Oldest Latino Rights Group on Harris Endorsement Amid TX Voter Fraud Raids

>>> RETURNING TO OUR TOP STORY.

NOW, THE COUNTRY'S MOST PROMINENT LATINO CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION HAS MADE AN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE, CHOOSING TO ENDORSE THE HARRIS/WALZ TICKET FOR THE WHITE HOUSE.

THEIR FIRST OFFICIAL ENDORSEMENT IN NEARLY 100 YEARS.

FROM MASS DEPORTATIONS TO MISINFORMATION AND BIGOTRY, IMMIGRATION IS AT THE HEART OF THIS ELECTION.

AND THE LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS WARNS AGAINST A SECOND TRUMP TERM.

NOW, JUAN PROANO IS THE HEAD OF THAT ORGANIZATION, AND HE'S JOINING MICHEL MARTIN TO EXPLAIN WHAT MOTIVATED THIS DECISION.

>> JUAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPEAKING WITH US.

>> OF COURSE, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

>> SO, FOR PEOPLE WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH LULAC, AS BRIEFLY AS YOU CAN, WILL YOU JUST TELL US THE STORY OF THE ORGANIZATION?

HOW DID IT BECOME ONE OF THESE PREEMINENT FIVE RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS?

>> SO, LULAC WAS ACTUALLY FOUNDED IN 1929, IN CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, AND IT IS THE COUNTRY'S OLDEST AND LARGEST LATINO CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION.

THEY REALLY CAME OUT OF, YOU KNOW, PROMOTION OF ADVOCACY FOR LATINO INTERESTS.

THERE WAS A LOT OF RACISM AND DISENFRANCHISEMENT HAPPENING IN THE SOUTH, AND IN THE SOUTHWEST, AND SO, COROLLARY REALLY TO THE NAACP FOR LATINOS.

IT'S THE ONLY LATINO MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATION IN THE COUNTRY.

WE HAVE OVER 535 COUNCILS.

WE HAVE OVER 260,000 MEMBERS IN 33 STATES AND, YOU KNOW, 207 CITIES.

>> IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT LULAC HAS NEVER ENDORSED IN A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN BEFORE.

AND THAT YOU'VE ORGANIZED A PAC, WHICH DOES HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE POLITICALLY.

WHY WAS THIS THE MOMENT WHEN THE ORGANIZATION FELT THAT THIS WAS A STEP YOU HAD TO TAKE?

>> YEAH, I MEAN, LULAC HAS ALWAYS BEEN A NONPARTISAN OR BIPARTISAN ORGANIZATION, YOU KNOW, WE REPRESENT LATINOS OF ALL STRIPES AND POLITICAL BACKGROUNDS, AND WE CERTAINLY HAVE A LOT OF REPUBLICAN MEMBERS, AS WELL, INCLUDING IN OUR LEADERSHIP RANKS.

WE'VE HAD SEVERAL LULAC NATIONAL PRESIDENTS THAT ARE REPUBLICANS, TOO.

BUT YOU KNOW, THIS ELECTION WAS REALLY DIFFERENT.

YOU KNOW, WE WANTED TO CREATE A VEHICLE IN WHICH WE CAN CONTINUE TO EMPOWER THE LATINO COMMUNITY.

YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY, WE'RE DOING THAT FROM A CIVIL RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE, WHERE WE'RE FILING LAWSUITS, BUT IN THOSE CASES, IT CAN TAKE YEARS AND YEARS TO GET ANY SORT OF OUTCOME FROM FILING LAWSUITS.

SO, STARTING A PAC WAS A NATURAL PROGRESSION FOR THIS ORGANIZATION.

AND IN REGARDS TO THE ENDORSEMENT, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT OUR MEMBERS WERE ASKING FOR, AND AS WE WATCHED THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THAT TUESDAY WHEN THEY PASSED OUT MASS DEPORTATION SIGNS, IT REALLY WAS AND INDICATOR FOR US THAT IT WAS TIME FOR LULAC TO STEP UP.

WE COULD NO LONGER SIT ON THE SIDELINE, BECAUSE IT REALLY IS AN ATTACK ON THE LATINO COMMUNITY.

>> IT'S NOT A SECRET THAT, YOU KNOW, FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, FROM HIS EARLIEST MOMENTS AS A NATIONAL CANDIDATE, HONED IN ON IMMIGRATION AS AN ISSUE FOR HIM.

SO, I WAS JUST CURIOUS, WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN THAT MADE IT A PRIORITY NOW, WHEN IT WASN'T A PRIORITY IN 2016?

>> YOU KNOW, WE STOOD BY AND WE HEARD THE RHETORIC, IF YOU WILL, AROUND IMMIGRANTS, AROUND LATINOS, AND IT WAS DISGUSTING, EVEN IN 2016.

BUT YOU KNOW, REALLY WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IS, YOU KNOW, A 1.0 VERSION OF DONALD TRUMP IN 2016.

A 2.0 VERSION OF DONALD TRUMP, WHICH ESSENTIALLY STARTED AN INSURRECTION IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND THIS IS A 3.0 VERSION.

IF WE'RE GOING TO BELIEVE, WE'RE GOING TO CUT TAXES, WE SHOULD ALSO BELIEVE HIM WHEN HE SAYS HE'S GOING TO DEPORT UP TO 15 MILLION IMMIGRANTS.

I TAKE HIM AT HIS WORD.

BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT IT, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LATINO IMMIGRANTS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE 10, 20, 30 YEARS, WHO MAY HAVE MARRIED U.S. CITIZENS, WHO HAVE CHILDREN WHO ARE U.S. CITIZENS, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DO THAT?

IT WOULD TEAR THIS COUNTRY APART AND HAVE A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON THE LATINO COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.

>> ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS THAT HAS HAPPENED, YOUR GROUPS KIND OF MOVE INTO THE POLITICAL SPACE IN THIS WAY HAS ARISEN IN A MOMENT WHEN WE ARE SEEING AT LEAST ACCORDING TO THE POLLS, MORE LATINOS ATTRACTED TO DONALD TRUMP.

NOT IN HUGE NUMBERS, BUT THERE'S A DEFINITE SHIFT.

THERE'S CERTAINLY A DEFINITE FOCUS ON THE LATINO VOTE.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, LATINOS ARE SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES BY NATURE, YOU KNOW?

CERTAINLY IN THE HOUSEHOLD THAT I BROUGHT UP, WE WERE FISCAL CONSERVATIVES, WHEN IT CAME TO REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, AS WELL.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S BY NATURE, IF YOU WILL, A BIG PART OF BEING LATINO.

WHAT WE'RE SEEING TODAY, THERE'S A VERY SIGNIFICANT, YOU KNOW, CHASM THAT'S BEING CREATED BETWEEN OLDER AND YOUNGER LATINOS.

WHAT I WOULD POINT OUT IN REGARDS TO YOUR COMMENT ABOUT MORE LATINOS SUPPORTING DONALD TRUMP, IT'S MORE HISPANIC MALES, NOT NECESSARILY LATINAS.

SO, YOU'RE HEARING A BIG PART OF THE NARRATIVE AROUND THAT, BUT IT ACTUALLY REALLY DOES SKEW TOWARDS ONE SEGMENT OF THE LATINO COMMUNITY.

>> LET ME GIVE YOU THE DATA.

THIS IS FROM THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER.

LATINO VOTERS MAKE UP 14% OF THE ELECTOR RATE.

IN THE 2020 ELECTION, 38% BACKED DONALD TRUMP, COMPARED TO 28% IN 2016.

THAT'S -- THAT'S A REAL DIFFERENCE.

SO, WHAT HAPPENED THERE?

IN YOUR VIEW.

>> IT IS.

YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS, OBVIOUSLY, THAT REALLY DO ATTRACT SOME VOTERS, AND CERTAINLY SOME LATINOS, TO DONALD TRUMP, AND A LOT OF IT REALLY WAS POLICY-ORIENTED.

YOU KNOW, LOOK, WE'RE NOT MONOLITHIC, FROM THE CONTEXT OF, FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE.

THERE ARE SOME LATINOS THAT, YOU KNOW, WANT CLOSED BORDERS, RIGHT?

YOU KNOW, WE -- WE ARE A HUGE TENT.

LA TEE KNOWS REALLY COME FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, RACES, ETHNICITIES, WE CUT ACROSS SOCIOECONOMIC STRATA.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, HE DID A GOOD JOB APPEALING OF A CERTAIN SEGMENT OF THAT GROUP.

BUT WHAT I WOULD ALSO SAY IS THAT REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN INVESTED IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY FOR YEARS, FOR YEARS, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS ACTUALLY NOT DONE.

SO, WE'VE SEEN ORGANIZATIONS, WITH THE KOCH BROTHERS THAT HAVE INVESTED TENS OF MILLIONS, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, LITERALLY OVER A DECADE AT THIS POINT.

AND THE DEMOCRATS HAVE NOT DONE IS SAME.

>> AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

WHEN YOU SAY INVESTING, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE?

>> YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS, FOR EXAMPLE, OUT IN THEIR COMMUNITY.

YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT TYPE OF ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS THEY'VE EFFECTIVELY RUN ON A REGIONAL BASIS, ON A NATIONAL BASIS, AS WELL.

YOU KNOW, IT -- POLITICS IS OBVIOUSLY AT THE END OF THE DAY VERY LOCAL, AND YOU DO HAVE TO INVEST AT A LOCAL LEVEL, BUT I BELIEVE THAT A LOT OF FOLKS REALLY TRY TO TREATMENT LATINOS AS GENERAL MARKET CONSUMERS, THAT WE ACT AND RESPOND LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

WHEN IN SOME CASES, REALLY, THERE'S A LOT MORE FINE TUNING TO THE MESSAGING THAT THESE CAMPAIGNS AND CANDIDATES HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER IN ORDER TO BE EFFECTIVE.

>> YOU'RE SAYING THAT DESPITE THIS MASSIVE, WHAT YOU'RE CALLING INVESTMENT IN, I GUESS VOTER OUTREACH AND, YOU KNOW, HIGH CONTACT KIND OF MESSAGING, I WOULD SAY THE MOST KIND OF PROMINENT LATINO PUBLIC OFFICIALS ARE STILL DEMOCRATS.

EVEN IF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ON THE WHOLE, HAS NOT INVESTED IN THE WAY THAT YOU'VE DESCRIBED THAT THE REPUBLICANS HAVE.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS?

>> WELL, BECAUSE -- >> HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

>> BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT BEING DOWN TO DISENFRANCHISE LATINO VOTERS, FROM VOTER SUPPRESSION, VOTER INTIMIDATION, GERRY MANNERING IN CERTAIN STATES, CERTAIN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.

WHERE THERE SHOULD BE MORE LATINO REPRESENTATION, AND THERE ISN'T.

SO, YOU END UP KIND OF SORT OF SHIFTING IT TO MORE DEMOCRATIC STRONGHOLDS, FOR EXAMPLE.

LIKE IN SOUTH TEXAS AND HARRIS COUNTY, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE WE DO HAVE REALLY STRONG LATINO REPRESENTATION, AS WELL.

>> WHAT -- WHAT DIFFERENCE DO YOU THINK THAT THIS ENDORSEMENT WILL MAKE?

WHAT WILL IT MEAN FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION AND FOR THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET?

>> WELL, THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT THE ENDORSEMENT RUNG WIDE.

EVERYONE REALLY KNOWS ABOUT THE ENDORSEMENT, IT WENT INTERNATIONAL.

THE CAMPAIGN CERTAINLY TOOK NOTE OF THE INFLUENCE AND REACH OF LULAC AS AN ORGANIZATION, AND OUR HOPE IS THAT IT WILL SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE TO LATINOS THAT ARE BASICALLY ON THE EDGE, THAT HAVEN'T NECESSARILY MADE A DECISION THAT THE CANDIDATE THAT REALLY HAS THEIR BEST INTEREST IN MIND IS KAMALA HARRIS, AS OPPOSED TO DONALD TRUMP, WHO WANTS TO DEPORT 15 MILLION LATINOS.

>> LET ME JUST WHEEL AROUND TO ONE OTHER ISSUE.

RECENTLY, THE TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON'S OFFICE RAIDED THE HOMES OF SEVERAL LATINO VOTING ACTIVISTS, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF LULAC, PART OF HIS INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED ELECTION FRAUD AND VOTE HARVESTING DURING THE 2022 ELECTIONS.

I WAS INTERESTED HOW LULAC BECAME AWARE OF THESE RAIDS, AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU HEARD ABOUT THEM?

>> WELL, WE'VE BEEN TRACKING IT FOR SOME TIME.

AND SO, WE HAD SEEN THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL HAD ACTUALLY SUED THE ANNUNCIATION HOUSE, WHICH PROVIDES -- IT'S A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT PROVIDES RESPITE SERVICES.

HE ALSO SUED THE ARCHDIOCESE, THEY HAVE DONE INCREDIBLE WORK IN THAT AREA.

SO, OUR EXPECTATION WAS THAT THEY WERE GOING TO SUE LULAC NEXT.

SO, WE WERE CERTAINLY SURPRISED WHEN THEY STARTED TO GO AFTER LATINO ACTIVISTS, LATINO LEADERS, EVEN SOME CANDIDATES THAT WERE ACTUALLY RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.

IT TOOK US A COUPLE OF DAYS TO ACTUALLY FIND OUT ABOUT IT, BECAUSE IN MOST CASES, THEY HAD ACTUALLY TAKEN THEIR PHONES AND COMPUTERS, THEY LITERALLY WERE TOLD NOT TO TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT, AND SO, IT TOOK ABOUT 48 HOURS FOR US TO ACTUALLY HEAR BACK FROM OUR MEMBERS AND BACK FROM THE COMMUNITY.

>> WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS?

I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU FILED A CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT WITH THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.

WHAT -- WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL?

AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

>> WELL, WE ACTUALLY DID MEET WITH THE DOJ LAST WEEK, AS A MATTER OF FACT.

THEY WERE VERY RESPONSIVE TO THE REQUEST.

WE SENT THEM A LETTER TO THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE.

SO, I DO BELIEVE THAT THEY TOOK THE INQUIRY SERIOUSLY, THEY HAD FOLKS BOTH FROM THE CRIMINAL DIVISION AND ALSO FROM THE VOTING RIGHTS DIVISION, AS WELL, PRESENT.

WE LAID OUT THE CASE AND WHAT WE BELIEVE IS GOING ON IN REGARDS TO VOTER INTIMIDATION, VOTER SUPPRESSION.

ON OBVIOUSLY, PROBABLY, WE WON'T BE NOTIFIED IF THEY ACTUALLY DO HAVE AN OPEN INVESTIGATION, AND GIVEN WHERE WE ARE IN THE ELECTION YEAR, AND LESS THAN 60 DAYS, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE GOING TO COMMENT PUBLICLY.

BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE.

WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH LEADING CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS, AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS, AND SO, FOR US, IT'S A COMMUNITY RESPONSE, THIS DOES NOT JUST SPECIFIC TO LATINOS IN TEXAS, IT EFFECTS OTHER STATES ALIKE.

>> SO, WE REACHED OUT TO ATTORNEY GENERAL PAXTON'S OFFICE FOR COMMENT ABOUT THE LAWSUIT, BUT WE HAVEN'T HEARD BACK YET, BUT THERE WAS A PRESS RELEASE LAUNCHING THE INVESTIGATION AND I'LL JUST READ A QUOTE.

IT SAYS, IN 2022, THE UNIT RECEIVED A REFERRAL FROM AUDREY LEWIS REGARDING ALLEGATIONS OF ELECTION FRAUD AND VOTE HARVESTING THAT OCCURRED IN THE 2022 ELECTIONS.

THE TWO-YEAR INVESTIGATION PROVIDED SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO ON STAIN THE SEARCH WARRANTS IN FURTHERANCE OF THE INVESTIGATION.

I THINK THEIR ARGUMENT IS THAT THEY HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THESE ACTIVITIES OCCURRED.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT?

>> I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE EVIDENCE.

I THINK FROM WHAT WE UNDERSTAND IS THAT THEY HAVE A PHONE CONVERSATION, BUT THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY MATERIAL DATA THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY SHOW THAT THERE WAS ACTUALLY VOTER PROUD AS A MATTER OF FACT, THEY REALLY UNDERCUT THEIR OWN ARGUMENT WHEN THEY ANNOUNCED THEY WERE PURGING 1.1 MILLION VOTERS FROM THEIR VOTER ROLLS AND SPECIFICALLY STATED THAT ONLY 6,500 OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT WERE PURGED FROM THE VOTER ROLL WERE NONCITIZENS.

1,900 WITH VOTE HISTORY.

AND SO, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY EVEN ACCOUNT FOR NATURALIZED CITIZENS.

SO, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HALF OF A PERCEN OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT MAY HAVE BEEN NOT CITIZENS, FOR EXAMPLE.

>> SO, WHY DO YOU THINK THEY DID IT?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, THEY WANT TO SHOW THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE TOUGH, WHEN IT COMES TO ELECTION INTEGRITY, THEY DO WANT TO INTIMIDATE THE LATINO COMMUNITY FROM COMING OUT TO VOTE.

BUT I BELIEVE THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY SETTING THE FOUNDATION FOR MAKING THE CASE OF CONTESTING THE 2024 ELECTION.

BEFORE, THEY HAD TO CONTEST IT POST-ELECTION, AND NOW, THEY'RE BASICALLY TRYING TO LAID THE GROUNDWORK WHERE THEY CAN CONTEST IT IN 2024 IN NOVEMBER.

>> WHAT OTHER STEPS DO YOU THINK LULAC WILL TAKE, KIND OF GOING FORWARD?

THIS IS A VERY UNUSUAL ELECTION YEAR, I MEAN, AT LEAST AS FAR AS THE TOP OF THE TICKET IS CONCERNED.

WHAT DO YOU AND YOUR MEMBERS DO IN THIS TIME FRAME?

>> WELL, OUR MEMBERSHIP HAS GONE THROUGH KIND OF SORT OF LIKE THIS RANGE OF FEELINGS, RIGHT, FROM SHOCK TO ANGER, SOME FEAR.

AND NOW RESOLUTION.

THEY ARE MORE RESOLVED, ACTUALLY BEEN MORE ENGAGED TO GET OUT THERE AND DO THE VOTER REGISTRATION, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT LULAC MEMBERS CERTAINLY ARE GOING TO VOTE AND THE LATINO COMMUNITY IS GOING TO VOTE.

LULAC IS REALLY INTERESTING.

SO, WE HAVE 265,000 MEMBERS AT THIS POINT.

79% OF THEM ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE.

72% OF THEM VOTED IN 2020, AND 66% OF THEM VOTED IN 2022.

SO, WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT IF THEY'RE LULAC MEMBERS, THEY'RE POLITICALLY ENGAGED, THEY'RE REGISTERED TO VOTE, AND THEY DO VOTE IN ELECTIONS.

SO, WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR BEST TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE INFORMED AND THEY HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO MAKE THE BEST DECISION FOR THEM ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, AND ALSO FOR THE COMMUNITY, AS WELL.

>> BUT YOU'VE ALSO POINTED OUT THAT THE LATINO COMMUNITY WRIT LARGE IS NOT MONOLITHIC, AND I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY THAT THERE ARE PROBABLY SOME PEOPLE WHO DO BELIEVE IN MASS DEPORTATION.

I MEAN, THERE IS SOME HISTORY FOR THAT.

THERE WAS A MASS DEPORTATION OF MEXICAN AMERICANS DURING THE EISENHOWER ADMINISTRATION, RIGHT?

>> THAT'S CORRECT.

>> I THINK MAYBE SOME PEOPLE MIGHT BE SHOCKED TO HEAR THIS, BUT IT IS A FACT THAT HISTORICALLY, WHEN A PRIOR MASS DEPORTATION DID TAKE PLACE, THERE WERE PEOPLE IN THE MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY THAT DID SUPPORT IT.

GIVEN THAT THIS DIFFERENCE OF OPINION HAS EXISTED BEFORE, GIVEN THAT WE DO SEE A NOTICEABLE PERCENTAGE OF LATINOS MOVING TOWARD THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT -- THAT THAT DIFFERENCE OF OPINION IS GOING TO BE RESOLVED BY NOVEMBER?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, WE'VE NOW HAD OVER 40 YEARS OF THIS CONVERSATION GOING BACK AROUND COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM.

LULAC CERTAINLY IS FOR COMMON SENSE IMMIGRATION REFORM, BUT WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ACCEPT RATE OUT THE ISSUES OF IMMIGRATION AT THE BORDER, AND THE INFLUX OF IMMIGRANTS THAT ARE COMING IN, BUT ALSO THE ISSUES IN THE INTERIOR.

YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I TALKED ABOUT THOSE LATINOS WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FOR YEARS, RIGHT?

DECADES, IN SOME CASES.

AND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR IS A PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE TEMPORARY PROTECTIVE STATUS SO THEY WOULD ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO WORK LEGALLY IN THIS COUNTRY.

IT'S NOT AN EASY PROBLEM TO SOLVE, BUT WE DID SEE BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION ENACTED, IT WAS PASSED IN CONGRESS, IT WAS STOPPED BY DONALD TRUMP.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE THAT POTENTIALLY COULD GET PASSED.

WE CERTAINLY SUPPORT IT, KAMALA HARRIS HAS SUPPORTED IT, SHE ACTUALLY SAID SHE WOULD SIGN THAT BILL IF IT COMES TO HER DESK, IF SHE SHOULD BE ELECTED PRESIDENT, SO, WE DO AT LEAST FEEL LIKE THERE IS SOME PATHWAY TO MOVE FORWARD.

>> YOU'VE BEEN APART OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR A LONG TIME, AND YOU JOINED IT AT A TIME WHEN IT WAS NONPARTISAN.

THIS IS NEW FOR THE ORGANIZATION.

I'M JUST WONDERING, HOW IS THIS FOR YOU?

SEEMS A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE?

>> IT IS.

IT -- YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE I'M WALKING ON LAND MINES, FOR EXAMPLE, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT TO FACTOR IN WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE LATINO COMMUNITY.

LATINO IDENTITY, FOR EXAMPLE, IS REALLY ONE OF THOSE BIG ISSUES.

THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT LULAC HAS ITS ROOTS PRIMARILY IN MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE CHICANO MOVEMENT.

THE ORGANIZATION IS CHANGING, AND SO, I'M LOOKING TO SEE WHAT LULAC WILL LOOK LIKE AS WE MOVE CLOSER TO OUR 100th YEAR, BUT I'M ALSO LOOKING AT WHAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS, AND THERE'S NO QUESTION, RIGHT, THAT LATINO COMMUITY IS GETTING YOUNGER AND YOUNGER IN THE UNITED STATES.

LULAC'S OWN MEMBERSHIP IS ALSO BEGINNING TO SKEW YOUNGER, AND SO, I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE NOW AT KIND OF THIS PRECIPICE WHERE, YOU KNOW, IT WILL CHANGE.

IT WILL LOOK DIFFERENT, BUT STILL HONORING THE HISTORY AND THE INCREDIBLE LEGACY THAT THE ORGANIZATION HAS, AND CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING OUR MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO COLOMBIANS, ALL LATINOS.

AND THAT'S WHAT WE STAND FOR IS ALL LATINOS.

>> JUAN, THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING WITH US.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

IT'S A PLEASURE.

>>> IN NEW YORK, PEOPLE ARE MARKING 23 YEARS SINCE THE 9/11 ATTACKS, AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER.

NEARLY 3,000 PEOPLE WERE KILLED THAT DAY, AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR THAT FOLLOWED ALSO RESHAPED THE WORLD AND IT ESPECIALLY RESHAPED AFGHANISTAN.

ONE OF ITS HOPEFUL NEW BUSINESS LEADERS, THE FOUNDER OF MOBI GROUP, WHICH IN THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11, PIONEERED A NEW MEDIA LANDSCAPE FOR THAT COUNTRY.

WITH WOMEN ON TV AND MUSIC ON THE RADIO.

WHEN HE JOINED ME HERE IN THE STUDIO, I ASKED HIM FOR HIS REFLECTIONS.

WE'RE SPEAKING, YOU KNOW, 23 YEARS AFTER 9/11, WHICH COMPLETELY CHANGED THE FACE OF AFGHANISTAN, OBVIOUSLY.

IN YOUR BOOK, YOU SAY, TWO YEARS AFTER I CLOSED MY COMMODITIES BUSINESS FOR GOOD AND RELUCTANTLY MOVED BACK TO AUSTRALIA, I WATCHED THE TWIN TOWERS FALL ON CNN.

PRACTICALLY OVERNIGHT, AFGHANISTAN WENT FROM BEING A FORGOTTEN PLACE TO THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.

23 YEARS LATER, HOW GOOD WAS IT FOR AFGHANISTAN TO GO TO THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE?

HOW HAS IT HELPED?

>> WELL, IT HELPED CHANGE MILLIONS OF AFGHANS AFGHANISTAN.

>> SO MANY HAVE FLED SINCE '21.

>> YEAH.

>> MOST OF YOUR ON-AIR PERSONNEL FLED.

>> YES.

BUT 40 MILLION PEOPLE REMAIN.

>> YEAH.

>> RIGHT?

THE CITIES HAVE BEEN REBUILT.

SO, AFGHANISTAN, AND AFGHANS DID BENEFIT FROM THIS SORT OF TRILLION DOLLARS IN AID AND ASSISTANCE THAT WENT INTO THE COUNTRY.

NOT ALL OF US INTO AFGHANISTAN.

WAYS.

AND AFGHANISTAN TODAY IS A FORGOTTEN PLACE, SADLY.

BUT YOU FORGET AFGHANISTAN AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

THAT'S MY THINKING.

SO, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WHETHER IT'S REFUGEES, COUNTERTERRORISM, OR DRUGS, TO NOT DISENGAGE WITH THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE.

>> SO, WHEN YOU CAME BACK, AFTER 9/11, WHAT WERE YOUR FEELINGS, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT WAS POSSIBLE, KNOWING THE NATURE OF THAT COUNTRY, KNOWING THAT IT WAS DEEPLY DIVIDED, THAT IT WAS SPLIT, THAT THERE IS A MASSIVE CONSERVATIVE RURAL TRADITIONAL POPULATION, MAYBE KABUL WAS MODERN, RELATIVELY, BUT NOT MUCH OF THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.

>> I THINK WE WERE FAIRLY PERSISTENT, AND PROBABLY TOO OPTIMISTIC.

SO, WE ESTABLISHED ALL THESE BUSINESSES, HOPING FOR THE BEST.

I MEAN, THERE WAS CERTAIN NAIVETY ON OUR PART TO ASSUME THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS CHANGE WE WERE ALL LOOKING FORWARD TO.

IN SOME WAYS, IT HAS HAPPENED.

THE COUNTRY'S A TRANSFORMED COUNTRY.

IT JUST NEEDS THE OPPORTUNITY, NEEDS MORE TIME.

>> HE'S WRITTEN A MEMOIR CALLED "RADIO FREE AFGHANISTAN" AND OUR FULL INTERVIEW WILL AIR LATER THIS WEEK.

>>> AND FINALLY, A GREAT ESCAPE ON A SMALL SCALE.

THIS RUNAWAY PENGUIN FROM A JAPANESE ZOO HAS BEEN FOUND AFTER ESCAPING TWO WEEKS AGO.

PEN CHAN HAD NEVER BEEN IN THE OPEN OCEAN BEFORE, BUT DID MANAGE TO SURVIVE THAT WHOLE TIME ON HER OWN.

HER KEEPER IS CALLING HER RETURN A MIRACLE AFTER FINDING HER SOME 30 MILES AWAY.

>>> THANK YOU FOR WATCHING, AND GOOD-BYE FROM LONDON.

>>> "AMANPOUR AND COMPANY" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- THE ANDERSON FAMILY ENDOWMENT.

JIM ATTWOOD AND LESLIE WILLIAMS.

CANDACE KING WEIR.

THE SYLVIA A.

AND SIMON B. POYTA PROGRAMMING ENDOWMENT TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM.

THE FAMILY FOUNDATION OF LEILA AND MICKEY STRAUS.

MARK J. BLECHNER.

THE FILOMEN M. D'AGOSTINO FOUNDATION.

SETON J. MELVIN.

THE PETER G. PETERSON AND JOAN GANZ COONEY FUND.

CHARLES ROSENBLUM.

KOO AND PATRICIA YUEN, COMMITTED TO BRIDGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG.

JEFFREY KATZ AND BETH ROGERS.

AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

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