you're killing us. guest: thanks for that feedback. that is something that has not been brought up before, so i will look into it. host: one more call from laura on the independent line. caller: hello. how are you this morning. i am just calling to point out that the second amendment, when it was written, there was no such thing as a semi automatic gun. host: more on the second amendment, any final thoughts on that? guest: i just go back to it as part of the constitution. i think the founding fathers were smart in making sure that people had the ability to protect and defend themselves. host: congresswoman stephanie bice of oklahoma, the fifth district, freshman r

>> we continue to wait for the rose garden news conference with the japanese -- japanese prime minister that was scheduled to start about 0 minutes ago or. so when it does we'll bring it to you live. in the meantime more from this morning's "washington journal". e nanette barragan joins us. she is on the homeland committee. good morning. let's start on the homeland security issue. you are from california, a border state. what is your view on what we've seen over the last few months, the rise of migrants at the u.s. border? guest: i am headed to the u.s. border today to check out the situation in the rio grande valley. we have seen an increase in

migration to the united states. it started in the prior administration and continued into this administration. i will be going to check out the situation. we have a difference, one with care and compassion and one closing off the border to anybody, even those who qualify under our immigration asylum laws to apply for asylum. host: we have seen reporting on some of the impacts of that at the texas-mexico border and the new mexico-mexico border. have about south of los angeles? what has been the impact in your area? have you felt it yet? guest: i was able to go to san diego on the border when the administration started to process those waiting in mexico under the weight in mexico program. that was very orderly, people were tested, people were told when to come to the border. it is great to see these

families who have been waiting for a long time to finally set foot on american soil, to be reunited with their families. that was great to see. in the los angeles area in particular, right in my district, adjacent, is the long beach convention center where we will be housing migrant children who are temporarily being placed there as we try to find their family members and sponsors to place them and get them into a family home as quickly as possible. that has not started, but there has been conversation, and that is getting ready to go. host: the president has tapped vice president harris to spearhead some of the administration's efforts in relations with neighboring countries on the border. the hill reporting that the vice president will head to mexico and guatemala soon, possibly as soon as next week. what do you think the message from the biden administration

should be to those countries? guest: well, at the top of the agenda should be addressing the poverty level, the corruption in those countries, and really the disaster and conditions causing the migration patterns to increase. we've seen corruption, poverty, gang violence, gun violence, and of course the recent natural disasters, covid, and deaths. there have been so many circumstances and situations there causing people to feel the desperation, to come to the united states to be with family here. if he can start by addressing the root causes of migration, something the prior administration ignored in cutting humanitarian aid to that region, i think that would be a good start. something that has been done under prior administrations is something that former secretary john kelly mentioned needed to be done.

hopefully that can be top of the agenda with the vice president and those in the northern triangle. host: what is the status of the legislation proposed by president biden come the u.s. citizenship act. guest: it is getting a hearing this month and the judiciary committee. the congressional hispanic caucus, we are speaking to every single member of the house and senate and addressing concerns people might have and addressing what is and is not covered. it really is a comprehensive bill that we need to get done. ou image -- our immigration system is broken. this would be an immigration bill that is comprehensive in addressing the immigration system and making sure that the 11 million undocumented in this country have a pathway to citizenship. i think that's something that we have heard on a bipartisan basis

across the country, providing a pathway to citizenship. that's what this bill does. host: you are on the energy and commerce committee, central in taking up the infrastructure proposal coming from the administration. the wall street journal says that mr. biden is pitching his plan as a big economic return on federal investment, that roads, bridges, and ports could increase productivity. but more than half of his plan is dedicated to reducing carbon dioxide with the goal of eliminating fossil fuels with a mix of federal spending, subsidies, and regulations. this is a political program with questionable returns. guest: this is a jobs plan. it is about the future of this country and its infrastructure. it is investing in this planet and creating clean jobs will put people to work. i respectfully disagree with

that analysis of the wall street journal, but people are hurting in this country. they want to see our roads and bridges fixed.they want to see broadband, especially in rural areas. that's something this legislation will do. it will invest in clean energy. we have seen the distraction from a climate event, and we are seeing the rise in emissions, something that needs to be addressed for us to continue. we are also seeing the impacts of air pollution and the respiratory illnesses caused by that to front-line communities, low income communities, communities of color are dying at higher rates. we have to address the air pollution issues. it's the future. we are moving towards this clean energy economy and this bill puts us on the path to get there. it is a good start, let me say that, and we need to still do

more. there is a lot for us to do to address climate change. host: we have calls waiting, but a quick question for you on climate legislation that you have. grants act -- the climate justice grants act that would create a 10-year grant program at the epa, $1 billion a year, so recipients can use the grants for clean energy projects, weatherization, homebuilding electrification, and other related projects. when you talk about climate justice, what does that mean? and is this part of the total package of infrastructure proposals that would be included in the president's plan? guest: we have several bills. another one is green the ports across the country. almost a quarter of americans live within three miles of a port. they are great for the economy. i had the los angeles port in my district that brings a lot of import, export, brings a lot of

jobs, but is also a big polluter. climate justice is taking care of frontline communities, communities of color, those on the front lines of being disproportionately impacted by air pollution, emissions, and being next to oil refineries. again, i will keep going back to covid because we've seen them hit hard by covid. you have seen higher deaths. we have to invest in these communities to make sure that they are first in line to get access to funding and dollars to address the disparities that they are facing in pollution. the easiest way to explain this is if you look at communities, say beverly hills, malibu, you don't see these projects going to those communities. they are going to the communities who are low income, communities of color where maybe people are working two jobs, they don't have as much success

as finding some of these projects. we have to make sure we are treating people equally and they have access to clean air and clean water. that is not happening across this country, and that's an injustice we need to fix. host: the lines for callers. for republicans, (202) 748-8001. free democrats, (202) 748-8000. for independents and others, (202) 748-8002. we start in lakeland, florida with peter on the independent line. caller: goodcaller: morning, people, thank you for taking my call. just a suggestion. the immigration crisis we have on the border, you guys got an outfit in people in d.c., the gray zone, they will tell you about the decades of bipartisanship, foreign policy that has been a mess with sanctions and coups in south america. that's why were dealing with this mess. the other thing is for the

congressperson from california. when are you going to take care of california's homeless?there are tens of thousands of homeless. do we need the u.n. because you have failed so bad? we are talking about the border, you have a crisis that has been ignored by the u.s. media in california on homeless people. what are you doing to help them and solve this crisis that has been going on for years? guest: thank you for raising this issue. the homeless issue has been rising across this country. number one we need to make sure we have affordable housing, something we have proposed legislation in congress on. sometimes trying to get these through has been more challenging. we need to make sure housing is affordable, that we are taking care of our veterans, and we need to invest in mental health services, substance abuse has a lot to do with the homeless issue. my colleague mentioned water

cuts in california we will work to get through. it is an issue we are continuing to work on. this is a situation where we have to take care of security in this country. in charge of, a committee i'm on, it is something that we are putting money into making sure people have resources so we can get folks into housing. it has to start with affordable housing. host: let's hear from tim and -- in toledo ohio on the democrats line. caller: i lived in california from 1980 to 1986 in the navy and i thought it was a beautiful state. i am from toledo, ohio, a very mixed community. black, white, hispanic. my wife is american-mexican.

a wonderful family. when i went to san diego i had one guy say a common sense thing 40 years ago. if you want to stop the illegal immigrants from coming across the border, go after the people who hire them. as long as people are hiring them they will keep coming. on the flipside as a christian, they are coming over here because where they are at is horrible. they are trying to get a better life. as a christian i can't help but think -- that's why i am a democrat. 30% of the time i support democrats because they support what jesus says. if you turn away a refugee, i was once a refugee too. i don't know why republicans hammer the christian thing against democrats when democratic policies follow more the teachings of jesus.the other

thing is, if you have a problem with illegal immigrants when they come over here and get better jobs, maybe the problem is the people who hire them not the people coming over here. guest: let me start by saying my parents are immigrants. they came from mexico. they did come here for a better life. you can imagine, i know my parents never imagined that their child would be able to grow up in this country and become a member of the united states congress. there is a lot of value in our immigrant community. we see it day in and day out. i want to remind people that come into the united states and applying for asylum is legal. it is not illegal. it is very frustrating for me when i hear conger station -- hear conversations around the terms illegal alien or illegal immigrant. these are humans looking for a better life trying to utilize the laws we have in the united states, which provides for people to be able to present themselves at a port of entry and apply for asylum.or if

you are in this country already to apply for asylum. that is what is happening. this is something we hear from border patrol. people will present themselves to an agent so they can get into the immigration system, which has a backlog. that is something we need to address in making sure we have enough immigration judges to address these cases. the value of immigrants now in covid, these are our essential workers on the front lines. our doctors, those taking care of our loved ones in the hospital, putting food on the shelves, and picking the food on the farms. we should take a moment to recognize the value immigrants play in this country and are currently playing in this country and have been for decades. host: would do you think the administration should do on the number of refugees allowed into the united states?

i understand that number has not been held in place since the trump administration. what do you think resident biden should do? guest: i've joined my colleagues and asking for the cap to be lifted. the prior administration did everything in their power to stop any migrants from coming into this country, to stop refugees from coming to this country. lowered the number greater than i believe any other administration. so we have been calling on that number to be lifted. that is something we will continue to work on. host: helen in california. republican line. caller: i grew up in the los angeles county, orange county area, in l.a., and i lived across the street from the world's largest -- not the world but the largest port in the western hemisphere, l.a. and long beach. talking about migration, migration historically, that is

what people do. they migrate because that is necessity. they need to go to a place where they can have a better life. i don't have a problem. my best friend was born in tijuana, came here, got amnesty. we have had this discussion before. funny, we had it yesterday, about there is a new -- not political shift. boundaries are political. human nature is political. but the boundaries we have now are artificial. but i think people are failing to see is we are changing our shape out here. my friend and i are thinking, why don't we have a cooperation? this idea of mexico versus the united states? this isn't happening anymore. i've grown about here. the majority of the population in california is hispanic.

when i call the police it is a hispanic police officer. when i go to the doctor, it is a hispanic doctor. my boss is a hispanic woman. to me, it is kind of a fact but not a determining factor to me. my friend too. what we are saying is why is it these artificial boundaries between mexico and central america and california -- it doesn't really exist anymore it's gone. if you look at society in california where i live, it is pretty much hispanic, korean, vietnamese, chinese, white and european. it is an amalgam of what i think is best about the world and civilization. we are a pacific rim civilization, and i think washington, d.c. cannot understand that the world is not center on the east coast. we are the power structure out here.

host: helen in california, fullerton. response? guest: thank you for recognizing this country as a nation of immigrants and there is value in that. i was happy to hear her thoughts on how diverse we are. i think this country is diverse is something we take great pride on end value. host: she is calling nearby the port of los angeles and the port of long beach. i wanted to ask you. the report yesterday, ship logjam in california ports is easing after march imports deluge. the traffic jam, part of a broader gridlock and supply chains around the world admitted disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, record cargo volumes landing in the u.s.. what has that meant locally in l.a. with the ships waiting outside of the port of los angeles and long beach? guest: it is a concern. you want to have goods moving as quickly as possible.

the goods are moving as well to sustain jobs at the ports, which are huge. the los angeles port, which we call america's port, touches every congressional district in this country, and we need to do what we can to fix the logjam. one of the things the port of los angeles has been good at doing is developing a technology system to have these ships inspected beforehand. they were able to go to a portal and get cleared in advance. there is a lot of work to be done. it eased certainly the logjam. it's not good for our economy, not good for workers. we are continuing to work on making sure we do everything we can to support the port. host: this is tina from alabama on the independent line. caller: good morning, congresswoman, thank you for serving.

i disagree with your politics and i think they are horrible to americans. especially the policies on pollution. when it comes to climate change, you talk about a scientific consensus. i was always taught a scientific message. when i look at the size of the atmosphere and i see the warming , the sun, the interaction, i don't see how man's creation of things comes even close to the numbers you are talking about. unless the climate warms one degree there is no way the catastrophic scam hungering is going to happen. what i see this is all about is a global government to collect a global tax to rule over the people so the liberties are not allowed to be -- there are no more rights given. this is purely political, and we

see it already that americans have been harmed by the biden administration with the closing down of the pipelines. i'm disappointed you are part of >> i believe there are rights, the right to clean air, the right to clean water and the right to be able to live like others who have access to that and that's something i'll continue to fight for. we have seen the devastation

across the globe on what's happening because climate changes, we've seen weather disaster, just look at -- if we just say it's a big planet we're on, this isn't going to make a difference, then it will never be addressed.