Up First from NPR - Harris' Closing Argument, Trump Mass Deportations Plan, Head Start Changes

Episode Date: October 30, 2024

Vice President Harris delivers her campaign's closing arguments, ex-President Donald Trump's mass deportation plan, and a federally funded preschool program struggles to hire and pay enough staff.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Alfredo Carbajal, Steve Drummond, Nicole Cohen, Olivia Hampton and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ana Perez, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Robert Rodriguez. Our technical director is Zac Coleman. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hello there, it's Michelle Martin. And this is Steve. We are following the election, of course, as everybody is, and we're glad you're joining us for Up First. There are other ways to make sure you do not miss a development through the day. First, every weekday, you can find a new episode of the NPR Politics Podcast with context and analysis on the big stories whenever they happen. So you get an alert, big breaking news, you don't know what to think.

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the NPR Politics Podcast anytime big stuff happens. And Around the Clock Election News Survival Kit from NPR Podcasts. Thank you for listening. Here's the show. Vice President Harris spoke from the same spot where Donald Trump fired up a crowd on January 6th, 2021. It doesn't have to be this way.

How did she reach out to voters who disagree on issues but agree about the Constitution? I'm Michelle Martin. That's Steve Inskeep. And this is Up First from NPR News. Former President Trump has promised to launch mass deportations of undocumented people if elected. But how exactly does he plan to deport more than 11 million people?

Also, a new Biden administration rule could raise preschool teachers' pay, although it lacks congressional funding. There is a push right now to make it a priority, but we're still, it's a long ways away. Some preschool programs are struggling to hire enough staff and pay them. Could they end up serving fewer children? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. Send, spend, or receive money internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the WISE app today, or visit WISE.com, T's and C's apply. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels,

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wineclub.org slash podcast must be 21 or older to purchase vice president Harris delivered a closing argument for her campaign yesterday. And she did it with the White House illuminated behind her. Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That is who he is. But America, I am here tonight to say that is not who we are. That is not who we are.

Harris spoke from the same spot where then President Trump stood on January 6, 2021. It's a place where he told his supporters to fight like hell and encouraged them to march to the Capitol, which they then stormed. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamra Keith was among tens of thousands of people who were at the Harris event last night. Tam, good morning. Good morning. Thanks for joining us after working late. So obviously a symbolic location, the ellipse as it's called there near the White House. How did she use that location? She did touch on January 6 and themes of democracy, but she used it to pivot to talk about Trump's

character. This was the largest rally crowd of her campaign by far, but the real intended audience wasn't there. It was in the swing states. Her campaign wanted to get people's attention and this backdrop was stunning and as you say, symbolic. Harris is trying to reach the small remaining sliver of undecided voters, as well as what I would call unmotivated voters. And this wasn't a typical stump speech or rah-rah rally speech. Her message at its core was about turning the page on the Trump era. America, for too long, we have been consumed with too much division, chaos, and mutual distrust.

And it can be easy then to forget a simple truth. It doesn't have to be this way. You know, when I was watching the speech last evening, I noticed several references to working with people who disagreed with her and not labeling them enemies. And there's an electoral reason for that. She was speaking directly to Republicans and independents who are done with Trump but need a push to take that next step and vote for a Democrat. Think of the tens of thousands of people

who voted for Nikki Haley in the Republican primary even after she dropped out of the race. And also voters who haven't been paying close attention or have been actively avoiding politics who still feel like they don't know enough about her. Harris acknowledged that this has not been a typical campaign. She's only been running for president for three months. So she spent a little time telling her personal story

and then tied her experience as a prosecutor to how she would approach the presidency. For as long as I can remember, I have always had an instinct to protect. There's something about people being treated unfairly or overlooked that frankly just gets to me. I don't like it. A big part of her speech was about her policy proposals like a child tax credit and having Medicare cover in-home care for seniors. She promised to listen to the needs and concerns of Americans, even if they don't vote for her. And in some ways, this felt more like a convention speech

or even an inaugural address than typical campaign fare. I will also say though, it was a lot less joyful and fun than the speeches she gave in the heady early days of her campaign when everything was new. The Trump campaign did respond to this speech saying Harris was name calling and clinging to the past to avoid talking about all the failures of the Biden administration. Well, okay, if this is the closing argument, I mean, Trump had this speech at Madison Square Garden and went out into the swing states again. Where does Harris go after this big speech in Washington? She's going to the swing states again, all seven of them in a very short period of time,

really crisscrossing the country. It is remarkable, but at this point in the race, there are still seven swing states. It is just that close. And Piers Tamer-Keith, it's always a pleasure talking with you. Thanks so much. You're welcome.

The presidential campaign has included a lot of distraction and noise, but it's given some clarity on the candidates' views of one big issue. That issue is immigration. Former President Trump has promised that if elected, he will deport millions of people. On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out. NPR immigration correspondent Jasmine Garce has been asking how that would work based on what the candidates have said. Jasmine, good morning.

Good morning. Okay, more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. How has the former president say he would get them out? Well, not a lot of specifics. He said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the president to detain and deport non-citizens from an enemy nation during wartime. He also has said he would use local police, and Trump and his allies have talked about invoking the Insurrection Act and deploying troops to the southwest border.

I was watching his speech Sunday from Madison Square Garden where he said some of these things and it made me wonder how feasible it all is. Well, first of all, Congress would need to allocate massive amounts of money to hire new agents, increase facilities, and Trump hasn't been specific about how he'd do that. And also civil rights groups are prepared to challenge all this. I mean, consider the Alien Enemies Act. We are not at war with countries that migrants primarily come from. Okay, so you can see the legal challenges coming if you use these various laws as your authority. The next question is whether the president can commandeer local law enforcement

or rely on their cooperation, as it were. So partnerships between certain police departments and immigration authorities already do exist for detaining and holding immigrants. And those partnerships, by the way, have been accused of enabling racial profiling and of breaking community trust. Now, legally, no, the president can't force a police department to collaborate with immigration enforcement. In fact, during his presidency, Trump tried and it was deemed unconstitutional. This is an experience that lots of presidents have.

They show up in the most powerful office in the world and find out their limits to their power. So long as the Constitution holds, so are his hands to some extent tied. Kind of. I think it's really important to look at what's happening on a state level. In the last few years, we've seen states like Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arizona now attempting to pass their own immigration enforcement laws. Now, what legal scholars have told me is that they expect that under a Trump presidency, we would see places that already participate in immigration enforcement really ramping it up and the Justice Department under Trump giving them a green light.

Oh, interesting. So in states that are politically aligned with Trump, he could change considerably, but other states may be a little bit less. Let's talk now about Harris's approach to immigration. Of course, it's the Biden-Harris administration that's under pressure for its performance here. So how is her approach changing, if at all? So 60% of voters say immigration is a major concern.

The Biden-Harris administration has been criticized by the Trump campaign for being weak on immigration. And what we've seen is Democrats veering more conservative, talking less about paths to legalization and much more on border security, also pushing a bipartisan bill from earlier this year saying that if elected, she will sign that into law. And I guess in her big speech last night, Harris did talk about a path to legalization, but also talked about deporting people who need to be deported. Jasmine, thanks so much. Thank you.

NPR's Jasmine Garst. Okay, waitress, barista, babysitter are just some of the other jobs, second jobs that teachers in Head Start have to work in order to make ends meet. Pay in the federally funded preschool program is so low that many Head Start centers are struggling to hire enough staff to keep their classrooms open. Now the Biden-Harris administration is trying to help. And NPR's Corey Turner has been asking how. Corey, good morning. Good morning, Steve. Let's start with the problem as they define it. How low is teacher pay here? It is so low that the program meant to help children living in poverty actually forces many of its staff to live in poverty Wow, nationally, we know the average salary is around

$40,000 by comparison a preschool teacher who's based in a public school averages about $53,000 a year. I was recently in Michigan in Grand Rapids where I met Walter Tyler He's known to his students as Mr. Walter He's been working in Head Start Steve for almost 40 years Says he makes about 20 bucks an hour and until recently his second job was cleaning rental cars at the airport I was out there working with kids that I hadn't had in the head start. And they said, Mr. Walton. I said, yeah, Mr. Walton. I'm like, wow. I sat at the table teaching you. Now I'm working side by side with you cleaning cars.

And this low pay has led to a staffing crisis right now because not all teachers stick around as long as Mr. Walter. According to the Biden-H Biden Harris administration, nearly one in five teachers quit last year. Yeah. I'm just thinking $40,000 or less because that was the average salary. I mean, that's okay. If you're just out of school, just getting started in life, but get a little older, you have some expenses that is really, really tight. So what happens if a head start center just can't find enough teachers at those rates?

Kids and families miss out I spoke with Madonna printer who runs the programs in Grand Rapids She told me she struggled with this just last year when we started in August I needed 43 teaching staff so we were talking, you know over 20 classrooms not being able to open Prinser says she has nearly a thousand children on her wait list. She's also raised wages about as much as she can without big cuts or a funding increase from Congress. Okay, but we started by saying the federal government wants to do something about this.

What is it? Yeah, the Biden-Harris administration has created a rule requiring Head Start teachers to get a pay bump of as much as $10,000 per person. The problem is, without Congress, Steve, local program directors are being told they have to pay for it, in some cases by cutting services. With the election just a week away, it's also worth noting the Republican Project 2025 calls for eliminating Head Start.

We know Donald Trump has disavowed that project. I did ask his campaign for his position and I got a vague quote about returning education to the states. In the meantime, back in Michigan I spoke with teacher Savannah Claypack and I asked what it says she thinks in many places that you can make about as much money flipping burgers as you can teaching in Head Start. Why it's not a priority, I don't know. I think that there is a push right now to make it a priority, but we're still, it's a long ways away. I visited her just a few weeks ago

in her Head Start classroom on the Upper Peninsula. Since then, Steve, she has resigned. Mm, Corey, thanks so much. You're welcome. That's NPR's Corey Turner. Hmm, Cory, thanks so much. You're welcome. That's NPR's Cory Turner. And that's a first for this Wednesday, October 30th.

I'm Stephen Skeep. And I'm Michelle Martin for your next Listen, Tune In to Consider This from NPR. North Carolina has not chosen a Democrat for president since 2008. If the Harris-Walls campaign is going to change that, it needs more rural Democrats to turn out. Hear how one grassroots group is trying to make that happen. Listen to Consider This from NPR. Today's Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Alfredo Carbajal, Steve Drummond, Nicole Cohen,

Olivia Hampton, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ana Pettis, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. And we get engineering support from Robert Rodriguez. Our technical director is Zach Coleman. Join us tomorrow. Who's claiming power at this election? What's happening in battleground states?

And why do we still have the electoral college? All this month, the Throughline Podcast is asking big questions about our democracy and going back in time to answer them. Listen now to the Throughline Podcast from NPR. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Dignity Memorial. When your celebration of life is prepaid today, your family is protected tomorrow. Planning ahead is truly one of the best gifts you can give your family. For additional information, visit DignityMemorial.com.

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