MSNBC "All in with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Immigration

Interview

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HAYES: Our monument. For more on the politics of the President`s bid on racial grievance, I`m joined by Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. Senator, I think that --

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D), HAWAII: Aloha.

HAYES: Aloha. There`s a tendency I think from Democrats to be in a little bit of a defensive crouch about this issues sometimes. I`ve watched it happen time and time again, worried about the sort of efficacy of the kind of rhetoric the President is using, the blatant demagoguery, the racist and bigoted tropes, but they don`t seem to be that scared right now. Where -- what is the mood of the Democratic caucus as you face down both the midterms and the current immigration policies of this president.

HIRONO: As far as I`m concerned the President`s policies and especially the separation of children from their parents, literally ripping them from their mamas` arms as my friend Elizabeth Warren put it is galvanizing a lot of people in our country as to the misplaced priorities and the cruelty of this president. So as you mentioned, people all across the country by the millions are coming together and being engaged as a counter to the kind of divisive politics and rhetoric that spews out of the President`s mouth every single day.

HAYES: You know, the White House and the administration both in court and in other places seem to basically say like buzz off, leave us alone, we`re doing what we can. This was Senator Blumenthal talking about his conference call with HHS today about whether they`re going to reunite these under 3,000 children. "Just got off the phone HHS, I am furious and horrified after immigration conference call virtually no separate children of being reunified, no system, no plan, no path to a short reunification, no answers to key questions, strategy seems to be blame everyone else." Who`s going to hold them accountable?

HIRONO: Well, Chris, I was on that so-called conference call myself. I thought it was ridiculous. It was basically a monologue by Secretary Azar to base -- patting themselves on the back about what a great job they`re doing and bemoaning that the courts are creating of uncertainty etcetera. This is chaos that the President himself created and they take no responsibility for the trauma to both the parents and the children. It was -- I would say awesomely terrible in my view. I felt used. You know, I don`t know how many Senators were on that conference call so-called, but only three Senators are able to get through in the queue to ask any questions at all. That left the rest of us sitting on our hands. This is why I`m sending yet another letter to Chairman Grassley to say we need a hearing. We need hearings on this so that we can get to the real facts and that we ask questions not in a staged way as this conference call was.

HAYES: Do you think this White House cares fundamentally the President, his administration, do you think they care whether they get these kids back together with their -- with their parents?

HIRONO: No. Because if he really cared, they wouldn`t have done this in the first place. And it`s pretty clear to most of us that they didn`t think that they would be forced reunite these children by -- to their parents. And so one of the questions I wanted to ask was when you impose a zero-tolerance policy that require the children to be separated, did you even think about what it would take to bring them back together? No they did not think that. It`s very clear they did not think that.

HAYES: Final question. They tried to argue in court today that they can`t make the deadline for the under-five children. There`s a hundred and one of those I believe. They also said I think -- I think nineteen if -- I`m recalling this off my head that had already been deported. They try to argue we don`t have to reunite the one -- the children with the parents who have already been deported. What do you think of that?

HIRONO: As I said, they created this chaos and for them to not take any responsibility is par for the course from this administration. So first they create the chaos, then they blame Democrats or Congress or anybody else. They take no responsibility. And then as they try mightily to bring these children back together which -- who never should have been separated to begin with, they again take no responsibility. So you know, you`re right, Chris. This president engages in what started off as what I would characterize as dog-whistle politics as he descended his golden staircase or whatever it was in Trump Tower calling Mexicans rapists and then his first action as president was to impose a Muslim ban. You know, what started as dog-whistle politics to his base that he continues to have to throw red meat to, it`s turned into a bullhorn where he just every day he has to go out there and throw red meat to his base. But the good thing is that there are other people in this country by the millions who are coming together as a counter to his divisive policies and rhetoric and I say thank goodness that so many of us still believe in what this country stands for. And that woman who went up on the Statue of Liberty, you know what, they can`t take it that this is a person who is an immigrant who is actually grateful who looks to the Statue as a symbol of our country welcoming immigrants and being an inclusive country. They can`t take it and so they try to malign her they try to malign anybody who disagrees with them.

HAYES: All right, Senator Mazie Hirono, thanks for your time tonight.

HIRONO: Thank you.

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