(soft dramatic music)
- Security at the southern border,
the newly unveiled WhiteHouse immigration plan.
Plus, the battle over abortion in America.
We look at the different measuresmoving through the states,
all with a goal of makingit before the Supreme Court.
And why some say the Equality Act
could spell trouble for religious freedom.
All this and more tonight on Faith Nation.
(light music)
President Trump has a newplan to deal with immigration.
Welcome to Faith Nation.
I'm John Jessup.- And I'm Jenna Browder.
The President releasedhis plan this afternoon
in a speech from theWhite House Rose Garden.
It would include sweeping changes,
like clamping down on chain migration.
- Border security is alreadybig for this administration,
so the plan aims at tackling that as well.
For a full breakdown, we turn to CBN News
White House Correspondent Ben Kennedy.
Ben, what are the biggest priorities
in the President's plan?
- Well John and Jenna,the President's plan
hits on two key areas, securing the border
and changing the immigration system.
It begins with a shift ofwho comes into this country,
moved from a family-basedsystem to a merit-based system.
Right now, 12% of immigrants are admitted
based on their employment and skills.
66% are admitted due to family ties.
The White House aimsto flip those numbers,
57% employment and skills, 37% family,
and 10% humanitarian or other grounds.
Bottom line, priorityfor visas would be given
to highly-skilled workers.
- You will get more pointsfor being a younger worker,
meaning you will contribute more
to our social safety net.
You will get more pointsfor having a valuable skill,
an offer of employment,
an advanced education,
or a plan to create jobs.
It's time to restore our national unity
and reaffirm our national purpose.
It is time to rebuild our country
for all Americans.
Together, we will createan immigration system
to make America safer, and stronger,
and greater than ever before.
Thank you, God bless you all.
- Now the President also wants
to end the visa lottery system.
On border security, hewants to build the wall,
update the immigrationprocess by closing loopholes
and even expediting cases in court.
He aims to modernize the system
to help with what he continues to call
a crisis at the border.
John, Jenna.
- Ben, how are Democrats reacting?
- Well Jenna, Democratssay that the President
is ignoring the most critical issue,
how to address the 11 millionundocumented immigrants
already right here in the US.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosisays we have to come together
for comprehensive immigration reform,
but takes issue with a merit-based system.
- I want to just say something about
the word that they use, merit.
It is really a condescending word.
Are they saying family is without merit?
Are they saying most of the people
that have ever come to the United States
in the history of ourcountry are without merit
because they don't havean engineering degree?
Certainly, we want to attractthe best to our country,
and that includes many people
from many parts of society.
- The White House's planalso did not touch on
the Deferred Actionfor Childhood Arrivals,
also known as DACA, which, John and Jenna,
you know is very important to Democrats.
- And Ben, Senator Lindsey Graham
introduced his own GOP plan Wednesday.
Are the two complementary,
and will the White House plangain traction on Capitol Hill?
- Well John, it's tough to say.
Odds are it'll probably stop short
of gaining bipartisan support,
but some Republicanshave come out and said
they like the President's ideato revamp the visa system,
and unlike Speaker Pelosi, are a fan
of rewarding high-skilled workers.
- Shifting our immigrationsystem from a system
that primarily focuses onunskilled and low-skilled workers,
and instead, focuses on thehigh-skilled, highly-trained,
English-speaking workers that we need.
- It is also important to note,
and the President talked about this
in the Rose Garden and a couple hours ago,
the plan also does not changethe number of green cards
given out each year, whichwill stay at 1.1 million.
John, Jenna.
- All right, Ben Kennedyfor us at the White House.
Thank you, Ben.
Pro-life movements on the state level
continue to sweep the nation.
Tonight, Missouri joinsat least 10 other states
in passing new bans on abortion.
With Missouri Republicansholding majorities
in both houses and the governor's office,
this law's passage seems inevitable.
- That's important for thislegislation to get done.
- [Jenna] Governor Mike Parson's signature
is the last step in enactingthe latest state bill
to ban abortion.
- The time of choice isthe time of conception,
not after conception.
- [Jenna] The Missourilegislation makes no exceptions
for rape or incest, anddoctors performing abortions
after an eight-week pregnancy
could face 15 years in prison.
- As other states likeNew York and Virginia
venture further awayfrom the American ideal
to protect and uphold the right to life,
I am honored to lead astate standing here today,
with many of my colleaguesand with so many others
who are committed to standing up
for those without a voice.
- [Jenna] Missouri is setto become the 11th state
to pass new abortionrestrictions this year,
and would join Alabama as the latest state
to enact laws banning abortion,
in some cases, as early as six weeks,
or when a fetal heartbeat is detected.
- All human life is precious.
- [Jenna] Wednesday,Alabama Governor Kay Ivey
signed its law restrictingabortion in all cases
except serious risk tothe mother's health,
punishing doctors withup to 99 years in prison.
- They're trying to go on a path
that will totally dismantle Roe v. Wade.
- [Jenna] Speaker Nancy Pelosi's take
is the stated goal of thosebehind Alabama's new law.
- No law is constitutionaluntil the Supreme Court
actually revisits Roe versus Wade.
- [Jenna] And with so many casesrunning through the states,
the bet is one should hit the high court.
- What do we do?- Stand up, fight back!
- [Jenna] But as pro-lifelegislation expands,
new laws enforcing Roe v.Wade are also taking hold.
This week, Vermont tooksteps in joining New York
to reaffirm abortion asa Constitutional right.
- The court gets to decidewhat will be before them,
when it will be before them,
but I do know there'san incredible response
for life around the country.
- [Jenna] On Faith Nation this week,
former Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave
called the pro-life wellspring a new day.
- Science is on our side.
Young people are becomingmore and more pro-life,
and women in greater numbers support these
pro-life actions than men.
- And since the Supreme Courtset precedent of Roe v. Wade
binds all lower courts, the Alabama law
is automatically unconstitutional,
and is unlikely to spur acase before the nine justices.
Either way, the prospectis pushing abortion
out of the states, and no doubt
onto the 2020 campaign trail.
- Well joining us now is
Senior WashingtonCorrespondent Paul Strand.
Paul, what kind of hurdles does this
newly signed Alabamalaw have to go through
in order to get to the Supreme Court?
- Well, first thing,somebody's gotta sue over it
and say, you know, this is unenforceable,
this is unconstitutional,
and then a court has to take it up.
Probably then it goes to an appeals court.
Then it might go up to a circuit court,
and if other laws around the nation
are maybe gonna be contradictory to this,
decisions at that circuit court level,
then the Supreme Court may come in to say
we can't have one side ofthe country saying this,
and one side of the country saying that.
We're gonna decide the issue.
So probably something like that,
all the way up and maybenot just this case,
but others coming againstit at the same time.
- In Alabama, you've already had the ACLU
and Planned Parenthood saying
they're gonna contest this law.
- Yeah, and actually thislaw, a lot of people say
that they don't even think that
the Alabama lawmakers who passed it
were necessarily tryingto get this to be a law,
but more or less this is achallenge to Roe v. Wade.
They really want to get challenged
and take it all the wayto the Supreme Court.
This may not be the rightcase for it, but we shall see.
- Yeah, exactly, critics saythis is not the right case
to take to the Supreme Court.
Several others, movingthrough different states,
Paul, what other stateshave a better chance?
- Interestingly, these heartbeat bills
that have been passed ina number of states now,
that might be a good chancebecause it's basically saying
look, there's a heartbeat, this is a life,
and it's a little hard to contradict that.
A lot of the times people say, you know,
you're not aborting a baby,
you're aborting a clumpof cells or something.
But if you have a beating heart,
that really does define personhood,
and what decides death iswhen your heart stops beating,
so it seems to me that's,the heartbeat bills
have a good chance, and they're passing
in more and more states right now, so...
- We're seeing a lot ofmovement, as you just alluded to,
on the state level.
Are any of these state lawsgoing to be enforceable?
- Well, that's the problemis if they are actually,
like go right up against Roev. Wade, then probably not,
but that again is why these legislators
are trying to fashion their laws
just to get challenged andtaken all the way up there.
So yeah, that's whateverybody's hoping for.
- Yeah, after BrettKavanaugh's confirmation
to the Supreme Court, alot of people were saying
well, this is the end of Roe,
but Paul, you actuallysay that even with him,
five conservatives on the Supreme Court,
you don't think that's enough
to actually overturn Roe v. Wade.
- Yeah, because it seems likesince Justice Kennedy retired,
Justice Roberts, theChief Justice himself,
seems to have been the guythat's weighing in there
more and more, is trying tonot make some big decision,
keep the cases small, like often they will
toss a case back to the state saying
nah, you know, let's rule onthis one little piece of it,
so Roberts seems to be leaning that way
and Kavanaugh so far has, he's sided
with the liberals more thanmost people thought he would.
So right now I'm not sure.
I think you have three solid votes,
but I'm not sure youhave five solid votes.
So the pro-life community may be pushing
a little too hard, a little too soon.
I think if you get onemore justice in there,
that might really help.
- Yeah, finally Paul, how much of an issue
do you think this will be in 2020?
- I think this is gonna be huge,
and I think the way thatthe pro-abortion side
has pushed their thing so much to make it,
like they want abortion rightup to the moment of birth,
and in some cases, even after birth
if the babies survive an abortion,
I think this is really radicalizing
people on both sides of the issue,
and it's gonna be a major campaign issue.
- All right, Paul Strand,thank you very much.
- You're welcome.
- Well, the House of Representatives
is likely to pass the Equality Act Friday,
a bill opponents saydoesn't live up to its name.
Abigail Robertson joinsus from Capitol Hill.
Abigail, critics warn the bill goes
far beyond what meets the eye.
- That's right, John.
House Republicans wantto pull back the curtain
on the so-called Equality Act,
a bill minority leader, Steve Scalise
calls the most invasive threatto a parent's involvement
in children's medical decisions
he's seen during hisentire time in Congress.
- The son can actually go to a doctor
without the parents' involvement at all,
even if the parents object vocally,
under this bill, thedoctor has to treat the boy
to ultimately transferover to be a female.
- [Abigail] Kids of all ages.
- I'm not talking about 18, 19-year-olds.
I'm talking about 10, 11 and 12-year-olds.
- [Abigail] It's alreadyhappening in states
with laws similar to the Equality Act.
- In Ohio, there was parents
that had their parentalrights taken away from them
because they refused to go along with
giving hormone treatmentsto their teenage child.
- [Abigail] And if doctors refuse...
- We've had other statesthat have sued hospitals,
they're faith based hospitals,
who have not gone along with doing
a sex change operation on a child,
and they're being sued for discrimination.
- [Abigail] If passed,the bill would amend
the Civil Rights Act toprohibit discrimination
based on sexual orientation
or gender identity.
- We cannot allow claimsof religious freedom
to be used to discriminate
against an LGBT individual.
- [Abigail] But Scaliseargues it's strayed far
from its advertised purpose.
- And if that's what theywere concerned about,
that's what the bill wouldhave been focused on,
but it's not.
What Speaker Pelosi anda lot of the radical left
socialists have done is givenit a nice sounding name,
Equality Act, but then they embedded in it
so many things that are against equality.
- [Abigail] And it evenaddresses abortion.
- They take away theprotections that taxpayer money
won't be used for abortion.
- [Abigail] Some LGBTQadvocates like Kara Densky,
are joining conservativesspeaking out against the bill.
- I am certain that thepeople here with me today
profoundly disagree withme about many issues,
but we are here togetherto take a strong stand
for the rights, privacy, andsafety of women and girls.
- [Abigail] Densky tells CBN News...
- If the bill is permitted to go through,
it would redefine the wordsex to mean gender identity
and that has grave consequencesfor women and girls.
- [Abigail] Hartzler,a former track coach,
argues it would provedetrimental to women's sports.
- It tramples on therights of women and others
by forcing a top downgovernment discrimination
against those who hold different views
on marriage and on human sexuality.
- [Abigail] She believes thatif this becomes federal law,
it'll be the end ofreligious liberty cases
winning in court.- There would be no more
Little Sisters of the Poor
being able to go to courtand get their rights.
There would be no more Hobby Lobby,
there would be no more Jack Phillips
being able to say you cannot force me
to use my gifts and talents to make a cake
that goes against my deeplyheld religious beliefs.
- This bill is expected to pass
the Democrat controlled House tomorrow,
but as of now, it's unlikely
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
will bring it to the Senatefloor for a vote this session.
However, we've likely not seenthe end of the Equality Act,
as this bill has beenintroduced in some form
each session since the 1970s.
- All right, AbigailRobertson on Capitol Hill.
Thank you.
Well, to 2020 and theever-growing field of Democrats.
Another hopeful threw hishat into the ring today.
- Donald Trump must be stopped.
I've beaten him beforeand I will do it again.
I'm Bill de Blasio, andI'm running for President
because it's time we putworking people first.
- [Jenna] New York Citymayor, Bill de Blasio
is now the 23rd candidatehoping to take on
Donald Trump in the Presidential election.
De Blasio has served as mayorsince 2014, but he actually
doesn't have a lot ofsupport from his hometown.
A recent poll from Quinnipiac finds 76%
of New York voters say they don't think
De Blasio should be in the race.
- Well, this month thousandsof college students
will walk across the stageto collect their diplomas,
but most leave school withmore than just a degree.
They're also saddled withhundreds of thousands of dollars
of crippling debt.- Yeah, some of the
Democratic Presidential hopefulsare proposing free tuition
to solve the college debt crisis.
And as Jennifer Wishon explains,
some churches and charitiesare also stepping up.
- College is a lot, it's a lot of money.
- [Jennifer] Maya Thompsonis a graduating senior
at Howard University.
She's also a mom.
- So, some days I work five days a week,
and other days I work two days a week.
- [Jennifer] Recently sheand 33 other Howard students
received some divine intervention,
courtesy of a D.C. area church.
Over 40 days, the congregation of
Alfred Street Baptist Church fasted,
prayed, and gave as God guided them.
This is the fruit of the$100,000 they raised.
- We heard the Lord say weoughta do something good
for some people who aregetting ready to graduate,
so came over here to Howard,
pulled out the names of seniors who had
some holes in theiraccount just because of
balances that were leftover after financial aid
and all of that, andwe want to let you know
your account has been paid in full, man.
You're clear to graduate.
- Oh!
- Tuition at public universities
costs three times whatit did in the late '80s.
Graduating seniors can rackup 20 to $40,000 in debt
by the time they collect their diplomas.
Nationwide, Americans owe
one and a half trillion in student debt.
So, how did students getinto this mess of debt?
Some say the government is to blame.
Colleges know students have easy access
to billions in federal aid,
encouraging them to drivetheir tuition prices
higher and higher.
- We're seeing the price ofcollege increase exponentially.
- [Jennifer] Mary ClareAmselem follows college trends
for the Heritage Foundation.
- If we had a robustprivate lending market
we would have private lenders competing
to give loans to studentsand colleges competing
for students, rather thanthe other way around.
- [Jennifer] The situation is dire.
- A lot of students at myschool, we share books.
So like someone has a book, it's like hey,
can I take a picture of that page?
- [Jennifer] Some students find themselves
choosing between college expenses
or putting food on the table.
Reports from Mississippi and Kentucky
reveal the growth in studentsturning to food pantries.
As for Maya Thompson, she plans
to return to Howard next year
to surprise a student witha gift in the same amount
Alfred Street Baptist Church gave to her.
- I can't wait to put a smileon another students' face
next semester.
- A good deed put in motion
by a faithful congregation.
Jennifer Wishon, CBN News, Washington.
- [John] A surprisinglook at how millennials
are embracing faith andcommunity when we come back.
(light music)
- Young evangelicals are more likely
to be actively seeking community in church
than older evangelicals.
A new study finds 61% ofmillennial evangelicals
attend church at least once a week.
That's compared to 54% of Baby Boomers,
and only 44% of Gen-X evangelicals
say they attend church each week.
When it comes to charitable giving,
68% of evangelical millennialssay they give annually,
63% of Gen-X'ers say the same,
and 78% of evangelical Boomers and older
say they donate to charities each year.
Well, Matt Brown maynot be a household name
like other more well-knownChristian evangelists,
yet his influence after 17years of ministry is undeniable.
He reaches millions of people daily
with a message of the gospel.
- And while it seems more and more people
are turning away from the faith,
I got a chance to talk to Matt
about why he says truth plus love
is key in sharing the good news.
- Hey, I'm Matt, and Ithink that we'd all agree
that this world is full of bad news.
- [John] As a young influencerwith a large social following
Matt Brown laughs at how heonce resisted technology.
- I was slow to get a cellphone,
I was slow to get a computer,
I was slow to get on social media.
- [John] Then he learnedhow those same technologies
could serve as a pulpit.
- I was an evangelist, soI was waiting on pastors
to have me come in and preach,
and so I was like Idon't need to wait here.
I can just write, I can just minister.
- [John] While he frequentlyspeaks at conferences
and churches, and even TV shows,
Brown reaches around fivemillion people a month
through his onlineministry, Think Eternity,
helping hundreds each year toaccept Jesus as their savior.
- It's been said that complainingabout God being silent
when your Bible is closed
is like complaining aboutnot getting text messages
when your phone is turned off.
I want to minister topeople right where they are,
through social media,through the internet,
through Google, and these things,
and so it's just an opportunityand a place to communicate.
- [John] But Matt also noticedsomething that disturbed him,
people behaving poorly on social media,
including Christians,
especially when conversationsturned political.
- I'm not telling people thatthey should engage politics
or other things any certain way.
You know, there's differentthoughts about that,
but just we gotta be carefulabout how we disagree,
you know, who we call intolerant.
- [John] It's a topic hediscusses in a new book,
Truth Plus Love.
Growing up in a Christian home,
he measured spiritual maturity
by how often he prayedor studied the Bible.
Now he says it's about something deeper,
the fruit of the spirit.
- When you're passionateabout the word of God,
and miss all the scriptures about
being compassionate, and being kind.
There's so many, be gentle,bear with each other,
keep the unity, this iswhy I'm so passionate
about this message and wantedto write Truth Plus Love.
- [John] Matt says asChristian ambassadors,
believers need to modelboth in a balanced way.
He believes failing to do so
may be one factor turningothers away from religion.
Today, about one in four Americans
claim no religious affiliation,
and that number ishigher among millennials.
Young adults are morethan three times as likely
to identify as religiouslyunaffiliated as seniors.
- Lying is not the path of salvation.
- [John] Many feel turnedoff by a view of Christianity
seemingly defined by politicsor hot button issues.
- This world is full of bad news.
I mean, we get it every day on our phones,
we get it on our social.
- [John] Matt's on a mission to redeem
the social media landscape,urging Christians
to be good online stewards
and model Christ-like truth and love
rather than sound off with anger
or try to win arguments.
- If we stop for a secondand we go is this loving,
is this joyful, is thiskind, is this gentle?
Am I exhibiting self-control?
If you think about someonewho has a lot of love
and a lot of joy, anda lot of peace, I mean,
who does not want to bearound that person, you know?
I've never met an encourager
who doesn't have a lotof friends, you know?
So I think God calls us to this,
and so as we do that, it will make us
more effective for his kingdom, you know,
more effective in our lives in general.
- [John] His wife Michelle sees that
as the key to Matt's ministry.
- He is encouraging, andthere's not many people
that are authentically encouraging,
and that would be my two words for him,
that he's authentic and encouraging.
What you see is the real deal.
- [John] His effort toreclaim social media
connects him with otherpartners big and small,
and in some cases, totally unexpected,
like last year, whenFacebook of all places,
invited Matt to host a summit
of Christian social media influencers.
- And that was a justlike really interesting
gathering of church leaders.
There was about 80 of us,
and we actually got tolike worship and pray
in one of the meetingrooms there at one point
with some of the employees.
- [John] For Matt, this redemption goal
means poring into youngevangelical leaders,
helping many to grow their influence
and sign book deals.
- I've learned just the joyof generosity through that
to open doors for young leaders,
to try to be a blessing to 'em,
to not try to seek to get something
or build our ministry throughthem, but to build them.
- And whether using hisinfluence through social media,
his podcasts, or anauthor, Matt Brown says
he remains committed to helping people
think from an eternal perspective,
extending the truth, love, grace,
and joy of Jesus Christ toa hungry and hurting world.
- [Jenna] Well, coming up, coming together
to remember the life of the student
who died trying to protect others
in that Colorado school shooting.
(light music)
- Friends and family ofthe teen who gave his life
to stop a Colorado school shooting
gathered to remember his sacrifice.
- 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo
will forever be known as a hero.
He bravely helped stop a school shooting
in Highlands Ranch near Denver.
He was shot and killedwhen he tried to attack
one shooter to protect others.
Castillo was known as a robotics junkie
with a big smile, whoushered at Saturday mass.
His father and teachers remembered
an exceptional young man they said
was always willing to help others.
- What a brave young man who will be
remembered as a hero for ...
- Absolutely, yeah.- ...years to come.
- Well, that's gonnado it for Faith Nation.
- See you tomorrow.
