>> it increases spending. it blows a bigger hole in the deficit, and it breaks the work that congress made with the american people, and that's reduce our spending, not increase it. >> as you can imagine, with paul ryan sticking his neck out on this, he has a few choice words for those who oppose it. >> read the deal and get back to me. i -- look, that's just -- i think that's -- people are going to do what they need to do. in the minority, you don't have the burden of governing. >> so in an op-ed today, rubio says it does not tackle jobs, meaning it will be harder for more americans to achieve the american dream. he's not the only who oppose, cruz, paul and lee. there are reports mitch mcconnell is against it as well, and it's rare for him to break from john boehner. boehner got mad yesterday at his briefing, lashing out publicly to conservatives pushing

republicans who oppose the bill. here it is again in case you missed it. >> most major conservative groups have made statements blasting this deal. >> you mean the groups that came out and opposed it before they were sought? >> yes, those groups. are you worried -- >> they're using our members, and they're using the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous. listen, if you're for more deficit reduction, you're for this agreement. meantime, a live look at the senate floor. they've been talking all night and could be forced to stay round the clock until saturday. we'll explain why in a moment. and nbc capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins me now. so these look like certainly major cracks developing within the republican party that are playing out in front of all of us. so what are you hearing on the hill, and is there more to come as more people try to get on the record here between paul ryan and marco rubio? >> reporter: well, the time between now and when they cast a vote later in the day is critical for sort of the wind that will blow in one direction or another. now, some of these critics are

predictably against what's in this package. and as paul ryan explained, there are questions about who's really accountable, and who is less accountable when it comes to having to get something done? so some of the most conservative voices associated with the tea party are in sort of a lame in republican politics where they will be against this, and that was foreseeable. what is more complicated is what happens on the senate side. you're going to have democrats who will support it. there are some republicans who will support it. and we've been watching mitch mcconnell, the republican leader, who in recent big cases has not been making his intentions as known early. instead waiting to see what does the house do, and then he makes his own vote public. and that, we would expect, he's more likely to be against it because of his own politics in kentucky up for re-election. so you can divide this among those who face tough re-elections in 2014. and you can also take a look at the situation speaker boehner

finds himself in where he sees the bruising and the damage to his party after the government shutdown. this, he believes, is a way to keep the government open to roll back some of the sequester cuts that people in both parties did not like even though overall conservatives prefer cuts to spending. so it's one of those cases where depending on how you look at it, you can find something worth grabbing on to and plenty to criticize. so everybody says this is a small deal. but it's also about keeping the government going. and those who are able to criticize it without personal political risk are certainly doing that. thomas? >> kelly, let's go back and take everybody inside what's going on in senate chambers right now. this round-the-clock talk-a-thon over some of the president's judicial nominees. we know harry reid and mitch mcconnell, they've given the indication they want to dig in here. but is it true that this could really keep the senate in town through christmas? >> christmas is on the table, as they say, but not that likely. what's happening right now is that republicans are requiring

the senate to use all of the time that is prescribed under the rules to consider each nominee. they have the option of saying we know these nominees will eventually be confirmed, so let's give back that time. let's move the process along. let's do it more expediently. it's their right not to do that. and really what we're seeing is a form of protest. they don't like that democrats change the rules on how some nominees are confirmed, and so they are forcing the senate to go through a painful process of using the floor time to make speeches and toic ma a point. they could be here this weekend. i think christmas is something that no one wants to repeat. you know, we've done some christmases here in recent years. so harry reid putting that threat out there is hoping to kind of move the wheels along. but for now, it was a sleepless night for senators. they may be back overnight again tonight. and the upside is they are confirming a number of the president's nominees. thomas? >> nbc's kelly o'donnell, thanks so much. appreciate it.

moments ago house democrats weighed in on the budget deal criticizing the lack of provisions for job creation. here's nancy pelosi. >> the republicans, they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity when it comes to job creation. in this bill, in this budget, we could have had, as chris van hollen had suggested, investments in short-term and long-term growth. >> joining me right now, minnesota congressman keith ellison, member of the house financial services committee. sir, it's good to have you here. you released a statement yesterday in part where you say that you strongly oppose a budget deal that asks federal employees to endure another pay cut. it's an economic life line for out-of-work americans. now, the hill quotes your colleague, congressman sandy levin, saying that the exclusion of the employment benefits risks the whole bill and his vote, basically. this morning we have paul ryan saying that they didn't take the request to include unemployment insurance very seriously because it was last minute with no

offsets. and he added that they would entertain a proposal from the president that would then include those offsets. so explain what happens next here. >> well, we're going to have a vote sometime today. and many people are formulating exactly what they want to do. i mean, on the one hand, we don't want to have another shutdown. on the other hand, you know, we have literally over a million americans who risk losing any kind of sustenance who are unemployed through no fault of their own. and historically when the unemployment rate is 7% or above, we have not required an offset for unemployment insurance assistance. so the fact that this is the talking point of the republicans is anhistorical. >> this is supposed to be bipartisan. >> the fact is -- i'm not going to sit here and criticize my colleagues. they did the best they could. they tried hard. but really, it reflects the

valui values of the republican caucus which don't value job creation, don't care about the long-term employer. i'm concerned about the fact that we're going to have trouble attracting top-flight talent to work for the federal government if we keep on attacking these folks' pensions. >> so what kind of deal would you propose, then, if you're willing to try to get republicans to compromise? >> thanks for asking. >> and bring in what would be entitlements -- what would you be willing to give up in exchange? >> well, i think that we -- there's about 4 billion dids in jets and in yachts that cost the federal government through a program called accelerated depreciation. if we ended that program, that would get us two-thirds of the way to making sure that the federal employees don't take that $6 billion hit. if we get with unemployment insurance, there are a number of fossil -- giveaways to the fossil fuel industry including the limited master partnership

giveaway. there's a number of other ones. in fact, senator bernie sanders and i have found $110 billion over ten years worth of giveaway loopholes to the fossil fuel industry. and this is a profitable industry, making record amount of money. and those things might be important. but are they more important than helping the long-term unemployed? are they more important than making sure that we can attract top-flight talent and make sure that federal employees have retirement security? i don't think they are. and so i think that those are the -- that's the direction we should have gone. we've heard republicans say they want to close loopholes. let's start closing them. >> well, we'll see how the voting goes later today. sir, thanks so much. keith ellison, good to have you on. >> thank you. >> thank you. in just a moment, we are going to hear from house speaker john boehner. we'll be watching for his weekly briefing. he always holds those on thursdays. so we'll bring that to you hopefully at the half hour now. joining me, though, to break all this down, the growing gop civil war, karen finney, host of msnbc's "disrupt."

karen, great to see you. we hear the congressman offering that alternative about $4 billion, basically, you know, fees going for the depreciation of planes and yachts and big-budget, big-ticket items for the upper class in the country. >> right. >> it would be nice to think that that money would be brought back into the table. it's probably not going to happen. but if we look at this budget bill, it sort of pulled back the curtain on this gop divide between ryan and his fellow republicans. paul, cruz and rubio, they've all come out against the bill. near all rumored to have these 2016 aspirations. ryan responded to rubio's criticism on "morning joe." take a look. >> well, i just say if you're in the minority, you don't have to pass things. you don't have to govern. we are in the majority here in the house. we're one-third of so-called power structure here in washington. and we think it would be a bad idea to have two government shutdown scenarios in 2014. >> all about the republican brand here, trying to help it. >> yeah. >> obviously they do have the majority in the house.

karen, there's this one -- one republican aide that is calling paul ryan the jesus of our conference. >> okay. >> okay? you got that one. >> okay. >> is this potentially the true second coming of paul ryan on a larger stage who moves to help rebrand himself and enhance his image as more of a moderate, someone that's willing to go the bipartisan mile? >> yeah. well, let me just point out that some conservatives also compared the pope to president obama as a derogatory thing. so there's clearly a lot of religious figures going on here in these analogies. i think for paul ryan, though, it's also a 2016 move. he sounds like he's trying to sound like the guy that sort of can bring people together, create a deal. i mean, he had a lot of language about when you compromise. everybody doesn't get what they want. he's sounding very practical and pragmatic. i wish we would have heard that about ten months ago. we probably wouldn't be in this situation. and it's sort of interesting when you listen to john boehner

in his frustration with the outside groups because i have to tell you, thomas, over the summer when you watched ted cruz and those guys with their, you know, we're going to repeal obama care, and they let them kind of get further and further and further out there with that, i sort of -- when i was watching boehner yesterday, i thought, well, what did you think was going to happen? when you sort of let bad behavior continue, you're going to see it again. and the people that he's dealing with, they don't care about another government shutdown. they don't care about those larger numbers for the brand of the republican party. >> well, again, this is -- you know, it shows where people are concerned about governing and then those that are concerned about obstructing. and as we point out with john boehner, we get this rejection of a compromise from certain people that have things rooted in their ideological views rooted in the tea party. but the same conservative groups that he unleashed on yesterday, politico calls it boehner's pet alligator problem. his houseworks best when it is allowed to work its will.

we look at approval ratings for the tea party, down 7% in the last three years. then we had that ppp poll out in october. i love this one. who do you have a higher opinion of? congress or hemorrhoids? hemorrhoids. >> right. i mean, that's telling you something. >> cockroaches. okay. >> that's telling you something. >> obviously, you know, for people that think highly of hemorrhoids, have at it. >> yeah. >> in comparison, this has to weigh on boehner's mind. and knowing that this is about governing. governing's about getting people into positions of compromise. not about getting elected to be an obstructionist. so where do you think it goes from here? because it seems -- you know, i said yesterday, it looked like someone put fire in boehner's cheerios. and if you sticks on that, that's a good thing. >> it is a good thing, but i think, thomas, the practical reality of it is that once again, nancy pelosi is going to have to come in and save the day because john boehner is simply not going to be able to get enough votes. if anything is going to get passed, he's going to need democratic votes, and the person who has been able consistently

to deliver that, when he can't get it done, has been nancy pelosi. i think we're going to see that pattern again. and i think probably with unemployment insurance, you know, in walking to one former aide, they said, well, generally what happens is, if you don't pass it, people go home, constituents scream. they come back. and then they're willing to pass something on unemployment insurance. now, that's horrible policy-making and horrible for the people who will, a few days after christmas, lose their unemployment benefits. but it sounds like that's where we are in terms of this level of dysfunction. >> msnbc's karen finney. i thought you were going to be here at 30 rock. it's enthusiast. you need to be here. >> okay. i'm going to be there in time, i promise. >> all of you can watch karen's show each saturday and sunday 4:00 p.m. eastern. karen, great to see you. thank you. >> good to see you. so the line language interpreter who caused outrage after his performance at the mandela memorial is speaking out, asking forgiveness and talking about hallucinating. >> i see angels come to the

stadium. and immediately i see angels come to the stadium. i start realizing that the problem is here. >> all right. you're going to hear more for yourself. he still calls himself a sign language champ. so why did he get things so wrong? plus -- >> the second that they run down there, we've got 200 on our backs. >> we terminate the compromise. sploo we cannot do that. >> that was a clip from the new mark wahlberg film "lone survivor" based on a true story. a former congressman will join me in a few minutes. ijts and one year after the shooting at newtown, why is the gun lobby still winning the majority on gun control when a majority of americans support stricter gun laws? i spoke with two relatives of victims. much more straight ahead. avo: the volkswagen "sign then drive" sales event is back. which means it's never been easier to get a new 2014 jetta. it gets an impressive 34 highway mpg and comes with no charge scheduled maintenance.

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if my interpretation was wrong, why it only be established today when this big event at home is here? why was not being established long time ago? >> that was the interpreter who we're hearing from for the first time since he came under global scrutiny for his sign language on tuesday. during his interview with nbc, he claims to be schizophrenic. he says during the memorial he, quote, saw angels coming down into the stadium. he went on to say, quote, there was nothing i could do. i was alone in a very dangerous situation. he also told our reporter that he has been a champion of sign language. questions continue today about how this man was vetted and what kind of security protocols were in place given his proximity to the president and other world dignitaries. nbc's ron allen is in pretoria with the very latest on the investigation. ron.

>> reporter: thomas, there are a lot of questions about how this could have happened and who this man is. he emerged this morning and said that he had had mental health issues. he said that he had spent a year sometime ago at a mental health institution. he described himself as a schizophrenic. he said that at times he had violent outbursts, but he didn't specify and didn't give a lot of detail about that. which raises a lot of questions about how this man could be so close to these world leaders on this huge, important stage. it's unclear whether he has any ability to convey sign language at all, but he has appeared at other events for the anc, the ruling party here. people in the deaf and hearing impaired community are dismissing him as a complete fraud. they say the company that he says he works for, none of them have heard about it. it's just a complete mystery how he could have gotten where he was. and the dangers that this perhaps caused. although in the united states, the white house and the secret service have been saying that they did not think that there was any danger to the president. so while this country tries to mourn the loss of the late president nelson mandela and

participate in the dignified, long farewell, there is this huge distraction. when you watch the event, it's clear that this man is making gestures that don't seem to convey anything. and people here in the deaf community that we've spoken to just dismiss him as a complete fraud. how this could have happened, the government says -- the government that hired him is saying they're investigating. thomas? >> nbc's ron allen reporting in p pretor pretoria. we'll bring you new details when we get them. meantime, in his annual address no p address, russian president vladimir putin on anti-gay laws. his sweeching speech portrayed his country as a defender of conservative value. putin said, quote, such destruction of traditional values from above not only entails negative consequences for society but is also inherently anti-democratic because it is based on abstract notions contrary to the will of the popular majority which doesn't accept change.

meanwhile, american lgbt activist launched a change.org petition calling on international furniture store ikea to stand with them against russia's propaganda law. now, ikea, it's a swedish company that advertises itself as socially progressive. however, according to rusa lgb, they removed a picture of a lesbian couple from its catalog. at last check before this show, it had over 1,000 supporters. immigration reform in congress may be dead for the year. but at least one dreamer is not giving up. straight ahead, i'm going to talk with one woman who just quit her job as an aide to a congresswoman in order to stop her mom from being deported. plus -- >> survival's not about certain death. it's about keeping your head down. >> "12 years a slave" taking seven golden globe nominations, and lee daniels' "the butler" picked up three nods for the

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and if you are pregnant, or plan to be. taken twice daily, xeljanz can reduce the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe ra, even without methotrexate. ask if xeljanz is right for you. the second that they run down there, we've got 200 on our backs. >> till we terminate the compromise. >> we cannot do that. >> i don't care. i care about you. i care about you. i care about you. >> we're not killing kids. not feeling it. >> this is not a vote. we're going to cut them loose, and we're going home. >> roger that, sir. >> that was actor mark wahlberg playing the role of a former navy s.e.a.l. in "lone survivor." he and his four-member navy s.e.a.l.s were engaged in a firefight with the taliban in afghanistan. this failed mission cost the lives of 19 members of the military including all three members of latrell's team leaving him to continue fighting on his own. now, a group of veterans, some of whom knew the men who died on

that mission, had an opportunity to sit in on a special screening in washington, d.c., yesterday. joining me now is patrick murphy who was at yesterday's screening. he's an msnbc contributor and first vet of the iraq war to serve in congress. patrick, what an honor it was to be there. and as an iraq war vet, you certainly have a special connection to so many that wanted to be there to see this film. what was your reaction to it, and how did the fellow vets in that room react to seeing it as well? >> thomas, it was awesome. it was an honor to be there to cover it. and to have those men and women who served our country there, many who served in iraq and afghanistan, as you mentioned, some who knew marcus and those 19 men who were killed that day. it was just so very powerful. and here's some of the reaction, if you want to try and cover it. >> very powerful. very, very hard to watch. it tells a much bigger story than just the years and years of fighting that we've been engaged

in. >> incredibly moving movie. it got the message across to me and my wife. >> very moving. it's so nice to see that. and i know, patrick, you have an upcoming installment this sunday of a new msnbc series called "taking the hill." explain what it's going to be about and what you're hoping to highlight for all of us to learn. >> sure. well, this is army/navy week, thomas. army/navy football game is on saturday, but our show "taking the hill" is sunday from 1:00 to 2:00. we're going to cover part of the game and recap it. and hopefully army wins. but also, we're going to be doing a little profile through the wounded warrior project of a great iraq veteran and her story is so emotional and raw. it's must-see tv. just like "lone survivor" is a must-see movie. as you know, thomas, it's less than 1% of america served in iraq and afghanistan. so it's so important that we cover these stories.

and i appreciate the time today that you're covering. >> no, absolutely. and we will say go, army. and i know for navy fans out there will say go, navy, too. >> you've got to pick a side, thomas. i with a unt it on record. >> i'll pick it after who wins. then i'll say i was for them. former congressman patrick murphy, great to see you. thank you. just that programming note, you can watch "taking the hill" this sunday at 1:00 p.m. on msnbc. we're back after this. as a business owner, i'm constantly putting out fires. so i deserve a small business credit card with amazing rewards. with the spark cash card from capital one,

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on time. well, this weekend marks one year since the shooting at sandy hook elementary school and the deaths of 20 children, 6 staff members, sparked nationwide grief and calls for change. yet one year later, no reforms have been passed. i sat down with two relatives of victims about their efforts, and here's just a small part of that interview. i'll start with you. on the investment that you've made over the last year in seeking positive reform in our country, how has it changed your attitudes toward our political system? >> for me personally, it's created my outlook, just like so many other people, i was completely blind to the whole scope of gun violence until it happened to me, until my mom was murdered in a school, until my entire life was ripped apart. i didn't -- you know, i would see things on the news or, you know, hear about it on the radio. and yeah, you know, that was sad, but it was so easy to just go back to my life.

and now this is my life. and i will dedicate the rest of my life to doing everything within my power to make sure that no one has to feel this way. because it's not fun. and 33 is way too high of a number. >> carla, do you feel the same way about the dedication it takes? because this is a huge investment. not just on your emotions but on the psychology involved, with having to dedicate so much time of your young life to trying to make an improvement to our social contracts with one another. >> before december 14th, i have never seen a gun. i've never had -- i was never a victim to gun violence in my family or anything. and i never thought that it was as bad as it really was in our country. i can remember turning on the news to watch the shooting in

aurora and just to watch the news back over and over again. i would just turn it off. and i could continue my day. and that's, like erica said, we can't do that anymore. this is our life. and unfortunately, more and more people have to deal with the pain of losing someone to gun violence. >> now, "the washington post" wrote how gun control is losing badly. the article shows gun-control advocates only raised 6.5% of what gun rights v s advocates . and when it comes to federal lob lobbying, gun rights lobbyists spent over $12 million last year. gun control groups spent $1 million. we have the founder and editor and chief, msnbc.com political reporter benji sarlon and contributing editor to theroot.com, corey daye. let me start with you. we look at what today's "boston globe" wrote. more than 1500 bills were filed

and while several reliably blue states enact the major reforms, far more states, more than two dozen, passed laws that weakened gun control. many expanded the number of places where concealed weapons are permitted. so corey, why do you think these gun-control efforts have not worked based on the passions and the grief that came out of a situation like newtown? >> well, for one thing, you know, gun-control advocates lack sort of the grass-roots machinery from state to state to make it stick locally so it can bubble up to a national level. but there's also, unfortunately, sort of a racial component here. gun advocates have -- well, excuse me, gun violence has always been attributed at least certainly in the last 20 to 30 years to latinos and african-americans killing themselves in urban areas, and the rest of america is able to have a little bit of a separation because they live in the suburbs or they're white or they have economic advantages so

they don't have to incur this type of violence. they don't live with it. and so there is not this ground swell of support for support. unfortunately, this newtown massacre was the kind of sort of -- the kind of violence that usually you would think would actually galvanize many americans outside of urban areas. and it hasn't happened. so that's a big contributor to it. >> meanwhile, though, as we look where support for gun reform in this country stands, benji, we've got a poll out this week. it sound support for stricter gun control has dropped from 58% in january to 52% this month. so is this the issue of not seeing, as corey was pointing out, that grass-roots organization needed for gun control, gun reform groups that the opposition, that advocates for more wide-sweeping, lesser, you know, lesser accommodating rules have? >> i'd argue it's the dominant issue. right after newtown when i talked to gun rights groups, they said this kind of building

this grass-roots infrastructure was their main priority for the entire year. and they still are far behind when it comes to being able to get their message out. and then much more important, having their members actually write their congressmen, show up to local town halls, show up to small elections that matter a lot with those state laws that you mentioned earlier that are passing much more on the side of gun rights than gun safety. part of the issue is that there's very high support for some gun-control measures like background checks. but because they have a better megaphone with their own supporters, the nra say it's a slippery slope. i don't like stricter gun-control measures. and even though in principle i might agree with that specific law you're proposing, we are just going to go blanket opposition against everything. >> viviana, newtown was supposed to turn the tide, or at least that's what many people thought, turn the tide on gun control, but it turned out to be far from

a sea change on this. and here we come up on the one-year an verniversary. if the shooting death of all these children in our country, and as we look what happened in aurora, colorado, the shooting of the people in the movie theater, and we look at gabby giffords in congress on the corner and little christina dying going to the grocery store, if those won't change minds -- and a congressperson almost being assassinated by going out to meet the public, if that doesn't change minds, what really will? >> well, i think, you know, as we stand today, almost 200 children have been killed since newtown, as you mentioned, thomas. and i don't want to speak with you one more -- you know, in one year and say 200 more children or more have been killed. i'd like to go back to what benji was talking about when it comes to gun safety advocacy and the way they framed the debate. i think it would be very useful going forward, they definitely

have to do a lot more fund-raising so they can counter the gun rights lobby led by the nra. but really, i think it would be effective to frame it as a public health issue. this was very successful with smoking, anti-smoking campaigns and alcohol abuse campaigns. i think another thing, too, going back to the way it's formed, you've got the former president of the nra, thomas, saying we need to get to the city kids and let them know that they can hunt and fish. well, it's totally not about hunting or fishing. it's never been about hunting or fishing. it's about the ability to be safe in schools, in shopping malls, in places of worship. and right now there are such big gaps that not only have to do with background checks, but that have to do with the ability to be able to get semiautomatic weapons, the kind of weaponry that should be used in warfare and not again in malls, in places of worship or certainly in schools, thomas. >> again, as we come up on this one-year anniversary, as you say, i hope we are not here marking the two-year anniversary having these same conversations.

thanks so much. viviana, msnbc.com's benji sarlon and theroots' corey dade. join our conversation on our website. thomasroberts.msnbc.com. we'll be right back. about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems,

serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. mom swaps my snack for a piña colada yoplait. and when mom said i was going out too much, i swapped it for staying in. [ shouts ] guess who's going out tomorrow. [ female announcer ] swap one snack a week for a yoplait. it is so good.

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[ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. so today one immigration dreamer is taking a deeply personal battle to the streets of phoenix. erica quit her job as a congressional staffer to congresswoman kirsten to fight her mom's possible deportation back to mexico. now, she's going to join a news conference outside an immigration customs enforcement office demanding officials grant a stay to her mom and others like her. officials said today that i.c.e. exercises discretion on a case-by-case basis. such decisions are based on the merits of each case. the factual information provided to the agency and the totality of individual circumstances including the nature of any criminal history, their length of presence in the united states, and ties to the community. now, erica's story on how she

helped her mom receive a reprieve for a prior deportation was featured in the documentary "the dream is now." she was even featured on the cover of "time" magazine last year. joining me now is erica, co-founder of the dream action coalition. erica, it's great to have you here. you began working for a local congresswoman to help pass comprehensive immigration reform. and last week when you quit this job to help your mom, congresswoman cinema issued a statement. i want to read part of that. it says arizona families just like erica's are waiting co ini congress to pass reform that secures our borders, keeps families together and grows our economy. arizona has been waiting far too long already. we owe it to our state to pass immigration reform this year. so we've seen other activists, erika holding protests, hunger strikes on the national mall, interrupting the president's speech like the one out on the west coast, also confronting john boehner. still this issue seems to be

going nowhere. and the gop-led house won't even bring it up. how do you hope to accomplish something by leaving your job with congresswoman cinema? >> yeah. i mean, it was definitely a tough decision, but for me, it was a very frustrating time to be working for congress. you know, for me, it's a very personal issue. and the fact that i was in there knowing that my mom was going to return to i.c.e. and possibly be deported was making me very worried because i would see, you know, two parties who were basically playing games on this issue. and not necessarily focusing on coming up with solutions. and just being there, i was able to see that and, you know, i wanted -- i wanted something to get done. not only for, you know, my mother but for so many people that i worked with. i've been an organizer for so many years. and to me it was more powerful for me to actually work with my community. >> right. >> to empower them than being in the halls of congress that don't

really get anything done at this point. >> erika, you certainly have the attention of the white house. and we've seen the president come out and speak to those on the mall over thanksgiving. we've seen vice president biden. he told a group of dreamers, coat, you're not going to have to worry about anything. your parents are not going to have to worry about getting deported. do you believe a statement like that, considering the atmosphere, the gridlock in washington, d.c., that you know all too well? >> you know, i think that we're all fighting for the same thing. we're all fighting for immigration reform, and we've been doing it for years now. but at the same time, for the president, you know, he is right now someone who can actually do so many things administratively to make sure that people like my mother, people who have no criminal record that can actually, you know, be here without being deported. at the same time, they can actually be fighting for something permanent and, you know, something that congress can do. but the fact is that having so many people being deported,

about 2 million people now have been under his administration is just really, for me, makes no sense because, you know, it's been a really tough battle. and if it takes longer and, you know, i hope it's not and we're going to fight for it not to, but it does, we'll have thousands more people being deporlted every single day. that message goes to both, the president and congress. they need to act on this. >> again, this is so personal for you because of what's going on in your own family. i just want you to be able to talk specifically about that because my notes are saying about your mom and her deportation hearing coming up in january. so this is right around the corner. your own status, though, as an undocumented resident is deferred under president obama's 2012 executive order. but tell us what has happened to your mom and what is going to happen in january. how this hearing will go. >> yeah. i mean, you know, as the documentary shows, "the dream is now," i.c.e. actually came to my house the same day that i got the job with congresswoman skir

t kirsten cinema. she was on her way to mexico on a bus. when they returned the bus, thanks to the pressure of the community. we had thousands of signatures that were, you know, sent to the administration and to administration authorities, and we were able to turn the bus around and get her back home. however, this happened only for a year. they gave her a year stay. and that's what usually happens with deportation cases that get halted, you know, on a case-by-case basis. so she has to return to i.c.e. in january. and i.c.e. can -- she doesn't even have to the right to a judge anymore. i.c.e. can definitely just say she's getting deported right now, or they can look at her case again and say this is a person who has ties to the community and, you know, it's a mother. a 55-year-old mother who deserves to be here. and they can let her stay. but it takes a lot. it takes really, like, so much effort for my part, for the part of the community to sign so many petitions. and it shouldn't be like that. not everybody has a right -- the

privilege, i guess, like i have to be able to speak, you know, in the media, to be able to have ties to the community. and i don't want that to happen to people who don't have that access. you know, that's why we're asking the president to take lead on this and make sure that people are not getting deported and we keep fighting for immigration reform. >> erika, we'll keep following your story. thanks for your time. i really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> we're going to be right back after this. ♪ nothing says, "you're my #1 copilot," like a milk-bone biscuit. ♪ say it with milk-bone. congestion, for the smog.

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are you kidding me? listen, you all know me. all right? i say what i mean and i mean what i say. i'm as conservative as anybody around this place. all the things we've done over the three years i've been speaker have not violated any conservative principle, not once. >> that was house speaker john boehner just moments ago talking

about the fallout of the budget deal pushing back against conservative groups who he says pushed them into the government shutdown and then said they never thought it would actually work. those same groups are telling members to vote against the budget, a series of votes on that deal are expected to begin moments from now coming up in the house. we'll keep an eye on that. so the 2014 award season is well under way with a record number of award nominations that have now come out for black film. 12 years a slave one of the two leading the golden globes, while the butler starring oprah winfrey seems to be snubbed. it received several s.a.g. nominations. joining me msnbc contributor and columnist for grio.com. the grio is pointing out on top of the golden globes and on top of the s.a.g. nominations, this has been quite an interesting

year for what we've seen in film. "12 years a slave" the top ten movies of the year. hollywood spectators calling is the year of black irms if. at the same time they achieved blockbuster success, there's more than just black films to talk about here, the success of them. what's your take on a stellar award season for actors and directors. >> first of all, i think it's been an awesome year. for every success you find, every name african-american producer, actor, you'll find hundreds if not thousands more trying to make their way. certainly in hollywood there's a lot more work to be done in terms of including everyone in sort of telling parts of this american story, whether it be in comedy oreg genre. this year we've had success

across the spectrum of genre. i think there's african-american rein sobs, seeing shows like abc's "scandal" huge films like "12 years a slave" come out that are incredibly well done, well funded, well promoted. they have invested from every corner. it has been a several year. >> movies like the butler, the best man holiday, all of the above, take a listen to what tyler perry told the grio about his own upcoming film "madea christmas." >> there's a wave, a crest and it comes down and you go through a low. what i was able to do was maintain through this time. what is happening now is another wave and i'm very excited about that. part of the success i've had is part of that. so is quentin tarantino's

sjengo, "think like a man" started the second wave. >> spike lee chimed in an "entertainment weekly" saying i've been through this every 10 years, this so-called renaissance of black cinema. i'm not excited. there will be a nine-year drought then on the tenth year articles about the same thing. i'm tired of it. what do you make of comments like that? when do we get to a point that we don't have to analyze these as being black films, they are just film. >> that's part of it. "usa today" had a controversial headline that called these race themes. many are not. many are universally themed films. i have to side with tyler perry, he started as a self-funded filmmaker. that is what pushed him through these lulls. as for spike lee, he's faced some other challenges. >> he's making atlanta and east coast hollywood. more power to tyler perry. i appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> that will wrap up for me.

i'll be back tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. next with "now" joy reid filling in. so i knit until it was full. you'd be crazy not to. is that nana? [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. a man who doesn't stand still. but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation -- an irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts jim at a greater risk of stroke. for years, jim's medicine tied him to a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but now, with once-a-day xarelto®, jim's on the move. jim's doctor recommended xarelto®. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. so jim's not tied to that monitoring routine. [ gps ] proceed to the designated route. not today. [ male announcer ] for patients currently well managed on warfarin,

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mark this date on your calendar. the house could actually pass a budget. thursday december 12th, and this is "now." i'm joy reid in for alex wagner. congress may agree on something, very, very small. the house will vote on a two-year budget agreement that is expected to pass with bipartisan support. the plan does little to eliminate status quo eliminating job killing sequester cuts but allowing long-term unemployment benefits to expire for more than a million americans. that has not stopped the internal feud from escalating into an all-out and very publi