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CNN NEWSROOM

Major Change In Immigration Policy

Aired June 15, 2012 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Fantastic, Billie Jean King. Of course you can watch the rest of my interview with Billie Jean King tomorrow afternoon, 2:00 Eastern time. We talk about women's rights, health and tennis, and the players -- the current players on the circuit that she is constantly texting. You don't want to miss it. All right. The CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The Obama administration has just announced a major change in the U.S. immigration policy that also has major political implications. The United States will stop deporting young illegal immigrants who meet certain requirements. We're going to hear from President Obama shortly, he's getting ready to go into the White House garden address the nation. He's scheduled to speak at 1:15 p.m. Eastern, in about 15 minutes or so from now you'll have -- we'll all have live coverage of the president . All of our correspondents are covering aspects of the story. Our White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin is standing by. Juan Carlos Lopez of CNN Espanola here in Washington.

Jim Acosta, he's out on the campaign trail, he's getting reaction from the Romney campaign. We'll also hear from the outspoken Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, also hear from students, people who are directly affected by this dramatic of change, this executive order announced by the president of the United States, and Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Security. I spoke with her just a little while ago and I -- and we had this exchange about the policy and its ramifications.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Is this a pathway to citizenship for these young people?

JANET NAPOLITANO, SECRETARY, HOMELAND SECURITY: Not at all. In fact, that's where Congress needs to act. And we continue to urge the Congress, you know, pass the dream act, look at apprehensive immigration reform, the immigration system as a whole. I mean, I've been dealing with the immigration enforcement for 20 years and the plain fact of the matter is is that the law that we're working under doesn't match the economic needs of the country today and the law enforcement needs of the country today.

But as someone who is charged with enforcing the immigration system, we're setting good strong sensible priorities, and again, these young people really are not the individuals that the immigration removal process was designed to focus upon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The Full interview with secretary Napolitano will air at 4:00 p.m. Eastern today in "THE SITUATION ROOM." We go in depth on many of the specific ramifications of the dramatic announcement. Let's take a closer look right now at some of the new aspects of this immigration policy. It applies to people who came to the United States illegally as children before the age of 16. They must have lived in the country for at least five years . They have to be in school, have graduated from school or have served in the U.S. military. Anyone with a major criminal record and those who pose a security threat are not eligible. And they must be younger than 30 as of today's date. Our Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin is standing by. Jessica, you've been looking into this. How did this decision come about today?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, according to officials, this has been under consideration for some time, this is not a last-minute decision by any means, as you can imagine. And it's also -- should not come as a total surprise given the fact that this administration -- I should say, as a candidate, this president promised to take some action for Latinos to change the nation's immigration policy. To be explicit, during the campaign in 2008, president then, candidate Obama, during his first year in office, he would have an immigration bill out for consideration and that didn't happen.

So, now that he is up for re re-election, it's hard not to consider this, to some extent, through a political prism. He needs the Latino vote to come out in big numbers. Right now, we see that the latest NBC News "Wall Street Journal" poll has the president leading Romney among the Hispanic votes 61 percent to 27 percent. But at the same time, there is disapproval. Hispanic -- the Hispanic pew center poll showed that 59 percent of the Latinos disapprove of the way the presidents have handled the deportation, a record number of deportations by this administration. So, there is desire by no doubt parts of the Obama campaign to make it clear that he stands with Latinos and is trying to do something on their behalf to change the nation's immigration policy. Clearly, he has taken a step in that direction today.

BLITZER: Yes, certainly Latinos and lot of other folks would have loved comprehensive immigration reform, something that senator McCain, late senator Kennedy and President Bush tried unsuccessfully to achieve but in the first three and a half years of this administration, the president has not been able to do so either. He did have some influential evangelicals, though, advocating for precisely this push.

YELLIN: Thanks for pointing that out, that's true. This week, he had an interesting group of evangelical leaders. A leader of the progressive evangelical movement, Reverend Jim Wallace, and one of the more conservative evangelicals, Richard Land, at the White House, didn't meet with the president, but they were among a group of evangelical leaders who have come together to push the -- to push united front for immigration reform in this country.

Now, this not only is a sign that there is a growing movement for immigration reform that brings together both the political -- religious left and the religious right which may also signal some political unity, but it also, you could say, gives the White House a little bit of cover, if you will, to make this move and helps indicate that there's broad support among certain groups for this kind of change. Again, it's well short of the kind of comprehensive immigration reform legislation that you just mentioned, but it is a step toward some kind of immigration shift. And again, conservative evangelicals as well standing behind it, it seems -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, very critical reaction. So far, a negative reaction coming from several influential Republicans, more on that in a moment. Jessica, don't go too far away, remember, we're standing by, the president, momentarily, will be going into the Rose Garden and making a major statement on this immigration policy announcement. Let's get some more perspective right now. Let's bring in Juan Carlos Lopez, he's a correspondent for CNN Espanola here in Washington. What's the initial reaction from Latino Americans?

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, jubilation, Wolf. It's considered a very important move but also speaking to these young people, they are cautiously optimistic. They know what this means. It's -- it could represent a big change in their lives. Buy it's a two-year period, and it's very similar to something that is already in place called the TPS, the temporary protection status. Eight countries have this protection. One of them is Al Salvador, remember refugees from the war moved to the U.S.

And since 2001, they've been renewing, every two years, a permit to work and to live in the United States. This is somewhat similar to that, so there is no guarantee what could happen in the future. There is no path to citizenship. There is no legalization. It's a status to live in, and to mobilize, and to do things that they normally couldn't do, and to work. So, they are optimistic ,they are looking at the details and they know this is one more step, but this is not immigration reform which may expect. But it's an advance and it's a very interesting move on the side of the White House in this election year.

BLITZER: It's not comprehensive immigration reform, to be sure, Juan Carlos, it's not even the dream act. It was rejected by the Congress because it does not provide a direct pathway to citizenship, but it's a step as far as so many Latinos are concerned in the right direction. Is that fair to say?

LOPEZ: And it's interesting because we see new forces evolving, Wolf. We see this group of young people, because this -- this isn't something that was -- that was brought forward by different groups, by politicians, by the Democrats or the Republicans, this is a victory of the dreamers. This week "Time" magazine has them on the cover. And they've been organizing, they've been mobilizing, walking, calling members of Congress. They've been putting pressure, and they've been talking with both parties. They are not limited to the Democrats or Republicans in their request for support, but in the criticism. So, they are surging in this force of youth. They can't vote but know this country. They say they're American and they want to stay, and work and live in this country. And they're understanding the power of political pressure. That, if you add it to what Jessica just reported on the Evangelicals also supporting this measure, shows you a change in we've seen in the last years where you had to put for immigration reform that almost made it in several occasions but never really became favorable.

BLITZER: Juan Carlos, don't go too far away as well. We're getting a lot of reaction coming in from several Republicans who are extremely critical of the president's decision today. The -- some of the criticism focusing in on the constitutionality of this decision by the president. Doing it with an executive order as opposed to going through Congress and passing legislation. We're going to get you that reaction in a moment. Also, we're awaiting the president, he'll be in the Rose Garden, to make the announcement. We'll have live coverage of that, much more coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're watching the Rose Garden at the White House. The president of the United States momentarily expected to walk in and make an announcement, make a statement on the dramatic word today that the U.S. was changing immigration policy for the young people who are here illegally. Standby, we'll have live coverage of the president once he's in the Rose Garden. But we're also getting some reaction from Republicans. I wonder if we're getting reaction, thought, yet from the Romney campaign. Jim Acosta is traveling with the Romney campaign on the bus trip in New Hampshire. Any reaction so far, Jim, from the Romney campaign?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, right now we are waiting for Mitt Romney to make a statement on this change of policy over at the White House. So, we arrived at a stop earlier this morning in Stratham, New Hampshire, it was where Mitt Romney kicked off this five-day bus tour that is going to be going through six battleground states over the week end into next week, and he did not answer the questions that we were throwing at him about this change of policy over at the White House.

However, some Romney aides who were on the scene were indicating to us -- Wolf, and I want to say they weren't promising anything, but they were indicating that the former Massachusetts governor will have something to say about this at an upcoming campaign stop later on in Milford, New Hampshire. He's expected to make a stop at an ice cream parlor -- sort of an ice cream social with some supporters there. He is expected to be there with the former Minnesota Governor, Tim Pawlenty, and Tim Pawlenty is not the only surrogate who's on a campaign trail with Mitt Romney. I also had a chance to catch up with Kelly Ayotte who is a senator here in New Hampshire.

And she did not have a reaction to this change of policy over at the White House, although she did say that she does appreciate the efforts that are going on inside of the office of Senator Marco Rubio (INAUDIBLE) and we have all been reporting on this, an alternative proposal to the dream act which would provide some kind of pathway -- legal status for some of these young adults and children who are in this situation of being undocumented or illegal through no fault of their own. And she said that she appreciated those efforts, although she didn't really say one way or the other how she felt about that legislation.

And it's interesting to know how Mitt Romney has changed on this policy of the dream act over time. You know, back in December, he sat at a campaign event in Iowa that he would veto the dream act if he were president of the United States. But back in April at a fund- raiser in Florida, he said to a crowd there that he thought it was important for the Republican Party to have their own version of the DREAM Act, and then a week later with Marco Rubio out on the campaign trail, he said he would like to study the proposal that Marco Rubio is now drafting.

So it is going to be very interesting to note exactly what Mitt Romney says this afternoon, if he says anything about what is happening today over at the White House, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, he is going to have to say something, and if not him, at least somebody from the campaign will have to issue some sort of reaction.

All right. Stand by, Jim. We will get back to you.

Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, he didn't waste any time releasing a statement, among other things, saying this, "Today's announcement will be welcome news for many of these kids desperate for an answer, but it is a short-term answer to a long-term problem.

"And by once again ignoring the Constitution, and going around Congress, this short-term policy will make it harder to find a balanced and responsible long-term one."

That statement coming in from Marco Rubio, who some people consider a potential vice presidential running mate.

All right. We are waiting for the president, as soon as he walks into the Rose Garden we will have live coverage. We'll also go live to Los Angeles. An immigration rally is happening right now as well. Stand by. Lots more coverage right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We are waiting for the President of the United States. He's going to be going into the Rose Garden, we are told, fairly soon. It was actually supposed to be a few minutes ago, obviously running a little bit late.

Once the president goes into the Rose Garden to speak on his new immigration policy guidelines, the new rules that were announced today, we will, of course, have live coverage. So we are waiting for the president to come into the Rose Garden and we will have live coverage. The president will outline his new rules that deal with the younger, undocumented immigrants and it will stop them from being deported. Let's go to Los Angeles right now, CNN's Paul Vercammen is standing by.

What is the reaction on the streets of L.A.? A lot of Latinos, a lot of Hispanics there, to this new decision?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolute joy here today, Wolf. In fact, right behind me at the immigration office, earlier, they began a rally and about 150 young people, many of them students, were just jubilant, and they'd begun a march of sorts.

If you can look way off in the distance behind me, they left the immigration office and they're just sort of circling the streets of downtown Los Angeles, crossing over some of the freeway bridges, et cetera.

But as I said to you, Wolf, there is just this great sense of achievement and euphoria. And let me bring in somebody who is an undocumented student. This is Katherine from Colombia, she is one of the demonstrators, one of the people here who are rallying now in a positive way.

Tell me, when you heard about this, what emotions went through your head?

KATHERINE TAVARAS, UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT: I was just like, I just want to cry. I'm just so happy that it is not just me, but all of my Dreamers.

They are now having the opportunity to get permits to work legally, you know, and, you know, that we won't be deported, because we wake up every morning.

We go outside on the streets and we are like, oh, my God, what if I get in trouble and then I get deported? I don't want to leave my family. I don't want to be separated from the people that I love, because we grew up here, we have our families here and our friends here.

And now that Obama has said this, we are really happy and enjoying this news, because we know that we aren't going to be deported and we're going to have the opportunity to work and reside in this country.

VERCAMMEN: And what's for you next? I understand you are going to go to a community college, LaGuardia, in New York. Tell us about your plans in light of all this.

TAVARAS: Well, my plans, I just graduated from high school -- International High School (inaudible) community college, and my plans are to go study civil engineering in LaGuardia, and transfer with an associate degree to City College and finish a double major with environmental engineering. VERCAMMEN: There was a moment there earlier when, obviously the announcement came down, a lot of people were hugging and whatnot. Can you give us a sense for just how many people in this protest, this rally, are feeling that their lives have changed forever for the better?

TAVARAS: In this rally, there are just like around 150 people, but like, I mean, among the nation, there are 1,000 of Dreamers, those are really, really happy that I know. They have been crying, just like for this moment, because we are really -- we were like, this is our desire, this is what we really wanted, and now we get it.

And now we are going to keep on fighting to get more, because now we just get our own little things for Dreamers, but now we need to get things for our parents, also.

VERCAMMEN: And did you talk to your parents today? Where are they?

TAVARAS: My father is in Colombia. He -- sadly he gave up, and he went back to Colombia, but I am here with my mother. And I called her and she was crying, she was like, Mami (ph), I am so happy for you, you know, you're going to have these opportunities now, and I was like, wow, yes, Mom, that's -- that is true, you know.

But now I am going to keep on fighting for you, because it is not just about one person, it's everybody in the community.

VERCAMMEN: We appreciate you so much for taking time out, and good luck to you, Katherine.

TAVARAS: (Inaudible).

VERCAMMEN: There you have it, Wolf, you heard directly from a student who's impacted by this, and I must note, if you saw a number of officers behind me, there was a moment where they had blocked the streets here and a freeway on-ramp, but they have decided that there will be no arrests right now, the protesters are no longer blocking.

The are walking downtown, as I said, over to the freeway bridges and whatnot, celebrating this huge victory here in Los Angeles today, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, it's an important step for a lot of these young people, maybe 800,000 will be impacted by this decision by the Obama administration.

Paul, stand by. We will get back to you. We're going to speak to more students as well and get some reaction from across the country.

A poll taken just a few months ago by the Pew Research Center shows what Americans think the priority should be when it comes to illegal immigration, look at these numbers, 24 percent said the priority should be finding a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants -- that is about 1 in 4 Americans, of course -- 29 percent said better border security and enforcement of immigration laws should be the top concern.

Forty-three percent said both of those should have equal priority. That is a recent poll on this sensitive issue.

Once again, the President of the United States will be going into the Rose Garden to make a statement; we will hear what he has to say. I'm curious to see if the president will bring some of those students who will be eligible for this new opportunity with him into the Rose Garden. Will he be by himself, what the format is going to be -- we will all find out pretty soon.

Once again, we will also be hearing from more students impacted by this dramatic announcement today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Once again, we are waiting for the President of the United States. He will be going into the Rose Garden, we are told, momentarily to make an announcement, a statement on the new immigration policy his administration has put forward today that will allow hundreds of thousands, maybe 800,000 illegal immigrants who are living in the United States.

All of a sudden, they will no longer be in fear of deportation based on this new announcement of policy change today.

The Obama administration has changed the policy. The administration announced it will no longer deport young law-abiding illegal immigrants who have lived here for at least five years.

Let's bring in one of those students directly impacted by this. Joining us on the phone is Jose Luis Zelaya; he's a student at Texas A&M University.

Jose, you came to the country illegally from Honduras when you were only 14. You were looking for your mom. You had an abusive father in Honduras. What was your reaction when you heard of this policy change today?

JOSE LUIS ZELAYA, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: Yes, sir. This morning when I saw the news, I almost fainted. It was -- I was -- I am so happy, because I am a teacher, and the idea that I am going to be able to have my own classroom with my own students and to be able to change their lives as an educator just gives me so much hope in service.

This is my country, and I want to be able to serve this nation, and this announcement gives me that, gives me the opportunity to serve. And that is what I have been waiting for.

BLITZER: You are 24 years old, right now you are a graduate student at Texas A&M, so walk us through, because I spoke just a little while ago with Janet Napolitano, the secretary of Homeland Security, and she says that people can now call in or get online and begin the process that will give you two years to work legally. You will have legal status in the United States, so what do you plan on doing? ZELAYA: Yes. We are planning on getting to -- getting legalized as soon as possible so that we can -- because the sooner we do it, the sooner I can start applying for jobs and starting motivating students and obtaining either valley techs (ph), as I have been invited to go to the valley (ph) to go motivate students, because of the changes (ph) I wasn't allowed to go.

But now I have the opportunity to do it. So I'm -- we are going to get legalized as soon as possible because there is one reason why I want to be legal and that is because I want to be a teacher and an educator and now that we have the opportunity to do it, we are going to do it as soon as possible, right, right now.

BLITZER: It is certainly a step for you, you will have two years to be legal in the United States and then you will have to reapply every two years, but as you know this stops short of the DREAM Act, stops short of comprehensive immigration reform. And at least for now, it's not a direct pathway to citizenship for you, even permanent residency. How do you feel about that?

ZELAYA: Yes. This is a definitely a step in the right direction. We Dreamers are going to continue to organize and work really, really hard for our communities. But this is definitely a step in the right direction. Obama made a right decision. We have been asking for administrative relief for two years, and so, I'm very happy today. Today is the day that dreamers can rejoice and celebrate, but we have to remember that we have to get back to work, and to know that dreamers have done so much without documentation gives me so much more hope to know what dreamers can do with the documentation when it comes to serving the nation, because this is our home. This is our country. I don't want to go back to Honduras. I want to stay here and love this country and serve my country, because this is my home. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave, and that is what I want to do, teach here.

BLITZER: Jose Luis, you been here 10 years, and you came when you were 14 from Honduras, as I said, and running away from an abusive father. Did you find your mother and sister in Houston? How is that working out?

ZELAYA: Yes. So, the reason why I actually came from Honduras whenever I was 5 years old, my family and I, because we were so poor, I actually, and we actually lost my little brother who passed away in my mom's arms. At the age of 7, I worked very, very hard. My dad was an alcoholic and made me work the buy him alcohol. At the age of 13, as soon as I came of age and destroyed the house. And in 1999, my mom ran away from Honduras to escape my father and came to the country, but I was left behind because my father would not let me come with my mom. And one day, I was playing soccer when I was 14 years old and when I was playing soccer, there was a drive by and I was shot in both of my arms and so I ran away from Honduras from violence and an alcoholic farther and I came to the United States. And since I came here, I have been doing great, and I went to school, and graduated from the community college and Texas A&M University, and I gave the invocation speech at graduation. And to know that 12 years ago I was a homeless little kid and now I'm a graduate student at Texas A&M is an honor and privilege. And now to know that I have the opportunity to serve -- I called my mom, and she is happy and proud, and to know that we will continue the fight and work for our communities as well.

BLITZER: Jose Luis, good luck to you and your mom and your sister and your family. Thanks very much for joining us.

ZELAYA: Thank you so very much.

BLITZER: We will also speak with other students who are directly affected by this administrative decision today. We will speak to a high school valedictorian who has been living in limbo for years. We will also look for other headlines while we wait for the president. He is going to go into the Rose Garden to make a statement on the new immigration policy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We will get back to Wolf Blitzer and our coverage in Washington after the Obama administration announced a major change in the immigration policy. It will have major implications as the country will stop deporting certain immigrants. And we will hear about the lives it has changed a few minutes. He is scheduled to emerge in a few minutes to make the announcements from the Rose Garden.

Japanese police have arrested an American man on the suspicion of killing an Irish exchange student. 21-year-old Nicola Furlong (ph) was killed in a Tokyo hotel room last month. Police say she was strangled, police say. The suspect is 19 years old and still a minor according to the Japanese law. Authorities have 20 days to decide whether to charge him with murder.

In China, graphic photos of a woman lying next to an aborted fetus sparked outrage. And now a rare public apology from the Chinese government. The 22-year-old woman from central China says she was forced to have a late-term abortion, and she posted the pictures online in protest. The couple has one child and is not allowed another, according to the China's one-child policy. These are not the images of the child involved in the case. The photos went viral however, prompting public debate on this controversial policy. And the woman's husband told CNN that he is angry and wants justice. Officials say that three people involved have been suspended.

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WHITFIELD: And this is Homs, Syria, today, covered with smoke and echoing with automatic gun fire. At least one person was killed in Homs in street fighting. At least 26 people died today across the country. The leader of the U.N. mission in Syria says that the increased violence is keeping his observers from doing their jobs.

And there's not too much progress in that giant Colorado wildfire. It is only now 15 percent contained. The rest is still out of control. Hundreds of firefighters from all over the country have been trying to slow down that fire all week long. It has torched 52,000 acres in a few days. Officials are hopeful that the weather today will possibly calm it down.

And global markets are on the edge of their seat. Some huge elections this weekend could have major ripple effects. France, and Europe's number-two economy, votes for its parliament tomorrow. France's new president Francois Hollande is against belt-tightening measures in European countries. If his Socialist Party wins big this weekend, France's parliament will be against the cuts as well. That is making many investors nervous since Europe's debt is already spiraling out of control.

A reminder that we will hear from President Obama momentarily about the changes in immigration policy, allowing some young illegal immigrants to avoid deportation. The president is scheduled to speak at any moment from the Rose Garden in Washington. We will of course bring that to you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A major policy change in illegal immigrants announced by the Obama administration. You are looking at live pictures of the Rose Garden. Over at the West Wing of the White House, the president will walk out of the Oval Office and walk down the stairs. You can see that the podium is set up with the microphone there. The president will make a statement on the major change in immigration policy. We will, of course, have live coverage. We are told that the president is only a few moments away from walking out of his office, down those stairs to the microphone.

Here is one of the ways that the president's change of the immigration policy could help him out politically. Check out this graphic. It shows the number of Latinos eligible to vote in the United States. You can see how much those numbers have grown. In 1988, for example, there were seven million eligible voters, Latino eligible voters. And now there are more than 21 million eligible Latino voters. And many of them in critical battleground states like New Mexico or Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and even in Virginia and North Carolina, among others.

You see that they are ready for the president in the Rose Garden right now.

We are also getting some angry Republican reaction to the changes in the Obama administration's immigration policy.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, for example, he tweeted this. He said, "Mr. President, I don't think that this is a wise way to fix a broken immigration system. This decision avoids dealing with Congress and the American people instead of fixing a broken immigration system once and for all." He adds, "This is a classic Barack Obama move of choosing politics over leadership." Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Congressman Steve King, Republican of Iowa, he says this -- I will put it up on the screen. "Americans should be outraged that President Obama is planning to usurp the constitutional authority of the United States Congress and grant amnesty by edict to one million illegal aliens." Steve King goes on to say this, "The American people have rejected amnesty, because it will erode the rule of law, in much the same way as I believe the American people will reject President Obama for his repeated efforts to violate the constitutional separation of powers." Representative Steve King, an opponent of comprehensive immigration reform, speaking out on this sensitive issue.

Our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin, like all of us, awaiting the president.

Do we know any details of what the president will say, and how long he is going to speak? Will he answer questions? Any of those matters resolved as far as we know, Jessica?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, my guidance is that he will speak for less than 10 minutes, and I don't expect him to take questions. Generally, in these sorts of settings he doesn't.

One thing I would point out is that this is a little different from some of the, you know, "let's get things done" sort of statements that he has made lately. This is not an executive order. This is a change in sort of how the Department of Homeland Security is directing their resources, is how one official put it. And I'm told that this has been under discussion, and for a very long time. It has been in the works for a while, one source tells me, and part of what they call a progression. This source in the administration official says that over the past three years, the administration has been focused on making the system effective and efficient focusing on basically people who are threatens to the U.S., threats to the border, and focusing on the integrity of the system, the immigration system. And now that they feel that -- and they give me a list of those things. But now that they feel that is secure, this is not an area where they deemed it essential to dedicate resources.

So, that's the apolitical or, if you want to look at this not through the political lenses or through the lenses of the election, that is how the administration explains why they are making this move now -- Wolf?

BLITZER: We will take one more quick break. On the other side, the president of the United States in the Rose Garden.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: All right. Once again, the president getting ready to walk out of the Oval Office, down those stairs in the Rose Garden to make a statement on his new immigration policy that applies to young illegal immigrants in the United States, under 30, those who have been here more than five years, came here before they were 16, and now will have the opportunity for legal status for two years. You can see some of the policy changes that were announced by Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary, a while ago. If you came to the U.S. before the age of 16, they are eligible. If they have lived in the United States for five years, they are eligible. They are eligible if they have been in school, graduated, or if they have been in the United States military or Coast Guard. No serious crimes, no felonies, and not a threat to the United States, and cannot be older than 30 as of today.

As we await the president and his new rules, he is going the go into some specific details about that, let's bring in our guest.

Joining us now, the sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona, the sheriff, Joe Arpaio. He's very familiar with this issue.

Sheriff, we may have to interrupt and get back to you, but I want to get your initial reaction to these changes announced by the Department of Homeland Security today. What do you think?

JOE ARPAIO, SHERIFF, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: First of all, I'm not surprised this is happening. Number two, it's a political year. Number three, the justice department has been investigating me for three and a half years and just took me to federal court. Sometimes I feel this is politics to get the Latino vote. The decision will be coming out Monday. Why can't they wait? Why is he doing this now? We all know the answer.

BLITZER: You just think it's politics. For 800,000 -- that's an estimate -- 800,000 under 30, they've been in school they came here not by force or anything. They were brought here mostly by their parents. They can study, work and be productive members of America.

ARPAIO: First of all, let Congress decide. Maybe this will get Congress angry. I doubt it. Next year, they will take this issue up. Why is the president right now and the Homeland Security secretary coming up with this policy? It's going to be hard to administer anyway. False identification -- I can go into many reasons -- to make this policy work. I'm not for it. It's a step towards amnesty. That's what this is all about. The long-range idea is to make amnesty for all those people that are in this country illegally.

(CROSSTALK)

ARPAIO: that's the bottom line. This is just a precursor.

BLITZER: Janet Napolitano -- you know her well. She used to be the governor of Arizona. She is now the secretary of Homeland Security. I interviewed her and she makes this point, Sheriff, this is not amnesty for these illegal immigrants. It's basically a two- year opportunity for them to have status to work, study, be productive here in the United States. She's also saying it's not the Dream Act. As a result, the Department Homeland Security can, by itself, change the policy guidelines. It's not even a formal executive order signed be the president.

ARPAIO: First of all, I've been a federal official for 30 years. You think they will keep track of two years? Even if it is two, they will extend it to five, and it will go on and on. It is a complex problem. I can understand that. This isn't the right thing to do in an election year to throw this out right now before the election. That's sad, very sad.

BLITZER: Will this make your life as a sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona, easier now? Now you don't have to worry about these thousands of young people. if they apply for this new status, they will be legal. You won't have worry about them.

ARPAIO: No. I like to worry. What do you mean worry? I do my job. The more the merrier. We've locked up over 51,000 on the streets in our jails. I'm enforcing the laws. The laws are there, I'm going to enforce it. I'm not worried. We're going to continue doing what we have been doing for all these years.

BLITZER: It just means you'll have less people to pick up, put in jail. It's expensive to keep them in jail, to watch them and all that. Now these young people under 30, who have been here for five years, will have an opportunity to be legal, at least for two years. Unless a new president were to change the regulation, they would have an opportunity to renew that two-year status ever two years.

ARPAIO: So where are we going to draw the line? We just arrested six more in the workplace last night. Should we let them go too? I'm sure with the new policies they are coming up, they may not accept those we arrest with false identification. That's not a problem. We book them into our jail for state crimes. But there's a lot of people we arrest, with their new policy, they may say, we're not going to take them anymore, Sheriff. What are we going to do, dump them on the streets? They're here illegally. They should be arrested and deported. Very simple.

BLITZER: Because in this Homeland Security memorandum that was released by Janet Napolitano, they make it clear, Sheriff, as of today, these young people who qualify for this new status cannot be arrested simply because they have the legal status in the United States. They can be arrested if they commit a crime. They can't be arrested just because they are here. As a result, it will be less paper work, less work for you, presumably.

ARPAIO: If we don't arrest them, what paper work you talking about?

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: I mean, fewer individuals you'll have to worry about.

ARPAIO: What do you mean I don't have to worry about it? That's not a problem. I'm here to enforce the law to try to do something about the illegal immigration we have. We're not going to arrest them unless we have a reason to arrest them. We don't go on a street corner and grab people. I don't care if they are students, who are they are, unless we have a reason to doing that. Let's see what the 1070 Supreme Court says. Why can't they wait -- why didn't they wait until that decision came out? They may not like the decision, so now they are counteracting that decision with this thing. Where were they -- where have they been on this?

BLITZER: Well, we're waiting. That Supreme Court decision could come out, the Arizona immigration law, as early as this coming Monday. We're also waiting for the health care law to be adjudicated by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sheriff, we're going to take another quick break, but thanks so much for joining us.

ARPAIO: Thank you.

BLITZER: Sheriff Joe Arpaio, joining us from Arizona. He's the sheriff of Maricopa County.

We'll take another quick break. We expect to hear from the president when we come back.