06/18/12 06/18/12 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> this morning, secretary of lead time of announced in actions the ministration will take to amend our nation's immigration policy to make it more fair, more efficient, and more just. specifically for certain people sometimes called dreamer's pretty quick after years of protests by dream act of this, the obama administration announced hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants were

brought into the country as children and will be able to avoid deportation. at least for now. >> i am and undocumented immigrant from nigeria. >> i am from mexico critics peru. >> i am jose antonio vargas. >> we will speak with jose antonio vargas, pulitzer prize- winning journalist who came out as an undocumented american in the pages of "new york times." dream act activist lorella praeli from peru came to the u.s. to receive medical treatment as a young child. thousands hold a silent father's day march to protest the new york police department's stop and frisk policy. last year, officers made nearly 700,000 stops, overcoming the of young black and latino men. >> the fact is, 88% of the people they stopped were not

committing a crime. so how is it safer? the net result is, you have more innocent people harassed. >> we'll hear from the reverend al sharpton, naacp president benjamin dallas, and victims of stop and frisk. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president obama has issued an executive order that stop the deportations of some undocumented youth. immigrants who meet certain requirements will not be deported if it were brought to the u.s. before they turned 16 and are younger than 30. they must have lived in the country for at least five continuous years, have no currencrummel, have served in the military or earned a high- school diploma or ged. announcing the move friday,

president obama stressed his plan does not amount to amnesty. >> these are young people who study in our schools, play in our neighborhoods, friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. they are americans in their hearts, their minds, and every single wake up one -- on paper. let's be clear. this is not amnesty. this is not immunity. this is not a path to citizenship. it is not a permanent fix. this is a temporary stopgap measure. >> more than 800,000 current and former students could now be immune from deportation. president obama's decision bypasses congress and partially achieves the goals of the dream act, which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented youth. the white house ship him after undocumented activists occupied four obama campaign offices around the country earlier in

the week. more on the story after the headlines. a separate controversy grew out of obama's remarks on immigration and was repeatedly interrupted by a reporter with the right-wing news site the daily caller. >> it lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people it is the right thing to do. >> [unintelligible] >> excuse me, sir. it is not time for questions critics the tips muslim brotherhood has declared victory in the country's landmark presidential elections. the group says its candidate, morsi, beat out former egyptian prime minister ahmed shafiq by close to 1 million votes in the weekend's presidential runoff. shafiq's campaign has refused to concede defeat and says it will await final results due later this week. turnout was lower than in the first round of voting, with the wrong party% of the 51 million

eligible voters taking part. -- with 46% of egypt's 51 million eligible voters taking part. on sunday, the council threw the country into further disarray after releasing new guidelines that will severely limit presidential authority while shoring up its own powers. the move hands all legislative responsibilities to the council until a new parliament is formed. but the new parliament can only happen after the drafting of a new egyptian constitution -- a process that could take months. greece's pro bailout new democracy party has narrowly won the country's parliamentary elections. new democracy edged out the anti bailout syriza party on sunday by less than 3%. the election was seen as a critical referendum on an unpopular agreement that would hand greece a $164 billion -- one under $64 billion bailout in return for crippling austerity.

the bill but rejection would likely have prompted greece's's exit from the eurozone. the head of the new democracy party said he will form a coalition government that fulfills the bailout terms. >> today the greek people expressed their will to stay anchored with the euro, remain an integral part of the eurozone, honor the country's commitments, and foster growth. this is a victory for all europe. i call upon all political parties that share those objectives to join forces and form a stable, new government. crux the second place, and about syriza party, has ruled out joining any coalition that agrees to uphold the austerity deal. syriza party leader said the

razor thin election victory will embolden his party to mobilize bailout opposition in the streets. >> the government that will be formed with new democracy at its according to sears to take into consideration that on big issues, it can no longer proceed as previous government had done. it cannot proceed on a policy which has been proven to be incomplete this harmony with the public's will >> thousands of protesters marched in mexico city over the weekend to protest the g-20 summit beginning today in los cabos. a protester from spain's indignado movement said the anti austerity struggle is worldwide. >> it is a matter of resistance to the politics of neoliberalism, the imf, the g- 20, the european union and are on spanish government and other governments of the world, such as the one we're protesting

today. >> the u.n. monitoring mission in syria has suspended its operations, saying growing violence is threatening its safety. the mission's chief said the suspension could be lifted if conditions improve. >> in this high-risk situation, suspending its operations, u.n. observers will not be conducting patrols but will stay in their locations until further notice. engagement with the parties will be restricted. this suspension will be reviewed on a daily basis. operations will resume when we see the situation fit for us to carry out our activities. >> the washington post has revealed a recent taliban attack on afghanistan was far worse for the u.s. led occupation force than initially reported.

the u.s. claimed it had suffered no casualties and successfully in emission in khost. but it is reported that there were casualties. another three dozen trips were seriously wounded while another 100 retreated for minor injuries. the u.s. statement the time omitted mention of the deaths and the truck bomb. and france, the party of newly elected president francois hollande has won a parliamentary majority in the sector round of legislative elections. his socialist emerged with a decisive advantage after running on a platform critical of european wide austerity measures. there will control both houses of parliament for the first time in french history. the burmese pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi visited nororwy over the weekend to collect the nobel peace prize she was awarded while leading the struggle against the military junta 21 years ago. aung san suu kyi spent 15 years under house arrest and never

left burma when she could have out of fear of being barred from returning. she was recently elected to parliament and allowed to travel abroad as part of the ruling junta's efforts to ease its global isolation. in her remarks, aung san suu kyi said the nobel prize award had expanded global solidarity for the burmese people. >> as the days and months went by and news of reactions to the award came over the airwaves, i began to understand the significance of the nobel prize. it had made me real once again. it had drawn me back into the wider human community. and what is more important, the nobel prize had drawn the attention of the world to the struggle for democracy and human rights in burma. receiving the nobel peace prize means personally extending my concern for democracy and human rights beyond national borders.

the nobel peace prize opened up a door in my heart. >> thousands of people held a silent march in new york city sunday to protest the new york city police department's controversial stop and the risk policies. the search initiative has drawn accusations of an unconstitutional and primarily targeting people of color. organized by the naacp, it proceeded down fifth avenue from harlem to the home of their michael bloomberg on the upper east side. eight people were arrested at the end of the march after a large group protesters remained in the streets. war on the stop and frisk marched later in the broadcast. new figures show the median pay for the country's top corporate executives increased at nearly double the rate of the average worker. according to the "new york times," the top 200 ceo's made an average $14.5 million, a 5% increase over 2010. workers saw a pay increase of just 2.8%.

ceo pay has outgrown worker pay more than 120 side and times faster the last three decades. -- more than 127 times faster than the last three decades. an employee of a public relations firm tied to the corporate giant walmart has been found to opposed as a reporter at a news conference about portable conditions at major retailers. stephanie harnett, a publicist for the company mercury communications, clams was a student journalist when she attended a media briefing on a recent reporting highlighting the practices of companies like walmart. at the news conference, she approached at least two workers and got them to reveal details of affirmation about themselves under the guise she is interested in reporting their story. her employer, mercury communications, claims neither it nor wal mart authorized her stunt.

a group of women lawmakers in michigan are gathering at the state capitol today to protest a ban on two of their members for using the word vagina. michigan state lawmaker lisa brown, a democrat, took to the house floor last week to voice opposition to the state's recent anti-abortion law. she ended her remarks by saying -- brown and another female colleague who sided with her repeatedly banned from speaking by the republican-led chamber. in response, the women lawmakers said it will perform a version of "regina monologues" on the capitol steps today along with the play's author and local actresses. rodney king, the l.a. motorist whose brutal beating by local police led to the city's 1992 riots, has died at the age of 47. he became a symbol of police brutality against people of color, particularly african- americans, when a witness videotaped four police officers beating and tasering him as he

lay helpless on the ground. the officers' subsequent acquittal sparked the l.a. riots 20 years ago. as the unrest raged to the streets, rodney king issued a famous appeal for calm. >> people, i just want to say, you know, can we all get along? can we get along? >> the l.a. riots' 20th anniversary was observed in april. at a recent event, rodney king discussed how he would hope to be remembered. >> can we all get along? it is simple. why can we all along? -- y can't we all get along? i am in a bad situation, but let me think this outbreak in know what i mean? limit think how i'm going to go about doing this -- let me think how i'm going to all go about doing this but that is how i

would like to remember. >> rodney king has died at the age of 47. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. in a major policy move, president obama announced friday that his administration will stop deporting hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth whose parents brought them to the united states. the news came a day after undocumented activists occupied four obama campaign offices around the country earlier in the week. now more than 800,000 current and former students are immune from deportation, at least for now. president obama spoke friday about his executive order. >> these are young people who study in our schools, play in our neighborhoods, friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. they are americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one -- on paper.

let's be clear. this is not amnesty. this is not immunity. this is not a path to citizenship. it is not a permanent fix. this is a temporary stopgap measure. >> obama's decision bypasses congress and partially achieves the goals of the dream act, which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented youth. under the administration's plan, immigrants who meet certain requirements will not be deported if they were brought to the u.s. before the turn 16 and younger than 30. they must have lived in the country for a least five continuous years, had no criminal history, and graduated from u.s. high school or earned a ged or served in the military. those deemed eligible will be able to apply for a work permit good for two years with no limits on how many times it can be renewed. many immigrants walken the news like justino mora.

>> it is excellent news. it brings a lot of happiness for a lot of immigrant families who desire to continue their education and want to contribute to the economy and communities. they want to search for the opportunity to move forward with their studies. this is a step in the right direction. legalize people who live in this country without documents. we want to tell president obama that we are happy, but he needs to continue to implement federal laws. >> for more on president obama, where drum up one of the key lawmakers dealing with immigration reform today, congressmember luis gutierrez, democrat of illinois, chair of the immigration task force of the congressional hispanic caucus. he joins us on the phone from chicago. luis gutierrez, your reaction?

is ansay i'm delighted understatement. 800,000 young people, and approximately two months, will be able to affirmatively gain access to a program, that is to set up till now, under the discretionary memorandum issued by president obama and his administration previously, if he were a dreamer, you had to be caught by immigration control and enforcement, then you could appeal for discretion, and indeed, but let's be clear, and the immense majority of the cases, your granted relief, that is, you're not deported. the part of the process was already in place. we kept saying we needed and affirmative program, that is where young people who qualify for the dream act can go to a government office and say, i got here before i was 16, came as a child, graduated from high school and want to go to

college. i got my ged. i want to serve in the armed forces. i would like a work permit. i want you to stop my deportation until the congress passes it. juan is absolutely right this did go through the legislative process. that is only to a certain degree. let's remember, we lead the fight in november 2010 and pass the dream act in the house. we got femic -- 51 democratic senators and four republicans the next month, but it was not enough. if you look what obama is doing is a reflection of the stated will of both the house and the senate, and indeed, the majority of the people who live in the united states of america. >> luis gutierrez, in terms of what the president decided to do this at this time, your sense of the pressures on him? i know you have been advocating

greater use of his executive authority now for a couple of years, but obviously, there were the dreamer's themselves protesting at obama campaign offices and there was the whole issue of marco rubio, republican, senator from florida, beginning to try to craft his own form of some kind of relief for the dreamers. do you think all of these things combined led him to do it now or something else? >> success has many fathers or parents. this is a wonderful opportunity for us to say, "ok, let's bring those people together and get the job done." look, the young activist students, undocumented, did a wonderful job with creativity and should be applauded. i know what senator durbin dead. i know senator bob menendez did.

i know the immense pressure they put on this administration and the risk they take. i am really proud to be a member of the hispanic congressional caucus on friday. you know what? when we could not pass the dream act, there were five senators who would not vote for closure back in december 2010, we went to see the president a couple of days before christmas in 2010. we said, we need to do something from an executive level. the president agreed to do that. we had to take on our own president of our own party. he is the leader, right? we have to push our leader and push him hard to get this done. i am really, really delighted. each and every time we kept going back -- and we did it quietly, but we did it and the consecutive manner so -- look, it is a great victory for many people, but i want to put

everything into a little perspective. this is the barack obama we voted for. we are happy he is our leader and our champion. we want to continue to work with them. we double our efforts so we can expand relief and we can expand justice. 800,000 is a little less than 10% of the undocumented community. during the last four years, over a quarter of a million american citizen children have lost their parents do to deportation. not -- we need to continue to look for ways in which -- it was a great victory last friday, but we need to understand -- i'm going to meet this morning for the lgbt and we will talk about immigration policy and how it is we keep those families together. a great victory, a great beginning. wonderful students. their activism has been

rewarded. been rewarded. the democratic party is beginning to reflect the values and traditions given the actions of the president. bollenbach, it is a great -- look, senator rubio, when he brought the proposal ford, there were two reactions. there was that right reaction, who is this guy who campaigned that this was amnesty and they should sell support and said, we should not vote for the dream act? i said, he is coming with a new idea. let's sit down and discuss it with him. i hope that now senator rubio will say, you know, good newmovn the part of the president. that is not what he said. i find it a little ironic that someone who proposes legislation to stop the deportation of young dream students does not say, "thank you very much. now you're going to give me the

opportunity to work toward a permanent solution while i know that none of them are being deported." i think you'll have to say -- from a political point of view, great. but from my point of view, this is good. it gives clearly contrasting, mitt romney says all immigrants should self support. he said he would veto the dream act if it came to his desk. he says that arizona and 1070 should be the model for the nation. you just suppose that to some is said, "you know what? i am one use the power presidency to take a group of people and take executive action so they're not deported, not hurt, until the congress does their job." they asked romney several times yesterday on the news stations, what do you think? would you as president continue this very action the president has taken on friday? he would not say yes.

it is really clear there are people who want to play games with the emigration issue. and the president obama has done is basically, "ok, here's something i have done. tell me what you do differently." i think that gives our immigrant community and opportunity to be able to judge better. this is the present we elected. i cannot tell you how happy i am. what is interesting, and about 60 days, more than 800,000 undocumented immigrants, some of them 29 years of age, are able to go to a government office -- what you will see are tens of thousands of people in lines. for me, it will be tens of thousands of people applying for a work permit and being safe in america is like the best example of democracy. all right? it is like saying, come on down

and we will give you the kind of government documentation that will free you from the fear you live in. it will allow you to go out there and work and get a driver's license and continue on with your life. the legislative branch of government. i think that is justice and that is democracy. i cannot wait to see those lines. i will be there making sure all the documents are filled out appropriately. >> congressmember luis gutierrez, to do for being with us, speaking to us from his district in chicago. when we come back, we will speak to two dream act activists. one will benefit by president obama announcement and another, well, he is just over the age limit that he came out in the pages of "the new york times calls good as what he called an undocumented american -- "new york times" as what he calls an undocumented american. ♪ [music break]

>> "nuestro himno" an interpretation of the star spangled banner. qassam was released at the 20, 2006, just three days before the historic immigrant marches on may day of 2006. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> to talk more about president obama's announcement, we're joined by two guests. lorella praeli is a member of the united we dream national coordinating committee as an undocumented american living in new haven, connecticut, fought for passage of the state's dream act. the bill was signed into law last year, making undocumented students a laudable for in-state tuition at state colleges. lorella praeli is a 2011 graduate of quinnipiac university, which she attended

on a scholarship. >> also with us, jose antonio vargas prize-winning journalist, famously came out of the shadows last june in the new york times magazine with his story called, "my life as an undocumented immigrant." is this report is on the cover of this week's "time" magazine -- "we are americans -- just not legally." jose antonio vargas is on the cover in a dramatic photograph along with 35 other undocumented americans "time" brought in from across the country, including lorella praeli. we welcome you both to "democracy now!" jose antonio vargas, you will not benefit by president obama's decision. yourself personally will not be a ticket on one of those lines that congress member the terrorist described -- will not be able to get in on one of those lines that congress member luis gutierrez manchin. >> on friday, i was mentioning

it was the first day i felt a little older when i found out about the age limit. but, in retrospect, if you think about the fact, we'll have upwards of 800,000 young people who will be able to be able to practice and use the skills they have, the education they have. i could not be any more thrilled by that. >> lorella praeli, you will personally benefit, not the to both will benefit in different ways. talk about how you ended up in the united states from peru. >> i had a car accident when i was 2 years old which involve the amputation of my right leg. my family and i sought treatment at shriners hospital. for many years we spent time between peru and tampa, florida, which is where the hospital is. when i was 10, my family decided to move to connecticut. that is how i ended up here.

>> they state -- overstayed a visa? >> we had a visa. we are be set overstayers as people would call it. i did not know i was undocumented until the end of my high school career, applying to college. i had always been told we were here because of medical reasons, here to get treatment, so we are fine. that narrative does not suffice anymore when you are planned to schools. you need a social security number. that is my introduction to what being undocumented really meant. back then, feeling very isolated -- i think along with his victory that has come on friday, it is what it means to be undocumented now versus to what it used to maine. >> in terms of your

expectations, have been involved in activism for quite a while, were you surprised by this decision on friday? >> i think i was happy. surprised and that i think it came quickly, but i think we have designed a very sophisticated strategy. in internal and external strategy. maybe people were working with us to make sure it this happened. i think happy because one of my good friends was always saying, we are so used to losing. the dream act comes up for a vote in 2007, 2010. you know, people do not move on and. they do not pushing enough for it. america is ready for this, the dream act. america is ready for comprehensive immigration reform. i think jose has done a lot to open up the conversation. >> jose antonio vargas, tell us

about your story. >> i came here, my mother wanted to give me a better life so she sent me to live with my grandparents in california. >> you come from the philippines. >> yes, when i was 12. i thought everything was fine. four years later went to get my driver's permit. that is when i showed the woman the green carpet and she turned around and said it was fake. she said i should not come back again. i went home and confronted my grandfather. both of my grandparents are naturalized american citizens, so he assumed everything was fine. this was around the pete wilson era in california. whenever you hear the word "alito," you just bought mexican. a member thinking, i'm filipino, not mexican. maybe she thought i was mexican and made a mistake. my grandfather said, what are

you doing showing that two people? you're not supposed to be here. this was way before the dream act. this was a year before the dream act was introduced. if it were not for my high school principal, superintendent, my teachers who made sure that i got a scholarship to go to college, if it wasn't for the kinds of american citizens, i would not have been able to survive. >> mechanics plant actually what they did starting with your music teacher? >> my choir teacher was the first adult i told, the first american citizen i told. it is because she wanted the choir to go to japan. i did tell her i could not go to japan because i did not have the right passport. i remember her saying, like, we will get the right passport. i said, you cannot get me the right passport.

she said, what do you mean? the next day without even telling me about it, she changed the plan from going to japan to hawaii. she did not tell anyone. she did not think she was allowed to. around senior year when every kid was applying for school, everyone was wondering -- i was one of those kids that did everything in school. >> you on the spelling bee. >> yes, and ran the school paper. as my principal says, i was the dirty little secret they were trying to figure out what to do with. i can only imagine what other secrets of undocumented students are all around the country right now, figuring this out. >> you go later on to a career in journalism and "washington post." what is it like there, who is covering all sorts of emigration stories, and you are a they're

holding the secret? >> i get there in 2004. the washington post building is about three blocks from the white house. i remember the immigration rallies happening at in 2006. as a reporter, everybody wanted to be a part of the story. there is not a lot of latino sounding names of the washington post. i was like, let me get away from that story as fast as i possibly could. i thought, let me write about video games. i cannot write about this. a year before that, i felt like the word "illegal" was tattooed to my forehead. i remember telling the editor peter pearl. it was father's day yesterday, he was one of the people i had to say happy father's day to on facebook. here i was worried. i kept thinking, i am taking someone else's pie.

the guilt i felt about it, thinking someone else was going to find out. i trusted this man, told him britt i expected him to report me. i thought the next thing was he was going to call don gramm and say, we have to figure this out. we're sitting at the park and he says, published the first thing he said is, you make more sense now. i guess i was so eager to prove myself. the second thing is, this is our shared problem so don't tell anybody else. can imagine how many peter pearls are out there on the country during that exact same thing for undocumented people just because they know the system does not make sense? >> and if the bill had been passed, he would have been arrested. >> exactly. this is part of the story. how do we find the teachers and workers out there?

>> your underground railroad of support you describe, then go on to win the pulitzer prize for covering the virginia tech shooting. >> i was part of 18. -- of a team. i remember thinking, my grandmother called me with the filipino press at her door and said, congratulations. what are you going to do when you find out? it got more and more surreal. my career into that -- and it up -- and it up profiling mark zuckerberg for "the new yorker." i told him that in some ways, it snapped me out of this. i remember taking a one hour walk near his office for the profile. casually turned and said, where are you from, jose?

i could easily has said mountain view, which was the truth, sort of i've always wanted to write for "the new yorker." it was part of my dream. every dream i had as a journalist was coming true. i could not go to a friend's wedding in mexico. the lies kept getting bigger. watching these four activists from miami walk from miami to washington, d.c. to fight for the dream act, the trail of dreams, i felt like a coward. i felt accountable. that is when i decided, you know what? i got to do this. my career could not keep going without confronting this. that is why i decided to do it. >> and the impact of all of the dreamers, as you say you found a community where you no longer felt isolated. what kind of impact do you think the protests, the sit ins have had, the people coming out on

this final decision of the obama administration? >> a defining -- i almost feel like i do not have words to describe it, because this country is changed so much since i have gotten involved. i was one of those people watching everything through the computer, and really battling. there is this internal tension that comes about, do i come out or not? am i a coward if i do not restrict i am scared of getting deported if i do. i saw that people were doing it. i began to question why i was not ready to take that step. i went back to the underground railroad people. i said, this is something i need to do. at first my prof sean duffy who has played a very important role in my life, my biggest advocate on and off campus, he said, don't.

i am scared, i'm nervous. i learned more and people were pushing me more. i decided -- he was supporting me and i had a whole community really standing behind me. i felt like i could take this step. but i think our stories, our actions, our conversations, the timepiece, jose coming out last year the would-just one year ago. the dreamers who walked from florida to d.c., it has all changed. they have shown as -- just by living their lives, dedicating themselves to this issue into raising awareness and have in the uncomfortable conversations. it is not easy to come out and say, "i am undocumented." you're still trying to figure out what this means for you,

what the new identity will mean. that all paved the road to get to where we are. >> so how did you do it? what i did not know i was coming out the day i did so. it was a very public setting. i had been invited to kentucky for the united we dream meeting. the national coordinator has said, you can, if only promise to go back to connecticut and do something. i was like, ok, that sounds great. i will go. i went and i saw 200 dreamer's meeting in one space, figuring out strategy. i was like, gosh. at that place, i remember -- someone was doing youtube videos about, my name is blah blah and an undocumented. i did it i went inside and found him and said, i need you to

delete it. i need you to not put it up. i think a month after that, we held in the event, the new haven connecticut, the mayor kind of knew about my story, and there were announcing southern connecticut state university. they said, i got a call from the mayor's office asking to come to the press conference provided not know what that meant. i'm like, sure. this is great. new haven promise gives a full ride his students to meet the criteria, regardless of status, to the state university. i'm like, this is great, a small victory for the state of connecticut. i get there and they're going to the speakers and they say, you will go before this person and after this person to share your story. i was like, ok. that was the moment for me. i did not have anything prepare. i got up and said something like "i am done standing in the sidelines." that was my coming out very

publicly. i think that changed my life for the better. >> interestingly, he met with senator marco rubio -- you met with senator marco rubio. this was the plan that he could afford, the plan that president obama announced on friday. first thing he said about this on friday, on the campaign trail in ohio, talking about the economy, but then he said, this is just temporary. and the next president could reverse it, he said. that left it it would be mitt romney to be reversing it. but he is considering market review as a vice presidential candidate. what did rubio say to you? >> when we were talking about his version and act would provide relief -- i do not want rubiol a threait the market

dream act. the rubio did something to open up the political space. that is not giving him credit, just acknowledging that he was one of the players that, pushed for this to happen or allow us to push for this to happen. we have not gone back. we had a meeting with senator rubio one day. we found out late thursday this was happening. this happen on friday. i do not know how he is feeling. what i would say is that i would find it incredibly difficult politically for anyone to come into any future president of the united states if we have not moved in a congressional front on this to say, i'm just going to take this away from people. i think we have shown america the contributions we have made. we are americans in every sense of the word except for we are not legal.

we are one to be able to continue in a very different way to contribute now being able to enter the job market. it would be very difficult for some to say, i'm just going to take 800,000 people's work permits. >> where does the movement go from here? one comprehensive immigration reform obviously is not on the table with this. we don't know what will happen after november. but it will continue to be a huge battle. how do these now 800,000 people to on the one hand on thave agree statice, but cannot and get involved -- and one hand have legal status, but cannot get involved for fear of endangering the new-found status. where does the movement go? >> it was interesting watching the republican party trip and circle their way around this.

what we're seeing now is we have a new normal. we have a new normal when it comes to immigration reform in this country, right? mitt romney is talking about, let's look for a permanent solution. this is the same at ronnie who was just talking about self the application like a month and a lifetime ago -- this is the same mitt romney who was just talking about self depredation like a month and a lifetime ago. we have talked far too long about the problem and not long enough about the solutions. there is this space. i remember walking out of "time" magazine looking at that cover. last year when "new york times" ran might as say, the outline was "outlaw." we went from that to "we are

americans -- just not legally" in a year. >> it is so interesting this coming out terminology. in fact, you also did just that in high school, something he considered a much less minor revelation in terms of repercussions. explain. >> after watching the wonderful harvey milk documentary, when he talked about if i died every bullet should into my brain, let it crashed through a closet door something along those lines. i was sitting there in school, raised my hand and told my class. i had not even told my girlfriend she found out in 3rd period. that was my first coming out pretty >> what did you say? what i told the class, blah blah blah and i am gay. i ran out of the class. >> an year grandparents?

>> they were terrified. their plan was i would marry an american and would get a green card crib that plan with out the window. what is most interesting, coming out has always been associated with the gay-rights movement. now i have a whole new generation of activists that took that word and to paraphrase an concept and look at it in a very life affirming, positive way. i think, by the way, that is in itself historic. i think gay activists, especially the older gay activists, should be very proud. >> i think we have to stop for a second and acknowledge what kind of a victory this is. this will redefine rights in this country. we are taking the lead. i think we are unstoppable.

i think our job, our responsibility to jose, commit to the adults, is to continue that work, to really empower the adult population in this country. there are 11.2 undocumented -- there are 11.2 million undocumented immigrants. to get 11 million people to share their story in a public way, and their allies, and their friends but i wrote a blog and said before we talk about failures and successes, let's talk about how we are human. people do not even know their undocumented and they have a very natural interaction. we're not less than human, we are not superhuman. i think that is what america is beginning to embrace. i do not call myself an illegal immigrant. i go into latino communities and they -- i say, to you understand what you are internalizing when

you say that? we're pushing for undocumented americans americans in every sense of the word. i think america is ready for that. they have shown that on friday. they show that today, they show it every day in the small interactions that do not get covered. >> thank you both for being with us, lorella praeli, united we dream is headed off to yale law school today to do some training the people they're working with the yale law clinic. jose antonio vargas, a founder of "to find america" prize- winning journalist. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, stop stop and frisk. that was the demand of many who marched in new york on father's day. ♪ [music break] ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> dozens of people to to the streets sunday to protest the new york city police department's controversial stop and frisk policies. organized by the naacp, and mark the second time the organization is held a silent march. the last time was in 1917 to protest lynching.

the new york police officers stopped and interrogated people nearly 700,000 times last year. nine out of 10 were not arrested or ticketed. according to the new york civil liberties union, about 87% of those stopped were black or latino. in all, there were more stops of young african-american men than that total of population of that group in the city. >> this massive march that went from harlem to outside mayor bloomberg's home. i spoke to many including donna lieberman of the new york city liberties union and benjamin jealous prick but first, out to sharpton. >> the fact is, the mayor has not confiscated any more guns than 2003. 80% of the people they stopped weren't not committing crimes. so how is it safer? the net result is, in a more innocent people harassed and

you're not collecting more guns. why have a negative if you can sit down with the kennedy, sit down with the policy makers like the new york city civil liberties union and come up with a policy that does not say, check your support rights and liberties at the door to fight against crime? we want to fight crime critics what legislation do you want to see past? >> we want the passage by the city council of the committee justice act. we want an independent inspector general for the nypd. every agency in this country in every other police department in the nation has an independent inspector general except the nypd. it is clear what happens when you do not have accountability. they're out of control. >> do think president obama should issue an executive order? >> this mayor can shut it down

right now. we were here in 1999 when their 80,000 stop and frisk. this year there on pace for 800,000 stop and frisk. it will take this mayor, it will take the head of the nypd -- i'm sorry, this is my first press conference with my daughter playing with my hair. what is real is this does not take the president. the mayor can do it. the chief can do it. >> we do intend to go to the justice department that has already been one meeting. we tend to press this with eric holder. if we have to go to the federal government, we will. but wouldn't it be sad that we have to take new york city government to the justice department like these to do in the deep south?

we would hope the mayor would not force that, but we're willing to do it. >> how does the police killing of ramarley graham's have to do with this? >> is started with stop and frisk. his parents are with us today. it was a stop and frisk that went bad. the dangers, the risks are not worth a program that does not really cut down on violence. a >> tomorrow, we will bring you the story of ramarley graham. at the end of the march and from the mayor bloomberg some on the upper east side, one of the wealthiest areas of the u.s., i spoke with some of the young people on the march. paula been subjected to stop and frisk. >> we are here from 1199, representing our workers. >> what is your name? >> jason morales. >> have you ever been stopped? >> plenty of times. more than 20 times in brooklyn,

new york. >> were you arrested? >> not one time. >> why we stopped? >> i am assuming because the color of my skin. as a teenager, that is all i experienced. >> i see a tattoo that is a picture of the statue of liberty. >> it is supposed to represent liberty. unfortunately, walking down the street, i guess not. it makes me question how well i am to the nypd. >> why do they say they're stopping you? what they got a call, a description that a latina just rob somebody. >> how does it make you feel? >> angry, frustrated. that is why we're here. >> what is your name? >> joseph norris. >> have you ever been stopped? >> numerous times. if i had to give a number, i was a close to 30. >> have you been arrested?

>> no >> were we stopped? >> and brooklyn. >> what did the police say? >> usually there is no reason given the majority of the times. they claim there is a criminal activity. >> how does make you feel? >> more than frustrated. the first few times to go with the flow. after that, you feel frustrated. >> some young victims of stop and frisk. we will continue those who marched in the streets, telling their stories tomorrow as well as telling the story of a young man named ramarley graham, 18 years old, killed by police in his home in the bronx. the police officer who was involved with that killing was just charged with manslaughter. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]