should be spared on? certainly we can afford it. the cost of dealing with these people, the costs of helping the three countries that are sending most of them here, all those things are well within our means. i think what you are seeing going on here is not really an economic argument, it s a human argument, frankly, between people who don t want those people in this country and people who don t want to send them back to the countries where they would be at risk. and as i said, that s the dilemma that we re facing as a country where the president doesn t seem to have exactly decided what to do. the republicans have a clear point of view. liberal democrats have a clear point of view they don t want to just send them back. but i don t think we ve really come to grips with that. you say exactly that. there has been pushback from a lot of republicans saying 3.7 is too much. we can t afford it. you know, certainly there s this question of sound fiscal policy in the midst of all of this.
crisis. that is unfolding right now and has gotten white hot for so many around the country. we ve just been discussing where the origin point of that crisis is with our fabulous panel here today. we ve got jose diaz balart, victoria, steve rattner on the economic side and chris jansing and mark potter, as well as stephanie gosk on the phone. a lot of different firsthand perspectives from those who know this issue. right before we broke, we were talking about the line of blame that goes all the way back to the clinton administration. and whether america deporting gang violence from l.a. down to central america is part of the root of what has become a humanitarian crisis there. and it s causing this flight into the united states. now i want to look at another line of blame. people saying that george w. bush administration is actually the origin point of this in the form of a 2008 law designed to protect victims of trafficking. making sure that they can t be deported immediately. making
we i want to go to you on this question of what those expectations are. we mentioned republicans really pilloring the president, not offering much by way of solutions but saying president obama doesn t have the answers. there s also been criticism from within the democratic party. i think we have some sound that s a good illustrative case of that. take a listen. i hate to use the word bizarre, but under the circumstances, when he has shown playing pool in colorado, drinking a beer and he can t even go 242 miles to the texas border. i mean, look. that is maybe an unfair critique. the president has legitimate economic issues he s been championing and these remarks during his current tour. but that said if there is that perception of a lack of moral leadership, what can he do in this speech to regain that? first of all, ronan, perception is reality for better or for worse. and even though the president wants to keep his focus on the economy, he is in texas.
things can change. but blaming a 2008 law or throwing more money to central america, let s just remember that a couple of years ago, the ex-president of el salvador, one of the three countries is accused of stealing $12 million that an asian country gave to el salvador to help its poor. right. these are not reliable partners to work with. and they are few signs this crisis is going to get better on the ground. maybe it s more important than ever that we have a compassionate regime that responds to those problems. jose, that is such an important point that in fact, we risk a lot if we lose all the protections of that 2008 legislation. it passed with such broad bipartisan support for a reason. this is a real problem. young people are being trafficked into this country. they re vulnerable. they also need our protection, even as we need to sort out this problem. we re going to take a quick break. we re still awaiting remarks any moment now from president obama. he s in texas. and to what
that this legislation wasn t intended for this kind of a problem. on the other hand, it is so hard to draw a bright line between vulnerable victims of human trafficking that were designed to be protected by this and the kinds of young people that are crossing over the border now. so a lot of confusion about where this problem comes from. we ve got much, much more from our all-star panel on that exact weand on what to expect from president obama in texas when he speaks in just moments. stay with us. my mother made the best toffee in the world. it s delicious. so now we ve turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i m janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.