benji and i were talking about.y are all in on this issue, you know, these ralryes are a big deal, and, you know, they are keeping -- the pro-reform supporters are keeping up this pressure. they don't want this to go away. when people ask me if it's optimistic, i say you have to be because you look at 1,100 people being deported every day, 400,000 people in detention, the humanitarian crisis on the border, i feel that we have to be optimistic just to make it happen for the sake of all these foot soldiers and young people and activists who are walking the walk and out there trying to make it a reality. >> benji, you wrote a piece about the new bill just this week. tell us a little bit about this. >> so what's happening here is that there has been a lot of movement in the house but little signs of movement on immigration, but it really hasn't produced a full bipartisan bill yet. in fact, there were some bipartisan talks that can collapsed. right now republicans are still figuring out their own plan. to put pressure th

anyway, amanda terkel, cheryl contee and benjy sarlin.re from our panel on this show's website. here it is, listen closely. msnbc.com/thomas-roberts. it's slash then dash, very important. >>> a north carolina republican out of a job this morning after controversial -- it was a controversial comedy central interview, those comments about the state's new voter i.d. law sparking a whole lot of outrage. but is this bigger than just one person's point of view, or does he reveal the real motive behind the laws? we'll dig into that coming up. >>> also, ted cruz is back in iowa. hoping that the same attitude that fueled his popularity surge in texas will translate in the buckeye state. but are iowa voters ready for a serving of lone star tea? >>> lois hollingsworth and courtney own stores on main street in east greenwich, rhode island. they and other small business owners in town ar transacting customers for small business saturday, with special offers, extended hours and live product demos. for more on getting customers to shop small, watch "you

one of the republicans who plans to lobby for immigration reform in washington tomorrow told msnbc's benjien, "finding a politician who's one on the i was for it before i was against it tragedy." to use the recurring metaphor, today's news is the part of the episode where rubio tries to put the bottle back on the table after having taken a sip. the problem is that everyone saw what he did. joining me now is morella praeli who is the direct of advocacy and policy for the united we dream network. as an activist, you have worked in opposition to and with marco rubio. you've met with him. you've come on my show before, defended him and his integrity and good faith. how are you feeling in reaction to the news today? >> i guess the first words that come to mind, chris, are irresponsible and cowardly. not how i'm feeling, but really the perspective we currently hold of senator rubio after his back-and-forth on immigration. i mean, talk about working on something for months, coming to an agreement, taking a vote for it, and then completely saying no, house republicans, you should just ignore this