sharyl: a border patrol river team takes us on an airboat and we see that the river may be a natural barrier between the u.s and mexico. but here, it's not hard to cross. a lot of them are criminal elements and they pose a great danger. scott good: yeah, absolutely. smugglers don't care at all about human life. sharyl: he was recently called the most important man in washington. that may be because president trump's chief economic advisor is one of the key architects of tax reform and tax cuts for americans. and so what kind of relief can they look toward getting in terms of maybe a percentage? gary cohn: we are committed to give them relief, relief where they will see, when they get their first paycheck in january

hand. scott: this is hardly the paris you may typically picture. the outdoor bathing, street begging, and long food lines. a new gritty side to the city of lights. patrick klugman is the deputy mayor of paris. he contends this is not just a parisian problem, it is the world's. there is a concern among some that this could have a destabilizing effect all across europe. patrick klugman: of course, it has already. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] sharyl: hello. i'm sharyl attkisson. welcome to "full measure." one of the first things president trump did in office was to sign an executive order

building the border wall. this week, he again promised that the wall will get built. but a new wall between the u.s. and mexico remains both myth and metaphor because to date there's no funding to pay for it. we went down to the border between texas and mexico, a place where they've always lived without a border wall and only the rio grande river separates two countries, to hear how they feel. mauricio vidaurri: as you can see, it wasn't a big place. sharyl: mauricio vidaurri's family history is situated on 1300 raw acres of texas border land, part of a spanish land grant, even before there was a united states of america. mauricio: in this room, in this house, my father was born. born and raised. sharyl: the proximity to mexico means illegal immigrants and drug dealers are a constant worry. this is your house that you found broken in? mauricio: my sister's house. it was my father's house. they'll break into the window and they'll try to use it as a stash house.

either for illegal immigrants or for the dope runners. sharyl: as much as he supports tough border security, vidaurri is against a physical border wall, which he says wouldn't be built on the actual border, the middle of the rio grande river, but somewhere on the u.s. side. on his property. mauricio: you build a wall, this cuts off, and they get the water. we no longer get the water. they get the water. sharyl: mexico? mauricio: yes. sharyl: a wall could also cut through his hay fields. mauricio: the wall can be built right here, right? and anything past this will be no man's land. sharyl: an even bigger issue, a border wall could go straight through the family cemetery. thousands of border property owners like vidaurri are waiting to hear what's coming. mauricio: i would say about a year ago it started

president trump: build the wall, build the wall, build the wall. sharyl: in terms of traffic, vidaurri's land might seem like the right place for president trump's wall. it's in the so-called laredo sector of texas, home to the busiest commercial port in the u.s. it's a bustling entry point for foot traffic from mexico. both the legal kind over the gateway to americas international bridge. and the illegal kind. a border patrol river team takes us on an airboat and we see that the river may be a natural barrier between the u.s. and mexico. but here, it's not hard to cross. so what makes this such an active area? gabriel acosta: okay, so there's a number of things that make this area particularly attractive to the criminal element. it's not too, too deep, at some places the river is just, you know, up to your knees, maybe your waist. sharyl: scott good heads border patrol in the laredo sector. a lot of good people cross the

or find a better life. but a lot of them aren't good. a lot of them are criminal elements and they pose a great danger. scott good: yeah, absolutely. smugglers don't care at all about human life. they're very callous. there's so many horrific things that can come from it to include rape, slavery, those kinds of things. sharyl: he says a physical wall would help. scott good: infrastructure like a wall would be valuable to us. as well as other things, like the technology to be able to see in this dense brush. dep. roberto castillo: you can see how if you're unfamiliar with an area, in general, how difficult it would be to navigate through any of this, even at night, you know. sharyl: along the banks of the rio grande, webb county sheriff's deputy roberto castillo shows us countless pathways routinely used for criminal traffic. is this a path? dep. castillo: it is what it is. it is a trail. sharyl: what are the feelings here on the border about whether there should be an open border or there should be strict border enforcement? sheriff martin cuellar: it should be strict. sharyl: the local sheriff, martin cuellar, says there's a

tough border enforcement. sheriff cuellar: mexico have cartels, cartels that are operating just across the border, and when they're having trouble, and they're fighting either other cartels or the mexican government, you know, the military, the marines, and when they have problems, guess will what they do? they come across for safe haven. so, we can't say we want an open border. my job is to protect this community, and i'm going to do everything possible to do that. sharyl: but like many locals, the sheriff doesn't want a physical wall. sheriff cuellar: i think a smart wall, you know, with drones and sensors and high-tech cameras, and people to respond to those areas will be the solution to this. sharyl: the webb county sheriff's department has already begun deploying a high-tech alternative to a wall called border smart. this i

bringing in live images from two high-resolution, solar-powered cameras. they're seeking $90 million in federal tax money to blanket 360 miles of border in seven counties with cameras and response teams over five years. federico garza is helping to lead the effort. federico garza: by the time that somebody crosses that border and gets into our field of operation, we will discover him day and night, and he won't know what hit him, until he gets on the highway. sharyl: border smart might line up with president trump's notion that half the border, a thousand miles, can be protected by technology instead of a wall. in july, he told reporters off-camera on air force one, "it's a 2000 mile border, but you don't need 2000 miles of wall because you have a lot of natural barriers." the media reported trump had suddenly scaled back his wall and they called it a radical departure, but he'd actually said the same thing a year and a half earlier, that of 2000 miles of border, only half needs a wall or fence. president trump: and of the 2000, we don't need 2000.

have natural barriers, etc., etc. sharyl: in fact, candidate trump began talking about less wall and more technology on this visit to laredo in july of 2015. pres. trump: the mayor has done a fantastic job. mr. mayor. mayor saenz: thank you so much, mr. trump. sharyl: that's laredo mayor pete saenz. mayor saenz: he asked about how i felt about the wall. i told him, with all due respect, it was offensive to mexico. he listened. he did give an interview at the end, basically saying that possibly maybe areas with natural barriers, like the river, possibly may not take a wall, be conducive to having a wall. my understanding is no wall, no fence, no barrier will be built in the laredo city area. sharyl: and that's how you'd rather have it? mayor saenz: oh yes, by all means. sharyl: vidaurri is in the next county over waiting for word. he wants to stop the illegal traffic on his ranch, but save the family homestead.

mauricio: we see my family's blood, sweat, and tears in those stones and in this land and that's what we have been passed on to protect and to preserve. to say, to have a wall just come in here and be built, well, you know, you're not respecting what was given to us, granted to us. sharyl: even without full funding, the administration is moving forward. two weeks ago, the government selected four contractors to start building prototype sections of the new border wall. this test phase could be complete by the end of the year. ahead on "full measure" -- a telling interview with president trump's top economic advisor on one of the most popular topics in america -- tax cuts. sweet 4k tv, mr. peterson. thanks. pretty psyched. did you get fios too? no. mr. peterson, fios is a 100% fiber optic-network. what does that mean? think about it.

st gas in it, right. so why hook up your awesome technology to anything other than a fiber-optic network? i got to go. peterson. peterson's wife. counting on you guys. your internet deserves the 100% fiber-optic network. and now get our fastest internet ever plus tv and phone for just $79.99 per month.

sharyl: the next big initiative for the trump administration is tax reform. after failing to convince congress to fix obamacare, the white house is looking for something big to put in the win column. this week, i sat down with the very optimistic gary cohn, chief economic advisor to president trump. where do we stand on tax reform or tax relief as of today? gary cohn: tax reform, tax relief are very important to the president. i think he's made it abundantly clear that his number one priority from a legislative standpoint for 2017 is to get tax reform and tax relief completed.

he continues to work on it day in and day out. he's putting enormous pressure on us here in the administration, but he's also putting enormous pressure on congress to make sure that we get tax reform and tax relief done this year. and that's what we're going to do. sharyl: the republican congress hasn't really gotten behind much of president trump's agenda. does it change with tax reform and tax relief or does he count on bringing more democrats to get this done? gary cohn: the president is committed to tax reform and tax relief. we'd love to do a bipartisan tax reform and tax relief bill. if we can do that, that would be great. and the president has been working on that. yesterday, i was with the president and we had a bipartisan congressional meeting here with congressional leaders, both democrats and republicans. we had dinner with the with nancy pelosi and senator schumer last night talking about taxes. and if we can get them to come along with us on a tax plan that makes sense, we'd love to have that happen. if we need to go alone and we need to do with all republicans, the president's willing to do that. he's totally committed to give

americans and to bring jobs back to america by lowering the business tax rate. sharyl: i know a lot of this is subject to negotiations. but the president said his priority is helping the middle class and he has even said that the wealthiest top group will not get any new benefits. what is significant benefit or what would be the help you envision the middle class receiving? gary cohn: we need to allow our middle class earners, the backbone of the united states, to keep more of their income. we don't need them to go to work 40, 60, 80 hours a week and send their money to government. we need them to keep their money and spend it in the economy. sharyl: what is the right now for middle class? gary cohn: it depends what you define middle class as, which is always an interesting discussion topic where you define, having you define it. sharyl: how do you define it? gary cohn: it's a broad target group. when you look at middle-class incomes today, median income in the united states, it is around high $50,000. sharyl: for a family? gary cohn: yes, a family. sharyl: and so what kind of

getting in terms of maybe a percentage? gary cohn: yeah, i'm not going to comment on percentages. we are committed to give them relief, relief where they will see when they get their first paycheck in january of 2018, that they will have more disposable income in their head. sharyl: you think that's going to happen? gary cohn: i am highly confident that we are going to get a tax bill done. sharyl: cnbc recently called you the most important man in washington and on wall street. and some said if you quit, it would crash the markets. what do you think of that? gary cohn: i think that's what cnbc said. sharyl: do you have any intentions of leaving? gary cohn: i think that's what cnbc said. sharyl: is that yes or no or we don't know? gary cohn: we don't know. sharyl: ok. gary cohn: specifically, i am extremely happy doing what i'm doing. think about the opportunity i have today, think about what i'm working on right now. tax reform hasn't been done for 31 years. to be in the front row, front center, of the opportunity to work oso

think you can dynamically change the forward trajectory of the united states economy by bringing businesses back to america, by changing the business rate, where we become competitive with the rest of the world, where we put americans back to work, where we create an environment where companies compete for labor and they compete for labor by paying higher wages and we create wage growth something we haven't had for decades in this country. that's an unbelievable opportunity that is hard to believe with i'm sitting here in that seat. sharyl: you're a democrat, right? gary cohn: i am. sharyl: do you consider it your job to sway president trump some toward your way of thinking about things where it differs? or does he sway you to implement what he thinks ought to be done? gary cohn: i think my job is to deliver facts to the president and allow him to make his decisions with the best facts available. sharyl: cohn also told us about administration efforts to level the playing field on trade with china, and one other key promise, improving the nation's infrastructure.

more on those in the weeks ahead on "full measure." coming up on "full measure" -- is europe's immigration crisis getting worse? it seems the media has gone silent. scott thuman reports from ralph northam: i'm ralph northam, candidate for governor and i sponsored this ad narrator: ed gillespie says dr. ralph northam doesn't show up? dr. ralph northam was an army doctor and a volunteer medical director at a children's hospice. he passed the virginia law requiring concussion standards for school sports. the smoking ban in restaurants. and dr. northam is working to connect veterans to good paying jobs in virginia.

ed gillespie is a washington dc corporate lobbyist. he shows up for whoever pays him.

sharyl: a year ago, screaming headlines spoke of an immigration crisis in europe, caused by refugees fleeing the middle east. you may not have heard much lately about what was called the refugee crisis of 2016. here's a new headline. it hasn't gone away. in fact, in some respects, it may be getting worse. our scott thuman went to france to examine the growing worry over this new wave of refugees. scott: this is hardly the paris you may typically picture -- the outdoor bathing, street begging, and long food lines -- a new gritty side to the city of lights. so you're saying you're shocked that all of this is happening in a city like paris? antoine bazin: yeah, yeah, of course. like paris and in france, we are the human rights country and in

rights country. scott: antoine bazin runs a team of volunteers called utopia 56. they manage, feed, and help a growing number of refugees who are becoming part of a paris underground. you're seeing new people every single day. antoine: yeah, yeah, we have new people every single day. we are the calais of paris, or something like this. scott: you are the calais of paris. antoine: yes. scott: so this would then be a different version of the jungle? antoine: yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a kind of jungle, we have a jungle in the street. scott: the jungle was the controversial refugee camp in calais, on the northern coast of france, that we visited back in 2015. it became a dangerous jump point where refugees made risky attempts to cross the channel into britain. authorities raided and shut it down. the migrant problem migrated to paris. this 19-year-old is from sudan. more and more people as you were trying to get here?

>> yes. big, big. more, more than ever. more than ever. scott: this may be the greatest example of paris' struggle to keep up. more than 30 times over the past two years, sites like this have been cleared by police, yet still they come, sometimes at a rate of 100 a day. so what happened to the headlines of the huddled masses? since the tragic photo of a 3-year-old syrian boy stirred the world into outrage, what has changed? little. the child's father told a german newspaper, "the dying goes on and nobody does anything." paris is proof. there were 85,000 asylum applications last year. early this year, they're up almost 20%. and while sea crossings overall have dropped due to border closings and a crackdown on human traffickers, reports indicate millions are still waiting to cross the mediterranean. spain has seen a dramatic spike in arrivals, italy has seen a surge too.

dep. mayor patrick klugman: these people were on our soil, on our territory, and we are paris. this city means something. scott: patrick klugman is the deputy mayor of paris. he contends this is not just a parisian problem. it is the world's. there is a concern among some that this isn't just an impact on a particular city or a particular country, that this could have a destabilizing effect all across europe. dep. mayor klugman: of course. scott: do you think so? dep. mayor klugman: of course. it has already. we need to understand it's a beginning, not an end. there will be more and more migrants. today, it's due to war. syria. sudan. tomorrow, it will be climate and other reasons. everyone has to take its part, and probably tomorrow you'll have this question in the states.

you need the president of the united states, the european union, the president of china, of russia. there is war there and this will provoke these flows, and we should stop that. scott: historian and professor patrick weil thinks france should take the lead in a global initiative. prof. weil: a lot of the migration which has occurred in the last three years were provoked by civil or foreign wars, so there is a global negotiation to organize, and it has to be done, otherwise the movement of people is a consequence of not stopping the civil or international wars. scott: in august, leaders from france, germany, italy, and spain agreed on a new policy -- granting asylum to migrants facing imminent threat or danger who apply for protection while still in africa.

that way, they control the flow of refugees before landing on their native shores. those four countries are aware that if solutions aren't found soon this problem will not only test their resources, but also the willingness to welcome those seeking a safe, new homeland. dep. mayor klugman: it's probably one of the biggest challenges we're facing, i mean since world war ii. and we have to see it this way. one day, our children will ask, what did you do? you didn't have tv? you didn't see these people? didn't see the boats sinking, etcetera? what did you do? sharyl: other any political repercussions? scott: france just elected emmanuel macron president in may. he was a much more sympathetic voice for refugees than his opponent. possibly as a resu

have seen his approval ratings hit an all-time low. he's promised to get all refugees off the streets by the end of the year by turning hotels in shelters. by the way, that camp we showed you was just cleared again, the -- by the police. sharyl: thanks for bringing us up-to-date on that. next on "full measure" -- after our story about sweet 4k tv, mr. peterson. thanks. pretty psyched. did you get fios too? no. mr. peterson, fios is a 100% fiber optic-network. what does that mean? think about it. if you got an awesome new car you'd put the best gas in it, right. so why hook up your awesome technology to anything other than a fiber-optic network? i got to go. peterson. peterson's wife. counting on you guys. your internet deserves the 100% fiber-optic network. and now get our fastest internet ever

sharyl: a stark new warning from the fda about

story -- the dye used in m.r.i.'s. just asked for new warnings and new research. our story told of chuck norris and his wife gena. she became deathly ill after several mri's. tests showed the toxic gadolinium chemical from mri dye remained in her body in amounts that were literally off the charts. gena norris: i said, listen, i am sober enough in my thinking right now, because i had such brain issues going on, i said i'm only going to be able to tell you this one time and i need you to listen to me very closely. i have been poisoned with gadolinium or by gadolinium and we don't have much time to figure out how to get this out of my body or i am going to die. chuck norris: i can take her anywhere in the world, i'm blessed enough to have the money to do that, but where do i take her? sharyl: until now, the fda only recognized a risk to patients with kidney issues. now it's added children

pregnant women to the higher risk categories. the fda panel said there's no evidence definitively linking mri dyes to a wide array of illnesses reported, but it's asking for more research and even raised the possibility of withdrawing the dyes from the market. sharyl: after intensive treatments, gena norris is on the road to recovery. coming up next week on "full measure," we travel to a new front in the war on isis, one you've likely heard little about. it's the philippines. we'll tell you why their fight against islamic extremist terrorists is escalating and becoming important to all of us. gene yu: we've had reports and information coming in that there's foreign fighters from saudi and yemen, etcetera, down in mindanao for four years now. these guys are battle hardened fighters or terrorists that have survived essentially the war going head to head with western military special operations. sharyl: the new front in terrorism next week. until then, we will

for more stories that hold powers accountable. thanks for watching.

>> from washington d.c. and around the world, this is "government matters" with francis rose. >> thanks for the weekend edition of "government matters." the only show covering the latest news, trends, and topics that matter to the business of government. >> i'm your host francis rose. the largest government charge card program in the world is getting a makeover and an update. the general services administration awarded two contractors in competition for smart pay three. >> david is working with charge card management.