>> unfortunately, there were elements who wanted to disrupt

this process. and they were impeding this democratic process and that is where i was intervening for the sake of stability in pakistan and for the sake of democratic transition in pakistan. >> do you envision a return to an active political role in pakistan? >> i'm worried about pakistan, yes, indeed. because pakistan is not doing well. i'm especially worried because i feel pakistan has all the potential. it has all the resources. it has all the human acumen to do when he will why i say this, because in 1999 i inherited a country which was being called our memories are short.

that is how i took over. in 2006, the world bank declared pakistan as one of the countries. they showed a list of successful economies of the world. and that was the next 11, n11 and pakistan was one of them. so i know pakistan's potential and so it hurts me and pains me from that n11 we are rocketing downwards. now, whether i want to do something, certainly i'm a patriotic pakistani. i love my country. but it is not enough that i have to think that i need to go to the people of pakistan because now if i have to do something, i have to go through the political process of elections.

and that is where i would say one good point is that i will have the legitimacy if at all i have to go back, which i did not have before. while i was democratic and i was not a dictator, but the world and pakistan elements called me a dictator because i was a man in uniform. now i will have the legitimacy through the election process and democratic process. however, it depends on the people of pakistan. i don't want to enter politics and be a part of the fray that is going on in pakistan and be another person who's shouting around the place. if i have to do something i have to have the authority to do something for pakistan and that authority can be given to me by the people of pakistan. and, therefore, if the people of pakistan want me to do that, they better give me that authority to do something. and if i feel that they have --

they will, then i will do it, yes, indeed. [applause] >> for the last question -- [inaudible] >> excuse me, i'm reading the questions in the order that i've chosen to. thank you. for the last question, what is your preference for the next steps for the united states to take in your part of the world? >> in mine? >> in your part of the world, in pakistan and in the surrounding area? >> in my political role -- >> in your part of the world, in your region. what should the united states do next? >> yes. [laughter] >> the problem in that region, may i say, is a problem -- there's a conflict in the minds of the people of pakistan.

and the role of the united states is concerned. today if you ask a pakistani in the street do they want taliban and al-qaeda, 99% will say no. let me tell you with real confidence. but if you were to ask them about their opinions about united states 99% will give a negative opinion.atq0v1e0s10=50

but '89, we were put under sanctions. everyone abandoned us. our nuclear assets are bared. we need to nip them. we need to stop that. but india is a strategic nuclear partner. so i think all of these things created a public betrayal in the public mind as a result of which in pakistan after 9/11, one of the questions -- standard questions which everyone asked me in any public -- any news conference, what makes you sure that united states will not again betray us? this was the question that i had to answer in every voter. so what i'm trying to say is now what is the role that the united states has to play? united states must win against taliban and al-qaeda.

the united states must win in afghanistan. allow pakistan army, pakistan to handle its affairs in pakistan. strategically, pakistan is in favor of defeating al-qaeda and taliban. there should be no doubt about the intentions of pakistan. leave how they want to handle it to pakistan. and we hope with better consistency in the policies of united states that the situation changes as it was in 1989. >> thank you very much, president musharraf. [applause] [applause]

>> and thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for joining us tonight. i hope we will see you on may 3rd when we welcome jane lubchenco when we talk about the environment. bye.

>> a coalition gathered around a rally to change immigration policy. this hour-long portion of the event begins with remarks with naacp executive director benjamin jealous. >> and a champion for economic and social justice. >> si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. good afternoon.

my name is ben jealous. i'm the president of the naacp. i was raised in monterey, california. and i was taught to fight by the ufw for the naacp that monterey has always fought with. we are here today to ensure that this country continues to march towards human rights for all. [applause] sflsh >> we are here to say today that there must be a limit to how working people are treated in this country. [applause] >> we are here today -- we are here today to fix this broken system. and to force this country to admit that we only have one nation.

that there is only one america, and it belongs to all of us. [applause] >> and so i invite you -- i ask you to join me in the battle cry of the naacp, which is simply fired up! ready to go! fired up! ready to go! fired up! ready to go! fired up! ready to go! we will win. thank you for being here. fight, fight, fight! >> please join us in welcoming josh hoyt of the illinois coalition. [speaking spanish] >> ladies and gentlemen, we have a champion and a fighter in the capitol. the politics that destroys men's

soul has not destroyed the soul of one congressmen who the mothers, the fathers, the busboys, the farm workers still trust. [speaking in native tongue] [applause] >> we have a congressman who knows that destroying 400,000 families a year is a moral and un-american. it is an honor to present the congressman from the fourth district of illinois, luis gutierrez. gracias. thank you. [applause]t8i

>> gracias. gracias. [chanting] >> gracias. thank you, josh. gracias. thank you, josh. my friends, josh hoyt is a fighter and he's a champion for immigrants. josh, i thank you for your hard work. and i want to thank all of you. [applause] >> and i want to start by thanking someone real special, my life for accompanying me today. let's give her a round of applause. thank you. [applause]

>> it looks like a few people decided to show up in washington, d.c. today. [applause] >> all we need is a few people in that building back there, the capitol, to listen to the immigrants that passed comprehensive immigration reform. [applause] >> well, i know how you get heard in the capitol. you raise your voice. i promise you today we will raise our voices in hope, then soon voices in victory. because our day is coming. [applause] >> we stand here at the front door of american history. tens of thousands of immigrants are filling america's front yard. the very same place where the overlooked and the disposed have always traveled to seek redress for their claims.

the question is, what history will we make at this spot today. at one end of america's front yard since all of you since abraham lincoln the great emancipator. in 1863, with one signature he turned hope into victory for millions of african-american slaves, injustice and cruelty was attacked and defeated by a courageous man with this weapon, a pen. [applause] >> because when abraham lincoln moved this pen across the emancipation proclamation, he also moved african-americans out of the desperate shadows of slavery and into the bright sunlight of freedom. 100 years later, 100 years later when america had broken its promise to african-americans,

hundreds of thousands of people again came to america's front yard just as we do today to demand true freedom. on that day, another great american. martin luther king had a simple message. [applause] >> justice cannot wait. on this mall in 1963, dr. king said, justice cannot wait. he was right. and i say to you today, justice cannot wait for immigration cannot wait for the fear of politicians. [applause] >> today we are flipping over a new page on the calendar. yesterday's page was fear and finger-pointing and waiting. we are turning a new page that says justice. and you know what else the new immigrant calendar says, now, justice now! justice now!

justice now! [speaking spanish] >> i like those words. we will repeat them again and again until we turn our hope into victory and we are heard. as with dr. king, that justice now and that building back there, congress passed the civil rights act and president johnson made equality for averages? -- african-americans. how did he do it? he did it with a simple pen. abraham lincoln had a pen. lyndon johnson had a pen. my friend, barack obama, has a pen. barack obama's pen can turn our hope into victory. [applause] >> and we want barack obama to use his pen.

he want him to use it now! [applause] >> our friends, our families, our neighbors have waited too long. if america has the problem it can't solve, our enemies blame immigrants, foster jobs, costly healthcare at those immigrants but you know what? i say the blame game is over. for today we've come to the front door of american history to say that the wait is over. the time is now. we're ready to turn our hope into victory. let's bring about comprehensive immigration reform. [applause] >> so today i want to leave you with this message. we've been patient long enough. we've listened quietly. we've asked politely.

we've turned the other cheek so many times our heads are spinning. here in this place where americans facing injustice travel to have justice delivered, we need to present our demands. what is it that we want? to me it's simple. it's time to let immigrants come out of the shadows into the light of day and for america to embrace them and protect them once and for all. [applause] >> the sun is shining on our future today. today i will tell you what i want. i want the light of justice to bring its glow to every immigrant in every city and town in our nation. what do i want? i want the sunlight of fairness to drive away the darkness and the shadows that immigrants have been forced to live and hide in. what do i want? i want the end the real fear that children feel every day of

becoming orphans because their parents might be deported. i want to end the banishing and disappearing in the middle of the night of parents of our immigrant children. what do i want? [applause] >> i want to stop the pain. i want to stop the pain of women working the fields until their hands are calloused and bloodied. i want those women protected from those boz who threaten them and i want those who exploit immigrant women to be stopped. i want the day laborers across the nation to know that for eight hours of hard work they will receive eight hours of fair pay. what do i want? i want safe borders where greedy and violent smugglers can't get away with treating human beings like cattle and infesting our communities with drugs. you know it's simple. i want millions of people who

risked it all to come to a new america to build better lives, to build a better america for all of us. to reach their dreams of american citizenship. what do i want? i'll tell you what i want? i want comprehensive immigration reform. i want justice and i want it now. [applause] >> i see it. se shining on immigrant soldiers from mexico and the philippines. from poland and ireland. from haiti and ethiopia who have risked their lives so that we can all live safer and freer. i see the light of justice illuminating the light so they want take the mother. and i see the light of justice shining on the capitol behind us. where comprehensive immigration reform will be passed and the white house where barack obama will take his pen and finally sign the bill into law.

can you see it with me? [applause] >> i see it and i feel it. for immigrants it's been a long, cold season but spring is in the air. that doesn't mean we can stop fighting and pushing. we have to keep marching and praying and working but we're closer to turning hope into victory. we're closer. i want that light to shine on every immigrant, on the woman, on her hands and knees all day digging onions in salinas, california, until her knees are almost gone. i want the sun to shine on the man washing dishes, thousands of dishes, in el paso until he can barely feel his hands anymore and a woman in the sweatshop in the basement with no union and no rights who works for a few dollars to support her kids. i want the sun to shine on them. but you know what? there's someone else i want the sun to shine on. i want the sun to shine on

barack obama, our president and our leader. i want the light of justice -- i want the light of justice to guide his actions and make him our ally and our protector and lead immigrants to a brighter and fairer future. and i want him to guide his pen. i want him to guide his pen, barack obama's pen, so that he can sign comprehensive immigration reform. [applause] [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish] si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. [speaking spanish] [applause]

[speaking spanish] [applause] >> si se puede! si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. si se puede.

[speaking spanish] emilio sanchez now welcomed from the korean-american service and education consortium. >> hello. thank you congressman gutierrez. i came from los angeles and i'm part of a great delegation from california. i'm honored to be standing here to represent the communities i work with in los angeles and chicago. many of them could not be here today so for them i am here to tell president obama and congress, republicans and democrats that our communities are hurting. korean americans and asian-american communities are hurting because of the failures of our immigration system. we too have children watch as ice agents take their parents away. we have had children as young as 5 denied the right to attend public school.

and we have children growing up without their parents because they're waiting for the family immigration backlogs to be eliminated. but our communities believe this hope for change that we feel today is something we created. it is our movement that has given us all of our voices and together we are demanding immigration reform for new american families and economic justice for all american families. next we will hear from mark morial about our how nation's broken economy is hurting workers of all backgrounds and how we can move forward together. thank you. [applause] >> buenos tartas. i'm here today representing 2 million people from coast-to-coast.

we are going to have economic reform and immigration reform in america now. [applause] >> i'm here today to reaffirm that this day have african-american communities stand in solidarity with all the people who are here and all of the people in communities across the nation to send a strong, powerful and unyielding message to the leaders in this country that we are united. we will not be divided in our fight for economic reform and immigration reform in this nation today. so i want to affirm and let each of you know that the national urban league stands with you.

we stand with you because we believe that whenever any person in this country has to live in second class citizenship, a second class status it is a threat to justice, freedom, and equal treatment everywhere. so with much courage, much faith and much unity, si se puede. let us make it happen. si se puede, let us make it happen. si se puede, let us make it haen.wsb >> now, let us introduce -- [speaking spanish] >> sisters and brothers, instead of calling workers who are so vital to the survival of our

economy by their names, we call them names. illegals, aliens, law breakers but they produce the greatest bounty the world has ever known, entrusted with the most precious possessions we have, the lives of little children. into their hands we place our parents and our grandparents when they are too old and infirm to care for themselves. in recent decades, while some politicians scapegoated immigrants two of the few institutions that defended them in los angeles have been the unions and the catholic church. when the history of our times is written, one of the proudest chapters will record how cardinal archbishop of los angeles championed immigrants and stood against fear and prejudice.

he championed the immigrant workers freedom riders organized here. he walked with the janitors on strike. he made sure that the new cathedral was built by union workers. he supported the parking lot attendants to be represented by the teamsters. for decades he provided support to cesar chavez and others. no one has consistently championed immigration reform. when congress wanted to pass sensenbrenner, he promised civil disobedience if the church turned over immigrants. with five million catholics, an warm solidarity welcome to his

eminence cardinal roger mahoney. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. as we look around, this is the face of the immigration reform. this is the face of america. citizens, residents, immigrants, we are here today to call upon our lawmakers to fix a broken and immoral immigration system. one which preys upon the vulnerability of immigrants and their families. one which benefits from their labor without offering their protection of our laws and one which drives human beings into the hands of smugglers and to their deaths in the desert. [speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish]

>> today we want all our leaders in washington to hear these immigrant stories we experience every day. stories like that of maria and juan who were brought to this country when they were just children. juan works the graveyard shift as a security guard. maria works and takes care of their children, who are u.s. citizens. they speak english. they pay taxes. they volunteer in their community. they work day and night to provide for their children. their lives are here in the united states. on behalf of the u.s. catholic bishops, i want you to know that the catholic church stands with

you and is in this fight until the end. [applause] >> we will not stop advocating on behalf of our immigrant brothers and sisters. and we will continue to defend their right to be full members of our communities and nation. [speaking spanish] [applause] [speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish] >> i leave you with the words of raul, a university student, who was brought to this country when he was only 1-year-old. he wants to contribute all his talents and skills to this country. the only home he's ever known. he asked me to give this message to all of you. view us as human beings. view us as brothers and sisters. we're here to work hard and contribute to our society. we don't want to harm anyone. we want to come together as one

for a better future. may god's blessings be upon all of you. [speaking spanish] >> adios. >> gracias, cardinal. and now please welcome to the stage athenia jones and andy president of the service employees international union joined by members throughout the country. >> good afternoon, everyone. how is everyone doing this afternoon? [applause] >> i see all the beautiful faces out there. what a beautiful sight to see everyone today. i am here today because i believe in immigration and i believe in comprehensive immigration reform and it needs to happen now. it has to happen now.

i'm also a poet and i felt inspired because of all the sea of beautiful people here today. i felt inspired because i see each and every one of you here today. and so i wanted to say the name of my poem is "this day." this day, sunday, march 21st, 1965, martin luther king, jr., led a march fm selma to montgomery, alabama. this day we the people who made america great, we stand together. this day united under one flag. our voices becoming one. our cultures redefining, enhancing this nation. no, not this nation, our nation. we are the nations stretching from the corners of the world. our colors paint the hues from the prairies to the oceans.

setting it horizons with visions of a better future. with our strength we carry the pigments of our ancestor it is, our blood-painted seeds are now planted for our next generation. guiding our children and demanding the dream of their future. this day hope will no longer be the season for sacrifice for with each surviving breath we continue to grow. with each obstacle we continue to unite as one. no longer will we the people be slaughtered and beaten. we command the strength of a mustered seed and the courage of our ancestors demanding the mountains and the prairies. we will be heard! [applause] >> we will be heard.

and hope -- the hope -- the hope of a better future. the hope whispering and then shouting. it's okay to shout. this too comprehensive immigration reform will pass. because this day in history told us that we belong. thank you. [applause] >> i love this country! that's why we're here today. let me see those american flags. [applause] >> let me hear you say, usa! usa! usa! usa! usa! usa!

usa! usa! usa! like so many of you, my grandfather came to this country. he grew up. he raised his family and got to see them lead a better life than his children. that's the american dream. and that's why we're here. and it gives me great pleasure to introduce the leaders of our hispanic caucus of the united states, the people that are going to lead healthcare reform and immigration reform. the great leaders of our congress. let's bring them up here now. thank you very much. >> please welcome deepak for the center of community change. [applause] >> brothers and sisters, i have a new estimate for how many people are here today. we have over 200,000 people

here. [applause] this is the largest mobilization on any issues"ñ since barack ob became president of the united states of america. we are here because change takes courage. we know that only if we lead will our elected officials follow. throughout our history change has been won by people with the courage to take history into our own hands. the progress we have seen over the last few weeks is because we made them do it. [applause] >> america is our country and

our country is better than this. it is time to call the question who stands with us, who stands against us and who is hiding under their desk. this is not just a fight for legislation. it is a fight for the soul of america. and it is one that we can win and one that we will win. [applause] >> now, it is my distinct privilege to introduce two janet, the president and ceo of the national council of larazza and wade henderson for the leadership conference of civil and human rights. please give them a big round of applause. [applause] >> buenos tardas. good afternoon, everyone.

>> good afternoon, brothers and sisters. >> i'm janet and i'm the president of the national council. >> we have the great pleasure and honor today to introduce the members of congress who are here to bring their greetings and to show their support for what you're doing today. allow me to introduce our first member and that is the honorable representative nydia velazquez, chair of the national hispanic caucus. >> also with nydia, joining nydia velazquez are other members of congress, her chair. [applause] >> congressman, the honorable joe baca.

the honorable grace napolitano from california. she's present. >> the honorable congressman from arizona. >> from the state of new york, the honorable jose serrano. >> the honorable sheila jackson-lee. from houston, texas. >> that's from texas, sheila jackson-lee. >> also from texas, senator hinojosa? >> and the house judiciary from california. >> and also from california the honorable lucille allard. >> the honorable salmortiz. from texas.

>> from the great state of new york, the honorable congressman joe crowley. >> the honorable congressman javier pasara from california. >> also from texas, joining us, the honorable charlie gonzalez. we've got power in this house. [applause] >> the honorable representative from california. the honorable jarrett polis from palto alto, california. >> these are the members -- these are the members who are going to take immigration reform forward. they are going to lead the way. >> si se puede. si se puede.

my friend, the time for immigration reform is now. [applause] the members of the congressional hispanic caucus and the other members such as the chair of the judiciary subcommittee on immigration, we stand here to say to the republican leadership in the senate to the democrats in the senate and also in the house and the president, barack obama, we want immigration reform now!

every day -- every day we allow reform, is the day that 12 million hard-working immigrants must live in the shadows of fear. and every day without reform is a day that a family is torn apart. for every two adults detained in an immigration raid, a child is left behind. a child is orphaned. that is wrong. and it is un-american. [applause] >> so i want everyone to place phone calls to every senator, to

every house representative to let them know don't forget that in the last presidential election, 10 million hispanic voters came out to vote. that was an important message. and tell them -- and tell them that you will not forget on which side of the debate they stood. we will not forget. mi hermanos today is a historic day and we're going to enact comprehensive healthcare reform. [applause] >> no one -- all the political pundits, all the political pundits and the tea party

people, they thought that this day would never come. but we are just hours away of an incredible day for the american people. [applause] >> and we're going to work hard. and we're going to work hard the same way that we have worked hard to enact healthcare reform, we're going to work hard to make sure we give justice and victory to the 12 million hard-working people in this country in the shadows no more. [speaking spanish]

>> si se puede. [applause] >> si se puede. si se puede. si se puede.

[inaudible conversations] >> brothers and sisters, we are here because change takes courage, right? do we have courage? are we showing courage here today? do we want our congressmen to show courage? do we want the president of the united states to show courage? >> yes. >> every great struggle from the abolition of slavery to the right to vote for women, to rights of lesbian and gay people, to the new deal, to immigrant rights has taken struggle. and all of these struggles share a common core. the basic question is, are we in this together?

>> throughout our history, some people have battled hate and fear. they sought to divide, to exclude, to silence. but we've always risen as a country for a different vision. one in which everyone belongs, in which we recognize that our fates are linked. that the suffering of our neighbors is our problem. that our individual success rests on our care and love of one another. we are here with a message for today's peddlers of fear and hate. we stand here united not divided. we are organized, not excluded. and we are certainly not silent. [applause] >> we have learned a fundamental lesson that frederick douglass, the great abolitionist once

taught us, those who profess to favor freedom but deprecate agitation want the crops without plowing the ground. they want the ocean without the mighty war of its waters. power concedes nothing without a demand. it never has and it never will. si se puede. >> si se puede! si se puede. si se puede. si se puede. >> i'd now like to bring back to the stage two of our heroes, janet mergiro and wade henderson with the leadership conference on civil rights and stay tuned for senator menendez and a very special surprise guest. >> thank you, deepak. i'm wade henderson with the

leadership conference on civil and human rights. a coalition of more than 200 national organizations working to build an america that's as good as its ideals. today we want you to know that you are not alone. the entire civil and human rights community stands with you because the principle behind the comprehensive immigration reform movement is the same principle that has guided every civil and human rights movement in our nation's history. and that is that people who work hard to make our country a better place and who are willing to play by the rules deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity and to have an equal chance to share in the american dream. the civil rights community has been with you every step of the

way. and we will continue to be with you until we succeed. we are with you to continue to demand that congress and president obama move forward with fixing our broken immigration system. not only is the right -- is it the right thing to do but fixing our immigration system is essential to fixing our healthcare system. expanding our economy and creating good jobs for everyone. strengthening workers rights and protecting consumers and providing every student in the country with a quality public education. we're going to keep a close eye on congress and to work out these details to make sure that people are treated fairly and humanely and to make sure that the reform works for everyone. citizens and immigrants alike.

you are not alone. you're not alone! we will be there with you to let them know that immigration reform needs to happen this year. we know that congress has a lot on its plate and doing a lot of important work. but this is one issue that cannot afford to wait any longer. si se puede! si se puede! si se puede! si se puede! >> si se puede! si se puede! si se puede! good afternoon. in want you to know i can feel the power. can you feel the power? >> yes!

[speaking spanish] >> i can see it. i can see the people and the power of the people of all backgrounds coming together for america. and i'm inspired by the strength of so many young leaders who are part of this march. thank you for standing for the future of america. [applause] >> thank you. like all of you, nclr believes in the promise of america. [speaking spanish] >> like you, your parents, your grandparents, they risked everything to bet their family's

future on the american dream. [speaking spanish] >> so people can make a better life for their families. that's why we stand for economic justice. and that's why we must have immigration reform now! [applause] >> our african-american brothers and sisters took a stand here in washington before. and continued to fight to keep the dream alive. that's why we're inspired. that's why we are here united to win opportunity for all america's families so we can powerfully say. [speaking spanish] >> i am my brother's keeper. that is the spirit we want to capture today. [applause]

>> members of congress have stood with us today, but we need more of them. more with their leadership and courage so we can get the solutions america needs and fulfill the promises made. the time to stand up and be counted is now. [speaking spanish] ..

>> for the security of our country, and for family unity in our nation. we are here in the shadow of america's monuments of freedom and justice. to say, america, we have given you our blood, sweat and toil. and now we demand our human dignity. [cheers and applause] >> for too many families, have been torn apart, children have been torn from their mothers

arms, fathers have been deported. their fight is a civil rights issue of our time just as the civil rights movement of the 1960s. [cheers and applause] >> we know, we know that the contribution of immigrants to this country are undeniable. the first soldier to fall in service to this country in iraq was a lucky know who wasn't even a united states citizen. [cheers and applause] >> what we had for breakfast is what was probably picked by the hand of an immigrant worker. the chicken we had for dinner last night was probably picked up by the cutup hands of an immigrant laborer. [cheers and applause] >> and if we have a sick one in our family, they are probably being tended to by the warm heart and steady hands of an immigrant aid.

we cannot wait to bring them out of the darkness and into the light. [cheers and applause] >> weekend away to reunite families, and we cannot wait to reach the economic benefits of comprehensive immigration reform. [speaking in spanish] [speaking in spanish] [cheers and applause] [speaking in spanish]

[speaking in spanish] [cheers and applause] [speaking in spanish] [speaking in spanish] [cheers and applause]

[speaking in spanish] [cheers and applause] >> finally, democrats in congress asked for republicans to join them on immigration reform. it's time to put the politics of fear a side and do what's right for people in our country. we need reform that strengthens our economy by making employers stop exploiting immigrants so we don't depress all workers wages, and we can have immigrants pay their fair share of taxes, learn english, and be good citizens. we need reform that strengthens our security i helping us to learn who is here to seek the american dream versus who might be here to harm it. and we need reform that protects

the dignity of all human beings who call this great country home. now i have a surprise for you. [speaking in spanish] >> someone who is marked in rallies like this one in the past, someone who has been on the side of fixing our broken immigration system, someone who knows the sufferings of families who are the victims of that system. a manual understands that this is the civil rights issue of our time, and someone who we expect active leadership and commitment and presidential power to make this happen, ladies and gentlemen, a message from the president of the united states.

[cheers and applause] >> hello, everybody and welcome to washington. times like these remind us that real change doesn't start in the white house or the halls of congress. it starts with people like you. and communities all across this country, standing up and make your voices heard. four years ago, as a senator i joined many of you at a march like this would in my home state of illinois. and today we remember and other senator who stood with you. not just on days like this, but for his entire career. this march would make ted kennedy proud. and i know his spirit is with us as we continue his life's work to bring about real, comprehensive immigration reform for our country. teddies commitment to the cause never wavered, and neither has mine. i always pledged to be your partner as we work to fix our broken immigration system. and that's a commitment that i reaffirm today.

nobody knows the cost of an action better than you. you see it in the families that are torn apart and the small business owners who strive to do the right thing while others gain the system. you see it and the workers who deserve the protection of our laws and the officers who struggle to keep our communities safe while earning the trust of those they serve. that's why today there's a growing coalition of law enforcement officials faith and community leaders, and members of a labor and business sectors who understand immigration reform is critical to our security and our prosperity. in the end, our broken immigration system affects more than a single community. it affects our entire country. as we continue to strengthen our economy and jumpstart job creation, we need to do so with the immigration system that works, not the broken system we have now. that's why nine months ago i asked members of my team to lead our efforts to move the legislative process forward. since then they have met with elected officials from both parties and stakeholders from all across the country, and

we've worked together with senators schumer and graham as they develop a framework that includes commonsense effective strategies to protect our borders and enforce the law while offering a path of citizenship for hard-working people who register, pay taxes, pay a fine, and agree to play by the rules. i congratulate senator schumer and graham for their leadership. i pledge to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year on this important issue. you know as well as i do that this won't be easy. or happen overnight. but if we work together, across ethnic, state and party lines, we can build a future worthy of our history as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. thank you so much. [cheers and applause] >> si se puede.

>> president obama will sign the just passed health care bill today. live coverage is on c-span2

>> a couple of live events to tell you about today on our companion network, c-span3. the house financial services committee looks at the future of the mortgage market. at t. 8:10 a.m. eastern. >> -- at 10 a.m. eastern. >> our speaker should be here any second. they are walking down from one floor up. the way we're going to conduct the next three hours would be to, first, ask congressman reyes

and ambassador sarukhan and secretary bersin to make the remarks. i think you'll be more than happy to take a few questions, but i would think we would be in the lunch right about, about 1:30 p.m. or so so we can have that break. but i do want to urge you to be here by 2:30 p.m. because as you know you saw the congressmen go in and out so they will be aiming right at 2:30 p.m. to be here. so if you could be here and in your seats by around 230 time back then i think we will be good to go. as you probably noticed, things are very fluid up here in d.c. on the capital. but levy also suffice it to say, that we've had our congressmen do come in, they do participate. i think you'll see all of the same ones that were here earlier with an additional four that

will be with us at 2:30 p.m. your keep in mind that what we tried to do is not just have them come up and beards a few remarks and and out of here. this is all being recorded, and it will be on our website, so that you can come and see it and pick up any information that you might want, as well as coming to the chamber for our support to get you that information. the other is that there are a couple of areas that have come up that are very key. one is the trucking issue with the u.s. and mexican government, and secondly, with -- i'm talking about you. the trucking issue. we just sent a letter, by the way, good. we need to do more. and, of course, that was brought up, that's why i brought it up to the deputy usgr. the other is the area of

agriculture, and, of course, the security. and it all balances in what this chamber is about, and that is to introduce our key players that are here. gentlemen. >> well, first of all, thank you again for being here and we are extremely honored we've got to tremendous individuals that are going to address us prior to the

luncheon. i know everyone's hungry, but i think given an opportunity, ambassador sarukhan, and also commissioner bersin, to get their perspective on the issues that we've been discussing this morning and that we're all here to learn about is a great opportunity. so there are votes imminent, so i will introduce ambassador sarukhan verse, and then follow it up with commissioner bersin. to say that we've got a great relationship and we've got a great ambassador from mexico to the united states who always, no matter what time you call him, no matter what the issue is, is

available to either get information or follow-up on questions or any of so many things that potentially impact the tremendous relationship that we have between the united states and mexico would be a great understatement. but we also have an individual that really understands why it's important that we get accurate information about the border. and ambassador that really is responsive to border communities and constituencies on both sides, that really depend on that kind of cooperation so that we can continue to function. and it's been a real pleasure and a privilege to work closely

with the ambassador, because representing a border district, we never know what issue is going to pop up unexpectedly. and it's great to be able to pick up the phone and have that kind of partner when something invariably happens. the greater priority for us is to make sure that we work on developing, as i said this morning, a transparent border that is safe and secure and that works for both the united states and mexico. and it's due to the efforts of individuals like our ambassador that's able, that we're able to

continue on that road towards providing that kind of border. so with that, it's my privilege and my honor to introduce our next speaker, an individual that all of us know on an individual, and we all admire and respect, i ambassador, ambassador sarukhan. ambassador? [applause] >> thank you, mr. chairman. is a great privilege to be with you, and we are extremely fortunate that the chairman has played such a critical role, not only in fostering i think a better dialogue between our two nations, but also making sure that people who don't live on the border understand the particular dynamics of those who do live on the border and face the opportunities, and challenges of the relationships

so complex as the one that we face. mr. chairman, thank you for your support and your leadership. i would also like to, as always, thank al and the chamber for the fantastic job you do. it's an honor and privilege to be your honorary president. i do this with great pleasure every year. the chamber is, i think, the most powerful example of how holistic it can be built in this relationship and how this bottom-up approach sometimes is much more effective than those of us in the executive branch breaching from the bully pulpit trying to sometimes push bureaucracies and push others to do things that we think are needed. so thank you again for all the support and all the hard work that the chamber has put into this relationship over so many, many years. and finally, i'm honored to be here with my colleague, my friend, alan. and given that there are cameras here, i know how comfortable he

is with what i'm about to say, but please, mexico needs alan bersin confirmed as commissioner for cbp. [applause] >> i see the congressman has are given a preview. this is a criticallcritically important position in the u.s. government, one that has a fundamental bearing on the relationship with mexico. again, my customer joke if i was the ambassador of an eastern european, central european country, probably i wouldn't give a hoot about who is head of the cbp, but this is a country that has 3000-kilometer border with the united states. so who is in charge at cbp is critically important for the relationship. i'm sure that top of mind today, because of the recent events on the border and ciudad juarez, you have many questions,

concerns about the generic issue of border violence. and so i will spend a few minutes that i have speaking here today to underscore the challenge, both our countries face in the fight of organized crime and the real challenges that we face as drug syndicates use violence on both sides of the border to push back against our joint efforts to shut them down. again, it's self-evident truth but not because it is so, it is less relevant. and that is that we are what we are because we were what we were. what is the ambassador tried to say? that we face the challenges that we face in mexico of corruption, of institutional weaknesses that we may have in certain parts of the country, with a certain police forces at the state and local level, that we are starting to develop holistic

approach to drugs, because for decades we didn't. and for decades we were a centralized country, in which a vertical control from mexico city throughout the states guaranteed that whatever was decided in mexico city had an immediate repercussion in a state capital or city in mexico. today, with a sometimes noisy messy democratic process in full gear in mexico, this is easy. first because there's been a real devolution of power from mexico city to the states, which is i think a very healthy development in mexico's history. but this also makes it much more complex and difficult to coordinate issues like for example, security policy at the state local and federal level. but it also has to do with why mexico is where we are today and why we are facing the challenges that we are facing. and this has to do with, and i will use decades to make my point, this has to do with what

has happened in the past three, four decades as to organized crime. in the 1980s, we saw the first significant shift that explains why mexico is in the position that it is today. and it is adequately related to your success, the u.s.'s success, in shutting down florida and in particular, miami, as the main conduit of all the drugs coming from south america into the u.s. market. it's sometimes hard to remember, but some of the stories that you see in ciudad juarez, if you push the clock back five years, our minuses and pluses, the same headlines that we were reading about violence in miami and in florida, because of the role of that city in particular was playing for drugs from colombia seeped into the united states through caribbean and into florida and in particular in

miami. with the united states successfully shut down that as the main trafficking route of cocaine into the united states, the first thing that happened, the first thing that people need to understand to get a grasp of what is going on in mexico, is that those drugs stopped coming through caribbean into the united states and started coming in from point of least resistance, which was mexico. so i shift in the trafficking package was pushed for the first time in mexico's history, the trafficking of cocaine into the united states via mexico. first important shift. the second occurred probably a decade later when the colombians, after having a colombian drug syndicates, after having worked with their mexican counterparts by, paying them cash to service carriers, conveyor belts of cocaine through mexico, decided that their mexican counterparts, their brothers in arms, would be better incentivized to insure

that successful delivery of shipments of cocaine into the u.s. market light instead of paying them cash, paying them in kind. and the profound effect this had was that from one day to the next, for the first time in the history of mexican organized crime, those syndicates acquired the ability to place and control, or seek to control, distribution and retail operations of cocaine in the u.s. market. so from being basically a transportation operation for the colombian drug traffickers, they started selling their own cocaine in the u.s. market. and as you can imagine, the first effect is that is it drove their profits through the roof and allow them to have much more money at their disposal to buy weapons to corrupt, to bribe, to grow powerful. so that's a second very

important shift to understand why we are standing where we stand today. the third one is, as a result of a mexican president's decision to say no more, of a mexican residents decision to say we cannot let this issue fester and continue to grow. and regardless of where all of us in this room may be on the issue of drugs and illegal substances, let me be very clear. president calderon's decision to shut down and push back against organized crime is not a moral crusade against drugs. it's an effort to ensure that the rule of law in mexico is the empire of the law -- is -- is mexico and the rule of law are paramount in mexico. this is what this fight is about. ensuring the rule of law. and there is no more important threat to the rule of mexico today which that which the drug traffickers generate as result of their illicit business. but what happen when the

president decided to push back was, a., by dismantling groups and trafficking rounds, we triggered a fight between organized crime to control the last remaining routes of drugs into the united states. so what we have seen for the past three years is a food fight, between rival gangs, fighting for control of the last remaining cities or staging grounds of drugs into united states. and b., their efforts to push back against the state now that they realize that this was not an approach by a mexican president that he was going to do it for his first year and then move on to other stuff and he was just showing that he was tough on crime. they have figured out he is tough on crime and they decide to push back with violence. the third phenomenon that has occurred is that now these drugs syndicates, because we have curtailed their ability to

deliver cocaine into the u.s. market as successful as they used to in the past and they're not making the money that they used to from cocaine, have moved into more, into other forms of organized crime, to be able to compensate for the money that they have lost because of their inability to place the same volumes of cocaine in the u.s. market. and ergo, we have a spike in kidnappings and extortion as some of the organized crime syndicates muscling their way into the lucrative business of human trafficking, for example. so again, levels of violence have risen. and more importantly, both the drug traffickers in mexico decided to do is, if i can get drugs onto the other side of the border, i'll start creating an internal demand for those drugs in mexico. so mexico has gone from being basically a transit in the case of cocaine, or production country, in the case of, so also being a country that is facing increasing spikes in the demand

for illicit drugs because it is being artificially created by the drug traffickers to generate business and revenue, which has been effected by the corporations in mexico and the united states in shutting down the flow of cocaine coming from mexico into the united states. in at what owens dcp, the office of national drug control policy calls and designates the high intensity drug trafficking areas that divides the u.s. territory. i don't know how many there are but it divides them into several high intensity drug trafficking areas. for each one of these areas it looks that@@@"3,hm h v rbáa

except one, the pacific northwest? why? because the drug traffickers to don't have to deal with congressional committees or interagency task forces or with engaging civil society for public opinion are much faster and simpler in respondent and we are as governments. of have very quickly modified trafficking, their patterns of trafficking into the united states via maritime routes that are coming into the canadian side of the border or the pacific-northwest of the united states. and that's why in those parts of the regions you have not seen the variations of the price and purity of cocaine. one of the operations that mexico and united states are

looking at. there's one first chunk which is the region between colombia and southern mexico because a lot of the trafficking routes of cocaine are now coming up via maritime routes or central america or into the caribbean region. and the second one for obvious regions is the northern tier of mexico and the southern tier of the united states. the border region written at large because that is either where the staging ground for the introduction of drugs into the united states on the mexican side is taking place or where the gun shows, the gun shops or the money laundering operations bringing bulk cash into the united states are taking place. it's the chunk of the border on both sides that our law enforcement agencies are working on to dismantle the operations of the drug syndicates. to deny them safe haven and to deny them visas and to deny them the ability to cross back and forth into our border. and the last staging ground or the key area of operation is for

obvious reasons. what i told you, the western pacific and the eastern caribbean because that is where we've seen a lot of the trafficking routes redirected. one of the key deliverables for both countries in the short term. we need to gain intel superiority and we need to maximize the effectiveness of our special forces. we need to intelligently use the fixed and rotary wing capabilities that congress has approved as a result of the administration's efforts to provide mexican authorities with the ability to provide endgame, that is what you pass on intelligence that a mexican special unit can arrive precisely at the time it needs to arrive to arrest or to intercept the shipment of drugs. upholding the rule of law. critically important winning the public support on both sides of the border for what we're doing. we need to ensure there are two

societies or costakeholders in this fight that our two governments are holding because of organized crime because if public opinion does not understand and we do not explain to public opinion what's at stake, we will lose the support of public opinion on both sides of the border. and we need it as a critical component of our efforts to continue deepening our engagement. we need to continue rebuilding and strengthening institutions and we need to sustain our efforts in force projections so that we can continue the levels of attrition that we have triggered against the drug syndicates. as what we looked at what we achieved through the past few years through the merida initiatives both countries are continuing to deepening the work on four key pillars. the first one is disrupting the operational capacity of organized crime. the second is institutionalizing mexico's capacity to sustain the rule of law and a very important component of this is police and judicial reform.

the third one is how our two nations created a 21st century border not only in terms of infrastructure but of ensuring that we have a secure border and ensuring that customs officials on both sides of the border or police officers on both sides of the border are not corrupted by the influence of the drug syndicates and by drug money. and finally, one of the most important components of this strategy as we move forward building strong and resilient communities in both countries where we can bring down levels of demand, where we can enhance our ability to provide harm reduction and harm mitigation in both our societies and where we can make sure that demand reduction is playing a central role in this equation -- in this multifaceted equation of taking on drug traffickers. many of you have heard an important debate over, well, what does success look like? and i'm sure in this crowd there are many of you who have -- have

your own doubts or proscriptions of what success would need to look like in this night and let me give you my own. i think that the endgame for mexico is three pronged. one, we need to bring down the level of violence being unleashed by the drug syndicates against mexican society. even though if you look at the numbers today and the numbers if you compare them to other latin american countries or to other latin americans countries that were facing 10 years at the level of violence that we're facing, the number of death was 1,000 inhabitants is not that bad if you look -- if you look at it in terms of ratios and comparisons. for every 100,000 inhabitants in mexico today, we have approximately 11 violent deaths. there are countries in the hemisphere today that have not launched an offensive against organized crime that don't face the challenges that we face in the fight against organized crime.

that have ratios of 33 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. there's cities on the hemisphere that have violent death per 100 inhabitant ratios of 90 to 100,000. again, as i've always said is the ambassador trying to dispel the challenge that we face as we take on the drug syndicates and the challenge that we face in terms of the number of violent deaths that have been registered in mexico over the past three years? no. but i think we need fresh doses of perspective into what is and what is not going on in mexico today. and so i think that one of the prongs of our endgame is that despite what i've just said, that we continue to abate and bring down the level of violent deaths being unleashed against society. the second prong of our endgame is that contrary to what i would be doing if i was in el paso promoting foreign direct investment opportunities and i was here to talk trade, if i was

doing that i would be probably trying to ensure that we are diminishing the opportunity costs of doing business in mexico. in the fight against drugs, what this is all about is about raising the opportunity cost of doing business in mexico. is this a diplomatic euphemism by the ambassador to say we want them to back up and go somewhere else? you're absolutely right. i want them to pack up and go somewhere else. much in the same fashion as what happened in florida in the '70s when you were so effective that they packed up and went somewhere else. the problem is they came to mexico. and that's why the challenge that we have, as i say this, is that the united states and mexico will have to continue working to develop a regional approach to the fight against drugs because our success and the success we're already having, for example, in the patterns of trafficking of cocaine are spelling disaster for countries in the central american and caribbean region where we've already seen a lot of these operations relocate as a result of our effectiveness in shutting down the flows of cocaine through mexico.

the final prong of the endgame for mexico is that we ensure that we can transit from having a national security problem on our hands to an issue of law and order and public security. the united states has on any given day hundreds of people who gets killed because of a drug deal gone bad. their trafficking in distribution networks in the united states but no one would argue that the united states has a national security problem as it relates to drug -- to drugs and drug trafficking. it's a law and order public security and public health challenge. that's where we need to transit to in mexico because today drug trafficking does pose a national security challenge to mexico. and we need to transition towards that to be able to move forward in the strategy. at the end of the day, this is not an either/or dilemma. it's not about u-turns and i do

believe in multitasking. i think that you can chew gum, whistle and talk on the blackberry at the same time. and that is what mexico is trying to do. we could not start this administration by turning a blind eye to the festering corruption that more than a decade of letting the drug traffickers do their business had created in mexico. we needed to push back and we needed to push back -- far, fast and hard. and that's why president calderon decided to bring in the arm forces as a stop gap measure to push-back because they were the only institution in mexico in december, 2006, that had the ability and the firepower because of what we're up against in terms of weapons coming from the other side of the border to push back. but now we are reaching a stage where what we are creating are the breathing spaces that we need in pushing them back to

then start looking at judicial reform, institutional-building, the creation of strong, resilient police units both at the federal, state and local level making sure that we can invest in communities and social development opportunities and in the communities that are being ravaged by the drug traffickers but we could have only reached that point by pushing back. if we had started with this softer approach in december, 2006, we may have had success in creating economic opportunities in juarez but the ability of these drug syndicates to have operations would have been abated so we can do all this other stuff that all of us needs to be done in the fight against drugs. so to those who would suggest oh, the strategy has failed or oh, you need to do a u-turn, i would simply say, you don't know what you're talking about.

mexico has to be able to continue fighting and pushing back against these drug syndicates and at the same time putting resources, investment of funds into social, development economic programs into rebuilding communities and to ensuring that now at this stage we can start developing a holistic approach which we couldn't do on the first day of the administration of president calderon. that is what mexico is about. that is what we are trying to do. that is what we're trying to do with our american partners. octavio pase our noble prize winner that mexico and the united states have always had a hard time understanding one another because mexicans don't know how to speak and americans don't know how to listen. with these two administrations, mexicans are speaking loudly and the united states is finally tuning in. thank you. [applause]

>> all right. now you know why he's so highly regarded and respected not only in diplomatic circles but throughout the -- actually throughout the world 'cause he's been an ambassador in many capacities representing mexico. but certainly someone that's a straight shooter and tells it like it is. and i agree with him 100%. there's some of those that want to fold up and go home and -- we've got too much invested. and there's too much that's at stake. next it's my privilege and honor to introduce to you an individual that i worked in my previous career as chief of the border patrol former u.s. attorney, superintendent of

schools for the san diego unified school district and secretary of education for the state of california. you know, every now and then there comes an individual that's uniquely prepared for a position that they're nominated for and al made mention that we've got a unique opportunity to have an individual that understands the many different roles that customs and border protection play on the border. and really throughout the world because cbp is an agency that has representation not just on the border but throughout the world. he's been nominated to be commissioner of cbp. he's awaiting confirmation by the senate. and i myself think that all the indicators are there as soon as

we deal with one or two pressing issues that we are discussing right now here on capitol hill. but again, someone that i know, someone that i have 100% confidence in and someone that i know will do an outstanding job and will complement the strategy that you just heard from ambassador arturo sarukhan. with that please help me welcome commissioner designee yet to be confirmed alan bersin. [applause] >> thank you, chairman reyes. i always think of the congressmen in terms of the spanish expression. [speaking spanish] >> it's roughly translated it's

one thing to speak of bulls and another one to face them in the bull ring. and in the chairman we have someone who has faced the border challenges for many years first as a leader of the united states border patrol who basically revolutionized our approach to the borders beginning with hold the line in el paso and where we are is directly attributable to the courageous action in which he took in the face of a bureaucracy and a leadership that did not support it at the time it began. and now as a leading member of the house of representatives and a respected spokesperson for the border so thank you, chairman. general, it's always my honor to appear at a u.s.-mexico chamber of commerce event. these events are known for the kind of presentation that ambassador sarukhan presented, substantive, direct, candid.

and what could i say but that the french poet paul valeri the future is not what the past used to be. and indeed and nowhere else but in the bilateral relationship is that true. and ambassador sarukhan's presentation, this 25-minute essay on mexico and it's contemporary challenges could not better embody or illustrate that point. the candor, the directness, the confidence that he has in speaking here in the united states congress with such direct candor and frankness. so what i'd like to do is pick up in a few minutes recognizing that i am in the unenviable position of standing between

this group and lunch to pick up on the ambassador's last point on octavio paz about mexico speaking and america listening. it's not only what's happening in mexico and what's happening in the united states, vis-a-vis the bilateral relationship. and to mirror the relationship, the first actual foreign assistance program between the united states and mexico represented by president calderon and president bush a complete 180-degree reversal in the way in which the two countries dealt with one another and confronted one another. president obama has taken that 180-degree change and actually moved it considerably deeper with the passage of time to say what was never said before in

the u.s. bilateral relationship, which is that what we experience at the border in both countries is a function of things that happen far from the physical border. whether it is illegal immigration or drug trafficking, what we experience in the collision at the border, at the line is a function of the result of phenomena occurring far from the border. and here was the breakthrough. for president obama to say -- and we are equally responsible for mexico. for the problems that we experience. with regard to illegal immigration, we must actually deal with the fact that we have a labor market between our countries but it is not a legitimate labor market. and it is only through immigration reform that we can actually accomplish the legitimate labor market our two countries need.

and with respect to drug trafficking, the acceptance of responsibility for organized crime in mexico being a function of the demand for narcotics in this country. painfully true to border observers but never before in biological policy. and what the doctrine of coresponsibility has done is open up a huge field for security cooperation in ways that were unsayable five years ago and unthinkable ten years ago. the notion that secretary of public safety in mexico would deploy 200 federal police agents in mexico to coordinate with the united states border patrol on the sanora-arizona border a phenomenon that could not have taken place before. the notion that we would be

assisting from the united states side the complete revamping of mexican -- the shift from a revenue-generating agency to an enforcement agency never before contemplated. the cooperation that we are engaged in with regard to information-sharing never before reaching these heights. so as we move along this continuum from where we were as friendly neighbors but never cooperative neighbors to be true, the truth be told, we must keep in mind that we need a framework into which to place this bilateral relationship so that each of the individual programs and initiatives that we see in the area of information-sharing, cooperation between agencies, the development of joint strategies refuse placed within a strategic framework that informs the next and actually assigns priority to

each of the steps that we take. and that is the next work that our two countries face. is to evolve a way in which we can talk about the relationship that permits us never to go back to where we were, where the border was aligned. where one nation began and another ended and where sovereignty remains a critical dimension of both countries but the fact is we can begin to analyze the problems for which we are equally responsible in a completely different way that looks at us as guardians of north america and in enhancing our security by looking at a joint responsibility for north american security with, of course, our third partner, the canadians. this is an exciting place to be in u.s.-mexican history. and as ambassador sarukhan indicated and as chairman reyes

has always known in the way in which he has introduced new paradigms, new ways of seeing to border communities and to our peoples, we must bring this to our congresses and we must bring this to our peoples. so as we go forward i think we need to keep in mind three experiences that we have had here in the united states that bear on the new road and the new path undertaken under the leadership of president calderon. the first is the battle for organized crime is not a battle that we have not fought. and we should recall that the battle against the mafia in this country that in ernest that began in 1957 with the appalachian conference in which all those mafia figures were pictured coming out of that conference required the american people to acknowledge that there was a mafia and for our elected officials to provide the tools

to law enforcement to actually reduce the power to the point where today it is of negligible influence on our society. the second, we need to recognize that the building of authentic, genuine, honest and effective law enforcement at the local and state levels is of another matter that it took us is generation to build in this country. we have local law enforcement that is the envy of the world, but we did not do that by wishing it into existence. we invested in our people. we provided funds for their education. we provided funds for their training and equipment. and again we're talking about a generation to where we went for corrupt local police departments to local police departments that are by and large the envy of the world.

and the third is when people talk about the legalization of drugs as being the way out of this dilemma that we are -- we find ourselves in, i would suggest to you that if it came to that, we would be throwing our hands up and neglected a very important understanding. it also took us is generation or more to reduce smoking and the demand for cigarettes in this country to the place where it is perhaps in some minds not -- still not acceptable but it is far different from where it was a generation ago. these are the big changes that are underway in their own context in mexico. we need to stand at the side of our colleagues. we need to recognize that their problems and our problems refuse shared problems.

and within the framework in which we can evolve a common approach, we will actually be able to bequeath to the next generation a u.s.-mexican relationship in a north american context that would provide both for security and for competitiveness. [speaking spanish] >> the future is not what it used to be. but to my friends at the u.s.-mexico chamber of commerce and to the attendees at this border issues conference, i say this is a challenge unique to this generation and one that we should embrace with both hands and with our mexican partners and colleagues and friends make this into a future that is a better future for the children of both countries. thank you very much. [applause]

>> before the ambassador and secretary bersin and congressman leave, i think the ambassador really has a great announcement. >> thank you. i was -- we were walking here and i just wanted to make sure that it was already official. to share with you the news that has just been released by the white house that president obama has invited president calderon for a state dinner on may 19th, the first head of state to be honored by the president with a state dinner in washington. so i think again another important opportunity for both our countries to continue deepening and widening the strategic relationship. [applause]

[inaudible conversations] >> up next, members of congress and administration officials on border issues between the u.s. and mexico. this is an hour and a half. >> okay, ladies and gentlemen, we really feel honored.çó we have our congressional leadership from the border, u.s.-mexico, and texas in particular. i would like to at this time ask our cochair men along with co-chairman congressman reyes who will be joining us in a few minutes, mike mccaul, austin, texas, who will start off this

panel and i want to thank mike who has been with us for the last four years and we just really enjoy having him a part of it. mainly because he lives three miles from where i do. congressman mccaul, would you say a few words and lead us off. please. >> thank you. i enjoyed the reception yesterday. thanks for being here on this very important conference. as we examine the relationship between the united states and mexico. our neighbor and friend to the south. this panel discussions on the merida initiatives -- you know, after the events in juarez just the other day, i think it really illustrated the dire situation. the 6,000 people who have died at the hands of the drug