. hello and welcome to kqed "newsroom." coming up, silicon valley's response to president trump's executive order on immigration. a report from the border from one of our reporters who's been in san diego all week. plus, legendary athletes discuss the role of politics in sports. first, we sit down with ro khana who defeated mike honda for a congressional seat last november. he represents california's 17th district including silicon valley. the son of immigrants himself, he spoke out against the executive order that not only temporarily bars visitors from seven nations but also blocks refugees from syria indefinitely. kqed's senior editor of california politics and government, scott schaefer, has

more. >> congressman, welcome. >> thank you for having me back on. >> i want to ask you something that happened this week about donald trump, the president, of course, tweeting that perhaps u.c. berkeley should lose its funding as a result of of the protests and cancelation of a right wing speaker. he's threatened funding for sanctuary cities such as san jose and san francisco. as a member of the budget committee, is that just bluster to you, or how seriously do you take it? >> i certainly don't think my republican colleagues would go along with that type of intimidation. there are many people who believe in the first amendment. i'm hopeful that on the budget committee i will be able to convince republicans and democrats not to do that. of course i disagree with that. any of the president's tweets, that type of intimidation messages. >> on the other hand, there's a possible funding hit on obamacare, the affordable care

act. the republicans have talked about repealing that. california gets about $15 billion a year just for -- from health care for our expansion of health care here in california. what about that? how worried should california be? >> we should be very worried. that is a real challenge, and there are those who want -- i argued for single-payer health care. we can't repeal this without a plan for replacement. i grilled one of the witnesses on the budget committee. she admitted that she thought trump's plan was inadequate as recent recently as april of last year. we have to keep making the point that they have no replacement plan. >> is there a sense or concern on your part that california is setting itself up as the resistance movement with jerry brown and the new attorney general? are you concerned that we could

be putting ourselves in the cross hairs? >> i'm not. i think that california is doing something that is principle to our values. that said, i don't think that is a sufficient strategy. and my belief is we need to have an affirmative agenda, a positive version, and understand that this election was not just about donald trump. this election was about a lot of people who felt not included in our economy. i have argued that we need to be creating tech jobs, not just in my district but across america. we need a democratic party to have a much more economically populist message. we need to get off of reliance of p.a.t.h. money. i hope we will use this election for some introspection and have a positive agenda to win people and not just be only with this. >> there are many who feel that the tech industry which, of course, your district very much represents, is part of a problem in the sense that there is technology and automation and driverless cars. all this technology that is

threatening the jobs of the very voters who were so turned off by hillary clinton apparently, the voters in michigan and pennsylvania, wisconsin. what are your thoughts about that? >> i think we have to talk specifically. so i am visiting appalachia in kentucky. and there's a program there funded by the appalachian economic regional commission where they are educating and preparing coal miners' kids and others on ios software for the iphone, android software for google, where in four months people are getting jobs. 40, 50 jobs. tech companies have to do a better job of creating jobs in ohio, in michigan, and wisconsin, and making the case that you shouldn't spear technology, that technology can create opportunity. it the wake-up call for our district and silicon valley that we need to do a better job in creating these economic opportunities across the country and telling the story of how technology can help middle-class

lives. >> congressman, we've seen a lot of protests across the country here in california included, of course, over the executive orders regarding refugees and immigration in general. what are your thoughts with about that as the son of immigrants? what concerns you most about these policies? >> i'm concerned -- i'm concerned as a bicentennial baby in philadelphia, born in philadelphia. someone who reveres our constitution. what makes america extraordinary is that we don't have an ethnic or religious test in how we judge people. and what concerns me about the orders is that -- that they impose those types of tests, we need to recognize that our comparative advantage in the world is that we have folks here, the best and brightest, regardless of their ethnicity or religion. >> all right. freshman and rookie congressman ro khanna, thank you very much for talking to us. >> thank you for having me back on.

earlier this week, google's co-founder spoke to employees at silicon valley as they reacted to president trump's executive order on immigration. google's response was one of many from high-tech companies. joining me are cara swisher, founder of the online tech journalism site rikoc, and head of kqed's desk. care ayou broke the story this week, several silicon valley companies banding together to oppose president trump's travel ban. which companies are involved, and what exactly are they doing? >> well, there's a lot of things going on. i think it started friday when the order came out. i think they were caught unawares. these companies had gone to see trump, it the heads, if you remember a couple of weeks ago. and they were acquiescent. they made no statements. these are people who never don't make statements. they didn't -- they sort of skulked in and out. i think they were hoping they dwoo wouldn't do stuff like this. they talked about how the meeting was important in silicon valley, and he did exactly what

he said he would do on the campaign trail which is create a ban. >> that shouldn't surprise them, though -- trump is doing what he said he would do when he was campaigning. >> yes, that's what i pointed out in the articles. at the time i wrote a tough article called them she-ple, i felt like, aren't you listening to what he's saying? there's a famous maya angelou quote, when someone shows you who they are the first time, believe them. he said it a lot. and they thought that he would not do quite the same thing, that it was all bluster. so they were surprised. they started to act on friday after the immigration ban came out. >> so what is at stake for them? the companies that are -- the seven nations that are named in this including iraq, iran, syria, yemen, those aren't the countries where a huge portion of foreign workers come from. >> they do -- >> there's more impacted -- they come more from other countries. what is at stake beyond the seven nations? >> the larger principle of immigration is critical to

innovation, period. it's the core, the heart of this country. like how we grew as a country. and that immigrants are welcome. and i think in silicon valley you look at sergei, he's a refugee from russia. a refugee. he's not an emigrant, he's a refugee. you have steve jobs' father, syrian immigrant. you have the ceo of google, the search part of the business, immigrant. >> yeah. >> head of microsoft, immigrant. it goes on and on and on. and all these -- not just because they are, it's because everyone believes in the idea that, you know, immigration is a good thing for innovation, and it is. >> and that flows into the issue of the visa, as well. a lot of workers come from other countries. >> right. i think what's interesting is like what was that thing they said about trump? his followers don't take him literally, they take him seriously. yeah, in terms of this ban -- i was looking at the numbers that the professor from howard crunched. there are not that many people from the seven countries that are, you know, i think google's

e-mail had said there was like 187 employees that were affected. i think it's like in terms of taking it seriously as -- as anti-immigration stance and where does this stop. and obviously the work force in silicon valley is very immigrant heavy, foreign workers. i think it's spreading a general fear amongst some of the swoe s workers. i was at a mosque in santa clara. a lot of tech workers there. they were feeling like for the first time they're hearing from people abroad, you know, obviously silicon valley still the capitol of tech. maybe we won't come this year. maybe we'll wait a couple of years. so it seems important for these companies, they were heartened as they came out strong, even though these people weren't from those countries. they were muslim, and they feel under attack. >> and so what's next? there are now reports of a draft order targeting h1b visas. does that pose a bigger threat? >> there's something tech wants from trump -- less regulation. they want their money back,

repatriated income, billions and trillions of dollars trapped abroad. they want lower taxes. those are their business concerns. but there's other things that will be happening. one is the hb1 visas. what are the rules, are they good for silicon valley, good for immigration? second one is things like gay rights. i know it sounds sideways, but silicon valley has been strong, you know, remember in indiana and north carolina -- silicon valley leaders were the first people to speak out on ridiculous laws. they'll have clashes over and over and encryption -- >> visas -- >> encryption, everything. most of what silicon valley stands for, their core values of their companies, beyond shareholder value, it's not what's happening in these executive orders. >> and so we're starting to see some backlash, right? the yesterday uber's ceo -- stepped down from the president's economic advisory board.

tesla's elon musk is on it. do you think he will feel pressure to resign? >> you should see social media. it's -- i feel bad in a lot of ways for elon, kind of the attack -- >> do you think he will step down as a result? >> he had a different attitude. and he was going to confront the issue. travis was like, i'm not having one more picture with trump. the delete uber didn't help. t i think his employees were horrified he was on the council. he said, i'm not going. elon prefers to meet and see if he can change minds. i think which one decides which will -- >> one of the producers pointed out during the obama administration all these economic council meetings were in public records. so he was sort of -- i think it's interesting, like would it be more powerful for someone like elon musk or travis calanek to go into the meetings and publicly on the record, you know, go confront the president about these sort of issues? so i don't know -- i guess there's a little bit of a debate, is it better to bow out or make more of a public stand,

you know, when you have an audience? >> what are the risks to silicon valley, to taking these types of public stands? >> the president, it looks like he -- his arnold schwarzenegger looks like in full battle, a ridiculous thing. he retaliates on twitter and other places. they could do things. elon's got a lot of space and car regulatory issues that are important to the company. so everybody -- you know, travis has got car regulatory things around self-driving cars, so does google. all kinds of things. the question is, is this administration going to attack the one industry that is creating jobs and probably at the center of innovation, is that really a policy that, you know, just for retaliation because they disagree? >> you know, a poll shows that nearly half of the country do support the immigration ban. are there -- are there tech companies or prominent silicon valley figures who support the immigration ban? >> no, not that i know of. i think there are reasonable debates to be had about immigration policies on -- reasonable minds can disagree.

i think all the news, information that's been coming out about this, there's rudy giuliani coming out saying that trump had asked him to find a way to do the muslim ban legally, and this was the consequence of it. so i think this doesn't really fall into the idea of like can we have immigration reform, are -- there might be different sides to this. it sort of feels very much from the workers' standpoint, the folks i'm speaking to, that it's a discriminatory, close-minded -- >> employees -- >> silicon valley has to think of its employees. this is the key to silicon valley is talent. and they -- there are core values of the company and talent values and shareholder values. you've got to balance them out. i think probably on a lot of these things they've got to come down hard on open borders. they just have to. >> and so do you think that this will affect the talent who are willing to come to silicon valley, and are we going to lose them to places like israel, canada -- >> everywhere. >> china? >> everywhere. i was on the phone with a guy, co-founder of a company called true north. they're starting to set up

subsidiaries for tech companies in silicon valley in canada who might have visa problems, might have a1b problems. i think there's uncertainty now. even people -- he was saying he was getting calls even from people who aren't from the seven countries, right. there's just a lot of uncertainty about do i want to come to the united states, do i want -- do i want to deal with the hassle? i might not be muslim, of having to be -- i might look muslim, having to be stuck in the airport for three or four hours every time i want to go back and forth because homeland security wants to check them out more. it was interesting that he was saying that it's a lot of startups that are starting to go and try to use his services there. and that makes me wonder what happens to the pipeline because a lot of these startups get bought up by bigger companies, and you know, sort of help drive that innovation of principles -- core principles. that's what you wonder, where you balance shareholder value with core principles. that's the clash. >> we'll leave it there. thank you to you both. >> thank you. >> thank you.

last week president trump signed an executive order authorizing construction of a new wall along the u.s./mexico border and hiring up to 15,000 new border patrol and immigration reporters. john sepulveda is in san diego talking to residents about immigration and the proposed wall. he joins us from kpbs in san diego. hi, john. thanks for being with us. >> reporter: hi, thank you for having me. >> you've been talking to supporters of president trump in san diego. what are their thoughts on building a wall along the mexican border? >> almost to a t most people don't want the wall. that's because they already have a fence. the fences started in 1994 in california. and they've seen that in large part it does not work. so they understand that a wall where it would go is in these extremely rugged areas. they know that it would be et cetera treatme-- it would be ex costly. they're more focused on the other parts of the immigration

policy, specifically with president trump and extreme vetting, making sure that people who are in the country and have committed crimes are deported. but almost to a t with the exception of one person i spoke to, nobody really wants a wall. >> what -- how do they feel about the muslim ban then? the one affecting seven muslim majority countries? >> well, again, almost to a t, they all support it. and i think that shows the real difference between how people look at folks who have come illegally from over the border. the -- the general assumption is that most of those folks have come up here to work while there is this belief -- and i want to make it clear there are no facts to back up this belief -- there has been no instances of someone from a refugee community or who came to the united states as a refugee carrying out these types of attacks. but there is a belief that people from those countries do those kinds of things. so they think it's a matter of security, and they support the

ban. >> so what do you think are some of the factors perhaps behind that -- that -- the divergent views, if you will, on mexican immigration versus muslim immigration? >> well, i think it really depends on who you talk to at any given moment. so i'm just going to give my general opinion, and i want to make it clear it's my opinion based on the facts that i have seen. but based on those facts, i think that people are more comfortable down here with latino and other immigrants because they work with them every day. they see them at the store. they're in their communities and sometimes in their churches. their kids definitely go to school with other people's kids. so there's this -- there's a bigger immersion on this area, whereas with muslims, there as -- there's a large muslim and refugee contingent. in the town i grew up in, lemon grove, one of the biggest refugee settlement areas in the nation, not just in the

california. but those communities are much more insular. they do not share the same faith. there's a big disconnect between what people believe that they know about people and what they actually know about people. and i think that because those communities are insular and because they're not as well understood, there's a greater amount of fear. i want to make it clear, that's my own opinion and analysis based on reporting on these -- these things for the past ten years. >> sure. congress has had to confront this issue of the physical barrier before. why do you think the outcry seems so much more harsh and vocal this time? >> well, i think it's because of how president trump, now president trump characterized latinos, specifically mexicans, during the campaign. i mean, i'm a quarter mexican, and it's very difficult to sit and listen to someone say that people from my heritage are rapists and murderers. i mean, i know that that's patently not true. so i think that that did not sit well with many people both who

are in the latino community and not in latino community. what is different with president trump is he went from talking about the policies of it. so think about pete wilson in 1994. he talked about overcrowding in schools, he talked about concern of -- of crime by -- committed by illegal immigrants, undocumented people. that is an actual absolute concern and worry with people in the country. that we know that undocumented people do commit crimes. some of them heinously. 13% of the people in california state prisons are undocumented we believe. but to go and then say all people are that and to say all people who are coming from these regions are bad, it characterizes them as the other. and that is what has really caused this outcry. >> john, what have you been hearing about how the travel ban is being enforced? there seems to be some confusion about that. >> one of the things that i've heard that is most concerning to civil libertarians is that immigrants who entered the

counsel green cards have been asked -- the country with green cards have been asked by custom enforcement to essentially sign away their right to come to the united states. there are at least two cases that have happened in california that have been documented where this is alleged to have happened. >> what do you mean by that? are they being asked to sign away their permanent residency status, their green cards, and is it happening a lot? >> effectively their green card status, yeah. what's happening is people are going in, they have a green card. the officers are saying, hey, would you mind, and they push this form in front of nepal and said, would you mind signing this. the immigrants don't know what the form is. they're -- this is the allegation, i want to make clear, an allegation at this point. but that the immigrants don't know what the form is. and that they're signing it away. we have gotten a number from government in court on friday. the government said that 100,000 people have had their immigration status revoked in some way. and many of those instances are believed to have happened through this process which i just told you about. >> all right.

john, thank you very much for talking to us from san diego. >> thank you. this sunday, more than 100 million people are expected to watch the 51st super bowl. mixed in with the field goals will be the super bowl commercials. this year's offerings include a pro immigration ad from an iconic american beermaker. as we report, the politically charged ad is just the latest installment in a long and storied history mixing politics and sports. welcome to america. >> go back home. >> the makers of budweiser beer plan to air a pro immigration television ad during the super bowl, jumping into the political fray alongside athletes and coaches. this week, golden state warriors coach steve kerr criticized president trump's executive order to restrict immigration from seven predominantly muslim countries. >> horrible idea. >> kerr knows the pain of terrorism. his father was assassinated in

beirut when kerr was only 18. he now worries the executive order could exacerbate security problems. >> the wrong way to go about it. if anything, we could be breeding anger and terror. >> scriptics of kerr fired -- critics of kerr fired back tweeting that kerr should stay in his lane and stick to sports. i sat down with three people who say sports and politics are inseparable. olympic gold medalist tammy smith. olympic silver medalist danielle slayton. and longtime activist, san jose state professor, harry edwards. >> and what most of the people who say, well, politics really -- you shouldn't bring that -- what they're saying is sit down and shut up. i don't want to hear that. i want to watch my basketball. i don't care what lebron james thinks about killians by police officers in -- killings by police officers in african-american communities. >> we all feel helpless and frustrated by the violence. it's time to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, what are we doing to create change.

>> wnba players don t-shirts honoring black lives matter and slain police officers. 49er colin kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem. all following in a long tradition of political activism. captured powerfully by two medalists at the 1968 mexico city olympics. >> i made a military turn to the right, facing the flag. and the music started -- sent chills through my body. then the next move changed my life. >> smith and teammate john carlos raised their fists to show solidarity with all african-americans. do you remember when you walked out off of the podium, like was it quiet? >> that's when the stands went wild, calling us names. i looked up into the stands, and i saw just nothing but madness, animals. i gave a fist for one last time. raised a fist for one last time. >> it's my job to pick up the torch that these gentlemen started and that the women before plea and men before me

started. >> slayton played with the silver medal winning women's soccer team. she and other female athletes are still fighting to close the massive pay gap between professional men's and women's teams. >> i think it takes the voice of women continuing to ask, demand for rights. but it also takes the support of men around to be able to lend a voice, as well. no right that was given to a woman was decided by a woman. it was decided by a man. >> former nba all-star chris webber acknowledged that male athletes should do more to support women's athletics. >> always marginalized. we have to admit that it's men as a society that do care about women's issues as much as we care about our own, even though they're in the same exact, you know, genre with sports. >> weber made his remarks at the launch of the institute for the study of sports, society, and social change at san jose state university. other speakers included longtime

activists and nba hall of famer kareem abdul-jabbar. >> a lot of young people really admire athletes, and just by being curious about what the athletes that they admire are doing. a lot of young people get -- find their way to social activi activism. >> former san francisco 49er antwan bouldon say athletes understand hardship. >> a lot of our backgrounds are similar. we don't have a lot growing up. we understand what it's like to go without. a lot of guys in the locker room are willing to help but don't understand how powerful the voice it. >> it's clear their voices are powerful. when quarterback colin kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem, high school football teams quickly followed suit. >> this is what i think of you -- >> the repercussions were swift, as well. angry fans burned kaepernick's jersey, calling him unpatriotic.

and longtime activist and nfl hall of famer jim brown faced backlash from the political left when he agreed to meet with president trump. >> i voted for hillary. and everybody knew that. and she lost. we didn't bring out vote for her to be victorious. donald trump became the president of the united states. that seat is very powerful. i am a person that will reach out to the president of the united states, whoever it is, and try to get them to understand what i believe will make great changes in this country. i said, i'm glad you're going in. i said, the other thing is, i want you there when he has his trayvon martin moment. i want you there when he has his mike brown moment. >> edwards says the institute is committed to fostering participation in all points of the political spectrum.

>> even those who say we don't need change, we need a reinstitution of tradition. my disposition would be show it to me. let's get that out. ings that one that i want -- that's one that i want to see debated. >> welcome to st. louis, son -- >> for kqed newsroom, i'm monica lammp. that does it for us. for more of our coverage on line, go to kqed.org/newsroom. i'm thuy vu. thanks for watching.

captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, february 5: is the trump immigration ban destined for supreme court review? differing views on the immigration ban among syrian refugees and immigrants living in pennsylvania. and jeff greenfield on the nation's political climate. next on "pbs newshour weekend." >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. judy and josh weston. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the john and helen glessner family trust-- supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- de