Were joined by the coexecutive director of the indivisible project here to talk about the shutdown last week, resolution of that and the involvement of the immigration proposal, and whats ahead for andDemocratic Party in 2018 more near term whats ahead in the immigration discussions. About your us project, the indivisible project, what is that all about . Election in r the 2016, my wife and i were going through the stages of grief lake lot of progressives trying to figure out what we could do in this brave new world and we were former congressional staffers who worked on capitol hill. Thenrk as things were back we saw this bright light of coming around throughout the country. We can tell folks how congress works. Fy on their two senators and one representative in their on e communities and then suddenly these individual chapters forming. In every single district. Its an organization that we just to dly set up support those groups on the ground. How have you been active in weve seen that is so far, the doug jones election 2017. Ther elections in in virginia, we had a team on the ground helping the groups in behind candidates, egister people to vote, in alabama, indivisible auburn, montgomery, all of these groups there and we had a few folks on the ground helping. Fundamentally, it is in part about what were doing to support the groups but also in t this local leadership communities getting involved on in cacy and getting evolved elections. Were here to support. Do you feel like youre getting support from National Organizations . Or is that your are you concerned about that at all . Indivisible is very explicit. Were independent of the Democratic Party. We dont coordinate with the party. Atic we exist outside of that structure. We think thats important. Is ensuring attle that things arent just rubber stamped by trump. A lot of our members with maybe one or two senators who democrats. Sometimes they are cheering them on and sometimes they are saying, i want to fight harder agenda. The trump one of those progressive values on immigration, were seeing headlines like this after shutdown was resolved last washington examiner, democrats cave to end the shutdown. Projects view of the shutdown last week and how it was resolved . I think when were thinking about the shutdown youve got to start with how we got to this place to begin with. Get to last week . The answer is, that trump nilaterally chose to end the daca program. He rescinded it back in eptember and then congress had a chance back in september whether or not to push back. To. Chose not republicans have been staunchly nline with trump on not reinstating the daca program. It was up to the democrats to say no, we arent going to go this. With back in september, they could setting were ourselves up for leverage in december. December came and went and they the fightwould put up in january. Thats when they said, look, we pass a budget that pays for deportation for youth, and theyd started fighting for those progressive values. It was great to see. E were excited to see them out there fighting for it but then in to ay, they gave trumps demands and mitch cconnell, and that was disappointing. Louise gutierrez, who has been active on the floor and immigration, part of his statement said i do not vague promise about a policy to be voted on in the dreamers or the helps to maximize the leverage that the people have over the republicans. Comeshows me that when it to immigrants, latinos and their families democrats are still not willing to go to the mat to people in my community to live in our country legally. Members of ng more congress support that view or compromise, ifhe you will, that senator schumer obviously agreed to . First of all, represent gutierrez has been a real hero in this fight since before indivisible was around for that matter. Im seeing a lot of democrats say, lly coming around to look, this is fundamentally who we are. We ought to be standing up to fight for this. The morally right thing to do. Were talking about deporting kids who are going to school or in the military but its also politically strategic thing to do. Talking to an individual group member in a battleground state and like many group a fulltimes a mom, job, doing this over the weekend and in her free time and she ive committed to going and knocking on doors in this battleground district that were hoping to flip. Republican, they want to get a democrat. Ive committed to going in every to le week and ive got drive an hour back there and back, and the democrats kept not but ing for the dreamers chumer stood up, it mer made me want to fight even more. Are counting rats on this big blue wave to carry them through in 2018, in the elections. They want to retake the house an senate. Were arguing are not only for daca the morally right thing to do this is how you build the big blue wave. We generate this energy at the base and they are the ones who the make the democrats speaker of the house. Thats how we win. You said you worked on capitol hill. Wife. Nd your who did you work for . I worked for representative and my wife another one. Youre from texas . Im from texas. You see that the immigration very local percespective, then . Absolutely. He undocumented youth are throughout the country and they are feeling it. Talking about immigration, about the democrats in 2018, welcome your comments and 2027488000, for 2027488001 and all 2027488002. Caller on the independent line. Good morning. Good morning. Hi, mike. Questions ave some for you. Whats your website . You have a banner on the front cooking up resistance. Is this a takeoff from podesta that he was cooking up, spirit cooking . About nt know anything that. I will say that the indivisible groups on the ground, one of the thing i love about them is they are really cooking up new ideas about how to make their voice heard. Our message to these groups who, ike i said, they are in every single Congressional District in the country, you can type in our zip code and find one nearby and they are figuring out ways to let their two senators r one representative know, heres how i feel about this issue. Heres how i want you representing me in congress. Fact that this isnt command and control, the fact that its us here in d. C. Telling everybody what to do, there is a lot of creativity throughout a lot of ent and interesting new things are cooked up every day. Indivisible d the group team active last night in the nations capitol tweeting happening now, on the oneyear anniversary of the first muslim band. Were taking the viewer is seeing some videos of the flashing on the front of the trump hotel last night. As we go to james in orlando, virginia, the democrats line. Thank you for this opportunity. That were brought here as children and babies, this is their country. Havent lived any place else. Nd i think they should just be given citizenship. Now, the problem then, they are to spend 25 billion just andtart a wall with mexico, 90 of the people that are here illegally flew here in airlines, so its obvious we cant build a wall high enough to keep the airplanes out. To stop it at the root cause. The people that are hiring these people that are in here illegal jail. D be put in there should be a 10,000 fine per person per day that they here and the c. E. O. S of these companies, thats hiring people, thats illegal, needs to go to jail. Republicansthat the are not going to do that because the wealth of the republicansers that hiring these people and not paying them anything. They are todays they are not paying them. You have got an illegal mowing your grass or washing our windows or changing your dirty diapers on your babies, nd you get caught, you need to go to jail for it. Thats my take on the thing. They need to put them in jail. Thank you for your comments. Daca, i think youre absolutely right. They have been in college, serving in the military, working families, of ing course they ought to be able to say this is their country. Know youre calling on the democrats line but i would just point out to everybody else watching its not just democrats who think that. Vast majority of republicans and independents an democrats and even Trump Supporters dreamers. He they this should be a nobrainer for all of us. E should have a clear bipartisan bill on the books. It should pass, and we know there is support for that. The only thing standing in the way of us having that is senate Mitch Mcconnell, the republican, and donald trump, who is blowing up the to happen. Ow that heres a caller from pennsylvania, also on our democrats line. Welcome. Hi. What . Now im glad that your organization exists and im going to go to the website but heres thing. I agree that daca, that the daca people should be allowed to stay. Im just wondering whether it was worth our government you own and when you say, know, the democrats are going to complain about it, i want to democrats are, im in a very democratic area i dont know of anybody who was willing to shut down our government or go to the max for immigration . And, again, i feel sorry for the daca people, but i the live in an area where latinos, they dont have if you walk them to the store, no is [inaudible] it seems to me if you dont english, and, you english, able to talk youre telling me im not welcomed here. To elizabeths point, do you the particular senate were under pressure from constituents back home, supporters back home, on to stake this whole deal the future of those immigrants, potential immigrants . Yes. Week or the week before last when this was going down, trying crats were just to hold Mitch Mcconnell and the republicans to their promise, which back in december, they january, we would settle this. We would get a vote. So i think it is i would push back a little bit on the characterization that democrats somehow were shutting down the government over this. Bipartisan bill with support with majority on both ides, and donald trump went on a tirade in the oval office, blew up the deal, and then shutdown. At caused the democrats said, we will keep the government open for five days to ham out a deal. Happy to do it or well pass the bipartisan deal that was put together. Happy to do that there was no shutdown according to what the democrats were asking for. Deald in your piece, a bad for dreamers, available at indivisible. Org, you think Mitch Mcconnell has no intention of that they his debate called for, and yet, we do have from theation proposal white house that at some point ell see some sort of, some action and committee and floor debate . I see no evidence that mitch up to his ill live word. He hasnt repeatedly on this issue and many others. I would love to see something done on this issue where the republicans are bargaining in good faith, where trump is bargaining in good faith. We havent seen that and thats distressing because peoples lives are hanging in the balance. The responsibility of the democrats to say, look, were going to fight as hard for as they are fighting against. Lets hear from carey, in laurel, maryland, independent line. Hi. You know, i have a problem with this ismise that all of trumps fault. Or eliminating or deciding to end the daca program. Thought that this was partially adjudicated, and that he Supreme Court let stand a Lower Court Ruling that essentially said that the had to be her or as it was law with, put in place by executive order by obama. Was the part that was unacceptable. So the fact that trump is following what the court said, not his fault. Thank you for your question. You know, i have seen this out a bit and i think its worth doing a little bit of research. You can do it on your own time would like. Its a common misconception. On fine program was legal footing back in september and the fact that donald trump order an executive unilaterally to rescind the program was his administrations choice. That thats what happened. Had he not issued that, we would have had daca in october, december, and this month in january, it would still exist. So it was trumps unilateral ction that caused this, and dont trust me, i would encourage you to do a Little Research and find the facts thats whatsure you happened. Heres jen on the republican mississippi. Port, hi. Good morning. Isten, i would just like to daca, and ive got a couple, can what daca really immigration . L between he difference daca and Legal Immigration constitution, he and listen, if the Democratic Party really wanted daca to be approved they would have did it they had the president , the house and everything else. This daca didnt just start. Its been going on for years. Response from the washington post, glen kesler this morning in his fact checker numbers, in terms of immigrants, 650,000, the low all figure for the number of active Daca Recipients as of september 4, 2017. 800,000, this is approximately how many people have been approved under daca between 2012 2017 . Do you want to broaden out the explanation . Got daca, this daca status, it was a program hat was created by the Obama Administration originally, and these are folks who were brought over to the u. S. As children, as newborns. And in the u. S. , they have gone to school, they have served in he military, they are working jobs, raising families. This is the country that they know. Nd so the daca program says, hey, for all of you folks who have been here and this is the only country that you know, going to allow you to stay. Were not going to threaten you with deportation. So you t you protection can work that job an finish school, et cetera. That s is the program were talking about. Now, to your earlier question didnt the y democrats do this before when obama was there . Program through executive action, and there was a request in congress to actually get this done. Unfortunately, senator Mitch Mcconnell, who has been the leader, then y majority leader, hes been in the way, again, i would love to see a bipartisan compromise. I do not think this is just a democratic issue or talk point. Earlier, vast majority of dells, republicans and independents, support this program. Nobrainer. A we should get an easy bill passed through the house and senate with no problem at all problem were facing is that donald trump and itch mcconnell are using this as a talking point to rule up heir base, instead of just getting the work done. Heres a call from texas, on the republican line. Yes, how are you doing today . Hi, jerry. Aller im out here in texas now but i have lived most of my life in california. For e lived on the border 15 years. Worked in construction for eight years with reasonable population of Illegal Immigrants on our buildings. Out here, i work with some more there. Good exposure on the ground, probably more than you have, sir, although you things that isome dont know. But these folks are working on the documentation, and reason why i want to bring up ilLegal Immigration, is thats how this daca thing was created first place. Now, there is nobody, we alike, were not saying deport the daca people, nonsequitur. Its a straw man argument. Oh, we all know that we all want them. I want to pass citizenship to and what we want and mcconnell and trump want and you wont mention this, sir, you yet, we want Border Security along with this. Unreasonable, an ill just end it with this . Want a compromise, as youre border ng, but we want security with the provision for daca people. Thanks. Great hearing from a fellow texan, of course. Hat i would say is that while it might be the case that trump and republicans and other folks n the hill dont want to see the Daca Recipients deported, thats whats happening right of their esult actions. Are losing their status every day. That will go up to a thousand a day after march. That has real human impact. So we can have a whole debate broadly how immigration policy ought to work in this country, but if you and agree that the daca folks ought to have ought not to to worry for their livelihood and not have to worry bout deportation, if we can absolutely agree to that why dont we just get that done, then we can knock it outline what immigration broadly ought to be but if thats something we can both agree on, lets get that done. Do that. Can there is support for that. A couple of comments on up the one says keep good fight. A question about daca, welcome to deferred action. Obama wanted it, he could have argued for permanent action ut kicking the can, he amplified the crisis into a disaster. Lot of nk obama gets a credit for actually implementing the daca program originally. See ld have loved to Congress Actually pass a permanent fix. Thats ideal. Thats what we would have wanted. Fact is, as i said this shouldnt be a partisan issue. This shouldnt be a democratic republican issue. This is something that everybody supports, and so i know that contentious s a issue, that folks have a lot of opinions on various aspects of it, but everybody can agree that daca folks ought to have that. That we ought to be protecting and ensuring that they can work, raise families, go to school and serve in the military. Important because its a nobrainer, i think its all regardless of what kind of we have, whether they are democrats, republicans independents. This is something you should move forward on. Toagree on it, lets move on the next thing. Well hear next from ray, next, from tennessee. Our republican line. Caller hello . Go ahead. In the yes, i was raised san joaquin valley, california. Went of spanish school, i to school with them. Stayed. E over and now, these werent babies and kids. Erent little these were middle age, i mean, above. Teens and now, everybody calls these daca people babies and they came over here. Thats not true, and that started with ronald reagan, they into letting a million people, immigrants stay citizenship. Now weve got like 12 million more. Ybe so thats if you agree to people stay these here, youre going to have 24 over. On by the time its the border is porous, it needs to be fixed first. Borders. On our let me ask you, are there any 1986 debate, the mmigration bill, immigration debate in the mid80s to what were seeing now . If you go back, there is a viral video spreading right now, may have seen it in their feed somewhere of the 1980 in the tial debate, primary for the republican ronald and youve got reagan and george bush and others debating. George h. W. Bush debating policy and they were debating about what our lookration policy ought to like. I think what we would like to see right now is republicans and democrats coming together and saying, look, we may not agree on everything, but we agree that when folks wh