at 10:30 a.m., the senate continues consideration of the bipartisan infrastructure agreement. the senate will vote on whether to officially begin debate on the legislation. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more including mediacom. >> the world changed but mediacom was ready and we never slowed down. schools and businesses went virtual and we powered a new reality. we are here to keep you ahead. >> mediacom support c-span is a public service along with these other television providers giving you >> claudia tenney talt infrastructure and the pandemic response.

national immigration form president and ceo discusses the by administration immigration and border security policy. washington journal is next. host: the house and set in it are in session today. tune into c-span two to watch the debate over the infrastructure deal, final vote could, as early as today. the democratic leaders say senators will work into the weekend. also, democrats and republicans continue to spar over wearing masks as the cdc issues new guidance earlier in the week. we are asking you, how did mask wearing become political?

if you are a democrat, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independent, (202) 748-8002. text us with your thoughts, include your first name and city and state at (202) 748-8003. you can join the conversation on facebook or twitter. you can also follow us on instagram at c-span debbie j. a group of republicans went to the capitol steps yesterday to protest mask wearing among other policy differences, a country in crisis. >> we have a country in crisis. a recent poll showed american's optimism about the direction of the country over the next year has limited 20 points since may. this should surprise no one.

every time americans go to the grocery store, they are paying more. every time they turn on the national news they see crime. every time they get updates about our southern border, they see reports about migrants that are illegally entering our country every day. every time the cdc releases new guidance, nunnally does it contradict information they have released, it punishes americans who have already done everything they were asked to do. they were told to be vaccinated. think about what the cdc did this week. they forced vaccinated americans to wear masks because of a study in india about a vaccine that is not in america that has not been

peer-reviewed. the cdc has become a political arm of the administration. they want to control every element of our lives. what's interesting is we stand out here in front of the capital. as you look across the other steps at the senate, i'm not quite sure where the cdc got it, the science changes. if you are a capitol police officer, you got orders. if a vaccinated staffer comes across without a mask, you are ordered to arrest him. this is not the america we know.

this is the people's house. host: republican leader kevin mccarthy from california on the steps. get the headlines. the date masks returned to congress. then you've got this from the associated press. mask guidance met with hostility from leading republicans. a poll from nbc showed the breakdown by party. republicans, 48% say they wear it every time. 71% of independent voters. 86% of democrats say every time. the washington post headline, the rate of new infections is twice as high in red counties as blue counties. we turn to you this morning and ask how did mask wearing become political?

you are up first. good morning. caller: i wonder how it happened. i was born in the 50's. back then, we had to get vaccinations for polio and all kinds of things. it stopped those diseases from flourishing. this is a disease. it has nothing to do with politics, race, gender. i feel the politicians stood lettuce made our own choice about whether we want to be vaccine. my husband and i are vaccinated. we got the pfizer. if i have to take a booster, i will take a booster. i have grandchildren in their 20's and 30's. some will vaccinate and some won't. i try to talk to them. i know there is a lot of misinformation on the internet.

then we get politicians involved. leave people alone about this. these are lives being lost. i had a sister who had covid. she was 73. she doesn't know how she caught it. she almost died. she made it through. you can see the suffering that covid causes. get off this bandwagon of politics. this is life-and-death here in america and all over the world. we just need to get vaccinate. host: i am going to go on to arlene in michigan. what the you think? caller: mask wearing became political as soon nancy pelosi

started screaming at donald trump was racist because he wanted to shut down our borders. right now, it's just a way for the democratic party to throw their power around. if you've been vaccinated, you should not have to wear a mask any longer. host: listen to tim ryan of ohio. he took to the floor wednesday to push back against the republicans who are pushing back against the cdc. this has gotten one million views. >> fear, fear, fear. the attending physician of the united states capital, the top doctor for congress asks us to

put on masks when we come to a chamber with 435 people. i hate these things. it's terrible having to put this back on. we do it because the top doctor for all of us asked us to. i may not be from a hotspot, the speaker may not be from hotspot, somebody in this chamber is coming from a hotspot. somebody represents hotspots. they get on a plane and they fly here and they interact with all of us. we leave here and we go home to our families. some take care of their sick parents. some take care of kids who may have an autoimmune disorder. i just find it absolutely

immature and appalling to somehow diminish it, to try to score cheap political points. host: how did mask wearing become political? mark is in milwaukee. what do you say? caller: i would have to say it started with trump downplaying the virus at the very beginning. the republicans wouldn't wear the masks. they are the ones that wouldn't get the vaccine. i got the vaccine. i enjoy not having to wear a mask. i am concerned about a new variant coming up. i would have to blame it on the republicans and the anti-sirs -- vaxers. caller: it became political when the democrats and china released

the virus on our country. that's when it became political. it was politically used to try to keep donald trump from becoming president. i don't know why you act like that's a surprise to you. host: you've got to turn down the television when you are called on. just listen and talk through your phone. kevin in frankfort, kentucky. caller: that was just imbecilic. i would have to say from personal, i'm afraid i'm going to lose my brother and his entire family because they are listening to whatever it is out there on the internet. they can make up anything they want to on the internet. it can be truth by their reckoning. i am going to lose my entire

brothers family because of this. they refuse to believe the truth that this virus will kill you. host: kevin in kentucky. gina, what do you say? caller: i find it interesting, when there was a caller that made masks and headpieces to keep viruses out. he said the masks do no good. they do not work. this is the subject of interest. people just ignore that fact. this became political so the democrats could have mail-in voting again. that's all it is. it's to scare the people. it's a travesty.

host: two newspaper articles this morning. this is from the washington examiner. the washington examiner. compare that with the new york times.

alarming findings drove the mask reversal. this is what they say. kevin in jacksonville. what do you say? how did this become political?

caller: it became political in the constitution. it says to promote the welfare. it tells us that they have to promote for the general defense. that's what they think is the most important thing for us. even though coronavirus -- none of us knows where it came from. they just want to keep us divided. united we stand, divided we fall. as long as we are not looking at them, they will continue to oppress us. have a great day. host: this is pam in north carolina with her text.

let's go back to the former president. in april 2020 as he announces then the mask guidance, this is april 2020. this is four months after the virus is in our country. >> the cdc is advising the use of nonmedical cloth face coverings as an additional health measure. it's voluntary. you don't have to do it. they suggested. this is voluntary. i don't think i'm going to be doing it. they have a lot of ways you can look at it. the cdc is recommending that americans wear a fabric mask. they can be made at home. these face coverings can be used or washed and reused. the cdc is not recommending the use of medical grade or surgical

grade masks. we want that to be used for our great medical people that are working so hard and doing some job. medical protective gear must be reserved for the frontline health care workers who are performing those vital services. the guidelines do not replace guidance on social distancing, including staying in your home when possible. standardly six feet apart for a. of time. we are all going to come back together. we can practice hand hygiene, which we should do anyway. a lot of things i think are going to spill over. shaking hands, maybe we will stay with our country for a long time. one of our great doctors was telling me we have the flu every year. the number of people killed by the flu is very substantial.

if they didn't shake hands, that number would be substantially lower. maybe some of these things long term will be good. those guidelines are still the best and safest way to avoid the infection. with the masks, it's going to be a voluntary thing. you can do it. i am choosing not to do it. some people might not want to do it. host: the conversation on the website had a piece about the psychology of wearing masks. their headline from the conversation, we will show you that. they say :

what do you think about that? how did mask wearing become so politicized. a deck rat in oklahoma, what do you say? -- democrat in oklahoma, what do you say? caller: a lot of it goes back to trump. i don't know. he thinks everything is going to be just fine. everything is good. we all know it's not. anyway, my sister's boyfriend just got out of the hospital with pneumonia and covid.

the doctor told him he has -- is a very lucky man to have survived from that. the pneumonia part, he plays drums in his church. the man sees that he's got a second chance. he said that he is going to start helping people. god gave him a second chance. host: got it. kevin is in arkansas. it challenges our sense of exceptionalism. host: janet in jacksonville. what do you say? caller: it got politicized when we see these people pouring over

our border unmasked and unvaccinated and untested. what are we to think? we are just ignoring the southern border. my husband and i are vaccinated. we are fooling the american people by lying to them. that's my point. host: ray in colorado. a little history for you this morning. this is from a washington post article where the headline says the battle over masks has always been political. they went back to the 1918 flu pandemic.

during that time, directives to wear mastic apolitical battle over gender and power. although they did not necessarily accord with partisan division. part of it was because of the different political situation in 1918. the pandemic coincided with 19 -- world war i and americans were more likely to side with the government. host: frank in pennsylvania, and independent. good morning two. caller: good morning. the statement you read a few

moments ago regarding the psychology belonging to groups. that is a beautiful way to describe how it becomes political. the fact is this virus is nonpolitical. it is a scientific problem we are having. this is something we learned decades ago. the problem comes from the individual. it shows how the democrats and republicans blame each other. the individual has to make a decision. do we get our scientific information from politics or from scientists. we all have an individual duty to follow the science. forget about what religious leaders say. it's not going to wait miraculously. it has nothing to do with either party. that statement you made about

the psychology, we want to belong to a group. follow the science in the truth. have a wonderful day. host: william in connecticut with a text. robert in florida, democratic caller. it's your turn. caller: good morning. i got my shots, my first and march and second one in april. i've been wearing a mask even though i got the shots. right now, here in florida, this is spreading like crazy. they are overflowing hospitals. this governor we've got, he was declaring mission accomplished. this is two times now. now we are in this position. i'm going to keep wearing a mask

because it's the right thing to do. host: more of your phone calls coming up about how this mask wearing became a little. democrats, republicans, independence. your lines will be on the screen. continue texting us at (202) 748-8003. you can go to facebook. you can send us a tweet with twitter. on infrastructure, as we told you, the senate is moving forward with that $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure agreement. another hurdle will happen today. they will begin debate on the senate floor, whether to begin debate. there could be more votes as well on this infrastructure agreement. tune into c-span 2 today. they could work into the we can. here's chuck schumer on the

senate floor yesterday, talking about the way forward on this deal. >> i want to commend the senators who worked with the president to reach the deal. it will ultimately dedicate over $1 trillion to strengthening every major category of our physical infrastructure. the vote last night means the senate is on track to reach the two track goal i laid out at the beginning of the month. the first track, a bipartisan bill post on traditional infrastructure projects. the second track is a budget reconciliation bill where democrats will make investments in american jobs, families, efforts to fight climate change. in order to start work on a reconciliation bill, the senate must pass a budget resolution first. we are on track for that as well. it's been my goal to pass both a

bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget resolution during this work. . i understand that. because of the vote last night, the senate is moving forward with a bipartisan infrastructure bill and we are on track to pass both elements of the two track strategy before we adjourn for august recess. it took some prodding and a few deadlines. it has worked out for the better. host: the democratic leader in the senate talking about the agenda headed for the senate. on the second part of the push for infrastructure, the human infrastructure package, mitch mcconnell came to the floor to oppose that proposal. >> we are familiar with the bottom line. we all know it would only amp up

inflation. in large part, because of the last partisan deluge of spending a few months ago, the parade of left-wing ideas that comprise this mess. turning pandemic welfare payments with no work requirements into a permanent goal. shoving through big chunks of the green new deal. government price-fixing that will leave us with fewer new medicines and new cures. there is an effort to inflame the border crisis with a far-left amnesty. we have seen the highest unaccompanied child arrive or's on record. the biggest month for immigrant encounters in 21 years. this month, apprehensions for the calendar year are expected

to top one million. we still have five months ago. one might think they would try to avoid repeating the missteps that created the crisis. apparently, democrats intend to do the opposite. their spending spree will include a bigger green light in this crisis. host: mitch mcconnell there. back to our conversation, how did mask wearing it become political? here is one of our viewers saying the delta variant is getting our children sick. i can only hope that your fellow americans care more about your family than you do. take a look at the hill newspaper with the headline u.s.

has the highest number of new cases in the world. the u.s. tallied 500,000 new cases for the week ending to lie 25th. the delta variant is driving the surge. what do you think? caller: i think it became political because of trump's missed information get go. that speech you just played earlier, he talks out of both side of his mouth. he had no continuity. he said the cd recommends it, and i'm not going to wear one. it just came to a head. i would like to say this is for john. i made a comment about how most americans get their information from facebook and believe it's

true. i'm looking at a pew research poll taken from techcrunch.com. 36% of u.s. adults say they use facebook for news. they don't understand reality. they think this is a big hoax even today. host: mark, do you think that is the driving force? you said it was the driving president. caller: ok. i live in massachusetts. we had one of the worst outbreaks initially. charlie baker, a republican governor, we had amassed mandate. we have one of the lowest rates in america. i'm looking at florida, there are 186,000 new cases.

we have 8000 in massachusetts. there is obviously some misinformation. we've got a bunch of morand's in america. host: steve in vero beach, florida. caller: good morning. i think we need to get back to its been political from the get go. it needs to be political on both sides. if you go to basics, 100 years ago, we didn't know about sterilization. bacteria. antibiotics. we take them on faith. they are a protectant. if you go out in a rainstorm, you where an umbrella. if you are in the cold, you wear a heavy coat. these are the basic things that protect us. if a mask can protect us,

everybody should be wearing one. host: eddie in peoria. caller: good morning. how are you doing? when the virus was released to the world, it was up to the medical and the scientists. when the politicians started from the highest person in the free country started talking his rhetoric, people started believing what they wanted to believe. it's up to the scientists and the medical profession to kill this virus, not the politicians. host: do you think the cdc has done a good job of communicating

why they make the decisions they make? caller: i think the water is being muddied. because of the politicians. one site says it's this. another says it's that. host: tensions flare over the cdc guidance that if your fully vaccinated, you still need to wear a mask when you are indoors. look what happened yesterday. you can see marjorie taylor greene there. other republicans as they walk over to the senate. also in that crowd was chip roy of texas. he came to the house floor wednesday protesting the re-imposition of mask wearing in the house chamber.

>> we have a crisis at our border and we are playing footsie with mask mandates. it's absolutely absurd what this body is doing. it's a mockery. the american people are fed up. they want to go back to life. they want to go back to school. we are running around here, the speaker comes down and says we've got to where masks. we've got thousands of people pouring across the border. we have the new york times today , what a mess. the cdc is about to reverse on. this will only breed resentment. consider resentment being magnified right here on the

floor of the house of representatives. host: congressman chip roy wednesday. matt in dallas says masks are political based on your view of freedom. we as democrats believe in achieving freedom from the virus. republicans will protect their own individual freedom no matter the human cost. yesterday at the white house, the president was asked about his previous promise that if people got vaccinated, they wouldn't have to wear a mask. >> you said if your fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask. in may, you made it sound like a vaccine made you lose the master. >> that was true at the time.

what happened was a new variant came along. more people were getting sick. host: from the white house yesterday. how did mask wearing become political? what you think? caller: good morning. i have a masters in public health. i worked for 30 years in public health. i am educated in this. the guy that talked about florida having high numbers. that's because of the immigration, the illegal immigration. louisiana is high. alabama is high. it has nothing to do with the fact that people were vaccinated or not. the rate from the new people

coming in is a lot higher than the rate when people were not wearing masks. secondly, the reason there is so much politics is because there is so much variability. one thing is wearing a handkerchief -- i wore mask for 30 years. i worked for shell, the army, oil companies. i have a masters degree in it. what happens is the virus changes so fast. they brought in so many people from the south, you had so many possible variants. the second thing is the mask don't even work right. if i had to put a handkerchief on workers, they would've kick

me out of the plant. i've seen a guy in puerto rico wearing a handkerchief. the point is a handkerchief -- there is pulmonary functioning, there are a bunch of masks used that are better than the ones doctors use. that actually covers you. if you wear a surgical mask, the virus is going to go through there. the only way works is -- there are a lot of other factors. host: we don't have enough time to go through the mall. shirley is important. florida. caller: it is so disgraceful,

asking about something he said a couple of months ago. if we all get vaccinated, we won't have to wear a mask. that was true then. they act like they don't have common sense to know that this is a different type of virus now. people need to protect themselves. i think it is so foolish. if donald trump told the republicans to jump off a cliff, they are going to do it. he went out there in said -- and said he wasn't going to wear a mask. he said it was a choice. they decided then and there they weren't going to wear one.

now, these senators are taking up the rat. they're going to do whatever donald trump says. they are having a fit about wearing a mask. it is so stupid. like a mask is going to kill them. host: dave, your turn. caller: i think both parties are to blame for this. they've been fighting for years over every topic imaginable. the democrats were attacking trump. trump is going to be defiant and attack back. he did say all of those things about the masks. that's kind of where it all started, just the constant attacking. how to fix it, there is a show.

you had a program on c-span and they said there were four doctors saying the virus is intentionally or accidentally leaked. if the people see that, i think that would be clearer. i think people would take the vaccine if the government says you are going to be covered medically if you have issues further down the line. it is not fda approved. host: iris is in louisiana. have you thought about this before? caller: i think it's political

because we are dealing with politicians. i honestly think -- i tried to raise my children to tell them if you tell a white lie, i will not believe you in any situation you want to explain to me what happened. white lies turn into bigger lies. i think the politicians started telling us lies from the beginning. that politicized it then. i had covid last year. it did not cause me any harm. my husband also had it. he came through it just fine. i was really worried, but we came through it fine. i really think the reason it's politicized is we are dealing with politicians. i also want to blame the

migrants. they are coming through with no masks. i also wish president biden would take a look at that situation and maybe dr. fauci flip-flops so much that people are confused. i only wear my mask now when required. if you go into a health setting, you need to wear a mask. there are vulnerable people. we are dealing with politicians. we have been politicized with the virus. host: sam in kentucky sends a mask.

shelley in wisconsin, what do you say? caller: this is not a red or blue pandemic. it is an american issue. it's getting worse. i don't understand. i do not understand how this turned over. host: you've got to turn down your television. it is confusing and people can't hear you. just listen and talk through your phone. i want to show you what the president had to say yesterday when he announced vaccine and mask requirements for federal workers. >> we are -- it's time to impose requirements on key groups to make sure they are vaccinated. just this week, we took an

important step to protect our veterans. like many civilian hospital systems, the department of veterans affairs will require covid-19 vaccines for doctors and nurses and other workers who provide that'll who for our veterans. we must do everything possible to protect our veterans from getting covid. we owe them. next, since many vaccinations are required for active duty military, i'm asking the defense department to look into how and when they will add covid-19 to the vaccinations the armed forces must get. our men and women in uniform who protect this country from great threats should be protected as much as possible from getting covid 19. this is important because our troops serve in places

throughout the world where vaccination rates are low and diseases prevalent. next, every federal government employee will be asked to tax their fascination status. anyone who is not vaccinated will be required to mask no matter where they were. test one or two times a week to see if they have acquired covid. generally, they will not be allowed to travel for work. likewise, i'm directing my administration to take steps to apply standards to all federal contractors. if you want to do business with the federal government, get your workers vaccinated. host: president biden at the white house. we are going to go to morgan in

pennsylvania. how did mask wearing become political? caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. at the get go, trump said it was a democratic hoax. americans were dying and he said it was a democratic hoax. it's been downhill since then. host: let's keep it civil. you don't need to call people names. caller: i honestly believe this has become political because of the politicians out there and different newsgroups that love to throw fuel on the fire and misinformation to the public. my wife is an icu nurse. i'm a grandfather now. i wear a mask.

i have to wear a mask. when i first got my transplant, i had to wear a mask when i stood working again. it's nature. then covid came along. my wife went through an unbelievable year as an icu nurse. we were hit very hard here in orange county. i jokingly used to say one of my friends who is a transplant recipient, we were in style. we were setting the fashion because we were wearing masks prior. like your text message said, he was wearing a mask before and it wasn't political. my family wears masks. my son who i respect, he gets

harassed because he wears a mask because he has a daughter that is less than two years old and he's got a dad who is high risk. he has a grandmother who is in her 80's. it's got to stop. i get up early in the morning and i come in and watch c-span. then i work all day. i'm a conservative american. i will admit one thing. i did vote for trump once. i wouldn't vote for him again. i know that will set some calls off in the future. when it comes down to it, think about other people. my wife says to me, they don't wear masks and the nurses and doctors and staff in the cleaning people, we have to deal with them when they get sick. follow the guidelines. stop trying to be tougher than

the next guy. thank you. host: john it, republican. it's your turn. caller: good morning it, gretchen. host: it's credit. -- greta. caller: dr. fauci said we didn't need mass. then he said you'd better have one. then you should put two on. if we look it is emails, he says you don't meet -- need masks. it's 5000 times larger than the virus. it's going to go right through it. they are useless. if people would follow the science, i think people would be a lot more receptive. wearing a mask is absolutely

useless at this point. thank you gretchen. host: bernie in louisville, kentucky. caller: i'm a numbers guy. this morning on our new station, they said 97% of all the covid cases they have had are people who are unvaccinated. those numbers sound very alarming to me. you are a really good reporter. i will talk to you again in about 30 days. host: what was the appeal from that doctor? what was the point? caller: he was giving his daily news briefing to get people to understand the people who are getting sick are the unvaccinated.

as far as the masks go, i'm tired of them blaine trump. that is getting redundant. masks work. look at the flu virus, we had virtually no flu season at all. washing your hands, the masks, the social distancing, it all works. there is no denying it. host: what the you say, judy? caller: from day one when it started, i think some of the stuff that came out of trump's mouth wasn't the right thing to say. i do think faucher was right either. faucher she's guidelines. -- faucher she's guidelines. you showed a video trump saying he wasn't going to wear a mask. most media is democratic. i try to be fair and watch all the channels.

nobody ever shows the video of nancy pelosi in chinatown in san francisco saying there is no virus, it's a hoax. nancy pelosi was dancing around saying there is no virus. why don't they show that video? host: where did you see that? caller: i think you guys showed it. i watch mostly you. i watch fox, newsmax, cnn. i will not watch msnbc. i think they are the most lying -- what's the word i want? they are just a bunch of jerks on that channel. host: i will go to jason in minnesota. jason? caller: good morning.

i just want to respond about faucher. at the time faucher was talking about mass, it was the n95 mask for people on the front lines. the other mask isn't as good as in n95. it's better than nothing. where did this start? it started with donald trump. everybody knows that. he said it was a hoax, it wasn't a hoax. he said he wouldn't get vaccinated. he ended up getting vaccinated in january, he wouldn't let anybody see it because of vanity. he sought -- thought it would make him look weak. it's just ridiculous, from a guy who paints himself orange and he is so concerned about vanity. it was disgusting. the republicans glommed on with it. our orange savior is saying

this, we have to believe everything he says. this is the guy who said i understand science because my uncle was a scientist. this is how much this guy understands. that man who said something, we've got to keep it civil on here, donald trump of said worst things about americans than one person calling him a name. i love c-span. just wear masks. get vaccinated. the fda should approve this by now. we've got 100 million people plus fax a. there are 15,000 to have had side effects, remember 600,000 dead from this covid-19 that could've been taken care of earlier if he would have said wearing a mask is ok.

thank you. host: richard in kentucky. good morning two. caller: when that lady asked to about nancy pelosi going to chinatown and saying, on down. it was supposed to be the time of your were they celebrate the chinese culture. you said you never saw that. host: richard, i asked her where she sought. that's what i asked. caller: here's the kicker. no one on msnbc, no one on washington journal, nobody is talking about the hundreds of thousands of people walking across the border who have -- we have no idea. you are telling us we have to wear a mask. you are telling us we have to social distance.

you say nothing about the mexicans coming across the border, killing our people. you are murders. host: did you watch the show yesterday. apparently not. yesterday, we talked with a democrat from texas. he represents a border community. we talked for 30 minutes about the surgeon immigrants coming across where he lives. the cases of covid they see down there. his call on the administration to do more for the frontline and the border communities to protect them from covid-19. we are going to talk this morning about immigration on the southern border. we will take up the issues around that. linda in fort worth. caller: hello.

i was just wondering, why don't you let just the working people calling. most are old people. we can stay at home. we don't have to work. i was just wondering, why don't you have it where just a working people call in one day. host: we have done segments like that. it's hard because they are working. they are already working or on the west coast they are still sleeping. we try to broaden the conversation and get many different colors. jay is in pennsylvania. caller: thank you very much for your show. i think you are fair to everybody. i wanted to make a quick point. my mother is in a nursing home. i found out whether it's nurses

or aides, they are not fully vaccinated. i think that should be a mandatory situation. to the people that are calling that feel the mask is a joke, if you put a mask on, throw some water on the mask and see if your face gets wet. then take off the mask and do the same thing. masks work. for people to feel this way, this is the problem we are going to have forever. have a great day. host: democratic caller, go ahead. caller: you can doing you own survey from those who don't want to wear a mask and the attitudes they have when the call in, why are the masks getting political? look at what congress did yesterday. all of them walked in and there were no masks. what does that mean?

that is being politicized by the politicians especially republicans. does that mean they can go home and show their constituents that they got some tv time? they are not looking out for their constituents or each other. have a good day. host: pete in connecticut, yes it's political and they treat us like we are clay to be manipulated and molded stuff that's why we are victims of deception and fighting each other. kenneth in diamond, missouri, republican. caller: good morning. i do not like everybody calling in and getting on trump. he is not the president anymore. he is want -- he is the one that started the ball rolling for these vaccinations. i have had both of my vaccinations and if you don't trust the vaccinations, then go wear a mask. but i trust the vaccinations and

i'm never going to wear a mask again. that's the problem in this country. people don't trust the vaccinations. the government doesn't trust the vaccinations. that's what the problem is. whether you've had the vaccination or not, they say mask up and that's not true. you are not trusting the vaccinations then this whole farce is for nothing. thank you very much. host: did you hear the new york times piece that i read at the top? in an emailed to the new york times, dr. rochelle walensky told them why the cdc made this announcement earlier this week about even if you are fully vaccinated, you need to wear a mask. new research show that vaccinated people infected with the delta variant carry tremendous amounts of the virus in the nose and throat and the finding contradicts what scientists have the jazz have observed in vaccinated people

infected with previous versions of the virus who mostly seemed incapable of infecting others. now they are saying the science is showing that the delta variant, even if you're vaccinated, you are carrying a tremendous amount of it in your nose and throat and you can spread it to other people, your reaction to that? caller: it's a lie. they don't know what they are talking about. they just the cdc has change their mind i don't know how many different times since the virus started step i'm not going to wear a mask again and they can't force me to wear a mask again. i am a vietnam veteran i love this country but i hate the way it's going and it will end badly. host: how do you respond to the scientists who say we change when the science catches up? this research was just done. caller: they talked out of one

side of their mouth and do this and do that and i don't think they really know. they don't know anything about this virus because there is -- they are confused about what it's doing. host: ok, kenneth in missouri, republican. wally in florida says the next half-hour should be about going from political to personal. i've had to bar certain family from -- family members and friends for my home due to non-vaccine, non-masking behavior and it's getting harder. joe and oklahoma city, democratic caller. caller: hi and thanks for having me on. i'm really tired of listening to the republican callers, to be quite frank. it's almost like they have an excuse for everything trump is done and they continue to line up behind him. it was proven he dodged the draft but the flight waivers in the patriots get behind him. it was proven he robbed from

charity, cheated on his wives, paid off a poor and star, try to hide it by paying bride money and they line up behind them. he sends out all these terrible tweets and they say he's a businessman and not a politician. when it comes to the covid, does anybody not hear with his own words when he was being interviewed by the guy from the book? on that tape, trump said i'm lying to the american people about covid. he would not wear a mask in public, he lied about the virus and that was proven. he is the biggest reason why we have such a terrible problem with it now. then they are saying look at the border but they are the same people not getting the vaccinations. this is ridiculous. turn off the am radio and turn off newsmax and start paying attention to science.

it's the same thing with climate change. it's all the mile until it hits your home with a flood or a drought or a fire. get vaccinated, you morand, thank you. host: st. petersburg, florida. caller: i'm a retired nurse and veteran and i know something about viruses. they do mutate, they do change in the latest news we have heard is true. what we heard before this is very political. put on your mask, get your vaccine and stay safe, protect your family, that's all i have to say. host: we will go to jimmy in raleigh, north carolina, republican. caller: hello, how are you doing? good morning. i'd like to say that i think everybody has gone nuts lately. everyone's running around with their heads cut off. they don't know what to believe

or what not to believe. you have fat she saying this and that and he's a political operative. he doesn't know what he's talking about. that's all i have to say. host: tim in minneapolis says it's political because people really do listen to their candidates, representative or president. it will just go away. catherine in bolingbrook, illinois, democratic caller. caller: yes, i wear a mask just as i carry a rosary in my pocket every day where i go. i do it for me and for you. it's important that we look at other people. host: ok, randy in rome, new york, independent. caller: good morning, my comment

is under the early days of the covid, we saw day after day after day of the scientists, 5g and dr. birx and i wonder where dr. birx is today, why aren't we having briefings for the american people were we can ask questions for the scientists in front of the american people to answer what the science is and what are the reasons for the change in the science. that's my comment. host: that's essentially what this program is, a town hall. you get to call up and you get to ask questions of scientists

and we have lots of epidemiologist on this program we will continue to do so. you get to call up and challenge what you have heard and asked those questions so that there is clarification of the science. let's go to robert in spring valley, new york, republican. caller: i've got a question for miss tenney about what she sees as the impact a small business with lockdowns plus the higher prices that are causing inflation followed by new democrat spending. host: ok, talking about claudia tenney coming up on "washington journal." she is a member of the small business committee. kevin in michigan, democratic caller. hi, kevin. caller: hello.

i think there is a fundamental lack of understanding. the last caller was just talking about inflation. in the spending that has caused that. you look at the limited supply in the lumber industry and some of that is caused by trading with canada, semiconductors with automakers and there was a fire in a plant in japan and there were problems with a plant in texas. all that stuff contributes to inflation, not only an increase in the spending. then you look at the science and i do work in the health-care industry, i am a doctor. what you are seeing now, what the public doesn't see is the

process of science. you look at all the studies and how the studies come out and science is constantly evolving and changing. things that we did 20 years ago are different than what we are doing today. things that we thought were good 20 years ago are not necessarily thought of as good today. host: does that lead to distrust? caller: i think public scientist today with the virus specifically, people are not used to seeing that process, that evolving process. they go to their doctor and get a treatment for heart disease or -- diabetes anything like that and they just kind of accept that and they can see the tangible benefits immediately. you have this new virus that's

coming out and there is a lot that we don't know. there is not a whole lot of studies that have been done. there's been a ton of studies that have been done but in the language of science in the history of science, there is not a lot that has been studied with this is thing. people are not used to seeing the process evolve like that. host: sarah in wisconsin, masks are political because they have been mandated by government. it is a matter of public policy and some people see it is justified and some do not. the right leans toward skepticism on the left leans toward trust is an interesting phenomenon but it is not such a simple matter.

jean in new orleans, an independent. caller: good morning. i think that the reason covid-19 has become so political is because of the advent of the information highway. it seems anybody who has access to a computer, telephone can spread their opinion instantly. in the case of smoking, there was less controversy about people not smoking. there was no controversy about people wearing seatbelts. people are asked to do something for themselves and protect

themselves and there is the ability for people who disagree to have access to those people. that makes it political. thank you. host: there is dave in new york, wearing masks became political when former president trump decided it was to his political advantage do not advocate wearing of masks going into the election. he prioritized his reelection over the health of americans. al is a republican in yonkers new york, what is your opinion? caller: i would like to say that i think masks became political for the simple fact that now the politicians are telling free people what to do. and when you tell someone what to do, they must watch and the fact of why they need to do it. i understand your personal safety and i wear a mask and i have been doing it since it came about. my question this morning is, why

is nobody trying to figure out exactly how this thing came about? we need to know how it came about. that's all i got to say. no one is discussing that at all. thank you for taking my call. host: richard, new haven, connecticut, democratic caller. caller: i would just like to say that the republicans are pro-life when it comes to a woman's right to choose with their own body. when it comes to their own lives, their children's lives, they are pro-choice and they tell people not to be vaccinated and they choose not to wear a mask. is it going to be pro-life or pro-choice? what's the difference?

one republican senator voted for the covid-19 where the numbers have proven that it reduces poverty to its lowest level ever. you have 48 senators voting to repeal the affordable care act. how can you be pro-life when you don't support things that support pro-life? host: bobby from nashville, north carolina, republican. caller: yes, ma'am. i think it became political first to get rid of trump and secondly, we all need to come together on this and quit dividing us. we need to find out what really happened in that lab.

i will be part partisan. everybody in the united states works for us and they need to get to the bottom of it stop i know a lot of them have big interest in china and stuff like that and they have a lot of money invested over there. that's where this thing came from. we need to know the real history of it. and where it came from and where we can all get together on the same page and work together. we need to quit this mess. it's just crazy. that's all i got to say and god bless you all. host: don, riverside, california, republican. caller: how are you today? host: i'm doing fine, thanks.

when did mask wearing become political? caller: i can sum it up into words -- it's a money grab and i hope nobody votes for it. thank you. host: willie from slidell, louisiana, democratic caller. caller: good morning. i just want to say i live in one of the most [inaudible] and these people have worn a message the beginning. i say let them die if they don't wear a thank you. host: pennsylvania, republican. caller: yes, i'd like to say the mast don't work because over in china, they all wear a mask and they still caught covid. i'm not going to take the vaccine until dr. fauci and the who are getting in trouble and

face consequences for their actions, thank you. host: dale in columbus, ohio, democratic caller. have you thought about this being political? have you discussed it with family or friends? caller: yes, i have, it started in the beginning ever since donald trump said all the lies and he said it was a democratic hoax. i'm amazed that so many people get behind him and all the stuff he does. he supports a mob and didn't say one thing when they rush the capital. he said you were all great patriots. how many time did he appreciate the police officers that had to protect the people? it's amazing that so many people support him. he tells his people not to wear a mask and so many people in his cabinet for catching it. every time he spoke at the rose garden, he told them not to wear masks. how many people came up with the

virus? how can you say the mass does not work? there were not a lot of people that got the flu this past year. i am amazed about what they say. he says he doesn't know anything about stormy daniels and all of a sudden, his name is all over the checks. he lies all the time and i just don't know how people can support the former president. host: tim and ohio poses this question -- if you don't have access to ventilators because you refuse to mask or get a shot, would it be politicized? leon and seaford, new york, independent. caller: how are you? i just wanted to say with all the trump fashion, it's upsetting because when the virus first became known to us in early 2020, trump pause the

flights from china in particular and they called him a racist. now, the border is open so who is -- -- so who is really protecting us? how do people get on the best trump wagon when he was trying to protect us way back then? and they called him a racist. that's the democrat party. that's what they do. they use that to silence people and to twist everything. it's horrendous what's going on. it's very upsetting. i voted for trump i'm wearing a mask. i have the antibodies because i had a mild case of covid and i had an antibody test and i have them and i feel, according to my doctor, he says you are safe just like vaccinated people. i wear a mask every single day and i work. people come into my office sometimes and they say why are

you wearing a mask? i said because i feel safer doing it and that's just the way , it makes me comforted and it make -- and helps me feel like i am protecting others as well by wearing a mask and i will wear to masksa if i feel safer. it's not a republican thing to be anti-vaccine are anti-mask. that's not true at all. the more people keep saying it, the more upset i get because every republican i know is wearing a mask and is vaccinated. they are in my family and they are my friends and i just hate the way they use the racism thing against trump because he was trying to keep us safe from the get go. host: we will leave it there. we were scheduled to talk with congresswoman claudia tenney of new york this morning as you may have known. she was supposed to be joining us but there were technical issues so we will try to reschedule with her3. we will take a break and we come

back, we'll touch on what some of you have talked about and that's immigration on our southern border. we will talk to the national immigration form president and ceo ali norani who talk about the biden administration's immigration policies. we will be right back. ♪ >> sunday, she spends series january 6, views from the house, continues. three more members of congress share stories of what they saw, heard and experienced that day including representative rodney davis of illinois who served as a teller for the electoral vote count on that day. >> there were a lot of freshmen there that i got to know during orientation that this was their first real experiences as a member of congress. we were kind of watching them and talking to my fellow colleagues about what we could do to try and stop this. >> what were those conversations

like? >> i remember a conversation i had with marjorie taylor greene. she was a freshman and was very active during the orientation. she was very upset about what was going on. her and i chatted and she asked what i can do and i said what if you go back and share a video on social media. if you know anyone out there, tell them to stop and she did that. >> you will also hear from two democrats. january 6, views from the house, sunday at 10 p.m. eastern on c-span, www.c-span.org or listen on the c-span radio app. >> "washington journal" continues. host: ali noorani joins us now to talk about the biden administration's immigration policies.

let's begin with what is happening on the southern border and those attempting to cross or those who want to get apprehended to get into the system of the country in hopes of staying. are they tested for covid-19? guest: i was just down there a couple of weeks ago. as individuals are coming to the northern mexico side of the order, many of them are going into shelter facilities that are read wiring covid tests before they actually are able to stay the night. i've visited a facility run by the international organization iom, where if someone is presented with a positive test, they were quarantined in the facility up to 10 days. what we are seeing along the northern mexico boarding -- border is the ability to test people so when folks are entering the united states, they are able to get tested by cdp

but then we move them through a process that's orderly and safe and secure and people seek to apply for asylum, they can begin that process. one of the most important things the biden administration has done is set up the infrastructure, the logistics and put in place the personnel and partnerships so that the border is secure and number two, managed in a humane way. host: it was reported this week, about 50,000 migrants cross the southern border and have now been released in the united states without a court date. all they they are told to report to an immigration and customs office, instead, 13% have shown so far. where are these people in the country? can they go anywhere in the country and do we know if they have covid-19? guest: in terms of the next step, these individuals, cdp and

immigrations customs enforcement needs to have the cassidy to put in place alternatives to detention. those are ankle bracelets so the person can go through a community where they have a family member or relationship to pursue their case but they are part of a system. i think this is one of the biggest reasons why there is a continued surge of resources to the border to make sure there is testing and processing that's so important. the biden administration is well aware of these challenges. in terms of vaccination and testing, those pieces are coming into place. host: what is title 42 in which immigrant does this apply to? guest: title 42 our public health that would put into -- that were put into place last spring by the trump administration. it has close the border to a large degree to non-essential travel.

that means tourism, day to day business and has led to a lot of business districts along the u.s.-mexico border to struggle. what happens is if an individual is presenting family or a single l to ask for asylum, they are being turned around. they are not being detained or sent into the system or formally being deported, they are essentially getting expelled. the title 42 restrictions have been lifted for unaccompanied children so they are put through a process in the states to pursue their asylum case. title 42 has close the border to non-essential travel. the only people that can cross the border are u.s. citizens and legal permanent residents. host: if you are attempting to cross the border, what immigrant gets to stay and put into the process and what type of

immigrant is deported immediately? guest: the challenge here to a large degree is the lack of consistency across the border because of the way mexico is treating or handling returned migrants. the policy on the u.s. side is that if you are a single adult or a family with children for not of a tender age, your immediately expelled stop some parts of mexico, some states along the u.s.-mexico are refusing to take back non-mexican migrants. those individuals are put into the system on the u.s. side. governors along the mexican side of the border do not have a consistent policy from brownsville to san diego. that leads to some chaos but on the u.s. side of the border, there is consistency of who is allowed to -- into pursue their

asylum claims and who is not and by and large, those are single adult which are the majority of apprehensions and family units who do not have children of a tender age. host: let's talk about another part of immigration and that is the daca recipients. where are the legal challenges with that right now? what is the latest? guest: in the south district court, a judge ruled the daca program deferred action for childhood arrivals as a program put in place by president obama was put into place illegally. and that the administration did not use the administrative procedures act. what has happened now is because of the ruling, no new applications for daca protections are allowed which means that approximately 81,000 young people who were on the verge of getting protection through daca are out of luck. the other hand, those who have

protections under dhaka maybe 800,000 people, those remain in place. the next steps is it is assumed the department of justice will appeal the ruling and it will end up in the fifth circuit to hear that case. the fifth circuit is a very conservative circuit staff i think it will be a tough battle but luckily, the daca recipients have an attorney general believes in the contributions of daca recipients and their potential as american citizens in the future. host: tell us what your group does. guest: the national immigration form is a non-partisan immigration reform group to advocate for the value of immigrants and immigration. host: connie is up first in illinois, republican, good morning. caller: good morning.

on this immigration coming across that border, border patrol says that the covid is up 900% with the immigrants coming across the border. 800 and some of the border patrol have gotten the virus this virus is so deadly, why aren't those immigrants dropping like flies in the desert, making this trip to america? none of the border patrol out of the 800 and some, not one of them has died or democrats would put that out immediately. they don't want us to know what's happening at that border.

it is politicized because the only thing joe biden knows his get vaccinated and wear a mask and donald trump did not say that it is a farce. host: go ahead. guest: i think it's important that border patrol has the pbe and access of those are on the frontline of the border to protect the nation and making sure people are treated compassionately. i think it's -- that's why it's important that the partnerships in place on the u.s. and mexico side whether it's local governments or nonprofit organization so that people are tested and people have access to the vaccine step i was in el paso a couple of weeks ago.

i saw with my own eyes how people were being tested as they were coming into shelters on the u.s. side and how they had access to the vaccine stop the infrastructure is in place so let's all make sure we are keeping each other safe and healthy. host: here is a text from larry in new york. as a democrat, i am not happy with the border policies in place, it's time to follow the law and shut the door. especially during a pandemic stuff claiming asylum is getting old stuff it should be done at the u.s. embassy at the country of origin. guest: that's an important point. there are couple of things that need to be done. i think the administration needs to be much more clear in terms of communicating how they are securing the border. just yesterday, they released a pretty comprehensive strategy of how they were securing the border and treating migrants compassionately and it laid out efforts in central america,

mexico as well as at the u.s.-mexico border. i think the administration needs to clearly communicate their security measures. if you are a victim of persecution because of your religion or political beliefs, your social route, the first thing you want to do is get out of the country where you are being persecuted. people should have the opportunity to apply for protection closer to their home in their region but not necessarily in their country. that is the place they are fleeing from for their safety. one program the administration is moving forward with and was started on the radio obama administration's regional processing for refugee applications. let's say somebody needs to flee honduras because the government is coming after them because of their political belief. they should be able to go to southern mexico what a mullet to apply for refugee status. those of the kind of programs that are starting to come into

play and we hope will stem the flow of migrants who right now are paying thousands of dollars to try to get to the u.s.-mexico border and apply for asylum here. host: immigrants should all be vaccinated before permitted access to our borders and even deportations should be given the vaccine to reduce worldwide impact stop is that legal? guest: it was reported a bit early on in the pandemic is the vaccination rates within our immigration detention facilities. those rates have remained far too low in terms of vaccination rates in over the last year, we have seen high rates of covid-19 and detention facilities. the biden slowly ensuring that vaccines are available to immigrant detainees so the numbers of covid-19 people are beginning to drop in those facilities. if somebody is being held by the

u.s. government whether it's part of the prison or detention system, they should be vaccinated as soon as possible. host: port st. lucie, florida, steve is an independent. caller: good morning. you can read the book not my idea" and page 59 and find out what the plan is. 10,000 illegals per day and you say you want to put ankle bracelets on these people. that is $100 per month times 30, $30 million for that. and they haven't even been covid tested. i have two cancers, i don't want to do untested vaccines but i cannot believe you wouldn't want to at least make sure these people don't have covid and then you want to go door to door teaching crt? that's crazy, what are you guys doing? guest: i completely agree that

we need to be testing people as they enter the country and seeking asylum protection. as you said, we need to make sure that people have access to the vaccine whether they are at the border or across the country and there is simple -- some important outreach efforts physically in immigrant committees of people have access to the vaccines and any information to answer their questions. you also bring up an important point in terms of the folks who are entering. you talk to a restaurant owner never a landscaper or a farmer was their biggest challenge in their biggest challenge is finding people to do the work. that way the rest of us can go on vacation and the rest of us can have food on our table. one of the most important things that we have to address for immigration is updating error legal immigration so that people can into the country through a process and not have to pay smugglers thousands of dollars

to try to get to the border and ask for asylum protection. our system is the only thing left to replace our antiquated and dysfunctional legal system. i think republicans and democrats can update the legal immigration to ensure that people have a process to go through in order to into the country. host: i want to you get your discussion -- your opinion on a discussion i capitol hill yesterday. senator mitt romney asked the homeland security secretary weather by an administration decided to halt construction of the border wall between the u.s. and mexico. take a listen. [video clip] >> as senator, i know we will not agree on this issue but the decision with respect to the border wall is not a political decision but a substantive one. the 15 billion dollars that was dedicated to the construction of the border wall was ill advised.

we can use the governments funds and taxpayers funds more wisely through investment innovation and investment in technology,. >> the great majority of that money has already been spent stuff the overwhelming majority and now there is some gaps in what has been sped. president obama's administration expanded the border barrier. i am in favor of technology but as long as we have paid for it and have contracts to complete the wall, i simply cannot understand any logical reason not to complete it. i am not a severe partisan to attack democrats. this strikes me as being nonsense. i cannot understand this. with regard to investing in root causes, i don't understand what you're referring to. are you suggesting that we should be able to invest to make sure that all of latin america

gets rid of their dictators and their corruption, ends violence and if we do that, maybe there will be less people trying to get into the border? that's unrealistic step that's absurd. we cannot even do those things domestically let alone around the world. people want to come to this country and they always will. responsible for securing our order. i just don't get why you don't address this in the way that president obama did. please the barrier, use technology and have ice carry out the responsibility of moving people who are here illegally. host: your reaction? guest: we think of border security as far as the risk to americans. the majority of drugs, guns and money are smuggled through ports of entry. those are serious risks to the safety of the american public. we should invest our border

security dollars in improving the infrastructure, the technology and personnel at ports of entry where these risks are most present. what happens as a result of those investments is the trade we do with significant levels of trade between the u.s. and mexico is facilitated by upgraded ports of entry. if we are working in a world of limited resources, let's make sure we are using those very valuable american taxpayer dollars to invest in the places where we face the greatest risk. i think that senator romney brings up an important point around root causes. i think the american public would agree is that we are faced with a complicated problem in terms of managing migration and staying secure and compassionate . one part of the solution is to really try to address the root causes of migration in central america. i would point to one particular

example in honduras. in 2016 in honduras, they began a scourge of the national police where they were to root out corruption of the national police in honduras. they ended up firing or purging over 6000 officers in the honduran national police. . as a result, the homicide rate declined by 50%. that's a quality-of-life change for hondurans step out of the trump administration, that program came to an end because the trump administration said we are not interested in trying to improve the quality of life of hondurans. we will treat them cruelly at the border when they asked for protection. i think there are things we can do as a nation to support efforts in central america that have proved test that improve quality of life and improve the safety of central americans which decreases pressure on our view was-mexico border. host: glenn, california,

republican. caller: i would like to talk about the census. we have 43 million people in california. the cost of 43 million people on our infrastructure. we are in a forever drought was to all we hear is global warming. we are overpopulated. what is the cost it after how many days do we hold the immigrants in a detention center? what is the cost of that and the cost of sending them all over the united states with covid and they won't take the shot which i agree with them. it's not fda approved. i might have already had covid and they might've had immunity already and i agree with that are step host: let's take your point about overpopulation guest: earlier this year, my

colleagues wrote a paper that laid out a case that we as a nation have room to grow. there is a number called the old age dependency ratio. in essence, it's the ratio of working age adults to retirement age. in 1965, that number was well over 6.5. that number has profited to 3.54% working age adults to retiree. without increasing immigration, we remain on the same trajectory. increasing immigration, that number will plummet step as a result, or nation social security system and other entitlements will suffer. if you are a 55-year-old person wants to retire in 10 or 15

years, and restock dish and retire in a stable and safe way where you have a steady income from socialist ready, we need to increase immigration. we have laid out the case that in order to maintain the current ratio which is 3.54% adults to retirees, we need to increase immigration to the united states by approximately 37% which means we would approximate let in 1.30 7 million people per year. i think congress really needs to focus on this issue of getting republicans and democrats together to address our nation's legal immigration system. it's not just a way to ease the pressure at the border but it's really an imperative to address the demo -- to face the disaster we are faced -- facing in the next 10 or 15 years. host: democratic caller, good morning to you. caller: good morning, this

gentleman has said so many things and it's hard to do this in one call. in regards to what he just said, he said to sustain social security, it looks like we have already got -- let in close to one million people. that is unbelievable being that we had covid going on, that we are looking once again going door to door to make sure of their status and this is not a republican or democrat issue. it's about the security of our border. i don't understand in a pandemic how we are allowing people to come in illegally and when you look at the border, i don't understand the media, they are not covering this. i appreciate that because americans need to be in the know

stuff when you look at haitians, honduran, people from all over the world, my question is, why aren't we holding a representatives accountable for this in 2022, we need to put everyone out. if you cannot secure our orders for the americans -- for the american people. host: your response? guest: it's important as people come into the order the overwhelming majority of people are being returned. those apprehension numbers are very high numbers not means somebody's getting stopped and turned around. that's an important piece to realize. we are not letting in one million people. we have apprehended one million people in the overall majority of them have been turned around and asked felt back to mexico. i want to make sure i'm clear this.

as people are put through a system, they are being tested step i saw this when my -- with my own eyes in el paso last week and people had direct -- direct access to vaccines. across the country, their organizations and i was in california and set them with folks working with farmworkers. we had incredibly innovative strategies to ensure the arm workers at access to the information they needed and they can get their questions answered regarding covid-19 and the vaccine and ultimately have exits of the vaccine itself. steps are being wouldn't place and we have to think about what is it our nation's interests? we need to be safe and secure and make sure people are getting tested and make sure the border is secure better nations interest is having a workforce that's growing infantry meeting and making sure all of his and prosper all of us can live to her greatest potential. host: mary ellen in new jersey,

independent caller. caller: good morning. as i listen to all of this, all i can say is this country is in a terrible, terrible mess stuff joe biden is responsible. as soon as he became president, he said 08, you have a new president now and you can, over. he invited all these immigrants over here, all these illegals. he should be held responsible. it's at the expense of the taxpayer. they concentrate more on these illegals and spend tax dollars on these people, they rehab people over here as people here who need help. host: is resident biden to blame?

did he invite illegal immigration at our border? guest: over the course of the trump administration, whenever president trump said he would close the border, the cartel stepped in and they said give us $6,000 or $10,000 and we will get you to the border. in 2019, we saw a record numbers of individuals coming to the border to ask for protection. the numbers of family units coming to the u.s. mexico border in 2019 are greater than what we have seen this year. my point is that the only people who are winning because we have a broken and antiquated immigration system is organized crime. we have outsourced our immigration system to human smugglers for exploiting people or taking advantage of people and killing people who are stuck and stranded along the u.s.-mexico border in northern mexico.

the way to dismantle the cartels is address the root cause issues to root out corruption. to create legal pathways for those to seek asylum or at our border or by having legal immigration orders or work for people so they can go three process that's legal and not putting their lives in the hands of the cartel. one of the greatest opportunities for us as a nation in the short term is to see dreamers and farmworkers who have contributed so much where nation in spite of being undocumented. in fact, for dreamers and temporary protective status recipients, if they were to become citizens, we would see in in recent of 149 alien dollars

per year in terms of spending power which would lead to 39 billion dollars per year increased annual tax revenue at a state and federal level. those of the types of solutions we should be thinking about. host: how do poor people from poor areas scrape of thousands of dollars for these cartels to bring them across the border? guest: that's an important question. a couple of years ago, i was in honduras and i was in the coffee highlands of honduras sitting down with farmers. i asked the same question. the folks who have been able to scrape together $10,000. i met with a young man named carlos who was a small coffee farmer in honduras and he was about to lose his farm because of plummeting coffee bean prices and corruption in the country at large.

i have just enough money to scrape together to try to get to the u.s. to ask for protection. or i could invest that money in honduras and try to improve my life here. he knew that trip to the u.s.-mexico border wasn't to be doubly risky and dangerous and had a low chance of getting into the u.s.. he was ultimately returned. he decided that was a better chance of prosperity and test for his family then remaining in honduras. what we see is that individuals for not facing extreme poverty but just have justin of resources, they are taking the resources and going to the cartels which is terrible for them, terrible for the country and terrible for us. as long as we have a broken immigration system, it's great for the cartels. host: randall's town, maryland, democratic caller. caller: that lady from new

jersey is a typical brainwashed trump loving liar. it's funny because the wall was just a mistake. people like her are the kind that were dumb enough to think that mexico would pay for it most of are they being vaccinated when they come over? to me, that's the perfect time to do it. i think you are doing a good job and thanks a lot. guest: on the u.s. side of the border, we are seeing a surge of vaccines to the u.s. side of the u.s. mexico border. that means the organizations were helping people once they cross, they can provide those vaccine. it would be great to see similar search of vaccines in northern mexico. over the last couple of days, i

saw some news reports out of mexico where they were marking higher vaccination rates. it's a country without a ton of resources. there is more that the u.s. can move vaccines into mexico and that helps our largest and closest neighbor. it serves their interest as well as ours. i think this is a logistic challenge in education challenge but we all have to live up to it. when i was in el paso, i saw how organizations were stepping into the breach and ensuring people were getting tested and getting vaccinated. host: want to read this text from joel in phoenix. what is the long-term plan of the biden administration to stop the daily flow of hundreds of illegal immigrants from all over the world and why is it taking so long to stop the influx? guest: just yesterday, the biden

administration released a blueprint or strategy to manage migration from central america. there were a number of strategies, everything from helping economies get back up on their feet and rooting out, beginning to root out corruption. the vice president wasn't central america couple of months ago and one of the most important thing she announced was the establishment of an anticorruption joint task force between the justice department and the state department to start to focus on the bad players and the corrupt players who were lording over this country and just ruining the quality of life are so many people faced with the difficult decision of leaving and putting their lives in the hands of the cartels. the strategy also included the measures at the u.s.-mexico border to keep the nation secure. i think the administration has done a lot of things over six

months and has career plans ahead but we also face a fast-changing world. with the political strife in cuba and haiti, we very well could see an increase in migration from haiti and cuba. i would imagine we will see increased numbers of refugees from afghanistan moving into europe are asking for protection of other countries. the world is a fast-changing place. we is the most powerful nation in the world, not just a moral responsibility but i would argue that we have a vision we can share with the world that we are a nation that's safe and secure but can also be a beacon of hope and refuge for folks around the world that also serves our national interests. host: walter in meridian,

mississippi, republican, welcome to the conversation. caller: when biden was inaugurated, he laid his hand on the bible and said he would enforce all our laws. he's not enforcing the law. they have a law on the books about immigration. if he is enforcing the laws, why doesn't the congress make him enforce the laws? host: i will leave it there to get a response. guest: one of the most things in terms of enforcing immigration laws is to do it in a way that prioritizes valuable law enforcement resources. one of the things we're looking forward to from the biden administration is what are their enforcement priorities? we think their enforcement priority should be public safety risks, the folks who were smuggling drugs, guns and money into the country.

the phone for violent criminals, those are individuals who nobody wants in their neighborhood whether you're an immigrant or u.n. your family have been here for generations. we need to make sure we are prioritizing our valuable law enforcement resources of those safety and security risks. that's one thing i think the obama administration did very well and the trump administration waste a lot of taxpayer dollars on pursuing folks who were not public safety threats stuff we saw the restaurant owners in the midwest or the south where nobody realized they were undocumented but were supported by the trump administration. that was not serving a national interest. host: the house is coming in early for legislative business this morning, thank you for your time. we will bring to the house floor now live coverage here on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.o