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"Impenetrable" Border Wall Plan Poses Challenges; Implementing Trump Immigration Plan Challenging; Zika Found in Mosquitoes in Miami Beach; Which Candidate Made Best Pitch to on Veterans Issues, Immigration; Florida State of Emergency Ahead of Storm. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired September 01, 2016 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[14:30:00] GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Steep terrain, mountains, streams, make it impossible or nearly impossible to build a 15 or 20-concrete of steel wall. You can build a fence here like the one that's here right now, but once you get through this fence, you would always have a gap right here. Maybe a wall on this side, a wall on this side, and immigrants going under this fence.
Donald Trump says to believe him explains that nobody will get through the wall he will build. But the facts on the ground indicate that, at the very least, it will be a promise that is quite challenging to keep.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Santa Cruz County, Arizona.
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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: That border wall is just a piece of the immigration plan Mr. Trump has laid out. Other highlights of the Phoenix speech include ending the catch-and-release policy for people illegally crossing the U.S. border. Right now, many people are released from custody pending a court date. Also, Trump wants to create a deportation task force to remove the most dangerous. He wants to hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents and triple the number of deportation officers at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
So let's bring in a man who used to be in charge of all of that, John Torres, former acting director of ICE.
John, welcome.
JOHN TORRES, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMERS ENFORCEMENT: Thank you for having me, Brooke.
BALDWIN: First, the wall. How does he do it? How feasible? The cost?
TORRES: It is going to be very difficult. It is going to be very costly. In addition to what you just showed in that previous report, you have to take in to account environmental impact studies, wildlife studies, in addition to the number of lawsuits you're going to be facing. With that as your starting point, your jump-off point, then you start dealing with the topography, terrain, and whether or not you're going to be able to build just the wall or use some sorts of technology and sensors.
BALDWIN: So let's say all of that, in time, gets figured out. I'm just curious. You know this area very well. How long might that take to all be put in place?
TORRES: It's certainly not going to happen on day one. It really could take years even if you fast-track this. To fast-track something like this you'll need an incredible number of partnerships both with the private sector, with the community, but as well as with Mexico, for example. You are going to need a number of partnerships to build a wall this quickly, but more importantly, we already know there are a number of people that are against it so it is going to make it that much harder.
BALDWIN: From the wall to what you know well, ICE, you helped run ICE, Trump said last night if he were elected he would triple the number of deportation officers. I'm just wondering, could that be a good thing?
TORRES: Even if you triple that number -- and it could be a good thing if this is your priority to deport people who are here undocumented. But what they didn't say last night is you have to build the entire infrastructure around it. You need to build transportation. You need to build sufficient detention. You have to build those partnerships with the community, the medical community, as well as the business community. Then really you have to take a look at the judges and immigration courts on the back end. Because, quite frankly, if you're going to put this many people into removal proceedings, you need to be --
BALDWIN: We know under President Obama right now deportations are at an all-time high. I don't know if people realize that. When you hear about Trump's -- he calls it a deportation task force, to remove the criminal element of the undocumented immigrants in this country, how much time would you need to get that kind of task force up and running and what would the price tag there, ballpark?
TORRES: Ballpark, it is going to be close to several million dollars to build a number of task forces. Now you go back 10 years ago when ICE was creating the Fugitive Operations Task Force, which really had a similar scope and similar focus, you could reactivate some of those fugitive operations teams into these task forces. But in reality, you're still going to have to build that infrastructure. They've really been stood down over the last couple of years with the focus mostly just on the criminal immigrants that are coming out of the jails.
BALDWIN: We just wanted to go straight to somebody who knows this area very well to sort of fact check and reality check the feasibility of all this.
John Torres, I appreciate it. Thank you very much. TORRES: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: With ICE, formerly with ICE.
Coming up next, breaking news here, trapped mosquitoes on Miami Beach now officially testing positive for Zika. We talked about Miami because we've known about human transmission in this part of the country. But officials say this is the first conclusive evidence of Zika-carrying mosquitoes here in the United States. This is a huge, huge deal. More on that when we come back.
[14:34:53] Also ahead, also in Florida, people there bracing for what is likely to be the first hurricane to hit the state in more than a decade. We'll take you live to the gulf coast coming up.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BALDWIN: Breaking news out of Florida on the Zika Virus. Officials say mosquitoes carrying Zika have now been tested as positive in Miami Beach. Three mosquito samples testing positive for the Zika Virus. This is a big deal because it is the first conclusive proof of Zika-carrying mosquitoes in this entire country. Samples were apparently collected from the same area of Miami where the virus has been actively spreading.
I have Dr. Sanjay Gupta with me, CNN's chief medical correspondent, who was in Brazil covering Zika.
Sanjay, we've talked about the people who have tested positive for Zika, now the mosquitoes.
[14:40:09] DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Yeah. Right. So we had pretty good evidence, as I think you are pointing out, Brooke, that these mosquitoes were already present and they were already carrying the Zika Virus. The way they put that together again, as you know, is that they found people who had the Zika infection who had not traveled, hadn't been with anybody who had traveled and spread it to them. So they at that point made the assumption that this was being spread locally by mosquitoes. Now we know -- now we have the definitive proof of that. So this in some ways was not at all surprising, but it is a stark reminder again that we now have these mosquitoes in the United States. They've found them, they have identified them and they are carrying the Zika Virus, something that is relatively new to this part of the world.
BALDWIN: We are on the eve of a long Labor Day weekend. I have a feeling some people are hopping on planes to Miami. What do you tell them?
GUPTA: I think the advice sort of remains the same. I think the largest concern, biggest concern is really for women who are pregnant. I feel like a little bit of a broken record and I don't mean to in any way minimize or accentuate what's going on here, but for the vast majority of people, they're not going to get sick from this. 80 percent of people have minimal or no symptoms from this. I think it is an important reminder. But, I think everyone -- the local health officials, the CDC, me, for what it is worth, is saying, look, if you are pregnant, going to an area where you know Zika is spreading locally, if you don't have to be there, don't go. I think that's the main message for women who are pregnant. If you're somebody who -- if you're a man where, for example, going back, thinking about starting a family and you are in Miami, you probably want to wait. If you never have symptoms, you want to wait at least two weeks before you think about family planning, again, because you have to work under the presumption that maybe you got infected, even if you don't have symptoms. But, again, really pregnant women I think is the biggest concern.
BALDWIN: All right. Sanjay, thanks for hopping on the phone as we break the news.
GUPTA: You've got it.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
Sanjay Gupta there.
Let's move on and back to politics here. Just the day after delivering one immigration message in Mexico City, then a very different message in tone in Arizona. Donald Trump asks the American Legion, asks veterans to support him for president. Here he was today.
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DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will stop apologizing for America and we will start celebrating America.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We will be united by our common culture, values and principles, becoming one American nation under one Constitution, saluting one American flag and always saluting it.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Hillary Clinton also addressed that very same American Legion just 24 hours prior.
Who made the best pitch when it comes to veterans issues and, of course, what's really been in the either the last couple of days, immigration.
Let's talk to national security policy advisor to the Trump campaign and retired Navy rear admiral, Charles Kubic.
Admiral, thank you for your service to this country and welcome.
CHARLES KUBIC, NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY ADVISOR, DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN & RETIRED NAVY REAR ADMIRAL: Good afternoon, Brooke. Good to be here.
BALDWIN: Let me first ask you about this. Two four-star generals have endorsed Hillary Clinton after her speech at that very same place, there in Cincinnati, Ohio. What would you say to them?
KUBIC: I would say that I really don't understand how they could look at the speech that Hillary Clinton gave and then also compare the speech that Donald Trump gave and come to that conclusion. I'm a little bit mystified.
BALDWIN: We saw Mr. Trump today, that very same American Legion, organized, sharp, thoughtful tone. But then three hours later, we saw a very different version of that very same man at a different rally in another part of Ohio with a different tone, a different message. This morning, he complimented Mexicans and Mexicans and the Mexican- Americans in the military. Then later on, he went off on Mexico.
I mean, sir, is it one thing -- I understand politicians need to maybe change tone depending on audience, but to change message, is that acceptable to you?
KUBIC: I think what you're seeing over the last 24 hours, Donald Trump has been on the field demonstrating practical policy and practical action while Hillary's been on the Bench hiding. What you're seeing --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: With all due respect, sir, she was speaking to veterans just yesterday.
KUBIC: Yes, but other than that, she's not really engaging, except to talk about Trump, even in her speech. Trump talked about American exceptionalism. He talks about how he honors, appreciates and respects veterans. In fact, he cited them as being a noble example of how a diverse workforce can work together in unity to focus on mission and to achieve great things. He's talking a message of unity where you're seeing Hillary still talking a message of divisiveness.
[14:45:24] BALDWIN: But on Trump -- I agree with you. His points are absolutely right on veterans and what they can do in this workforce. But what about the fact that he had one tone with the veterans and a different tone at a rally later, and one message with the veterans and one different message when it comes to Mexico, Mexicans, later on in the afternoon. You're a military man. You understand follow-through and consistency.
KUBIC: Well, I also understand that even as a military leader -- Ronald Reagan practiced this as well -- that you have to adapt your demeanor, you have to adapt your bearing, you have to adapt your message and tone to the audience. It is different things at different times. But I think if you look and you read and you understand over the last month or so the policy messages that Donald Trump has been delivering, they're very consistent. They're very detailed. And they're spot on point. Where we are still in doubt as to what Hillary's message is, what her policy is on a wide variety of issues, other than the fact that she doesn't like Mr. Trump very much.
BALDWIN: What about, Admiral Kubic, on the war on terror? We know as far as ISIS is concerned, since the war began over there, 46,000 ISIS fighters have been killed. And now you've seen the news this week of that leader, essentially, it sounds like, if the leader of ISIS, Abu Bake al Baghdadi were to be gone, this man would have taken over that top spot. This is a big deal. He was killed. Russia's come forward, they've claimed credit. The U.S. says that's laughable. Admiral, can you give the current administration and the coalition, the U.S.-led coalition any credit for the progress against ISIS?
KUBIC: Well, I don't really see it as progress. I've said before I don't think we can drone our way out of the conflict that we're in. We're fighting an ideology as well as a kinetic threat, and we can't do that with just limited kinetic action without employing a wide range of non-violent means. As I look at this, I can see why people are claiming credit and feeling they're doing a good job. But let me tell you, I've been to Iraq. I was a ground combat commander in Navy Seabee force attached to the Marines. I fought these guys before. The way we are fighting them now, you knock one down, another one is going to spring up. It is not the recipe for military victory, nor is it the recipe for ideological victory.
BALDWIN: So that's a no on the credit?
KUBIC: I guess that's a no.
BALDWIN: Admiral Kubic, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it. I do, indeed
Coming up next here --
KUBIC: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
State of emergency. The National Guard is on stand-by as the gulf coast begins to see the impacts here swirling. This is Tropical Storm Hermine. Where it is set to make landfall and when it is expected to reach hurricane strength?
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[14:51:00] BALDWIN: A woman struggling with bulimia could not find healing or comfort until an unexpected "Turning Point" from shelter dogs saved her life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHANNON COPP, BULIMIA PATIENT HELPED BY SHELTER DOGS: I remember it was one night where my father was missing and my mother and sister were having an argument at the table, and I just started eating and eating and eating and could not stop. Just wanted to kind of shut down the emotions. Went upstairs for the first time and threw up.
I'm Shannon Copp, writer, eating disorder survivor, and animal advocate.
My childhood was a bit chaotic. My father became an alcoholic. The home started being an unpredictable place to be at times. The bulimia started just before my 17th birthday. Realize that within eight, yes, I would be hospitalized. I couldn't think straight. It hurt for me to swallow. And as I started battling suicidal thoughts, I would find that could be nowhere but inside of a dog habitat to calm down.
Good girl.
The Dan Diego Humane Society is the most special place in the world to me, and the comfort of an animal it what really rescued me from myself.
I'll celebrate seven years free from bulimia. I work at a residential eating disorder treatment center. I help people who are looking for treatment find the care that they need. I wanted to be the voice on the other line saying, yes, we can help you. And that has changed my life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Breaking news here. A state of emergency in the state of Florida as the gulf coast is bracing for a potential hurricane. Right now, Tropical Storm Hermine is expected to make landfall early tomorrow morning as a hurricane, the first to hit the state of Florida in 11 years. A lot of areas are already seeing rising tides and flooding. We do expect the storm to make these scenes look a heck of a lot worse. We talk strong winds, dangerous storm surge and as much as 10, possibly 20 inches of heaven rain.
Boris Sanchez is live in Florida for us in some of the elements as they are starting out there in Apalachicola.
How is the state prepared for the impact, Boris?
[14:54:53] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke. Governor Rick Scott declared that state of emergency yesterday saying that all people in this area need to prepare. He says this is a life threatening storm and it is critical that people are ready.
I'll given you an example. Across the street from us, there's several businesses and they started boarding up a few hours ago, wood on the windows. This is an area with a lot of boats. A lot of fishermen work these areas. Earlier this morning, people were moving their boats trying to get them to high ground and potentially out of the water.
I spoke to a man who owns a restaurant here. He was explaining to me the last time they had a direct hit from a hurricane in this part of the panhandle was about 11 years ago and it caused a marina nearby to flood and it overflowed. Boats ended up in neighborhoods. Obviously there is concern that that may happen again with a storm surge between three to five feet, potentially up to eight feet in some areas.
The dangers here are real and they come from many different angles. You mention the rain, up to 20 inches in some parts, winds that are going to be between 70 and 75 miles an hour. That means a lot of debris in the streets and potentially a lot of problems for residents in this area -- Brooke?
BALDWIN: Those folks there are taking precautions.
Please to you and your crew, be safe, be safe. You have a late night and a long morning ahead of you.
Boris, thank you so much in Florida.
Next, after a whirlwind 24 hours, Donald Trump softens his immigration plans. Again, this is not me saying it. This is Mr. Trump himself softening. We have those details ahead.
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