and more than 2000 people had been turned away because there was not enough time or staff to deal with them. again, this is from "the new york times" from yesterday. under the program, our government will grant a two year prieve from deportation for illegal immigrants under age 31, have been in this country since they were children and meet our requirements. president obama initiated the program on june 15th, using his executive authority. he did say after legislation, known as the dream act which he supported and which would have given legal stattous young immigrants stalled in congress, he made broad use of presidential powers with 1.7 million immigrants estimated to be eligible for deferrals. again, 202 is the area code for our numbers. if you have a comment about this deferred deportation program for young illegal immigrants, we've got the numbers on the screen. >> if you're an downdocumented -- undocumented worker or illem immigrant, we want to hear from you, too. we're going to begin with a republican in raleigh, north carolina. jim you're on the "washington journal". >> this is -- caller: this is just another instance of abuse of power by barack obama and another instance of the destruction of rule of law in this country. it's obvious pandering. why didn't he try to get this through when he had control of not only the executive branch but democrats took control of the legislative branch as well? it's clear political pandering and it's a shame because these poor folks are coming at it at good faith, even though they are breaking the law by being here, but i'm just curious, do you have the phone number -- i mean, where i is kind up -- can sign up? because mr. obama has bought everybody else's vote when it comes to unions and gay and lesbians, the list goes on and on. i'm just curious where can i sign up, because if he's buying votes maybe he'll cut me a check. i mean, that's the way he's taking america, just totally destroying it. that's just my opinion. guest: let's leave it there. anthony is an independent in washington, d.c. by anthony. caller: how you doing today? guest: good. caller: for one thing, these people came here, it was -- like the last caller talking about pandering. how do you pander to people who cannot vote? that's sinister. -- sinister. obviously he's not going after the vote. he's doing the right thing. these are young people who have been here not by choice. the parents brought them here, and if they do the right thing, go to school, serve in the service, these are the people who qualify. that's not a problem with -- there's not a problem with that. you can't keep this many people in the shadows in this country. it don't work that way. this is america. these are the same people who he keeps talking about, what the president is doing. that's okay. it was ronald reagan who gave immigrants amnesty, and opened up the flood gates. all he's trying to do is control the problem and the situation. that's all i can say. thank you, appreciate it. caller: if -- guest: if you can't get through on the phone lines, you can contact us electronically, send an e-mail, tweet or make the comment on our facebook page, c-span wj is twitter, facebook.com/cspan and e-mail is journal at c-span.org and one shrine set aside for illegal and undocumented immigrants if you would like to make a comment about it, 202-628-o184 is the number for you to call. back to the new york times article. the agency managing the program, citizenship and immigration services, had only 60 days to prepare for the deluge of paperwork. the application form was first published on the internet on tuesday afternoon, officials at the agency said on wednesday that no major problems had been reported. immigrants must mail in the applications, which include a request for the deportation deferral and separate forms for a work permit. agency officials and immigrant advocates have warned young people there will be no appeals of applications that are denied so they should have all their documents in order. as a result, few applications were submitted on wednesday. most immigrants who turned out were seeking guidance about whether they would be eligible and what documents they needed to prove they met the requirements. at the session, at the navy pier in chicago, organizers that the illinois coalition for immigrant and refugee rights set up rows of tables in a ballroom where dozens of lawyers and volunteers offered free individual counseling. prominent illinois democrats, all long time supporters of the dream act gathered at navy pier to mingle with the young immigrants and reap some of the political benefits of mr. obama's in addition twitch. one of them, senator richard durbin of illinois, wrote the original dream act 11 years ago, the second ranking democrat, and he was elated to see the huge crowd, quote, you can't stop this force, mr. durbin said to applause from the immigrants. this is a force of people who have grown up in this country and want to be part of this future they're -- future they're crating. jake, go ahead. caller: yeah, i haven't been able to get through for six months so i hope you give me a couple of minutes about this issue. i'm a working guy, in roofing and siding for many years, long before there was a mexican for hundreds of miles hey, i wonder, the democrats mingle with hispanic hispanics, where they live. if you look at the migratory and meeting patterns of white liberals they did not live near the people they love to claim so much, blacks or hispanics. it's the working class whites that have to live with their compassion. in 1916, wao*pbd row wilson sent 5000 soldiers into blackjack pershing, seventh calvary, remained on the southern border, secured every square inch. that's the history. 1953, eisenhower acted, american people demanded tens of thousands of legals be deported, joint military law enforcement operation removed tens of thousands of illegal immigrants. that's the history of our country. we had a golden door open from time to time but our back door was secured. why there no german vote? i'm of german descent, there are 60 million germans -- >> guest: we're going to move on, because we're off topic, want to think what you think about the deferred deportation program. nico, in north carolina, are you with us? last chance, we're going to move to john in -- >> caller: well -- >> guest: nico? please answer, turn down your tv and make your comments. caller: yeah, i mean, i feel like it's only -- i feel like obama is doing a real good job and stuff. i mean, i feel like people are not paying -- not giving him -- like the most -- they're not giving him the -- they're not giving him the full -- you know what i -- >> guest: i apologize, but you want to try to get back in, that's fine, just a reminder, turn down your tv, you hear the delay and it gets a little confusing. don is an independent in lancaster, pennsylvania. how you doing john. caller: how you doing. the folks that they were born here, they don't know anything else. and the fact that their parents can -- were illegal, i just don't understand republicans or oppositions' feelings on not having this act go through. i'm in favor of what obama is doing. and the fellow that's talking about pandering to voters, republicans pander to willfully ignorant white people and it's really a shame. they don't get the facts. they listen to fox news or watch fox news. it's really a shame. guest: that was john in lancaster, pennsylvania. this is from politico this morning, governor jan brewer defies white house on immigration, arizona governor jan brower -- brewer signed an executive order to deny benefits to young illegal immigrants who qualify under the white house's new deferred action policy. republican governor issued the order in response to the obama administration's decision to allow eligible illegal immigrants under 30 the chance to apply for a work permit in the u.s. brewer's state has one of the strictest antiimmigration laws in the country, directed that those illegal immigrants will not be able to receive public benefits in arizona. the new deferred action program does not confer upon them any unlawful or unauthorized status and does not entitle them to any additional public benefits. brewer wrote in her order and the front page of the arizona republic this morning, this headline, migrant lawyers -- floyd, you're on the washington, what's your opinion of this deferred deportation program? >> caller: thank you for taking my call this morning. i think about it like i got grandkids that need jobs, okay? if my grandkids break the law, they put them in jail. okay? these people has broke the law, they come over here, brought their kids illegally, broke the law and now they made them legal and they're getting the jobs. i think the president has done the american people dirty by taking these people, letting them get jobs and stuff illegally and my grandkids need jobs, they can't pay for their homes, they can't pay for their food, for nothing, because the illegals are coming in and taking them. this is absolutely wrong. we need a fence, we need to stop them and that's my opinion. guest: that was floyd in jonesville, virginia. this is frank on our twitter page. with unemployment this high, why would you not deport these people? the law is the law. get ready to pay for their kids is his view. fred says illegals should be kicked out of the country since the president can't do the job. he needs to go. other countries get this country. and here is t.j., the key word is illegal, a word that obama doesn't seem to comprehend, and finally, steve says have we forgotten this, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free. donna in nottingham, maryland, is a democrat. hi donna. caller: hi. all i have to say is i think this will affect the unemployment rates, which are already pretty bad. and the big argument used to be, well, they took all the jobs that no one else wanted. do you know what i'm saying? >> guest: we're listening. caller: they would take the jobs that no one else wanted in the country, and so it didn't really affect the normal unemployment rates, because they weren't really jobs that were, you know, counted in that respect. and the unemployment rates are already being, you know, brought up by newt, in the election, and won't that affect the election negatively for president obama, whom i love? guest: that was donna in nottingham, maryland, this is from "the new york times" this morning. few voters are truly up for grabs, research shows, about one third of americans describe themselves as independent voters, creating a widespread impression that a large group of americans will provide the decisive swing votes in this year's election but that impression is misleading, polling experts and political scientists say. many self-described independents, close to half according to surveys, rely iably vote for own party or the other and many true swing voters think in swing states like texas or california where no analyst doubts the outcome in november. despite the cliches between walmart moms those up for grabs is probably between 3 percent and 5 percent in this election, polling experts say. the obama and romney campaigns are expected to spend on the order of $2 billion, in part to try to sway this tiny share of the electorate, quote, there's a very small slice of people who are genuinely undecided but it's enough to win the presidency, said rich thesen, political director for mr. romney's campaign, the share of swing voters may have even declined in recent years as many voters have become more reliably partisan a part by the pew research group found that self-identified liberal democrats are more liberal than the past and self-identified republicans are more conservative. that's just a little bit from "the new york times". this article is also from that paper. brian says herd in seeking stimulus money, represent paul ryan said thursday that it was a mistake to have requested funds in 2009 from the federal stimulus bill after voting against it. mr. romney earlier denied asking for prone from the $787 billion bill on behalf of companies in his wisconsin district, contradicting a report by the boston globe on tuesday that he wrote to the federal energy department requesting financing for two companies to develop so-called green jobs, quote, no, i never asked for stimulus. mr. brian said in an interview broadcast on thursday, mr. ryan, along with hith romney have denounced the stimulus pweupl as an example of president obama's failure to restore the economy. that's from "the new york times". next call comes from hendersonville, north carolina, millie is on our independent line. hi millie, you are on c-span. millie? caller: i'd like to say that the illegal immigrants, i don't care what age you were when you came here, should not be given any preferred status, even children born to illegal aliens in this country should not be given automatic citizenship. these people are a drain on our economy. they get ebt, they get wic, they get all sorts of assistance that our government cannot afford to be paying. so illegal is illegal from any standpoint and should not be given my preferred status. thank you. guest: from the financial times newspaper this morning, worldwide businesses back obama. business executives from around the world think it would be better for the global economy if barack obama remained u.s. president than if mitt romney unseated him in november, according to a financial times economist global business barometer survey. twice as many of the 1700 executives polled said a victory for mr. obama would be better for the global economy than said the same for mr. romney. the remaining 37 percent thought it would make no difference who won the election. opinion was more balanced among respondents in the u.s., with 37 percent said mr. obama would be better, compared with 33 percent for mr. romney. by the way, we read a couple of articles dealing with politics this morning. well, you know what's coming up, and those are the conventions. tampa and charlotte. the republicans kick off in tampa on august 27th. that runs through august 30th. the democrats start up september 4th through the sixth and as you well know, if you're a regular c-span viewer, gavel to gavel coverage of both conventions. we will have all sorts of personnel down in both locations, doing side stories, et cetera, but gavel to gavel coverage of both conventions, as well. u.s.a. today this morning, kennedy, jackson in deep depression, representative jesse jackson, jr. is in a deep depression and has a lot of work ahead of him on the road to recovery, former rhode island congressman patrick kennedy said thursday after visiting the hospitalize -- hospitalized chicago democrat. jackson has been on medical leave since june 10 when he collapsed at home in washington, he is currently being treated for bipolar ii disorder at the mayo clinic in rochester, minnesota. next call from kirin in orlando on our republican line. kirin, you are on the washington journal. what do you think about this deferred deportation program? caller: i think it's a great idea. it goes to the principle that children, the innocent party here, should not be penalized. this is not an amnesty. these children are brought, they had no decisions whatsoever. i don't remember when i got a job, i had any say in where i was going to live. my parents made that decision. secondly on jobs, illegal aren't taking jobs or margicly taking jobs, it's our country men, fellow americans that are firing other americans and hiring them. this is an american people problem. it is not a government problem. it's our own citizens that are hiring these people. and lastly, on jan brewer, i think she's a disgrace to america. she is prejudice and it shows. just two days ago, she released a woman that murdered a 15 month-year-old child. she released them, but then she doesn't want to give them benefits, to children of people that brought their kids over here? i mean, that's so heartless. i think she's the most heartless person. that senate bill 1070, there are so many kids kidnapped, molested and raped in law. where is the law for those people that commit those crimes? guest: we're going to leave it there kirin. by the way if you're an illegal immigrant or undocumented immigrant and would like to call in and talk about this deferred deportation program, 202-628-o184 is the number for you to call. better move on to cleveland, maria is a democrat in cleveland, hi maria. caller: hi. i agree with the last caller. these young people did not have anything to do with how they got here, okay? most of them that were brought here are school age, okay? we are a nation of immigrants. nobody came over here rightfully, okay? if you look at all the european people that came here, they came here and took this land from the indians, okay? >> and african-americans, they built this country on the backs of their ancestors. all of us is in this pot together, and a lot of people don't want to accept that. but we are a nation of laws. and then even if they do wind up with citizenship, they'll probably be facing the same thing the african-americans in this country is facing, in 2012, voter suppression. thank you. guest: a few more tweets have come in regarding this issue, joseph ramirez tweets in a decent thing to do, america does not punish innocent kids, well done mr. president dwayne jackson says illegal immigrants need to be deported, we cannot afford to take care of our citizens and obama knows this. it is political for him. and finally, monty says immigrants have and still are the pillar of our nation. they come with one mouth, two hard working hands, and they earn every penny. and from our facebook page, there are also comments being made, richard says this is open -- this has opened the door for so much fraud. i'm sure all these young people had no idea what citizenship was. now we must deal with these immigrants but we must stop this invasion or make this one big corrupt mexico country just north of the border. in facebook.com/cspan, in case you'd like to continue that conversation. our next call from rebecca in richmond, virginia, republican line. hi rebecca. caller: hi, good morning. i just wanted to agree with the last two people. i have illegal family here, and i think it's a good idea. because they came here when they were young, they've worked really hard for everything, and they have two working hands, like the other person says, so they can go out and find a job, go to school. if they want to go to school and they have no criminal records, why not? that is -- it's good for them, it's good for everybody. i mean, there's always problems finding jobs. it depends on how you look for them. >> guest: your family members, did they apply for this deferred deportation program, did they look into it? caller: yes they have. defendant. guest: what's you hear about it? caller: they just sent the paper out yesterday, and they turned in everything. my other brother, he just graduated from college, got a degree. and -- guest: >> is he illegal or undocumented? caller: yes. and it's hard, because they have to live in the shadows all the time. and it's good for them to come out. it's really hard, you know. you don't know how hard it is guest: how long have you been in this country, rebecca? caller: like -- i'm 25, i've been here 20 years. guest: did you come over the same way, as a young child? caller: yes. guest: have you gone through school, have you applied for the deferred deportation program? caller: no, i haven't, because i didn't finish my schooling. guest: okay. caller: but my brothers do, and if they can get an opportunity, why not. guest: all right. well, thank you for calling in and sharing your experience, rebecca. and next we'll go to camelo in colu