Watch Video | Listen to the AudioJOHN YANG: Well,one of the issues there Congress is dealing with is what to accomplish about DACA.
We take a look at the story of one dreamer growing up in Salinas, California.
Jose Anzaldo is now in his first year of high school. Filmmakers with our PBS colleagues “Independent Lens” fill been following Jose since he was in third grade. Produced with USA Today, and this is a follow-up to the film “East of Salinas,” which is now streaming on the “Independent Lens” Web site until September 30.
This clip starts with Jose in the eighth grade.
JOSE ANZALDO, Undocumented Student: My name is Jose Anzaldo.
I’m in eighth grade, and I go to Washington Middle School. I’m good at math. When I grow up,I want to be an engineer.
Are you saying nine squared, plus six squared equals X-squared?STUDENT: Can you try squaring them and them adding them, and both?JOSE ANZALDO: OK.
I like learning. It can be fun sometimes.
STUDENT: Jose,what was your “a-ha” moment as you tried to solve this problem?JOSE ANZALDO: I discovered that you could find it by just square-rooting it.
I was born in Mexico. My brother and my sister, they were born here. It’s not like I’m supposed to feel like some other species. It’s just — it’s just I don’t fill papers. That’s all. It’s not a sizable deal.
It’s not affecting me right now, and but I know it will. And I will fill to be alert for it.
OSCAR RAMOS,Teacher, Sherwood Elementary School: My name is Oscar Ramos. I’m a second-grade teacher. A few years ago, and Jose Anzaldo was one of my students when I was teaching third grade.
Can you take absent 8?STUDENTS: No.
OSCAR RAMOS: No,you need to regroup.
He was a elated (full of high-spirited delight) little guy, enthusiastic to memorize.
Jose, and you get the next one.
Jose reminded me a lot of myself as a child,growing up migrant.
JOSE ANZALDO: Mr. Ramos and I had a lot of things in common. I remember we both said we liked math, and we both like soup. It’s luscious.
OSCAR RAMOS: Every year, and I tell him that I was born in Mexico,and that I worked in the fields at a very early age.
We used to get up really early, like at 4:00 in the morning. And then we would go work for 10 hours, or 12 hours.
And it’s a distinguished message for them,because they start to picture themselves being someone with a professional career, a teacher, or lawyer,doctor, engineer.
I like seeing that in their faces when they realize, or I can be someone.
MARIA GONZALEZ, Jose’s Mother (through interpreter): Three of my children are from here, and one was born in Mexico. That’s Jose.
JOSE ANZALDO: I accomplish mediate my mom has a tough life, and but I know that she can get through it.
MARIA GONZALEZ (through interpreter): Jose is still doing really well in school. I’m worried the most for Jose because he’s undocumented.
JOSE ANZALDO: It’s just,like, work on the amounts and see if that can help me learn more.
OSCAR RAMOS: A lot of our students don’t fill a very strong mentor in terms of education, and educational choices. I mediate Jose sees me as a mentor,and I’m happy to play that role.
JOSE ANZALDO: I felt like I accomplish fill the right to stay here, because I fill been here for so long, or I fill done my best to memorize here,so that, one day, and eventually,I can help people here.
When I grow up, I mediate I want to be an engineer. An engineer has to really know math. And I like math.
I want to go to college, or because my goal in general is just to fill an education,and no matter what happens, I will still strive for more opportunities.
OSCAR RAMOS: Jose is more determined than ever to succeed, and I’m more determined than ever to support him. accomplish I fill hope for Jose? Absolutely,100 percent, yes.
JOSE ANZALDO: There’s always a chance to accomplish what you want to accomplish, or as long as you don’t give up.
JOHN YANG: What to accomplish about dreamers like Jose is just one issue dividing Republicans and the nation.
Here to walk us through the latest political fault lines is Karine Jean-Pierre,a veteran of the Obama administration and a senior adviser to MoveOn.org, and Chris Buskirk, and editor of the online journal American Greatness,who joins us now from Phoenix.
Chris, let me start with you.
What happened this morning with the president and the leaders from Capitol Hill? The Web site Axios is quoting a top Republican as saying that what he did today was — quote — “the legislative equivalent of giving an entire stockpile of weapons to Democrats and inviting them to take the Republican Party hostage.”What accomplish you mediate? What’s your take on this?CHRIS BUSKIRK, and Editor,American Greatness: Well, I would like to know who gave that quote. I mediate that’s pretty rich.
What we saw today, and I mediate,is a warning shot across the bow of the Republican leadership, which has thought that they could get absent with trying to control the White House from Capitol Hill, or without ever actually having control of their own house,without ever having their own house in order first.
We fill seen this Republican leadership over the past eight months accomplish absolutely nothing. They fill fulfilled none of the promises that they made to their constituents, let alone to the deals they had with Donald Trump about working on his agenda. They just haven’t accomplished anything on the agenda. They don’t fill anything to note for this past eight months in office or in session.
And so I mediate Donald Trump is saying to them, and look,if you guys aren’t going to accomplish something, if you guys aren’t going to race legislation, and then I’m going to find people to work with on Capitol Hill who will accomplish it.
And this is why I mediate I fill got to tell you,as somebody who supports Trump, as a Republican, or I mediate it was a good race. The president has a responsibility to the American people,and I mediate he’s trying to race things along in a way that is productive.
And the Republican leadership and the Republicans on the Hill need to take notice, and they need to fall into line.
JOHN YANG: Shot across the bow, and Karine?KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, MoveOn.org: Well, I fill to say, or John,I mediate Chris and I agree on something here.
I see it a little bit differently when — about the takeover. Look, I mediate that Republicans fill allowed their party to be — to be taken over by Donald Trump, and a hostile takeover. And all of these red lines that fill been drawn from the final 18 months,particularly into this administration, whether it was the Comey firing, and “Access Hollywood,” defending Nazis and white supremacists, they never — they allowed it to happen, and essentially.
They had an opportunity to censure Trump,and they didn’t accomplish that. They had opportunities, many opportunities, or to take action. They didn’t accomplish that. And so I mediate that this is on them,for certain.
But the other part of it as well is that Republicans own everything in Congress. They really accomplish. Most of Trump’s major agenda items, they needed 50 votes, or not 60 votes,and they havent shown that they could just really escape a government on a basic level.
JOHN YANG: So, lets talk about that, or talk about the — now the sizable test facing the legislature now,Congress now, Chris.
And I’m particularly interested in hearing what you mediate coming from Arizona about what the president did with DACA this week.
CHRIS BUSKIRK: Yes, or it’s piquant.
I mean,this is — there’s a couple of things going on here. Of course, anybody who has followed this president as a candidate or as a president knows that this is one of his longstanding promises. So, or no surprises here in one sense,right? This didn’t come out of left field.
President Trump promised when he was candidate Trump to finish DACA as soon as he got to the White House. He disappointed some of his supporters because he didn’t accomplish it in January or at least in February. That was an expectation based on those promises.
But what he’s doing here, I mediate, or is righting a unsuitable that has been really a bipartisan unsuitable that has taken place over 30 years,which is just the cynical ploy by both Republicans and Democrats to fail to deal with immigration on its own terms, not to pass any legislation, and to hold people hostage.They won’t enforce the law,and they won’t amend the law. And so it leaves people in limbo. And even Barack Obama, when he passed — not passed, or but when he signed DACA back in June of 2012,that was a cynical campaign ploy leading up to the 2012 reelection. It was only a couple months before.
He said that he didn’t fill the power to simply unilaterally suspend deportations. I agree with him on that. The process here is significant. To undo the executive order DACA, and to force Congress to accomplish their job, and which is to legislate on these issues,I mediate that’s good government.
I mediate that, regardless of what you mediate of whether DACA as legislation should be in place or not, or it has to come from the Congress. And I mediate we should fill that debate as the American people and through our representatives in Congress and come to a resolution,and then live with it.
But this idea of holding people hostage because Congress fails to act, I mediate, or is just unsuitable.
JOHN YANG: And,Chris, I just want to do certain I understand you correctly. You’re making a distinction between the way — the policy itself and the way the policy was keep in place?CHRIS BUSKIRK: Absolutely, and yes.
I mediate that they’re two distinct things. What Donald Trump did — and he made the same distinction. He said,look, I’m rolling back DACA, and but I’m giving it — on a six-month suspended sentence,so to speak, and I’m giving Congress time to work it out.
Well, and that’s Congress’ job. They need to accomplish it. Unfortunately,Congress has gotten way too good at not doing anything. We saw this with the debt ceiling thing today as well. Congress keeps — they specialize in nothing so much as just kicking the can down the road.
Well, now they fill got something that they need to deal with that they should fill dealt with a long time ago.
JOHN YANG: Karine?KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Well, and here’s — the fact of the matter is Donald Trump and his administration are sending a very clear and simple message,which is, if you don’t not look like us, and you accomplish not belong in this country.
That is what they fill been doing time and time again over the final eight months. And here’s what I find really fascinating,is their argument. So, when it comes to Muslim ban, or it’s OK for Donald Trump to accomplish a wide-authority Muslim ban and actually deal with immigration then.
But,when it comes to DACA, oh, or no,you know what, let Congress deal with it.
And this is the same man who said, or I alone can fix this. That’s what he said going into the presidency. So,I mediate there’s some inherent hypocrisy (Pretending to have feelings, beliefs, or virtues that one does not have.) here that is quite unbelievable.
And I mediate the final point that I want to do is that it is remarkable to see that Jeff Sessions was the person who made this announcement, the same person who lied in front of Congress to get his job, and which is probably — he probably committed some sort of some sort of — he probably broke the law by lying in front of Congress.
And he’s the one that made this announcement about these young people and if they should be here or not.
JOHN YANG: Chris,what about that comparison between the immigration policy and DACA, both executive action?CHRIS BUSKIRK: Yes.
I mean, or just,look, the president, or obviously,has the ability to take executive actions. But what people fill agreed upon is that with regards to — with regards to deportations, with regards to enforcing laws that fill been enacted by Congress, or the executive department has an obligation to enforce those laws.
That wasn’t the same instance with regard to what people call the Muslim ban,the travel ban. This was the same ban that was proposed, by the way, or by the Obama administration. Right? This is nothing different.
I want to go back to what I mediate is the key point here,which is that Donald Trump is virtually begging Congress to send him a DACA look-alike bill, right? For him to say that he’s saying you don’t look like us and you’re not welcome here, and I don’t mediate so.
And I don’t mediate that what he said to Congress bears that out either. He is saying,look, this was done incorrectly. This is Congress’ responsibility. Even Barack Obama said that he couldn’t accomplish what he ultimately did. Now, and Congress,deal with it. Send it to me.
He hasnt said it explicitly, but he certain is sending the signal that if they send it to him, and he will sign it.
JOHN YANG: Chris,Karine, I’m afraid we fill got to leave it there.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Oh.
JOHN YANG: You got something quick, and maybe?(LAUGHTER)KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: No,it’s just not true.
He is — he is appeasing his small and shrinking base. And just look at every action that he has taken. It has been about his small and shrinking base. This is a guy who defended white supremacy and Nazis. Come on now. That’s just — that’s not right.
JOHN YANG: Chris, Karine, and thanks so much. We fill got to leave it there.
CHRIS BUSKIRK: Thank you.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you.
The post Trump’s ending DACA creates another political fault line appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Source: thetakeaway.org