 vietnamese refugees. the space to the point that the issue crisis is a political issue. you can absorb those refugees if we want to, but we don't for various political reasons. one thing that this picture tells us that is powerful about the refugee story and images is that on one hand, it can be construed as an invasion, or it can be construed as a rescue. that is how the united states is chosen to see its role around the rate vietnam war. states sees itself as having rescued hundreds of thousands of refugees, which

allows the u.s. to forget that it fought wars in the first place and helped create those refugees. the gratitude is a political .arrative i don't want to be seen as ungrateful. do many of you remember when the vietnamese arrived in 1975 and 1976? camppendleton had a huge that was temporary for some months, and texas too i believe. enormous numbers, and we are context,n a certain only 10,000. it looks like we'll have that figure a little more this year according to the papers today. it is a small number compared to what we have seen in the past. >> some of them have become very successful. americans tend to think of this as a success story in contrast

to other refugees. in 1970 five, the majority of americans did not want to accept southeast asian refugees. this is a congressional act that turned out well. we forgot that in the narrative of successful refugees. >> when does that fade away? when does the refugee who doesn't go away -- go back home, stop being the refugee? what do they have to do to reach that plateau or that place? >> that points to two things that are interesting to think about. becomees someone simply an armenian american and so on? generational.s the children that are born as second-generation become that fully assimilated person. in some ways, the person that has arrived is almost never able to fully shut the identity of someone who arrived as a refugee.

that is an open question for an anthropologist. there are populations in the world who are refugees for multiple generations. for example, a city in syria is a palestinian refugee camp that ultimately has turned into a city, but never stopped being a refugee camp. the people there never gained admission. now they are refugees again -- there were starvation conditions, there was a complete siege of that city. people were slaughtered on mass, and some refugees that reached europe are palestinian third or fourth generation refugees. similarly, there is a camp in kenya where you have three or four generations of people still framed as refugees. the challenge to people who are working in the refugee framework is how long can you frame in the ways that we have described a population as to be rescued or

subject to humanitarian assistance, as opposed to in need of direct resettlement and political identity and development assistance, meaning an investment in their ability to be self-reliant and integrated in economies that continue to hurt them. do you think in terms of how we portray immigrants/refugees that we are doing a good job now? photographers in the exhibition, and we can go to any of the images -- maybe go i think the one, images in the exhibition are actively trying to address a lot of the ideas that we have just discussed. the image of the rest -- the refugee as passive. a lot of these photographers are actively trying to overturn a lot of these stereotypes.

,e see in photographs like this photographing men waiting for a train, but notice -- this is a landscape that is strewn with lots of debris, and these men stand in front of the street in order to suggest a sense of resilience for these people, and also to suggest that they are not victims here. there are actively trying to formulate a life for themselves. i think you see that throughout the images and exhibition. these photographers have absorbed a lot of the debates about how photography shapes our understanding of political events, and they are examples of photographers trying to work to actively change the way in which photographers betray these types of populations in the past. in many ways, they are working -- a lot of photographers don't

have the luxury of being commissioned to do a project and also spending lots of time with their subjects. >> that's another issue. >> exactly. it is not necessarily the first time that they have partnered with an organization to produce a photographic body of work. in 1995, a book called, "exodus," was produced alongside a group which was a group of photographers dedicated to documenting the lives of refugees. they produced a book that was purposely trying to use photography as a tool. they've done this before, and they have recognized how photography done in different ways can really speak to audiences and teach them new things about this experience. as a reporter, and as

somebody whose job it is to communicate the stories in the context of where we are in los angeles, i am struck by how poor of a job we do collectively in explaining these new communities that have arrived. it is almost like they live in separate universes, whether it is more established communities like the vietnamese-american arrivals.or newer i am wondering if you all have any reaction to that, in terms of how refugees are covered in contemporary coverage by the media. >> i think most americans don't know a whole lot about the newer communities of refugees. that's because american society as a whole is instructed to ignore these people. i grew up in a vietnamese and i knowmunity intimately.

so many americans said we never knew about this perspective. even people who live next to vietnamese we're -- vietnamese refugees and communities. the entire way is geared not to pay attention to people who don't have power, whether it is refugees or poor people. there's so much work that needs us whoone for those of are scholars or storytellers who are working on these communities , but the odds are stacked against us. we don't have access to abc or hollywood to get these stories out there. the stories of the unwanted. if you go to that portrait there, you see that this is one of the things that he is trying to do, which is to put a face to people, to show the people that we see on the street, there is a story behind them. he purposely creates these images in a way. we have all seen kids of obama

or other politicians and celebrities he has photographed. he works consistently in the same way in order to create the democratic platform. as images treat everyone the same way in order to speak to the common humanity that we share, but also to insist the stories behind each of our faces. one of the contradictions is that we want to argue that refugees have regency. but they have power. all that is true, but by definition someone who is a refugee is excluded from these types of things. martin schuller is not a refugee. if you must emphasize it is not a refugees themselves are doing this work. at a refugee can do something like this, they are no longer refugees. we are already distance from the population we once were. the fact that refugees

have the agency to get on that boat and risk their lives, they don't have the power to tell their own story. >> they are doing other things. >> that's true, but refugees are telling their stories through cell phones now. photographs,g doing their own documentation, so we are beginning to see them tell their own stories in their limited time. people are doing that through cell phone photography, but it also has to do with distribution. we tend to stumbleupon upon the much later after they have been done, but we are seeing those stories start to emerge. have been on the coast of morocco with people trying to cross into spain. they have come to morocco from other parts of west africa, they have nothing. maybe a change of close, but a lot of them have cell phones and know how to replace a simple card and things like that. >> i think social media and the

ubiquity of cell phones has made images -- democratizing is not the right word, but there is a capacity to seize on narratives through the eyes of refugees, even as they travel. there is an example today in the new york times of a syrian piano man, which is a story in which the refugee both as footage that he took during his journey and footage of himself in the home country and upon arrival in berlin, and describes what the journey looks like, while at the same time he laments the construction that he feels confined to offer of being a good refugee and an attempt to flip narratives that have taken hold in germany about the kind of threat represented by syrian refugees. he feels the need to tell the story and get it out. he is performing the story that he wants to tell is a good refugee. one other example of the use of

social media, another good example of humanitarian organizations, which is an image that is included here where you have a very young woman who takes a picture for the news agency. very few of our audience here will habitually have seen an image in their circulation, but the head of the emergency team for human rights watch was present at the time and also saw the image that she had taken and retweeted it and then it got retreated around the world. you had human rights watch, which have been attempting to get a message out about the tragedy that was taking place with these drowning children and frame a, managing to narrative, which the image itself becomes viral and speaks for itself. it is disconnected from the context in which it was launched

to social media in the first place. you see how images are being harnessed by those agencies that are seeking to act on their behalf, and for a time it shifted the narrative in europe about the arriving tens of thousands of syrians over the summer of 2015. >> this is the terrible photo of the three-year-old wash does run the beach. >> that's right. literally is kilometers from where i spent every summer of my childhood. it is an area where european tourists would come all the time. it has the raven is because of location beyond what we might appreciate in the united states for a european audience. the image is worth noting that it is a broader picture, which is for infant and child deaths

in the mediterranean a day now, the summer, which is twice the number in 2015. >> did not disturb you? every crisis gets an image or to attach to it, it is inevitable. that -- does you phototurb you that that in particular got so much attention, or is there a job back that we may not realize? >> i think what's different now is the number of images that we see and the speed at which we see them. you are first the spanish civil war. photograph was the only one of its kind for years, so we had time to meditate on the images. you can choose other conflicts. we have all this time to sit with them and react to them.

what i think is fascinating is the speed at which things come out and disappear. online and see millions of images of families trying to cross the mediterranean now that was shot last week or last month, but you still get that one image that explodes beyond that and the globe starts talking about it. i think the positives are recognizable because it focuses attention, but i'm am wondering if there any drawbacks to that. viral, theimage goes photographer uses control. it doesn't matter what the intention is. everybody has seen these pictures. thee's a photograph of someone shooting a viet cong suspect in the head. he said it was justified. think the photograph of the

girl burned by napalm, that image is is figuratively burned in everybody's memory. the positive part is that it served a really important role in shaping public opinion about the war, but the drawback is that the vietnamese do that photograph are forever fixed in the memories of americans as victims. that is a crippling kind of story that is hard for vietnamese people to get out of. that is why you have vietnamese people in vietnam and the united states reiterating this claim. the anonymous not a war, it is a country. they have to keep on saying it because of the west when you say vietnam, everybody thinks war. that's with that photograph does. that's the drawback. >> you see these common tropes. .t is images of vulnerability images of mothers and children. images that resonate because of

the christian origins of this country. these certain themes constantly come up in these photographs that people respond to. >> anything to add because i would like to make a page turn here? know, the person who chose to tweet that picture, he experienced was it backlash of people saying there was something on was pornographic about disseminating this image. his response was that it was truly grotesque, the policies that were forcing people into these and the decision on the part of europe to militarize. think that is a place where tension lies. an image has the capacity to fully ship the narrative. it is seared into our minds. this case, it invited a policy that allowed children to

aroundned in the seas europe, rather than allowing them to cross. a caused a major shift for that moment. in the broader framing, the idea that this is about a framing of vulnerability gets lost at some point. instead, it just got this to stand in for the identity of a population and that is when you have the phenomena in -- the phenomenon. the crisis that these individuals say is framing the whole society is a crisis, and that is where you end up with the problems we have been discussing. >> i should note that the photos here on the display, to your right immediately when you enter into the exhibit area, and it hits you in the gut. there so much power to it. that thehink photographers in the exhibition and many photographers today try to actively address their own

, of privilege being able to speak for these. there's the problematic aspect of them speaking for a position that is not theirs. i think a lot of photographers in this exhibition are trying to also per tray something that we don't see in the media. there are aspects of each of the images that are problematic. >> is images being normal life . to -- no go forward that's ok. >> tell me where. >> keep going. something like this. a fashion photographer doing this new imagery, taking a very common image that we see in refugee photography of a mother and a child, but here he is

doing something fascinating, which is the is referencing a whole history of africans of your photography and self portraiture. for the people sit for his image, they are referencing this self portraiture in africa. that they areg agents of their own creation. they are individuals. you see these photographers actively trying to do something that we don't commonly see. it is taking quite a challenge himself. images.color in these it is not something you see in colorbject matter because also commentates light -- life, action. we are used to black and white which college-age crisis and drama and horror.

>> it's a smile. right, this seems to be their own portrait, not a portrait that he made. >> we have a few minutes left in this conversation. theimply have to address united states in 2000 this election year and the conversation about immigrants and refugees. we have a presidential candidate who has said that he could look into the eyes of the syrian refugee child and say, i'm paraphrasing, you cannot come into this country, sorry. mentioned i was at the political convention in cleveland, i heard a lot of talking about refugees being a front for jihadi's coming in. refugees being a way for diseases to come into this country. this is open to anyone. what do you make of the tenure

of this conversation about refugees this year versus years past? returning to where we began, which is crisis framing and it really helps entrench these narratives. by describing a crisis, you can distort the facts. we could have said 60 million, we could have said 250 million. it would have been plausible at some level. say there is migration for the mexican communities the united states. the crisis is something we all except of the best way to understand this and the question is what solutions, come up with? barriers and exclusion. crisis models are constantly deployed for political strategic purposes and we are witnessing that.

there are many shocking things about our current political momentum, but the deployment of crisis language and the depiction of migrants and refugees as viruses resonates with our ordinary politics, unfortunately. the depths of the toxic xenophobia that we see, not only in the united states, but really in the west and perhaps globally. i think we do have this challenge of can we start thinking about global migration? it is worth noting that migration patterns will only increase. we know this now. we can address this by trying to come up with rational policies, or we can do the ad hoc dance that has generated the toxic politics we have seen in the united dates and europe on a continuing basis. i think that would be a very pro-choice. our political moment helps illustrate how bad that can be. >> i think the current climate

reminds me that images matter and that are passive consumption of images of immigrants and migrants and refugees as hordes of nameless and faceless people. we may passively consume the images, they have an impact on a lot of people and that is important for us to support other people showing other representations. on the media they have not had the space or time to show images. you may find a special section of the new york times, but that is the special area. how do we find this space in our everyday media to look more deeply indifferently at these types of issues? >> i go back to history. all those things donald trump is saying that other refugees will do, bring in contamination, the

religious that, if you go back historically and look at the chinese, those with the same things that were being said about the chinese in the 19th century, that they would bring evil, they would destroy the american family, they would undermine the american workingman. there were considered antithetical to american culture. i don't believe that because syrians are muslim that they are different than other populations that have come to the u.s. before. typically, europe and the united states have played a major role in shaping the historical conditions that have produced refugees in the first place. go back far enough in history, the role the u.s. has played in the shaping of the middle east that led to the refugee crisis, but we don't like to think about those kinds of things. the fact that we are in an economic crisis today, if you believe that, the crisis of globalization and neoliberalism,

--re putting the plane forth the blame for on refugees, when refugees are only themselves the product of the same kind of economic decisions that the u.s. and europe have made. >> let me challenge you. does anyone have any sympathy for the argument that a country, no matter how wealthy, can really only sustained so many people coming in over a certain. of time? that, inanything to the concern that you let one person in and that guy decides to put on the suicide vest? there is a risk there, no? any society may have a threshold of what it can do in terms of resources and its political context.

thing to look of years that we need an international framework of responsibility sharing. the current international puts away responsibility. they have for us to do circumstances that have led to the unraveling of syria and the united states. the three largest refugee flows we have seen over the last 10 years, they have been out of syria, iraq, and afghanistan. in order to knowledge and numbers that, one has to come up with a framework of sharing that responsibility. that doesn't place the burden entirely on the immediate front. had there been a transfer of resources to those countries commensurate with what they were calling for as an example, you probably wouldn't have had the migration that you saw en masse into europe, but until that onward migration occurred, there

was no migration crisis. there was no it knowledge meant that there was a crisis in syria until syrians started showing up on the shores of europe. the question is into individual countries have a threshold that the united states. to what extent can lebanon absorb another million because greece and italy need to raise their barriers high. if that is the web we went to live in, there will have to be a massive resource transfer to enable people who survive because these are people who are traveling to make a better life, these are people who are traveling to stay alive. so long as the conditions for them to be able to maintain thec life our applicant for places they can first travel to, they will continue traveling. questions like what is the threshold will not be the determinants. >> i would like to thank all three of you for this fantastic hour of conversation.

[applause] of course, this fabulous exhibition and so many others like this are part of this exhibition. if you haven't seen it, i hope you do walk over there and see it and you come back and you talk to others about these issues. certainly, this is the your to do it in the united states as we face elections in november. i we taking questions and answers? >> good evening. we're taking questions. that concludes our lecture for the evening and brings us to queue and day. there will be two people with microphones. if you have a question, please major hand. -- please raise your hand. please tell clearly into the microphone.

we have a question here to the right. >> i would just like to know why a large segment of the world seems to be exempt from the consideration of all these factors you discuss tonight like asia. how many refugees or immigrants are heading towards asia? are they welcome, are they not? japan i know doesn't take anybody. vietnam, china, south korea. >> saudi arabia if you look to give very wide scope. anyone like to tackle that? >> the gulf country makes the claim that they host very large populations of syrians and palestinians, but not as refugees, and they don't recognize them as such. for what it's worth, unlike

china and the other countries, they do pay into a system of trying to at least create some resources. that have notries participated, there are only 26 countries that participate. one of the reasons that people don't head to other countries, for starters they do. there was a crisis of people fleeing and boats. they were basically trying to go anywhere that they could land. the moment of extremists around violence, people flee to their immediate neighbors, they don't try to go to the united states or europe. they tried to go to the place nearest where they hope to find some kind of safe haven. the truth is, those of the societies that are already in the global south at the breaking point in terms of their

economies. their managing very challenging circumstances in which the likelihood that a refugee large refugee population arriving will be able to integrate and maintain lives where they can actually have any hope of meaningful long term life. understandably, the motivation for populations that are fleeing an attempt to secure a position to stay alive are going to places where the resources are more likely to be available. that isn't to say refugee populations from asia are fleeing to europe and the united states. trying to into australia. world has a of the set of destination points, and almost all of them are best described in terms of the relatively much greater resources. why those other countries are not required to join the settlement program is one of the questions that what i am

suggesting a responsibility sharing framework in which international responsibilities for our global crises are more fairly allocated that would have to be part of the conversation for south korea and other have relatively large economies in relatively small refugee populations. >> although people may not settle there, they can do more. >> am i going the questioner? >> we have another question. i was hoping you could talk about the violence in central whyica and mexico, and also that has not been in the same way when you think about the cartels. related to photography, i often when does something become fortuitous, versus

showing the reality of what is happening. i worry sometimes that people here don't understand the level of violence happening, and maybe if we saw these photos more regularly it would wake people up a little bit more. >> one of the fascinating things about the photography is the way in which she addresses the history of violence of mexico, while at the same time telling the story of the migrants. images, sheat her is often stating her subjects in very specific locations. if you read her captions, you see her reference a particular historical event. one of the think she is trying to do is to remind us of the thatry of that violence migrants have faced, and could possibly indoor and have what it takes to do with these individuals do. interpreted ing

ways that respect issues of gratuitous violence. she is trying to do something different, like referencing history without showing that violence. the refugee convention frames those who are entitled to legal protection and material assistance when they flee a fear ofround persecution that is connected to recognized categories which are religion, race, political opinion, nationality, and membership of a social group. the challenges for those who flee violence like criminal gang violence to find a way to fit that framing and historically they have not been found to fit the framing. they're not fleeing persecution that entitles them to legal protection under that narrow framing of the refugee convention.

one way to understand the challenger have been trying to describe to the international frameworks available is that we have a basic instinct and understanding that anybody that is fleeing and has a fear of persecution and violence is entitled to some form of protection. there are two possible ways to rethink our framing. one would be to reopen the current refugee convention for negotiation. if we did that, it would involve a scaling back of protections and set of an expansion. question is motivated by a desire to see an expansion of protections. the second strategy is to that suggestlines that the refugee convention remain as it is, but forms of protection be adopted by countries. the united states has something called temporary protective status, which is a protection from being returned that does not involve asylum.

it offers protection for individuals fleeing circumstances deep into stability. because the sources of global migration are as much a natural as violent conflict, they need to come up with a framework of water superior protections that title anybody who is at risk of their life should they be returned to a protection. in ainvolves individuals powerful country like the united states which is convening a summit around the un's general assembly meetings in september new york on the question of first migration and population mobility. the conference could take up that topic of protection, but given the political climate there is appetite for support for those arguments in the united states. without that leader shop, it is difficult to come up with a framework. >> when we think about migrants

from central america, there are issues of how they are coming for economic reasons. if central american gang members are trying to kill you, you are just as dead as if it is a syrian soldier. next question. >> i want to follow up on that last question. i think it is something that a lot of us don't realize. was in a group of attorneys that went to a place in texas where women and children from central america had been held. when i came back to los angeles, most people said did you go to europe and help the syrians.

i said no. we have refugees crossing the border into the united states. i thought it was interesting they didn't let us take cameras or cell phones in, so we couldn't take any pictures of the people. there were a few people that gottfried afterwards and i took pictures of them and posted it, but i think that is a reason that it doesn't get as much press coverage as it should. the other thing is what the professor said, there are only five bases for silent. -- four asylum. having interviewed dozens of the women there, the typical story heard was this. outside of their homes, they would start a business.

let's say they started a restaurant and some guy would come there for lunch every couple of days. they knew he was a gang member, but he would say something like your little five-year-old girl is so cute. i'll we see her going down this boulevard and then she turns left to go to school. by the way, we have an organization that is trying to help the community and you are doing well at this restaurant. maybe if you donate $100 a month, that would be good. that theirhat meant daughter's life was in danger if they didn't come up with that hundred dollars or whatever a month. they cross over to the united states. they don't try to sneak in. they look for the first border patrol agent, turn themselves in, and they end up in these camps. at the time i went there, some of them had been there for over

one year, and i think it is something that we really should be cognizant of because they are here in this country, and there is no -- nobody is afraid that central american women are going to go into a bus and blow everybody off. are we going to provide safety or not? it relates to what you were saying earlier in terms of how people are described and categorized. i think with this woman who opened the store, people like her, i think the issue it is there is a recognition that she could be just as dead by that gang member who kills her, versus the syrian child who was killed by a soldier. .t's the same level of threat

even if the international community doesn't see that as a or an.event worthy of refugee status >> the idea >> that these camps exist and americans don't know that they exist for the most part is not unusual. most countries have these kinds these places where people can live in a semipermanent state of statelessness is something that is unknown to most citizens of many countries. the 24th they comprise largest country in the world. that is structurally a very crucial part of many peoples and distances, but if you are a citizen you are invested in not knowing that your country has these places where people can be put away. >> we don't understand how our immigration court works. have five-year-olds and six-year-olds who go to the

courtroom with no lawyer at their side. we have a following question to the right front. >> thank you for being here today. i wrote a screenplay about world put a verygees and human face on the story of the refugee. they went through very difficult circumstances and ended up in shanghai. my question pertains to how do we light a fire up under our nation -- it includes the story in st. louis. i don't know if anyone is familiar in st. louis where we turned away a boatload.

what can we do as citizens to continue this conversation? how do we get a room full of people having this conversation that will perpetuate change? >> i will turn that over to my smarter people. there is almost no substantial organized political voice in the united states arguing for the united states to reset a larger proportions of refugees. that would be the starting point of lobbying your elected representatives. the numbers that the united states are willing to take an are so absurdly small. 65 million people are in circumstances of displacement. 15,000.repared to take in crisis alleviation mode that is an absurdly low figure.

one could make an argument for broadening protective status to central americans. is story that we just heard typical, and this is what i mean by the crisis flaming and -- .raming encouraging. any actually became entrenched national framing that authorized extraordinary action to deport huge numbers of people. in order for each step to resist the political tendency to do the expedient thing, and requires organizing. even if it just means organizing yourself to contact your elected representative. better would be organizing together with your friends.

you can engage in more meaningful political action. it is a grassroots story of religious communities and civic associations pressing a case. the political climate we have described is not propitious for an improvement in the response both in thery, causes of producing the kinds of instability that have generated the crisis we see, but also lead the country and offering the framework that determine how we respond to them internationally. i think a heightened obligation for citizens here to act. >> talk to immigrants and refugees. we live in these parallel to universe is here in los angeles, where people who are born abroad who come to this place, we don't know them at all. it's important to get outside and talk to folks.

that is a no-brainer to me. also, talk to people who think the next immigrant could be the next jihadi, they are obviously wrong. there are a lot of americans who have some pretty extreme views about the threat immigrants and refugees opposed to this country. i think conversations with them are equally important so we are not in our separate political camps. that may be a more important conversation to have. >> it's also important to support people telling me stories because people listen when people show up. a lot of the stories are being told in many ways, but come..com -- people don't a very easy way is to support these things.

>> i would guess there probably aren't a lot of donald trump supporters in this audience. maybe there are. i think it is important to reach out to those who you don't agree with and talk to them about these issues and the future of this country. if you are donald trump supporters, my apologies. you should give your views back. thank you for this very interesting talk. i am very grateful to see this was sold out, and to see how much in for -- interest there is on refugees in our city. i am the chair of the refugee form of los angeles. i want to respond to your question of what can we do. locally, people don't know we have one of the largest humanitarian communities here in los angeles.

the refugee forum has 21 agencies. i just wanted to point out that , reach outinterested to the agencies if you want to volunteer. if you want to participate an additional activities. in september, there will be onpening a welcome week september 16. look up information on that. world refugee day every year around june 20, there is also a lot of public events. i hope people stay informed and engaged. thank you for being here. certainly a ton of organizations with the central american communities.

no shortage of great groups here in southern california that help the refugee and immigrant population. >> that concludes our lecture for the evening. if you cannot join me in thanking the panelists. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] c-span's washington journal three of live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up sunday morning, national review washington editor will talk about the latest in campaign 2016, recent polling, changes in public opinion, upcoming debates, and key senate races. national editor-in-chief will talk about his book on clinton's life post-presidency and his role in the clinton foundation.

c-span'so watch washington journal, life beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern sunday morning. join the discussion. newsmakers, california congressman looks at the reported russian hacking of u.s. computer systems and the counterterrorism strategies of hillary clinton and donald trump. he currently serves as ranking member of the house intelligence committee and is interviewed by damien of the wall street journal. 10:00 a.m.akers at and 6:00 p.m. eastern, here on c-span. >> adams was not a good president. he was not successful. ended at the and of his presidency, i don't the guy would have written a book about him. q&a.nday night on

about his book john quincy adams, militant spirit, about the life of the of the united states and his career after the presidency in the u.s. house of representatives. the thing that strikes you, he didn't form alliances. he didn't do anything you would do in order to be able to persuade people who otherwise might not go along with your agenda to do so. his four years in the white house were just pain. everything was hard. he achieved almost nothing. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. now remarks from democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton at the congressional black caucus awards dinner. she was presented an award and then gave leave comments. this is 10 minutes.

[applause] mrs. clinton: hello. it is so great to be back here with all of you tonight. my friends,ank , donessman jim clyburn people, representatives butterfield, members of the congressional black caucus, and congratulate all of the honorees. want tosonal note, i recognize a dear friend who is retiring after 46 years, congressman charles wrangle. [applause] mrs. clinton: he is one-of-a-kind, and we are grateful for your years of service. say about one of the

best presidents this country has ever had, barack obama. [applause] mrs. clinton: alter this campaign, i have made the point over and over again that president obama saved our country from a second great brought osama bin , and so muchice more. i for one, don't think he gets the credit he deserves for doing what he has done on behalf of our country and the world. president het the is.been, but the man he

even when hateful nonsense is , barack,eir way michelle, their two beautiful daughters have represented our country with class, grace, and integrity. [applause] mrs. clinton: as michelle says, when others go low, we go high. [applause] speak foron: i know i not just everyone in this room, but so many tens of millions of americans. mr. president, not only do we know you are an american, you are a great american. [applause] and you make us all proud to be americans too.

let me thank the leadership of the cbc foundation for this great honor, and to thank all of my friends on the congressional black caucus for it as well. i dedicate it to all the trailblazers who came before me, who blazed trails that i could follow in their footsteps. barbara jordan, shirley chisholm. i would not be standing here without them. [applause] mrs. clinton: generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and cleared a path for all of us. this award is also for everyone out there helping to break down the barriers holding americans back. andleaders like all of you,

to a rising generation of young activists. to all those on the front lines dedicated to the proposition that in america, every single child deserves the chance to fulfill his or her god-given potential. this has been the cause of my life, ever since i went to work with the children's defense fund all those years ago, and i am going to close my campaign the way i began my career, and the way that i will serve as your president, focused on opportunities for our children and fairness for our families. [applause] mrs. clinton: we have so much work to do together. i have heard many heartbreaking stories over this campaign. one was from a working mother to three children from northeast philadelphia. she testified at the dnc platform meeting in june and

told us how her husband had been laid off and she worked in a part-time job. she said she had been hungry more times than she could count and that life felt like a maze because she faced barriers no matter which way she turned. but despite all of this, she has hope. she still believes that her eight-year-old daughter will be president one day, and she believes this election can make all the difference in the world to her and her family. let's prove her right. as a country, we have a moral obligation to give her family and every family a chance to rise up and reach their dreams. that is what is at stake in this election. it is not about golf course promotions or birth

certificates. [applause] sec. clinton: it comes down to who will fight for the forgotten, who will invest in our children, and who will really have your back in the white house. we need ideas, not insults. real plans to help struggling americans in communities that have been left out and left behind, not prejudice and paranoia. we can't let barack obama's legacy fall into the hands of someone who does not understand that. [applause] sec. clinton: whose dangerous

and divisive vision for our country will drag us backwards. instead, we need to come together to get incomes rising with a higher minimum wage, to invest in neglected communities with efforts like jim clyburn's 102030 plan, to get guns out of the hands of dangerous people, and the fight for criminal justice system that delivers justice, and to make sure all kids have good schools and good teachers no matter what zip code they live in. [applause] sec. clinton: when you really think about it, the choice this november is about so much more than democrats and republicans. as michelle obama said at the democratic convention, it is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four years of their lives. it is also about the kind of country we want to be, what we want to leave behind for future generations.

i thank everyone here who has been fighting for this vision over so many years. i thank everyone here for supporting me. i'm not taking your vote or anyone's vote for granted. i am working every single day to earn your support, and i need your help over the next 52 days to bring our campaign across the finish line together. [applause] sec. clinton: barbara jordan famously said that a government is invigorated when each of us is willing to participate in shaping the future of this nation. so to everyone here tonight, please keep doing what you are doing, but also help to register voters, tell others about the clear choice in this election. in some states, early voting is nearly here, so we need to keep

the pressure on. let's send a loud and clear message once and for all, we are stronger together. and no matter what remember this, love trumps hate. thank you all very much. [applause] ♪ >> ♪ i never met a woman like you ♪ >> president obama also attended the presidential black caucus dinner. he called on americans to get out and vote.

[applause] hello cvc.: thank you for the kind introduction. i love you, too. cbcant to thank the b foundation, chairman butterfield, members of the congressional black caucus and cbc family. it is always great to be with the conscience of congress. beginning with charlie wrangle, a founding member of the cbc. talked about, will be riding off into the sunset together. inch, thetive five

mother him annual family, and your trailblazer recipient, my friend and champion for change, secretary hillary clinton. there is an extra spring advice tonight. [laughter] pres. obama: i don't know about you guys, but i am so relieved that the whole birther thing is over. [laughter] [applause] pres. obama: i mean, isil, north korea, poverty, climate change, none of those things weight on my mind like the validity of my birth certificate. [laughter] [applause] pres. obama: and to think that with just 124 days to go, under the wire we got that result. that is a boost for me in the

home stretch. [laughter] pres. obama: in other breaking news, the world is round, not flat. [laughter] pres. obama: this is of course my last cbc dinner as president. the next time i show up, i have to buy a ticket. [laughter] pres. obama: don't get me wrong though, we still have so much work to do, and we are sprinting all the way through, but the days are winding down. i have noticed that whenever michelle or i travel around the country, folks come up and say, we are so sad to see you go, and i really appreciate that. and michelle says, that's right. [laughter]

pres. obama: she gave a speech yesterday, bunch of young people were chanting four more years and she said, nope. nope. nope. she's ready. [laughter] pres. obama: but we do want to take this opportunity to say thank you, to say thank you for your support over the years, to say thank you for your friendship, to say thank you for your prayers. auditoriumcross this so many people here who lifted us up and studied us when things got tough. when we begin this journey coming on 10 years now, we said, this was not about us. it wasn't about me, michelle, it

wasn't just to be a black president or the president of black america. we understood the power of the symbol. we know what it means for a generation of children to see folks like us in the white house. and as michelle says, we have tried to be role models for all children because we know they watch everything we do as adults. example. to us an so, we have taken the responsibility seriously. i have been blessed to have a partner on this journey who makes it look so easy. and is so strong and honest and beautiful and smart.

but we are all just thankful because you guys have lifted us up every step of the way. we know, however, that what matters most for our community is not just the symbol, not just an african-american president. a president who is going to do his or her darndest to fight the right fights. think of the points we of wage to gather these past eight years. together, we fought our way back from the worst recession in 80 years, turned an economy that was in a freefall, helped our business is great more than 15 million new jobs. we declared that health care is not a privilege for a few but a right for everybody. [applause]

pres. obama: secured coverage for another 20 million americans including another 3 million african-americans. our high school graduation rate is at an all-time high including including for african-americans. more african-americans are graduating from college than ever before. we have begun to work on reforming our criminal justice's pigeon, reducing the federal prison population, ending the use of solitary confinement for juveniles, then it the box for federal employers, reinvigorating the civil rights division, pushing to make sure that communities and police are working together to make sure our streets are safe and that our laws are applied equally. we are giving opportunities for kids that they do not get in the criminal justice system in the first place and i would like to thank all of you who helped us

reach more than 250 my brother's keeper communities across the country. just this week, we learned that last year across every race and age group in america, income rose and poverty fell compared to typical household incomes grew at the fastest growth rate on record, lifted 3.5 million people out of poverty including one million children, the largest one-year drop in all of 50 years. by so many measures, our country is stronger and more prosperous than it was eight years ago. none of it has been quick or easy. none of it has come without a fight. so much of our work remains unfinished.

we knew that we would not solve our challenges in one turn or even one presidency, not even in one lifetime. we understand better than anybody that this is the story of america, that the project of america is never finished. it is constantly a work in progress and what has always made is unique is our capacity to change. our conviction that change does not come from a ruler, but it comes from the bottom up from us whether it is women seeking the right to vote or john lewis leading a march in selma we do our part to slowly steadily make our reunion a little bit more perfect. we know that. that is what we have done for the past eight years. and now that is what we have to keep on doing.

you may have heard hillary's uploaded in this election say that there has never been a a worse time to be a black person. [laughter] pres. obama: he missed that whole civics lesson about slavery and jim crow. [laughter] pres. obama: but we got a museum for him to visit, so he can turn -- two in. -- so he can tune in. [cheers and applause] pres. obama: we will educate him. [cheers] pres. obama: he says, we've got nothing left to lose so we might as well support somebody who

has fought against civil rights and fought against equality and who has shown no regard for working people for most of his life. but we are not stupid. [cheers and applause] pres. obama: we know the progress we have made despite the forces of opposition, despite the forces of discrimination, despite the politics of backlash. and we intend to keep fighting against those forces. when governors refused to expand medicaid, it hits the folks most in need. we will fight. when folks block an increase the minimum wage or refuse to expand paid family leave or will not guarantee equal pay, hurting the pockets of every family, we will fight. when we are not investing in the schools that our kids deserve,

when one group americans is treated differently under the law, when there are those who somehow think it is wrong to make sure that folks have access to affordable housing lawyer or are unwilling to do what it takes to make sure our veterans the benefits that they have earned or aren't helping to sign folks up for health insurance, we will not stop our march for justice. we will not stop pushing for the security and prosperity of all people. that doesn't stop with my presidency. we are just getting started. [applause] pres. obama: and when people -- when, across this country in

2016, there are those who are still trying to deny people the right to vote. we have got to push back twice as hard. in multiple states republicans are actively and openly trying to prevent people from voting, adding new barriers to registration, cutting early voting, closing polling places in predominately minority communities, refusing to send absentee ballots, kicking people off of the roles incorrectly. this should be a national scandal. we were supposed to have already won that fight. we're the only advanced democracy that has actively discouraged people from voting. it is a shame. and then they try to justify it by telling us that voter fraud is rampant. between 2000-2012 there were 10 cases of voter impersonation nationwide.

10. people do not get up and say, i'm going to impersonate somebody and go vote. they don't do that. meanwhile, some of the same folks who were trying to keep you from voting turn a blind eye thousands of of people are killed by guns, imposing the voter identification restriction so that a gun license can get you on the ballot but a student id can't. we are more afraid of a ballot then a bullet. our work is not done. but if we are going to advance the cause of justice and

equality and of prosperity and freedom, then we also have to acknowledge that even if we eliminated every restriction on voting, we would still have one of the lowest voting rates among free peoples -- and that is not good. that is on us. i am reminded of all of the folks who had to count bubbles in a bar of soap. beaten for trying to register voters in mississippi, risked everything so that they can pull that lever. so, if i hear anybody say that their vote doesn't matter, then it doesn't matter who we elect. read up on your history.

it matters. we have got to get people to vote. [applause] pres. obama: in fact, if you want to give michele and me a was aendoff -- and that -- do not just watch us walking into the sunset, get people registered to vote. if you care about our legacy, realize everything we stand for is at stake, all the progress we have made is at stake in this election. my name may of the on the ballot that our progress is on the ballot. tolerances on the ballot. democracy is on the ballot. justice is on the ballot. [cheers and applause] pres. obama: good schools are on the ballot. ending mass incarceration -- that is on the ballot right now. and there is one candidate who will advance those things and there is another candidate whose defining principle, the central

theme of his candidacy is opposition to all that we have done. there is no such thing as a vote that doesn't matter. it all matters. after we have achieved historic turnout in 2008 and 2012 in the african-american community, i would consider it an insult to my legacy if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. you want to give me a good sendoff? go vote. i going to be working as hard as i can the next seven weeks to make sure that folks do. [applause]

pres. obama: hope is on the ballot and fear is on the ballot, too. hope is on the ballot and fear is on the ballot, too. a few days ago, michelle and my mother-in-law and the girls and i, we snuck over and got an early look at the new smithsonian national museum of african american history and culture. [applause] pres. obama: we looked at the shackles that were used to bring folks over. we saw the shacks slaves have been trying to make a way out of no way.

and then with each successive level, we saw unimaginable courage and struggles and the sacrifice and the humor and the innovation and the hope that led to such extraordinary progress even in our lifetimes. and it made us proud, not because we had arrived but because, what a road we have had to travel. what a miracle that despite such hardship, we have been able to do so much.

and i know everybody in this room understands that progress is not inevitable. its sustainment depends on us. it is not just a matter of having a black president or first lady, it is a matter of engaging all of our citizens in the work of our democracy. it was that slave who said, you know what? despite the risk of the lash, i am going to learn how to read. it is harriet tubman saying, despite the risk to my life, i am going to free my people. it's sammy lou hamer saying despite the ostracism, the

blowback, i am going to sit down here in this convention hall and i'm going to tell people what it is like to live the life i am living. i'm going to testify to why change needs to come. it's a young john lewis saying, i am going to march despite those horses i see in front of me. all of those ordinary people, all of those folks whose names aren't in history books, video providing a tribute to them. that is why we are here. that is how progress is sustained. and then it is a matter of electing people to office who understand that story, who feel it in their hearts, in their

guts, and understand that government cannot solve all of our problems but it can be a force for good. to experience this incredible new monument, this museum, is to be reminded, we are just a small part of a long journey. generation after generation, striving against the odds. what an inspiration they are. and what an inspiration all of you are, especially the young people who are here. that is why i am still fired up. that is why i am still ready to go. and if you are too, if you are ready to continue this journey that we started, then join me. register folks to vote, get them

to the polls, keep marching, keep fighting, keep organizing. if we understand it, this isn't the end, this is the beginning, we are just getting going, then i have never been more optimistic that our best days are still ahead. thank you for this incredible journey, cbc. god bless you. god bless this country that we love. we love you. [applause] [♪ sousa: "the stars and stripes forever"] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016]

♪

campaign 2016, c-span continues on the road to the white house. want to gete all back to making america strong and great again. everyone who has been not down but get accepted -- gets back up. >> the c-span radio app and

c-span.org, monday, september 26 is the first presidential debate. then on tuesday, october 4, vice presidential candidates debate in virginia. on sunday, october 9, washington university hosts second presidential debate, leading to the third and final debate between hillary clinton and theld trump taking place at university of nevada las vegas on october 19. live coverage of the presidential and vice presidential debates on c-span. watch live or anytime on-demand at c-span.org. republican residential nominee donald trump speaks to families whose loved ones have been killed by illegal immigrants. ingave those comments houston. it is half an hour.

>> good afternoon, everyone. thank you so much for attending our first ever remembrance luncheon where we honor and remember americans who have been killed by illegal aliens, individuals who should not have been in the country in the first place. on june 16, 2015, most americans probably don't remember that day, but here our families do. we remember that day because that is the day that donald trump announced his run for president of the united states. [applause]

>> there is only one candidate who spoke the truth, there is only one candidate who reached out to our families. america's most forgotten families. there is only one candidate who embraced and took in his arm the mothers whose children were killed, innocent victims. for over 15 months, mr. trump has traveled all across the united states and met with our families, and listen to their stories. he is also the only candidate who will support the national program that our families have put forth. this amazing man is mr. donald trump, and i would like for you all to put your hands together

and give a warm welcome that we are so honored for mr. trump to be here with our families. [applause] ♪ mr. trump: great people, thank you. thank you maria for the introduction. it was beautiful. and thank you for the work that you and your organization do to honor these stolen american lives and to advocate for justice on behalf of all

american victims. we thank you, and thank you, folks. what you have to go through is unbelievable. [applause] mr. trump: i'm honored to be here today and to shine a national spotlight on a group of victims who have been forced, and i mean truly forced into the , shadows. your stories are not featured in the news. you have no demonstrators taking to the streets on your behalf. you have no special interests taking up your cause. and the politicians ignore your cries for help. but i never will. i will never. [applause] mr. trump: and i have known many of you for a long time now.

it seems like a long time. i'm still here and you are still here, right? still fighting. i've met many incredible people during the course of this campaign, but nothing has moved me more deeply than the time i've spent with the families of the remembrance project. the folks in remembrance, by the way, are doing such an incredible job. [applause] mr. trump: and the strength and the courage that you have shown in your very often lonely fight for justice will get there. you are the heroes. you are. and your actions will help us to save the next 1000 american citizens from losing their brothers and sisters and sons and daughters and parents. the most fundamental duty of government is to protect american lives. [applause]

mr. trump: anyone who fails to understand this is not fit to hold public office. [applause] mr. trump: every day our border remains open innocent americans are needlessly victimized and killed. every day, sanctuary cities are left in place and innocent americans are put in harms way. every day we failed to enforce our laws, and this is absolutely happening all the time, is a day when a loving parent is at risk of losing their child. and it's happening every single day. all across this country, dining room tables have an mdc at the family table because our government abandoned its duty

and failed to enforce its basic laws. there are a lot of numbers in the immigration debate. i've been talking about it for a long time. obviously, people agree with me because you see what's happening, you see the numbers, you see the polls, you see what's going on at the rallies. a lot of people agree with me. almost, it seems everyone , agrees. what's not to agree with? [applause] you,rump: but let me give what's not to agree with? but let me give you the most important number of all. that most important number of all is the number of american lives that is acceptable to lose in the name of the illegal immigration. let me tell you what that number is. zero. zero. [applause] our nation should not

accept one lost american life. because our country failed to enforce its laws. what do you tell the mother who just buried her daughter because someone was released at the border who should have been sent home or should have been imprisoned in another country? what you tell the young boy who will grow up without a dead because a criminal was deported five times but was allowed to keep coming back? and coming back, and coming back into our country, doing tremendous harm? what do you tell a wife who has lost her husband because a sanctuary city released an illegal immigrant from behind bars? this has to end. it will end if i become president. i promise you, it will. [applause]

mr. trump: thank you. [applause] [crowd chanting "trump"] [crowd chanting "trump"] mr. trump: thank you, everybody. thank you. >> we love you. mr. trump: thank you. i love you. i love everybody in this room. special, special people. not one more american life should be given up in the name of open borders. just look at what happened in the last few days. last week, it was reported that authorities detained an illegal immigrant in the austin area who is responsible for nearly a dozen sexual assaults and had

been previously deported five times within a three-year period. earlier this week in kansas, a sheriff's department master deputy was killed apparently by any legal immigrant. previously who was arrested for dui in california in 2001 and for traffic violations in kansas, deputy collins was killed only hours after his daughter's fourth birthday. a few days ago, two correctional officers in california were critically wounded after being shot by illegal immigrant who overstayed his visa. this individual had been convicted of child rape and was slated to be deported, but his home country refused to take him back. he was simply too bad, too tough, too evil. they said, we refuse to take him

back. one of the victims has six children, is an air force veteran, and a high school football coach. the other victim is a mother and a grandmother. when hillary clinton was secretary of state, this country this,k of this, think of the matter of this country refusing to take back deported citizen came before hillary clinton's desk, often times, many times, but she failed to take forceful action and ignored the federal law requiring her to suspend visas to countries that don't take back their citizens. she did not want to get involved. politician. politicians. according to a report from "the boston globe," from 2008-2014, nearly 13,000 criminal aliens were released back into u.s.

communities because their home countries would not take them back. they were too tough. they were too angry. they were too evil. they don't want them back. and we don't force them back. we want to be nice people and we want to be nice and politically correct, and they are all roaming the streets. most of these 13,000 releases occurred on hillary clinton's watch. she had the power and duty to cold and she didn't. now, my opponent will never be meet with you. no interest. you know that because you've been trying for years. they've been trying for years. she will never hear your stories. she will never share your pain. she will only meet with the donors and the special interests

and the open border advocates. her plan calls for total amnesty in the first 100 days, which means obamacare, social security , and medicare for illegal immigrants. [booing] mr. trump: her plan calls for catch and release on the border, sanctuary cities, closing detention centers, and a virtual end to immigration enforcement in the united states of america. hillary clinton has even announced that she plans to go around congress and implement amnesty by executive order. violating our constitution and putting the entire nation in grave peril. hillary clinton is the person,

and i mean the first person, to ever run for the presidency of a country effectively proposing to abolish the borders around the country that she is supposed to be representing. [booing] mr. trump: but the media doesn't want you to know that. so, they will never ask her any questions about her plan. won't be talked about at the debate. which is going to be a very riod of time.e [laughter] [applause] mr. trump: like how she will afford to give lifetime welfare and entitlements to illegal immigrants or how many people will be victimized because of the illegal immigrants that will be released from federal custody. right at the border. or inside of the border.

she is not asked to explain what she will say to the american workers who lose their jobs when she prints out millions of work permits for those here totally against the law, many of whom have very, very substantial problems. your cause and your stories are ignored by our political establishment because they are determined to keep our border open at any cost. to them, your presence is just too inconvenient. it is all it is. it is an inconvenience. but help is coming. i will tell you that. [applause] on november 8, we are going to win the white house. [applause]

mr. trump: and we are going to deliver justice for every american family and every single american victim. you know what that means. you know what that means. [applause] mr. trump: together, we will save american lives and prevent the next 1000 american parents from suffering the same fate as the people in this room today. their loved ones will not have died in vain. believe me. [applause] mr. trump: they will not have died in vain. since 2013 alone, think of this, since 2013, the obama administration has allowed 300,000 criminal aliens to return back into the united states and its communities. these are individuals

encountered or identified by ice but who were not detained or processed for deportation. according to the federal government's own data, there were more than 2 million convicted criminal illegal immigrants inside of the united states right now. 2 million. and we wonder why do we have such crime, why do we have such violence? and this is true violence. this is violence like most people have never even heard of before. however, this figure does not include the many individuals who have committed crimes but escape d, fled the jurisdiction or were , otherwise never caught and many of the folks are in that position. you sometimes know who they are and yet they are never caught. we are going to catch them. [applause]

mr. trump: many crimes committed by people here illegally remain open cases. and yet, our government knows a lot about the people who did it but they don't go after them. ,they killed people. they don't go after them. at the same time, hundreds of individuals who have been given visas and refuge -- think of this, they've been given visas their refugee admissions into the country subsequently were charged with terrorism and nobody does anything about it. nobody does anything about it. it's the most unbelievable thing i've seen. that's why it's become a like a personal passion for me when i see these people and there's so many people cannot remember its project, there is so many people. this is a small group, compared what were talking about.

the devastation is unbelievable. so we are admitting people here with no idea of who they are and we don't know very much about them. we don't know what they believe. we don't know if they have love in their heart for our country or if they have hatred in their heart for our country. whether it's drugs, terrorism or violent crime, our government is utterly failing in its core mission to defend and protect the people of this country. the border patrol agents, these are incredible people. they endorsed me. first time they've ever endorsed a presidential candidate. [applause] thank you. they've warned that hillary clinton's plan would put the entire country in grave danger. i fully understand that. they called it radical, deeply

dangerous, and warned it would trigger an unprecedented national crisis. they know, they know better than any consultant, they know better than anybody, the border patrol agents. let's just remember our goal, to prevent the next family from suffering the same terrible fate. [applause] mr. trump: that is what is at stake in this election. so i am now going to invite some of the bravest people i know and 100%, to comehat up here and speak. let's start maybe from this side. we picked five families. and if you could say a few words. so how about we start over here?

come on. perfect. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much for being here. my name is laura wilkerson. our son joshua was killed in 2010. he was brutally beaten, tortured, strangled to death and his body was set on fire. we've sent out letters to every presidential candidate on the republican side and the only one we got back was from mr. donald trump. he has really given us a voice. [applause] >> our goal is to help people when this happens to them in their lives. our first goal is to stop it, but we know there will be more before it stopped. we want to help them with their expenses and legal counsel if need be and to tell them that we have rights. we should have more rights than the killer. [applause]

>> i also just want to say that if we are all deplorables, we are doing something right. [applause] >> my name is brenda sparks. my son's name was eric. he was raised by a legal immigrant only to be mowed down on the road by an illegal alien. that illegal alien did not one second in jail. he is out there on the road and mr. trump is the only one that has listened to us. he's the only one that has spoken directly to me. and i thank him for that. so i will be voting for trump because he wants to protect you. [applause]

>> my name is julie and my son, spencer, in the sanctuary city of houston, texas last year was driving home and was sitting at a red light when an illegal alien on a shooting spree drove by and shot him in the head. he died alone in his car. i want to thank mr. trump for bringing this issue to the national attention. the illegal that killed my son had been deported four times, was a known gang member. he had burglary, assault and attempted murder on his record. and he was still driving and presumably working and living fine in houston, texas. fortunately for our family, a sheriff's deputy came at the end of the shooting spree and put an end to the shooting spree and to the illegal alien so he could not continue on with what he was doing. [applause] >> thank you very much.

thank you. [applause] >> hi, my name is agnes. my family legally immigrated to the united states after trying three times. it took us 13 years. we came with a job contract. [applause] >> thank you. my father had a job contract, we . we had to sign legal documents stating we would not for public assistance. and the ironic thing about it is an illegal alien murdered my son, my only son, who had been previously deported. my biggest fear is that anyone would have to go through the life sentence i live with and other families live with because of what this guy did to our family. i will never have the chance of having my son tell me happy birthday. next month is my birthday, and

all i want for my birthday is a new president, donald trump. [applause] >> hello. my name is juan pena and my daughter kristi had just turned 14 years old. when they found her murdered in castroville. she had been strangled. she had been stabbed. she had been raped, sodomized and they threw her body in the field in february in the rainy season. during this time, this person in 1987 had kidnapped two other 14-year-old girls and had been caught and was still out on the streets. when he killed my daughter, he left back to mexico. he came back and tried to kidnap

a little 12 year old girl at 7:00 in the morning on her way to school. he got away again. now, they finally got him after 25 years in mexico. and man, it is hard to get somebody extradited from mexico. they asked me what i thought about the relations with mexico and the united states, and i told them, it's great. if you are focused on bell peppers and tomatoes. but other than that, it's nothing. i thank everybody for being here. i got yo thank god you're here. and i come from a sanctuary city. thank you. [applause] mr. trump: thank you very much. these are a few of the stories. there are thousands of these stories and we have to work very hard and we have to be very smart. these are truly wounded families

, and sadly, they will never get never be the same. i said, does it get better with time? and they actually said it doesn't and sometimes it gets worse with time, which is something that is incredible. to thank all of the folks, great, brave people, and they are representing a lot of other people. thousands and thousands of people where similar things have happened. and i think i would like to ask maybe maria to come back up and we are going to ask her to say a few words. thank you. , maria. [applause] [applause] maria: again, thank you all for being here. please stay involved with -- for all the families here, we will make a presentation.

will you make that? >> mr. trump, in honor of the work you have done for these families and the families across the country and the work you are going to do as president of the united states of america -- [applause] >> i present this plaque, representing the loved ones of the families who have been killed by illegal aliens who are here with us today. and with that, we say, from the remembrance project and the families who have lost their loved ones and those who have not yet but unfortunately will lose their loved ones to illegal aliens, we present this memorial to you. [applause] donald trump: thank you very much. [applause] donald trump: th