Welcome everybody thank you for taking the time to be here with us for this extraordinary book i hope you get a book before you leave and Immigration Reform and the lessons learned. This is what we are obliged to do so this book means a lot. It is historical but contemporaneous. And adhere to both of you. And with a small nonprofit. And then also with that initiative. And from some different angles and publishing a book like the Immigration Reform book so thank you for being here. I would like to share one piece of information and with my minority offer. In the big social democracy about 30 or 40 percent so those that hold such a beautiful democracy and fundraising frontlines publishing this issue that are yet with transitional mainstream. It is important so thank you for your support to buy the book. Here is mark. I first saw the invitation and i thought charles will hates this. [laughter] but he has written this from his heart and to do the press tours in the spotlight for someone that has always been modeling. When i came to dc in 1990 i did immigration work of course that came after i finish the hard work and one of the first things as you have to be with charles but be careful. [laughter] he can be tough he was tough with me because i did not know myself. Is not ready to be on the hill or to advocate or to do the hard work that needed to be done and he told me straight up get it together we have to paddle. And its important when somebody tells you to get your shit together. [laughter] so for me, with charles there is nobody i rather be in the foxhole with other than charles with issues like this. And we have fallen off Immigration Reform has consistently been there and fighting the good fight so it is important to mix policy with the arts and republish the history and remember these things and is told charles has a long memory so be careful to write this 500 page book. 1100 pages. [laughter] and you have to have a long memory. Thank you for being here and for writing this important book and for putting up with us and for being here tonight. [applause] as cohost of this event and the best part of the evening. First of all welcome everybody to the National Press club. We are honored to work with them and the founder to represent over 75000 of the largest and the only latino farmer and ranching organization in the United States and i have the pleasure for more years than we care to admit and i am from texas. And charles is there. And i were personally on various issues including immigration. And as the first communication director. And we owned this and then with the sales every year and then to see and i we will introduce you to this incredible person and by my good friend. Charles . Robert quick. [applause] as publisher charles book i started after 35 years in Book Publishing and the director of several University Presses and university of wisconsin pres press, Texas Tech University press. After i retired i decided i had to start my own publishing house. [laughter] so thank you to the cohost and rudy of course for hosting. And also my cohost. And a special shout out in those who helped us get this all together. To celebrate the publication to discuss the new book Immigration Reform. Into initiate a chat between charles and greg and to have a place in american political journalism but also an author that is important to be published and tired old taking back democracy in the age of trump of disinformation and politics. Thats a long subtitle. As a book publisher and there is 2000 publications in my career i can count the number conceived on one hand that was over 1000 pages. [laughter] and charles is one of those books. As a book editor or publisher and then to decline that book but i remember something that happened a story that i heard over a 1000 manuscript pages so there was a writer in ohio who had over 1000 page novel and she sent it out and she really wanted to be published by ohio state unit university of course they politely declined and very quickly but she was so persistent six months later she sent it back to them and they came to a different editor at the press and he politely declined the book. She did not go away and came back another time and demanded a reason why they were declining the manuscript. The editor said we will send it out to review that we will decline it. And they said you have a bestselling book in this 1000 page it was called in the ladies of the club on the New York Times bestseller for 39 weeks and at the University Press for quite a while. So i read it and when i read charles manuscript before i went to publishing i had my phd in history. So i am very interested in historical events. So i read the manuscript and it was a great read for court really reads well its a great narrative history and of the struggle of this Immigration Reform and control act. Is not just as it is today but to democrats and republicans and those that were embattled against each other and Ronald Reagan was president. That charles came in the early eighties and he was in charge of immigration policy and all the others that were involved to stop the Immigration Reform bill and then thought they would try to shape it and pass with those forces of leftwing and rightwing with their own particular views eventually they came up with legislative sausage so the book is an insiders history and memoir but it has a lot of implications for the legacy of Immigration Reform. Thank you. [applause]. It is a panoramic history that has theory and background and a lot of political philosophy. At least congressional philosophy if there is such a field. [laughter] so you talk about the corpse that will not die. Starting in 2013 and 2014 starting with comprehensive Immigration Reform. I think it was 68 votes. And at least one dozen republicans and marco rubio. Remember him cracks. [laughter] and was a champion of that bill and there was a stigma at the time the Republican Party was thought to be guided by the autopsy of 2012 losing to obama and the bad economy which shocked a lot of republicans they had to change and adjust but john boehner by all appearances probably wanted to pass it back to those standards as an oldfashioned probusiness republican wants to grease the wheels for many making with prohibition and reform and so forth. And yet he would not hold a vote on it in the house and retrospect that is a precursor for what we have now. So its interesting to me of this book is you are somewhat optimistic that even though its so dark right now in a nationalist doing everything he can to reduce Legal Immigration and cruelty upon cruelty upon immigrants and so forth and in two years all of a sudden we can be in a situation. So im hoping you can talk about how we move from that 2013 and 2014 and suddenly we can start thinking about real reform. Thats a good question. So in the broader arc of history it looks a lot like what look like before it passed the pundits were saying this is not a bill that could pass. The front pages of the Washington Post other pundits were writing the only thing we are sure of is that nothing can pass. Its important to take a step back and then to drill down a bit. No one will ever know exactly what is happening in John Boehners mind in 2013. He told a number of people he fully intended to put that bill on the floor. But he told that to the Obama Administration and to the press and public and told numerous members of congress but yet when it came down to what he didnt do it and for somewhat obvious reasons now which is not back then but he sensed that there was another current in his caucus that will come after him if he made that move so i get that. But tip oneill is somewhat similar figure to the day he was viewed as oldschool in the 18 eighties and viewed by the proponent of democrat and having fights with Ronald Reagan over taxes and viewed by some as not willing to do with reagan. But tip oneill likes john boehner so the Immigration Reform and control act not once or twice but three times literally pulls the bill off the schedule at a time when it could pass. I must say i thought during that 2013. What are we not doing that we could add more pressure to the left cracks but what were we offering and in there be nothing if we played it differently. But i do believe we did not play all the cards that were in our hands. Someone Going Forward as if we are serious about reform not necessarily a great messaging campaign or a different set of policies even more political power none of those are guarantees but Immigration Reform will pass the next time around but reform is the corpse that will not die there will never be front and center a debate about Us Immigration but because something could blow up to cause a bigger crisis. Those of us who care deeply about reform, we need to be prepared to say we have every tool in the toolbox. So let me ask you , democrats in the house and senate to put serious comprehensive plans with the asylum situation and in Central America and that calls for a raise in the cap there are ways to create that application in order to destroy people along with raising the caps could conceivably work a bunch of things like that. If in 2021 by some miracle trumpet is gone as a democratic president and house and a senate or Republican Senate have the votes, what to be prioritized at that point . Do we go big right away or just a big package cracks this was central to politics. In a way much more than what it makes sense just to do something right away . Now it is an emergency can be slashing the refugees. Beto orourke says we have to go even higher than the original number that we have to at least restore to where it was before trump started to cut it. I am somewhat agnostic at least to begin. What i would say of the border crisis is the first thing is we have to be honest with the American People that there are multiple factors taking place. Even most do not have a remedy under current law. So under those protections as is done and theres nothing more permanent than a temporary emigrant. We need to go into that debate and matters of life and death and international policy, foreign aid. But i would be inclined though he also should be aware that the Obama Administration began to execute, although not well but that that inability to demonstrate. That we should protect the fact having to release that is not something that is problematic. And really that is the fault line of the republicans right now. Trumps entire argument rest on the idea somebody could be feared and hated. What do you think of Public Opinion or its state . I have no clue. What i would say but in that initial policy but then we have the resources to process in a timely manner. But frankly another trying on the things to stay in the country. So it seems to me and my colleagues we have articulated a plan then to assist fools but we also to comply with court orders not listing people and definitely. Certainly not kids but to be in a timely way you need action other than that investment. And some form of temporary status the conditions in Central America now is almost verbatim from what the statute articulates of the condition that makes sense as well. The one thing i have not seen enough talk is the qualifications. That one of the things is so interesting about the immigration issue is known as thermostatic. That they identify the term which is whenever there is an extreme and whatever the trumpet administration or how many or for how long or what should the rules be . You will see less of a divide. But then the crushed house is what it should look at under our historical standards to be some form of status. Maybe those republicans that want to play in that debate as well. Actually i want to bring up two things that your book does really well and also bring up a personal experience with