Thread: Last Coverage of Illegal Immigration on Lou Dobbs?

Friends,

I almost hate to ask for help with this considering the dismal responses we have been getting to calls for help on these boards lately, but it is either ask for help or skip doing it.

Can anyone recall the last time they saw Lou Dobbs cover illegal immigration on his TV Show?

Ive watched the shows from the last two nights and seen zero coverage of illegal immigration.

We need someone to tell us if they have seen anything.

More importantly, we need a volunteer to go to the transcript archives of Lou's show and do some simple word searches on shows to find if illegal immigration coverage is now missing from the Lou Dobbs broadcasts.

This is a very important thing we need to know but I either have to ask for help to do it or pull myself off the Sonia Sotomayor effort along with three others Im working on this morning.

Any takers? Not Dixie or JP, they have their hands full.

W

The only thing I can find of any significance in the past couple of weeks is this, though I will keep digging:

July 28, 2009

Lou discusses the Obamacare loophole in which illegal aliens and their family members could receive health care.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html

DOBBS: New concerns in the Democratic Party tonight that the health care plan could provide coverage for illegal immigrants. However, part of the Democratic Party is the reason that it would.

A proposed system to verify eligibility was killed by House Democrats. The Heller Amendment. Republican critics saying that that means there would be no way to know whether people applying for health care benefits in this country are here illegally or not.

Lisa Sylvester has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Demonstrators at a mayday rally demanding equal rights, including health coverage for the millions of illegal immigrant in the United States.

Opponents say that people who break immigration laws should not be rewarded. Robert Rector of the conservative Heritage Foundation says the House health care bill will do just that.

ROBERT RECTOR, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: What we're doing is creating a new program for low-income people to give them free medical care and giving illegal immigrants free and total access to that system.

It's a huge transformation. It's radically different than anything the country has done in the past.

SYLVESTER: But Democrats strongly disagree. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the bill does not benefit illegal immigrants.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If you're in this country illegally, you should be able to get health care?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: No. Illegal immigrants are not covered by this plan.

SYLVESTER: Section 246 of the bill states, "Nothing in this subtitle shall allow federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.

Seems pretty straightforward. But several GOP lawmakers still insist that the bill will allow illegal immigrants to receive taxpayer-funded benefits. They point to what they call a gaping loophole. No verification or enforcement system.

REP. LAMAR SMITH (R), TEXAS: You can say all day long if you want to no, it doesn't apply to illegal immigrants. But if you don't have any way to screen them out, if anybody who applies is going to get those healthcare benefits, that is going to include illegal immigrants.

SYLVESTER: An amendment was offered that would have enabled stated to use the Welfare Eligibility data base to keep illegal immigrants from qualifying for healthcare benefits. But that amendment was defeated in committee on a party line vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: And there's another provision in this bill that some Republicans take issue with. It says that if one member of a family is eligible to receive universal health coverage then the entire family is eligible.

Representative Lamar Smith calls that another loophole that he says will permit illegal immigrants to receive taxpayer funded health coverage -- Lou?

DOBBS: All right. Thank you very much. Lisa Sylvester from Washington.

I have taken a look back as far as May 25-09.. I found 2 shows. I will try to look further for you later. Hope this helps a bit.


http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html

Lou has been muzzled since last January.

May 08 ,2009

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The State Department of Corrections in Tennessee housed 1,500 illegal aliens in its jails last year. The state received more than $350,000 in federal reimbursement, money from a program known as the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP. President Obama's budget has slashed all funding for the program, which last year was $400 million. To that, many congressional members say it's unfair because immigration enforcement is a task of the federal government. REP MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: This is a program where your state and local governments are filling, back-filling what the federal government should be doing. It is a program that regardless of -- it transcends partisan boundaries.

SYLVESTER: One of the most outspoken critics of the cuts is a Democrat, Dianne Feinstein from California. That state received $118 million in SCAAP funding last year, only 12 percent of the actual state jail costs for illegal criminal aliens.

President Obama, when he was a senator, not only supported funding for the program, but he co-sponsored an amendment that would have provided additional funding. CNN asked the White House why the turnaround. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said it was a decision made by the Office of Management and Budget.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY: That's not to say the president doesn't have strong views on immigration and enforcement. There's a sizable amount of money to increase enforcement at the border as an important step on our path toward immigration reform.

SYLVESTER: Mark Krikorian is with the Center for Immigration Studies which favors stricter control over the borders. He says this is a losing battle for the White House.

MARK KRIKORIAN, CTR FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: The Bush administration tried to eliminate the SCAAP program a number of times and Congress always put it back in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: And an OMB official said there was too much waste in the SCAAP program, including funds used for extraneous items like bonuses, consultants and vehicles and that's why they recommended cutting the funding. However, a group of bipartisan senators has written a letter to congressional appropriators asking them to fully fund the program despite the president's budget requests. And in the letter, they point to what happened in 2003 when SCAAP funds were cut in California. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was so strapped for funds the county was forced to implement an early release policy for prisoners -- Lou.

DOBBS: All right, thank you, Lisa. Lisa Sylvester.

I am trying to help. But Alipac's website is moving so slow that I get frustrated and leave. It just hangs there and freezes up.

Not to mention Facebook was down for a few hours, and Twitter is down. I wouldnt be surprised if this was done for Obama as part of his "snitch" program.

June 19, 2009

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html

President Obama today said he is committed to comprehensive immigration reform. The president said millions of illegal aliens already in this country should have a chance to become citizens. But the president offered no timetable. Lisa Sylvester has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast reiterated his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform that would put millions of illegal aliens on a path to citizenship.

OBAMA: For those who wish to become citizens, we should require them to pay a penalty and pay taxes, learn English, go to the back of the line behind those who played by the rules. That is the fair, practical and promising way forward.

SYLVESTER: But there is a political reality that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs later acknowledged. Getting a comprehensive immigration reform bill through Congress this year won't be easy.

GIBBS: We know the votes aren't there right now.

SYLVESTER: The president has been walking a fine line trying to appease Hispanic groups who backed him in the election and wanted amnesty while at the same time, talking tough on enforcement, hoping to win over public opinion and congressional support.

The Obama administration, for example, changed the focus of worksite enforcement raids away from targeting illegal workers and instead on the employers who break immigration law. The administration announced a program that cracks down on criminal illegal aliens, but later postponed implementation of an employment verification system known as E-Verify for federal contractors.

Mark Krikorian is with the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors tighter immigration restrictions. Krikorian says the administration for now has been playing to both groups -- those who wanted amnesty this year and those who want tougher enforcement.

MARK KRIKORIAN, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: The president has got some time. I can't guess whether he's got six months or a year that he can keep kicking the can down the road before he starts paying a political price from one side or another, but at some point his time runs out.

SYLVESTER (on camera): Hispanic groups want to vote this year on immigration reform because next year with the midterm elections, it's seen as too difficult politically. But these advocates of comprehensive immigration reform are having a hard time pinning down the Obama administration. A key White House meeting on immigration has been delayed twice, now rescheduled for next week.

Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOBBS: The president's immigration initiative will be the topic of our "Face Off" debate Monday evening. Will President Obama succeed where President Bush failed in pushing through comprehensive immigration reform. Join us for that debate Monday evening.

June 22, 2009

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html

DOBBS: Up next, President Obama's push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. It could mean amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. It is the subject of tonight's "Face-Off" and the subject of a likely turbulent political struggle over the course of the next year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: President Obama last week renewed his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform legislation, or amnesty in the minds of many. That move could put millions of illegal aliens already in this country on a path to amnesty or amnesty for those illegal immigrants.

Some say granting amnesty to them is a moral imperative. Others, however, say the president's first concern should be the security of our borders. That's the topic of our face-off debate tonight.

Joining me now is Reverend Samuel Rodriguez. He is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Council, and it is good to have you with us. Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., who is senior pastor at the Hope Christian Church, founder and chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition; it's good to have you with us.

BISHOP HARRY JACKSON JR., SENIOR PASTOR, HOPE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: Good to be with you, Lou.

DOBBS: Let me begin, if I may, by sharing with everyone at the same time this statement from the president reiterating his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, or amnesty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people believe in immigration, but they also believe that we can't tolerate a situation where people come to the United States in violation of the law, nor can we tolerate employers who exploit undocumented workers in order to drive down wages. That's why we're taking steps to strengthen border security and we must build on those efforts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOBBS: Reverend Rodriguez, you say those comments don't go far enough, nearly far enough, and may very well cost him the Hispanic vote when he seeks re-election. What would you have him do?

REV. SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL HISPANIC CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL: I would have the president -- I commend the president for affirming the fact that the lack of comprehensive immigration reform is actually something that's detrimental to the morality of this nation. To have 12 million people living in the shadows and executing a policy of deportation via attrition, which, by the way, it's not working.

They're not going south. They're going north to Washington State, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota. To have 12 million people living in the shadows, to have children without access to health care or health care benefits, to have racial profiling in corporations throughout this nation...

DOBBS: What would you have the president doing, Reverend?

RODRIGUEZ: I would have the president make a commitment that comprehensive immigration reform needs to pass this year, in 2009. We understand...

DOBBS: He's done that.

RODRIGUEZ: Well, no, health care right now is king. But my concern is that if we pursue -- if we push this down to 2010...

DOBBS: Reverend, I apologize. We've got limited time and I would like to bring in Bishop Jackson now, if I may. Your response?

JACKSON: Well, Dr. Rodriguez is a friend of mine. I would simply say, we do need a comprehensive program, but we don't need amnesty. The problem is, this problem is so huge it needs to be analyzed piece by piece and torn apart.

Lou, we just can't let people stay in the nation who may be gang bangers, people from all kind of walks of life. There are some great people that are being persecuted. And Lou, in our book "Personal Faith, Public Policy," we call this problem of immigration the new slavery.

But in order to take undocumented workers out of this slavery- type system, we're going to have to slow down, be very, very strategic, and make sure we know who's coming in, who's going out.

One last thing, Lou, it may take some people as long as seven years to go through the INS process. The system is broken. And the president could start that process of fixing up the time and speeding up the process of people who want to be legal coming in, and I don't know why they don't start there.

DOBBS: Yes, well, Reverend, why don't we start there?

RODRIGUEZ: This piecemeal idea, this step-by-step approach, we're talking about human lives, the children of God. Both Democrats and Republicans agree to that. To take this in piecemeal steps, where it would take years to finally pass comprehensive immigration reform, I think it's morally reprehensible.

Racial profiling is legal in America in 2009. We're looking at video shots of Iran; we have issues here in America because of my last name. I'm a third generation America. I'm stopped for driving beyond my speed limit and I'm asked whether or not I can prove my citizenship. We need to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2009.

DOBBS: Bishop?

JACKSON: You need to do something about it, or I should say government, and I agree with Dr. Rodriguez, that it's an urgent issue. But we're simply saying -- I think Lou, you would agree with me that you can't sweep the nuances of this process under the rug and just for sake of trying to win all these voters; there has to be a systemic approach.

So I agree with Dr. Rodriguez that we need to do something immediately. I agree with him that it's not fair to the families that are involved, but I want to raise a caution flag that we take time and make sure that that we know what we're doing. It can be done this year if the president elevates its priority in the national thinking.

DOBBS: So let me ask this, Reverend Rodriguez, and to you as well, Bishop Jackson. The president said, "Pay a penalty, pay taxes, and learn English." Is there anything wrong with that, in either of your minds? RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely not. I am committed to a process of assimilation. Absolutely not.

JACKSON: Well, I think there has to be greater screening of the individuals that we bring in. We've got all kinds of gangs that have come from South America. I serve a congregation with 22 nationalities. The problem is not just Hispanic, it's African; it has many, many faces and shades and color. And I do agree that there's profiling involved, so it's urgent.

I think it needs to be dealt with immediately. But I can't just let those three things be the sole criteria for us to say, you stay and someone else doesn't get a chance to come in.

DOBBS: And the issues that are raised of chain migration, you mentioned I believe 12 million, 13 million. The estimates range from 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants in this country, Reverend, with family, who would then be eligible to come into this country and those visas would be apportioned to them.

We're talking what number in your view would be entering the United States and in the line for ultimately citizenship and legal status in this country?

RODRIGUEZ: Sure, it would exceed the current number that we just projected of 12 million. The fact of the matter is this is America. Our founding fathers committed to a value system where the family was the centerpiece. Are we now the new America, not committing to affirming the family but rather committed to separating families? That's a question we have to ask ourselves.

DOBBS: Reverend, I think that's a question we should ask ourselves personally on a host of issues, not simply an immigration reform.

RODRIGUEZ: Agreed.

DOBBS: Lastly, last week, La Raza called for in health care reform, coverage of illegal immigrants. Your views, Bishop Jackson -- very quickly if you would.

JACKSON: I think there's going to have to be some equitable way to include people. I don't want people who have cancer -- I just survived cancer -- or HIV/AIDS to be left without treatment. That's ridiculous. That highlights the fact, though, that we need to -- as Dr. Rodriguez says -- solve this problem immediately.

DOBB: You're both compassionate men, Bishop, I understand that. But is there some point at which lacking the fund that there's a choice between covering citizens and illegal immigrants?

JACKSON: Citizens should come first.

RODRIGUEZ: The moment we don't cover that 3-year-old girl entering into the emergency room because she doesn't have legal documentation... DOBBS: That 3-year-old girl is covered now, as you know, Reverend.

RODRIGUEZ: No, but the moment we begin to qualify who we cover based on...

DOBBS: We're talking about in the health care reform as you know, Reverend.

RODRIGUEZ: I would agree with the National Council of La Raza.

DOBBS: Bishop Jackson?

JACKSON: I think there should be a line, therefore, the urgency of us solving the problem is my answer. As a man of faith I can't say don't treat people with cancer and bad diseases.

DOBBS: That's as chivalrous as (INAUDIBLE) as you both know. The question is, if there is a choice because of overall constraints under fiscal policy, we're already heavily burdened in this country; our government is broke as the president has said. Is there a point at which we'll have to make a decision between taking care of citizens and making a decision about illegal immigrants?

JACKSON: There is a point. There should be a line of demarcation. I agree with that statement.

DOBBS: We thank you both for being with us Bishop Jackson. Reverend Rodriguez we thank you.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.

DOBBS: We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Not a regular viewer anymore but I did happen to catch a little over half the show tonight. Nope, no mention of illegal immigration or border security during the portion of the show I watched.

Thanks team, please keep digging so we can have a clearer picture.

Yes, twitter and facebook were DOS attacked today as the Senate rushes to ramrod horrible legislation and nominees forward.

W