“We Are Home:” An Oral History of Immigration in America

>>> NOW, ONE THING, ALSO, AT THE TOP OF VOTERS' MINDS IS IMMIGRATION.

IT IS A CONCERN THAT VETERAN BROADCASTER RAY SUAREZ DELVES DEEPER INTO IN HIS LATEST BOOK, "WE ARE HOME."

AND HE JOINS MICHEL MARTIN TO DISCUSS THIS CRITICAL MOMENT IN AMERICAN POLITICS.

>> THANK YOU, CHRISTIANE.

RAY SUAREZ, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> GREAT TO SEE YOU.

>> AND OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE KNOW YOUR FACE, THEY KNOW YOUR VOICE FROM, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMS LIKE PBS NEWS HOUR AND OF COURSE NPR'S TALK OF THE NATION.

YOU'VE WRITTEN A BUNCH OF BOOKS, MANY OF THEM TOUCH ON THE HISTORY OF LATINOS WORLDWIDE, IMMIGRATION.

WHAT DOES THIS BOOK DO THAT THE OTHERS HAVE NOT?

>> I WAS GOADED INTO WRITING THIS BOOK BY EVENTS.

I SAW THE DISCOURSE IN THE UNITED STATES AROUND IMMIGRATION CHANGING IN WAYS THAT I THOUGHT WERE AHISTORICAL, PROBLEMATIC, AND DIDN'T CONTAIN IN THEM THE SEEDS OF A FUTURE UNITED PEOPLE.

I HEARD THE GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY, FOR INSTANCE, MOVING FROM DARK CORNERS OF THE INTERNET AND OBSCURE RIGHT WING MANIFESTOS TO SOMETHING LIKE -- MORE LIKE THE CENTER OF THE AMERICAN DIALOGUE, AND I THOUGHT, WELL, I GOT TO SAY SOMETHING.

>> BUT THE OTHER THING ABOUT THIS BOOK THAT I HAVE TO SAY IS, IT'S NOT A CHEERLEADING BOOK.

IT'S NOT A BOOK THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, ALL IMMIGRATION, ALL THE TIME, IS ALL AMAZING AND GREAT.

SO, WHAT ARE YOU STRIVING FOR?

>> WELL, I WANTED TO REMIND PEOPLE OF OUR IMMIGRANT HISTORY.

THAT WE KIND OF BEAT YOU UP AT THE FRONT DOOR AND THEN WE END UP EATING YOUR FOOD.

IT HAPPENS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, BUT WE KEEP PRETENDING LIKE THOSE WONDERFUL OLD ELLIS ISLAND IMMIGRANTS ARE IMMIGRANTS THAT WE CAN BE SENTIMENTAL ABOUT AND LOOK AT BELOVED SEPIA-TONED PHOTOGRAPHS AS FAMILY PICTURES GET OLDER AND OLDER.

AND THOSE ARE ONE KIND OF IMMIGRANTS, AND THE IMMIGRANTS WE'RE GETTING TODAY ARE A DIFFERENT KIND, BUT THEY'RE NOT.

THEY'RE THE SAME PEOPLE.

THE SAME STRIVING, ELBOWS OUT, TAKING A CHANCE, ROLLING THE DICE WITH THEIR OWN LIVES KIND OF PEOPLE.

SOMETIMES FLEEING DESPERATE SITUATIONS ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD.

AND I HAVE THEM TELL ME THEIR STORIES.

PEOPLE FROM AFRICA, ASIA, LATIN AMERICA, EASTERN EUROPE, HOW IT WAS TO COME HERE, HOW THEY GOT HERE, AND HOW THEY GOT OVER, EVENTUALLY.

>> TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE SORT OF HISTORY THAT YOU ARE KIND OF WORKING AROUND, I MEAN, SAY BETWEEN THE 1920s AND THE EARLY 1960ED, YOU POINT OUT THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN A NUMBER OF FOREIGN-BORN AMERICANS IN THE U.S. WHY WAS THAT?

>> IN 1924, THE CONGRESS NARROWED THE OPEN DOOR AND MADE IT HARDER TO COME HERE FROM A LOT OF PARTS OF THE WORLD.

PUTTING IN A QUOTA SYSTEM THAT FAVORED EUROPE PARTICULARLY, WESTERN EUROPE EVEN MORE, AND SO, WE ENTERED A TIME AFTER AN ENORMOUS WAVE OF PEOPLE COMING HERE FOR THE PREVIOUS 75 YEARS, FROM THE 1840s TO THE 1920s, WE STARTED TO EXPERIENCE LOWER LEVELS OF IMMIGRATION.

THEN CAME THE GREAT DEPRESSION, THEN CAME WORLD WAR II, THEN CAME THE BABY BOOM, AND YEARS OF TREMENDOUS ECONOMIC PROGRESS IN EUROPE COMING OUT OF THE RUBBLE OF WAR.

SO, BY 1960, THE AVERAGE IMMIGRANT IN THE UNITED STATES, THE AVERAGE FOREIGN-BORN RESIDENT, WAS OLDER THAN THE AVERAGE AMERICAN.

AND THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO WERE BORN IN ANOTHER COUNTRY HAD DROPPED TO AROUND 5%, WHICH IS A LOW THAT WE HADN'T SEEN IN OVER A CENTURY.

AT THAT POINT, DURING THE HOT CALDRON OF THE COLD WAR, LYNDON JOHNSON, LEADERS OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE, TALKED ABOUT HOW THIS LOOKED TO THE REST OF THE WORLD, THAT WE MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD TO GET HERE, AND THEY BEGAN TO TINKER WITH THE MACHINERY OF IMMIGRATION.

OUT OF THAT COMES THE 1965 IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT, AND WE GET FROM THAT THE AMERICA THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING TODAY.

>> WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT '65 ACT THAT WAS SUCH A GAME CHANGER?

>> WE DROPPED THE QUOTA SYSTEM FAVORING EUROPE, AND, IN FACT, FEW EUROPEANS WANTED TO LEAVE THEIR COUNTRIES IN THOSE YEARS, AND PEOPLE REALLY WANTED TO COME HERE FOR STUDY, TO INVEST, TO START THEIR LIVES OVER, FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD, SO, THERE WAS PENT-UP DEMAND IN EAST ASIA, IN SOUTH ASIA.

THERE WAS PENT-UP DEMAND EVEN IN AFRICA.

WHICH IS A REMARKABLE THING, GIVEN THE EXPERIENCE OF BLACK AMERICANS JUST IN THE RECENT PAST.

1965, WE WERE STILL EXPERIENCING THE VERY DIFFICULT ADJUSTMENT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT YEARS, AND THERE WERE STILL AFRICANS THAT WANTED TO COME HERE AND TAKE THEIR CHANCE ON AMERICA.

>> HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA OF THIS AS AN ORAL HISTORY?

THE TITLE IS, "WE ARE HOME: BECOMING AMERICAN IN U.S.

HISTORY."

IT'S BASICALLY TOLD THROUGH PEOPLE'S SORT OF TESTIMONIES.

SO, TELL US SOME OF THOSE STORIES.

I WAS THINKING ABOUT SAMIR, FROM KENYA.

>> I SUSPECT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH SAMIR.

HE IS FROM THE COAST OF KENYA, BUT HE'S NOT FROM THE HISTORICALLY BLACK AFRICAN POPULATION OF KENYA, HE'S YEMENI, FROM A VERY OLD YEMENI FAMILY IN KENYA.

AFTER HIS PARENTS SPLIT UP, HIS AUNT, WHO ALREADY LIVED IN THE UNITED STATES, WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE FAMILY, ALIED IN THE DIVERSITY LOTTERY TO GET THE FAMILY TO THE UNITED STATES, AND THEY WON.

AND SAMIR AND HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND HIS MOTHER CAME TO MARYLAND, A SUBURB OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

HE STARTS HIS LIFE OVER.

AND HE WAS AN ABSOLUTE FIEND FOR AMERICAN CULTURE.

SO, HE HAD MOVIES AND TELEVISION SHOWS AND POP MUSIC RUNNING THROUGH HIS HEAD AND THROUGH HIS IMAGINATION.

AND THEN HE GOT TO COLUMBIA, MARYLAND, AND HE THOUGHT, THIS ISN'T WHAT I HAD IN MIND.

AND BEFORE TOO LONG, HE'S WORKING TWO FULL-TIME JOBS, 40 HOURS A WEEK AT WAWA, 40 HOURS A WEEK DOING THE BREAKFAST AT McDONALD'S, THINKS HIS LIFE IS FULL OF DRUDGERY AND BOREDOM AND SAYS, I CAN'T KEEP DOING THIS.

AND HE JOINS THE U.S. ARMY.

AND SAMIR, BEFORE TOO LONG, AFTER A QUICK TOUR THROUGH BASIC, IS SHIPPED TO KOREA, HE GOES ON TO PUT TOGETHER THIS ALMOST FORREST GUMP-ISH KIND OF LIFE, WHERE HE JUST SEEMS TO PUT OPPORTUNITIES IN FRONT OF OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF OPPORTUNITY.

BUYS A HOUSE FOR HIS FAMILY AT 21 YEARS OLD USING THE G.I.

BILL, AND HE BASICALLY HAS THESE TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCES, LIKE 9/11, LIKE THE MUSLIM BAN THAT CAME IN DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, AND HE HAD TO HAVE A MUSLIM AMERICAN'S VERSION OF "THE TALK" WITH HIS SONS.

AND YOU DON'T THINK OF THERE BEING SUCH A THING.

BUT HE GRABBED HIS THEN VERY YOUNG KIDS AND RAN DOWN TO DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO JOIN A MULTI-RACIAL, MULTI-ETHNIC GROUP OF PROTESTERS, SAYING, THIS BAN ON PEOPLE VISITING, ON PEOPLE MOVING HERE, ON PEOPLE BEING REFUGEES FROM MUSLIM MAJORITY COUNTRIES, IS UN-AMERICAN.

HE'S NOT THE KIND OF GUY WHO SHOULD SHOW UP AT PROTESTS, BUT HE BECAME THAT.

AND THAT ACTUALLY WAS IN SOME WAYS THE CAPPER ON HIS AMERICAN JOURNEY.

EVERYTHING KIND OF MAKES SENSE TO HIM NOW, IN A WAY IT DIDN'T BEFORE.

>> YOU PROFILED A CONGRESSMAN FROM MICHIGAN, TELL US HIS STORY AND WHY DID YOU WANT TO PROFILE HIM?

>> THE NIGHT OF JOE BIDEN'S FIRST STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, I WATCHED BIDEN COME DOWN FROM THE LECTERN AND START TO WORK THE ROOM, AS HE DOES.

AND THERE WAS THIS SHORT GUY WITH A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE, AND HE HAS SOME FACETIME WITH THE MOST POWERFUL MAN ON EARTH, AND JOE BIDEN MOVES ON TO TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE.

BUT HE STAYS IN THE SHOT, STILL GRINNING FROM EAR TO EAR.

HE'S LIKE THE LUCKIEST GUY IN THE WORLD.

AS HE KEEPS FOLLOWING THE PRESIDENT AROUND THE ROOM, AS HE HAS SOME SMALL TALK WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, OH, I KNOW WHO THAT IS, THAT'S THAT NEW CONGRESSMAN FROM MICHIGAN, I GOT TO TALK TO THAT GUY.

HE TOLD A FABULOUS STORY OF CONSTANT REINVENTION, OF STARTING AND LOSING MULTIPLE BUSINESSES, BECOMING A MILLIONAIRE MANY, MANY TIMES OVER AND THEN LOSING IT ALL AND STARTING AGAIN.

AND THEN, IN HIS MID-60s, DECIDING TO RUN FOR ELECTORAL OFFICE, AND I GUESS MAYBE FUELED BY THIS AMAZING AMERICAN LIFE THAT HE HAD ALREADY LIVED, WHAT DID HE DECIDE WOULD BE HIS FIRST JOB IN ELECTORAL POLITICS?

GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN.

SO, DON'T WANT TO START AT THE BOTTOM THERE, DO YOU?

HE GETS HIS CLOCKS CLEANED BY GRETCHEN WHITMER, AND THEN DECIDES, NO, I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS.

AFTER THE REMAP FOLLOWING THE 2020 CENSUS, HE RUNS IN A NEWLY MAPPED SEAT IN MICHIGAN, WINS, AND NOW IS THIS EXCITED NEW MEMBER OF CONGRESS.

AND HE SAYS, IN NO OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD IS MY STORY POSSIBLE.

>> YOU ALSO EXPLORE THE FRUSTRATIONS, DEEP FRUSTRATIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE, AND I'M THINKING HERE ABOUT THE JESUS CONTRERAS, RECIPIENT OF DACA, WHAT SOME PEOPLE CALL THE DREAMERS.

YOU WANT TO TELL HIS STORY?

>> HE WAS BROUGHT OVER THE BORDER BY HIS MOTHER WHEN SHE WAS 7 YEARS OLD.

HE GREW UP IN SORT OF THE STRUGGLING CLASS IN TEXAS, BUT REALIZED THAT IT WAS SIMPLY BEYOND HIS FAMILY'S ABILITY TO PROVIDE IF HE TRIED TO PAY FOR COLLEGE.

HE WON AN ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP BY SHEER LUCK, AND DECIDED HE WANTED TO BE AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN, WORK WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, PULL PEOPLE OUT OF BUILDINGS, OUT OF CAR WRECKS AND SO ON.

BUT HE WASN'T ALLOWED TO HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE, BECAUSE HE WASN'T IN THE COUNTRY LEGALLY.

DACA OPENS UP THE DOORS TO FURTHER EDUCATION, TO GETTING A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, TO GETTING A DRIVER'S LICENSE.

AND HE BECOMES AN EMT.

AND HELPS GET HOUSTON THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.

EXTRACTING PEOPLE FROM APARTMENTS WHO HAD WAITED TOO LONG TO MAKE EMERGENCY CALLS ABOUT THEIR HEALTH, BECAUSE THEY WERE AFRAID THEIR IMMIGRATION STATUS WAS GOING TO COMPLICATE THINGS ONCE THEY GOT TO THE HOSPITAL.

HE WOULD REASSURE THEM, HE WOULD COMFORT THEM, GET THEM ON A GURNEY, GET THEM OUT OF THEIR PAME APARTMENTS AND INTO AN AMBULANCE AND SAVE THEIR LIVES.

HE'S FRUSTRATED, BECAUSE HE FEELS HIS GOOD WORK IS NOT HE'S CHOSEN TO MAKE HIS LIFE.

HE SAYS, I HAVE NO MEMORIES OF MEXICO.

I WAS A LITTLE KID.

>> RIGHT.

BUT HAVING SAID THAT, WHAT DO YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO REALLY BELIEVE THAT THERE'S SOMETHING SORT OF FUNDAMENTAL ABOUT AMERICAN IDENTITY THAT'S BEING COMPROMISED AND THEY SAY THEY WANT TO DEFEND THAT?

>> A LOT OF THEM TELL FABLES ABOUT THEIR OWN IMMIGRANT PAST.

YOU'LL FREQUENTLY HEAR PEOPLE SAY, WELL, YES, MY ANCESTORS CAME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, BUT THEY FOLLOWED THE RULES.

LEAVING ASIDE THE FACT THAT FOR MUCH OF AMERICAN HISTORY, THERE WERE NO RULES.

AND WE JUST DON'T DO BATTLE WITH THAT FACT.

PEOPLE LIED ABOUT THEIR SCRAPES WITH THE LAW BACK IN EUROPE, OR THE FACT THAT THEY WERE FLEEING CONSCRIPTION BACK IN EUROPE, AND THEY'D ARRIVE AT ELLIS ISLAND AND SAY THOSE THINGS WERE NOT TRUE.

THEY CAME WITH NEW NAMES, NEW IDENTITIES.

THAT HAPPENED A LOT.

AND YET, ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE SORT OF SEPIA-TONED HEROES WHO LEARNED ENGLISH RIGHT AWAY, MIRACULOUSLY, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THAT THE OLDER YOU ARE WHEN YOU COME HERE, THE LESS EASY AND THE LESS LIKELY IT WAS FOR YOU TO LEARN ENGLISH.

WE PARTICULARIZE THE PERSONAL, AND WE GENERALIZE ABOUT THE DYSFUNCTIONAL.

SO, YOU'LL SEE, OH, JOSE, YEAH, I WORK WITH HIM.

GOOD GUY, MY KIDS PLAY ON HIS KID'S LITTLE LEAGUE GAME.

MARIAM?

MARIAM AND ADNAN, THEY ARE TERRIFIC PEOPLE.

THEY LIVE DOWN THE BLOCK.

MY KID IS ON A TEAM AT SCHOOL WITH HIS KID.

SO, WE PARTICULARIZE THE POSITIVE TRAITS OF THE IMMIGRANTS WE KNOW, AND STILL GIVE OURSELVES PERMISSION TO GENERALIZE ABOUT THE PATHOLOGY OF THE IMMIGRANTS THAT WE DON'T KNOW, SO WE CAN STILL THINK THAT IT'S A TERRIBLE THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES THAT PEOPLE ARE COMING IN FROM LATIN AMERICA, EVEN THOUGH THE LATIN AMERICANS THAT YOU KNOW IN YOUR DAILY LIFE ARE OKAY AND GETTING THE HANG OF BEING AMERICAN.

IT'S THAT ABILITY TO SWITCH IT ON AND OFF THAT DRIVES ME A LITTLE CRAZY.

>> OKAY, BUT WHAT DO YOU SAY THAT EVERY COUNTRY DEFENDS ITS BORDERS, RIGHT?

THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK THAT YOU ARE SORT OF DESCRIBING YOUR TRAVELS, AND YOUR CONVERSATIONS, SO, I FEEL LIKE I CAN ASK YOU, WHAT ABOUT THAT?

I MEAN, THE FACT THAT EVERY COUNTRY DEFENDS ITS BORDERS, CREATES BORDERS, BORDERS ARE, IN FACT, WHAT MAKE A COUNTRY A COUNTRY.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SAY, YOU CAN'T HAVE OPEN BORDERS.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT?

>> EVERY COUNTRY ON THE PLANET HAS THE RIGHT TO HAVE A BORDER, TO REGULATE AND OBSERVE WHO IS HERE, WHO WANTS TO COME HERE, AND SET THE RULES FOR COMING HERE AND FOR STAYING HERE.

THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE BOTTOM LINE TO THIS CONVERSATION.

WE HAVE ALLOWED OUR SYSTEM TO BECOME DYSFUNCTIONAL, CLOGGED, SLOW, AND UNJUST, WHICH MAKES A SITUATION WHERE PEOPLE WHO TRY TO DO IT LEGALLY IN THE FIRST PLACE GET DISCOURAGED AND THEN DO IT ILLEGALLY.

WHEN THEY INTERVIEW A LOT OF THE CHINESE NATIONALS WHO ARE SHOWING UP AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER WITH MEXICO, THEY FIND THAT THEY'VE LONG HAD PAPERWORK IN THE SYSTEM, TRYING TO ENTER THE COUNTRY, THEY KNOW PARTICULARLY WHERE THEY WANT TO MOVE, THEY MAY HAVE RELATIVES IN THE COUNTRY, BUT IT ALL TAKES SO LONG THAT THEY EVENTUALLY COME SOME OTHER WAY.

LET'S SET ASIDE FOR A MOMENT THE DESPERATE PEOPLE THAT ARE POURING OUT OF VENEZUELA AND CUBA AND HONDURAS, THE PLACES THEY LIVE ARE DANGEROUS, CIVIC ORDER HAS MELTED DOWN, THAT'S DIFFERENT.

THOSE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO BECOME REFUGEES.

BUT LAWS HAVE TO BE FOLLOWABLE.

AND ONCE THEY BECOME NOT VERY EASY TO FOLLOW, YOU'LL FIND PEOPLE HAVE A GREATER PROPENSITY TO BREAK THEM.

THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO GET INTO THE COUNTRY SOME OTHER WAY, OVERSTAYING VISAS, LYING ON THEIR APPLICATIONS, A LOT OF THEM ARE NOT PREDISPOSED TO BE CRIMINALS.

THEY JUST HAVE A SITUATION THEY NEED TO TAKE CARE OF.

THIS IS NOT WORKABLE, BUT INSTEAD OF HIRING MORE MAGISTRATES MORE UNIFORMED OFFICERS, HIRING MORE INTERPRETERS, FIXING THIS CRISIS, IT'S -- WE'RE ALLOWING ONE OF OUR PARTIES TO TURN THE SCREWS ON THE OTHER TO MAKE THEM EMBARRASSED THROUGH THIS PROCESS.

AS IF THE UNITED STATES COULD ESCAPE WHAT TURKEY AND GERMANY AND BRITAIN AND FRANCE AND COUNTRIES ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE EXPERIEN EXPERIENCING, AS WE HAVE A WORLD ON THE MOVE.

MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL SLEEP TONIGHT IN A PLACE THAT IS NOT THEIR HOME.

>> BEFORE WE LET YOU GO, AS I SAID, YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS A LONG TIME AS A JOURNALIST, AS AN OBSERVER OF, YOU KNOW, THE EVENTS OF THE WORLD.

IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT THAT KIND OF CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT SOMETHING, OR THAT CHANGED THE WAY YOU THINK?

ABOUT THIS ISSUE?

>> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, BECAUSE I HAVE BECOME BOTH MORE PRACTICAL AND MORE SENTIMENTAL THE OLDER I GET.

I AM MOVED WHEN I WATCH THINGS LIKE WHY WE FIGHT, OR, AS I REFERENCE IN THE BOOK, A LOVELY OLD OSCAR-WINNING SHORT FILM WITH FRANK SINATRA CALLED "THE HOUSE I LIVE IN."

WHICH ALMOST EVERY TIME I HEAR IT NOW, I GET ALL BLUBBERY, BECAUSE IT EVOKES AN AMERICA THAT IS THE IDEAL AMERICA, THE ONE WE ALL HOPE FOR, WHERE WE TAKE PEOPLE AS THEY COME, WHERE WE EXTEND A HAND, WHERE WE BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE FROM ANYWHERE CAN BE THEIR BEST SELVES HERE.

AND I LOVE THAT AMERICA, I WANT US TO BELIEVE IN THAT AMERICA, BECAUSE IT'S A BIG PART OF OUR JOINT WAY FORWARD, AND I THINK SOME OF THE UGLINESS ABOUT DENYING THE POSSIBILITY OF HUMANITY TO PEOPLE FROM OTHER PLACES IS GETTING US OFFTRACK.

AND YOU MENTIONED THAT MOST OF MY OTHER WORK HAS BEEN VERY REPORTERLY, AND IT IS PARTLY THIS TOPIC THAT SORT OF PULLED ME OFF THE SIDELINES, THAT MADE ME THINK, WELL, MAYBE AFTER 45 YEARS, I'VE EARNED THE RIGHT TO HAVE AN OPINION.

AND THIS IS WHAT I'M -- WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.

>> RAY SUAREZ, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPEAKING WITH US.

>> GREAT TO TALK TO YOU.