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Protests at the Border as Separated Kids Remain in Limbo; Government Reveals Plan to Eventually Reunite Families; "Westworld" Star Visits Families at U.S. Border; Trump Order Detaining Families May Draw Legal Challenge; Sen. Warren Speaks About Immigration Facility in Texas; Supreme Court Reaches Deadline for Important Decisions; Fourth Night of Protests Over Shooting of Unarmed Teen; Teenage Boy Missing From Detainee Facility in Texas; "United Shades of America" Airs Tonight at 10 E.T./P.T. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 24, 2018 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[15:00:03] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All of this, after President Trump dug in at a rally Nevada. He declared immigration as a key issue heading into the midterm elections, and said that could be bad news for Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Being weak on the order, which is, therefore, allowing tremendous crime to come into our country, they think that that's a good issue for them. I don't think being weak on the border, being pathetically weak on the border, I don't that's a good issue. I may be wrong, I think I got elected largely because we are strong on the border. I really believed it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Dianne Gallagher and Polo Sandoval are standing by at the border, and our White House Correspondent Boris Sanchez is at the White House with the latest reaction coming from the president.

Boris, you first. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No, Boris, sorry about that. Dianne, let me go to you, first. She's in Tornillo, Texas where protesters rallied earlier. What is it like there?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And to be honest, Fred, right now we're talking triple-digit temperatures. It is dusty, it is windy, and we had a lot of people who decided to come out and brave that anyway here in Tornillo, Texas. You can probably see right behind me, there's a checkpoint, there's Mexico over that checkpoint. And just over here is this HHS temporary shelter that they came to show solidarity with also to protest the fact that it's even there.

Now, you can see some of these images here. They had celebrities, they had activists and people who said that they just felt the need to come. I talked to a pastor who flew here from Orlando that he said he wanted to show that not evangelicals supported what the president was doing. Now, overall, the point of this at least talking to the people here was one, they wanted reunification of those children who were separated from their families under the Trump zero tolerance policy. But they said they also would like to see the Trump administration after those reunifications change the way that they are treating people who claimed they are seeking asylum.

A lot of people here are very angry about the president's tweets this morning saying they felt like he was trying to get rid of due process. I want you to take a listen to some of the stories that we heard told on the stage this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I came here when I was six years old. I came here with my parents who were seeking better economic opportunities and a better place to raise their children. And in a land that I did not know, they were the ground I stood on. They were what kept me together. So I really cannot imagine what it would be like to come to somewhere that you don't know and not have your parents with you. So as an immigrant, my heart aches for these children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: And I will tell you that more than anything, I heard the refrain we will remember come November. Vote in November. A lot of focus on making sure they take political action really is retribution for what has happened here, it sounded like.

Now, talking about this Camp Tornillo, it has the possibility of becoming the largest of these shelters, Fred. Republican Representative Will Hurd said that he was told that it could expand to 4,000 beds. Right now, we're told there are roughly about 300 children in there. Most of them are boys in the overwhelming amount are kids who came across on a company. But we're told there are about 30 who were separated from their families when they crossed the border under this policy.

The goal for everybody who came here today, and the congressional delegation that toured yesterday, is for those kids reunified as quickly as possible.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much. We'll check back with you.

Meantime, the Department of Homeland Security has released a plan to reunite families. But, it still leaves so many questions unanswered. Let's go to our CNN White House Correspondent Boris Sanchez at the White House. Now, Boris, sorry about that. Tell us more about this released plan.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fred. Yes, this was a plan put out by DHS in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services late last night. As you noted, there is still a lot of questions about it specifically on the timeline for reunification of these families. It appears that they're going to need some patience when it comes to being brought together again.

This is the way it shakes out. Essentially, these two agencies are saying that these children who've been separated from their parents, some 2,000 of them still in government custody, will remain in the custody of Health and Human Services until their parents' deportation proceedings are decided. If ultimately their parents are deported, they will be reunited with their children before they're deported. If their parents are granted a stay by a judge, then that parent has to file for sponsorship. At that point they'll be reunited with their children.

Now, these agencies are acknowledging that there is still some work to do when it comes to collecting information from these families, so they've suggested ramping up efforts to do that and to put them in databases where it makes it more accessible for them to link these families together in part, to make communication easier between these family members.

[15:05:05] One thing that is missing is explicitly who is going to handle the logistics of putting these families together once that process is completed.

So it appears that these agencies do have a plan, but they want these families one to be patient as this continues to get figured out. In the meantime, President Trump is yet again sort of sending a confusing message about what he wants Congress to do till after earlier -- or rather late last week telling Republicans to just wait until after the midterms to address the issue of immigration, this morning, he's tweeting at Democrats saying to not resist and to fix this problem. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then Boris, on that plan, does it happen to say how long, potentially, that processing would happen for a parent? Because that will then determine how long it would take for them to eventually be reunited with their kid, right?

SANCHEZ: Right. It appears this is going to be handled on a case-by- case basis depending on the results of that parent's proceedings. Again, if they are ultimately denied a stay in the United States, they'll be reunited with their children before being deported. If they fight in court and they're granted a stay by a judge depending on certain personal terms, they could then apply for sponsorship and be reunited with their kids.

But as we've seen before, that can be a lengthy legal process, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Boris Sanchez at the White House, thanks so much.

All right, here with me now, CNN political commentator and former head of President Trump's Hispanic Advisory Council, Steve Cortes, and CNN political commentator and former communications director for Immigration and Nationalization Services, Maria Cardona. Good to see you both.

MARIA CARDONA, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALIZATION: Hey Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK, Steve, you first. The Trump administration has this plan to reunite immigrant families. Do you feel confident about it?

STEVE CORTES, FORMER HEAD OF TRUMP'S HISPANIC ADVISORY COUNCIL: Well, yes. Look, it will be a difficult process, but here's the thing. The best way for -- when you say immigrant families, by the way, it's important to say illegal immigrant families. That's a very, very important adjective to add in there.

Immigrant families have never been separated. Illegal immigrant families have been separated and I would say separated for a very good reason. Why? Because their parents unfortunately or guardians, a lot of cases they're not parents, decided to commit a crime with children in tow. Much like an American committing a crime with children in tow, you get separated from your children.

WHITFIELD: OK. But it isn't that cut and dry, though, because you do have some people who were seeking political asylum and so breaking the law isn't really the definition for them when they are seeking asylum because the U.S. is being engaged in that law that allows someone to come to seek asylum.

CORTES: That's not accurate.

WHITFIELD: But let's just talk about what -- it is accurate, actually. It is accurate. But let's talk about what is in here --

CORTES: Fredricka, it's not accurate. If you show up to a port of entry in the United States with your children and request asylum lawfully, you are not separated from your family. You are not.

WHITFIELD: No. But if you're making your case about asylum, some of these people haven't had a chance to state their case about asylum before they're being separated.

CARDONA: Right.

WHITFIELD: But it is legal to state your case trying to seek asylum by coming to the border. So that's not necessarily breaking the law.

CORTES: You have to come to a check point, raise your hand and say, I'm here for asylum. You can't sneak across the border then say once you're caught, oh, I meant to apply for asylum. That's not -- it's just not correct.

WHITFIELD: So the guidelines that have been set out thus far that say, an adult must be processed, and whether they're deported, you know, they may be connected with their child. If the child has been, you know, connected to them before they leave the States, or they would have to reapply and show that they would be a guardian in order to be reunited with their family.

How hopeful are you, Steve, that many of these adults who are being deported will ever see their children again? CORTES: I'm very hopeful. Look, I have nothing but empathy for the children here. They are the victims. They are. They're the victims of the adults who have abused them by deciding to cross our border unlawfully. And I hope they're all reunited and if they have legitimate asylum claims, they should do it at the right way.

Come to a port of entry, apply for asylum. I think most of them, to be honest, don't have legitimate asylum things because let's be honest Central America, there -- it's not a great place to be for a lot of folks for economic reasons, perhaps for reasons of violence. But there's no political persecution going on. These aren't people who are being persecuted for --

WHITFIELD: So you don't believe that many of the people in transit who have risked their lives even with the children in tow are seeking a better opportunity or better life. And so they take those risks because they still believe those risks perhaps aren't as -- are aren't to their detriment as if -- in comparison if they were to stay at home facing dangers that they are facing.

CORTES: I think they're absolutely seeking a better opportunity. And again, I have tremendous empathy for that. Look, I won the lottery of life that I was born in the United States. I thank goodness my father emigrated here legally.

I also think if they were after political asylum, they request it in Mexico. They wouldn't make the gigantic journey -- Mexico is a huge country. Mexico is a huge country.

They wouldn't cross Mexico to come to the United States if it were only about fleeing political persecution because they should be applying in Mexico.

[15:10:06] And by the way, Mexico should be cooperating and helping the United States in that process which they're not.

Instead, Mexico is saying, let's usher them through, let's make it America's problem because we don't want to deal with this problem.

WHITFIELD: So, Maria, how confident are you about this reunification plan? The details that have been released.

CARDONA: Not at. I think that this reunification plan is yet another debacle after a complete discombobulation of a self-imposed voluntary inhumane, indecent diabolical policy that President Trump decided to put in. When he did, that cruelly separates parents from their children as they are seeking a better life.

And the callousness and the heartlessness of how Steve just spoke about this is the reason why you are seeing such an incredibly huge and broad outcry from the majority of the American people who believes this policy is un-American and completely appalling. And the reason why I believe that this new plan is not going to work -- I hope it does -- is because when this first wave of emigrants who were separated from their children, when their children were taken from them, there was no record of who these kids were. A lot of these children were less than two years old. Many of them didn't speak English, many of them didn't know how to speak at all. So how are you going to put those children together?

Secondly, these new Trump camps that are being set up where these kids are supposedly going to live are completely inadequate and they are very much like the Japanese internment camps that we had during another very dark period of our country.

And thirdly, in order to process all of these children's claims and their parents' claims, we're going to need hundreds more immigration judges. And when you have a president who is saying that hiring more immigration judges is a waste of money and a waste of time, it underscores just how completely now just heartless and soulless he is and his supporters are, but just how incredibly clueless they are both in terms of immigration law and what these families go through to get here and why.

WHITFIELD: And just basically, there were American interment camps for Japanese, Japanese-Americans were being held.

CARDONA: That's correct.

WHITFIELD: But go ahead, Steve.

CORTES: But that's the point. Japanese -- those interment camps which were an outrage, right perpetrated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, those were against American citizens. If you believe, Maria that anyone in the world --

WHITFIELD: And families were kept together.

CORTES: If you believed that anyone -- that those were American citizens who were abused because they were suspected of disloyalty. We're not talking about people --

CARDONA: And you think it was a nice thing to do?

CORTES: -- who criminally are trespassing in our country. But if you believe, Maria, that anyone in the world wants to have a better life in America -- and I don't begrudge them that. Again --

CARDONA: Clearly you do.

CORTES: -- I won the lottery of life by being here. But -- no -- but hold on, if you believe that they have a right to be here, if they have a right to criminally trespass our borders and then they have a right to family unity on top of that, then you believe in open borders. And just --

CARDONA: No.

CORTES: -- admit it. Just admit it. That's the definition of open borders, Maria.

CARDONA: I don't believe in open borders. And no Democrats believes in open borders. CORTES: OK, then what you believe in|?

CARDONA: And let me just give you a lesson in immigration law. When people --

CORTES: I don't need a lesson but go ahead.

WHITFIELD: Well, clearly you do.

CORTES: Well, I don't.

CARDONA: When people --

WHITFIELD: Isn't the issue here about the humane treatment of people who are seeking entry?

CARDONA: Exactly. I --

WHITFIELD: Isn't that what the issue is and you're talking about separation of families.

CARDONA: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: It's the humane treatment of people.

CORTES: Seeking entry is not the same as trespassing across our border.

CARDONA: But here is --

CORTES: No, I won't allow that euphemism.

CARDONA: Here are some --

CORTES: Seeking entry is not -- seeking entry in my house is not the same as bashing down my door --

CARDONA: Nobody is bashing down any door, Steve.

CORTES: Yes, they are.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Hold on, Steve. Hold on, Steve. Maria --

CARDONA: Even --

WHITFIELD: -- go ahead.

CARDONA: -- when these families are presenting themselves as asylum seekers, even then their kids are being taken away, number one. Number two, crossing the border without papers is not a crime, it is a misdemeanor. And the way that the zero tolerance policy has been put in place is completely inhumane, it has never been done before and it is absolutely -- they are being pro to be processed criminally. They do not have to be processed criminally. That it is a choice and it's inhumane and un-American and that is why the president is dealing with this tremendous debacle --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Maria and Steve, thank you so much. Because this really does demonstrate this really is just the tip of the iceberg of this colossal issue.

CARDONA: Colossal is a great word for it. Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

All right, straight ahead, President Trump's executive on immigration facing a possible legal fight. A 1997 settlement could be used to challenge how long migrant children can be detained by the U.S.

Plus, celebrities sound off over the immigration chaos.

[15:15:02] I'll speak to Westwood actress -- "Westworld" -- sorry -- actress Evan Rachel Wood about what she is seeing at the Texas border. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. As the immigration crisis continues in Texas, many people are protesting the separations of families. Some Hollywood stars are also speaking out. And that includes one of the stars of the HBO series "Westworld."

Evan Rachel Wood joins me now live from McAllen, Texas. Evan, good to see you. So, what compelled you to be a part of this and see for yourself what's happening at the border?

EVAN RACHEL WOOD, ACTRESS, "WESTWORLD": Well, I'm the mother of a five-year-old boy. I can't imagine the pain of being separated from him and not knowing where he is or when we would be reunited.

[15:20:04] And I actually wanted to come here personally so that I could learn because I want information, I want to know what I can do to help, and I want to be able to report back to other people. So I thought coming down here was the best way to get information firsthand.

WHITFIELD: And you had an opportunity to visit a shelter. What were your observations? Were there children, were there parents inside that shelter? What did you see?

WOOD: I haven't been able to get into one of the detention centers, but I did visit a shelter where families are resting while they're being processed and, you know, sort of waiting to hear what their fate will be. And there were families there, there were children, some as young as two years old. Probably the oldest was around eight.

I played with them for hours. They were smart and funny and intelligent and creative and very desperate to play. The parents seemed very scared. I didn't notice any -- there was only one mother around. It was mainly men and boys. So I don't know where the women are. But --

WHITFIELD: And of those that you spoke to --

WOOD: -- they were scared and tired and they needed supplies. So we dropped off supplies to them this morning.

WHITFIELD: And of those that you spoke to, what did they tell you they anticipate is next? What do they know is around the corner? Or what are their worries about what they don't know that may be around the corner after this processing?

WOOD: Well, I really wasn't able to communicate with them much because I don't speak the language. I mean, we really just communicated through our eyes and with gestures, and I really spent most of my time playing with the children. I mean, it seemed like that's what they need in that moment, that the parents needed a bit of relief.

So that's how I spent my morning. And then giving them supplies. They definitely needed medicine. A couple of the children seemed like they were sick, and so anybody that can donate shoes, socks, underwear, medicines, you know, basic human needs that you and I need on a daily basis is what they're needing right now, so that's what we did this morning.

WHITFIELD: And you're wearing a blue ribbon there, and I understand this is, you know, a characteristic of a hunger strike that you are participating in? How is this in relation to the, you know, immigration crisis right now that's unfolding?

WOOD: I'm on a 24-hour hunger strike right now with the Texas Civil Rights Project and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. We're protesting a bad policy that hurt the immigration community. So I'm on a 24-hour hunger strike. The actual hunger strike is lasting 24 days. So I'm taking on one of those days and that's why I'm wearing this blue medallion with the eagle on it.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then you're also part of this immigration group. What is it, RACIES? What's that mission -- what's that all about?

WOOD: We've been working with them on the ground today. They're taking us to the different detention centers, and just letting me know what we can do, where we can go, and where the most help was needed. They've been wonderful.

WHITFIELD: You had an opportunity to hear the conversation I was having with Steve Cortes and Marie Cardona earlier. And as you listen to the debate and hear all sides of the arguments about whether, you know, these families are being treated humanely, not humanely, whether the separation is with merit, whether people are breaking the law seeking asylum. What's your -- what are your thoughts when you hear these points of view -- these opposing points of view? WOOD: I understand that there need to be laws, but I think the policies are -- as they stand are cruel and extreme. This is not the only solution, and I have faith in people and in our minds and our love that we can come up with something better. And we can give people due process (INAUDIBLE) humanely while also following laws.

Separating children from their parents and parents from their children is unimaginable and I don't think that this warrants that kind of treatment whatsoever. So we definitely need an immigration reform and better policies.

WHITFIELD: Just a moment ago as we were talking, a bus went by. You pointed at it. Why did you point at it? Was that a bus with people coming in to be processed or leaving?

WOOD: They're going to the detention center right now. It's going in.

WHITFIELD: Describe what that's like to see firsthand and what that means to you.

WOOD: It's absolutely gut-wrenching. It's been hard not to cry this whole trip. But I really -- I believe that we've -- it's become easy to dehumanize people because we dehumanized ourselves, and we've been made to believe that having feelings and empathies somehow makes us weaker.

[15:25:06] And I don't believe that and I don't believe that hate is natural. I think only (INAUDIBLE). And I am just doing what I would hope somebody would do for me and my family even if they didn't know me. We're all human beings and this isn't even about party right now, this is about children. And that's it.

WHITFIELD: Actress Evan Rachel Wood, thank you so much for your time and perspective. I appreciate it.

WOOD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead, President Trump's executive order could draw a legal challenge from a 1997 landmark court decision. What that could mean for the Trump administration's newest immigration policy, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:13] WHITFIELD: President Trump's executive order at least temporarily has put an end to family separations at the U.S.-MEXICO border by instead detaining parents and children together. But that solution may set up a major legal challenge. The Trump administration is now trying to modify the Flores Settlement, that landmark court decision strictly limits the government's ability to keep children in detention. The ruling states that children can only be held for 20 days. That ruling coming in 1997.

With me now to discuss this is Shan Wu who is CNN a legal analyst and a former federal prosecutor. Shan, thanks so much for being with us. SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: So, this Flores Settlement which says, you know, holding children no more than, you know, 20 days, and already reportedly we're hearing that some kids, you know, have been separated from their parents or have been held, you know, for many weeks. How might there be a legal challenge ahead, potentially, for the Trump administration's practices?

SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, there's a number of ways the challenges can come forth, but individuals could sue and advocacy organizations could sue. It's important to understand the historical context of Flores. It's already being, as we speak, heavily litigated. And the most essential points of it are as you mentioned, the 20-day limit on children who are with their parents, the children cannot be detained longer than that. And also it sets up for certain minimum conditions including usually state licensing of the facilities.

So right now in the executive order, the president has asked DOJ to relieve ICE of those conditions. They want ICE to be able to detain the kids longer than that, and also actually to relieve them of the state licensing issues. Although, the position the Justice Department has taken says they still want to comply with the substantive protections of the kids' conditions.

WHITFIELD: And that order also said that it would require immigration officials to place each detained minor in the least restrictive setting appropriate. And based on some of the descriptions that people have given about the cages and children, concrete floor, mylar, you know, blankets, is that tantamount to, you know, an appropriate restrictive setting for minors?

WU: It may not be the least restrictive and that's certainly going to be one of the challenges that's going to be mounted. Really, there's a presumption that you want to have the minors not being held perhaps placed in foster care. We heard some of those stories about kids being sent as far as Manhattan for that.

A very interesting aspect of this is it's probably part -- as Trump's tweets have reflected, part of their overall kind of immigration strategy here. They've long wished -- the Department of Justice has long wished under Sessions to do away with Flores. They would prefer to keep families detained together. It's only one case for them, it's less expensive, and they would love to be able to detain them for as long as possible. So this is really, perhaps, a back door assault on the Flores conditions.

WHITFIELD: All right, Shan Wu, thank you so much for that. Appreciate it.

WU: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right, at this hour, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren viewing positions at an immigration facility in McAllen, Texas. You see images of her entering and she is hoping to get an update on efforts to reunify families detained at the border.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is there for us. Polo, what more can you tell us about this visit?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we have to remember that this is just the latest Democratic lawmaker to make one of these visits to these facilities all along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border here. We certainly do expect the senator, I'm looking back here, in fact she could be walking out presumably at any moment here.

The senator from Massachusetts making a stop at this facility in McAllen. This is where many of these undocumented people come to essentially be processed by border patrol. Some of them, of course, do end up in the federal courthouse and become subjected to these charges, these criminal charges of illegal entry under zero tolerance.

So what that the senator from Massachusetts see? And of course, what will she be taking back to Washington? That -- those will be major questions as we expect something to happen here any moment now.

Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

All right, still to come, as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule on several key cases including the controversial travel ban. One looming question could change the future of the court. Will there be a retirement? We discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:39:22] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Democratic Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren just now exiting a detainment facility there in McAllen, Texas and here are her thoughts based on what she just saw.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I've just come from the center. It's a disturbing picture. There are children by themselves. I saw a six-month-old baby, little girls, little boys. There are mothers with their babies and with small children.

Family units are together if it's a very small child, but little girls who are 12 years old are taken away from the rest of their families and held separately, or little boys.

[15:40:14] And they're all on concrete floors in cages. There's just no other way to describe it. They're big, chain link cages on cold concrete floors and mylar blankets handed out to people.

People are all just waiting and frightened. I was very lucky to have someone with me who speaks Spanish fluently. We were able to ask people individually about their stories, about what brought them here, where they came from. Those particularly from El Salvador talked about the violence, talked about how gangs have threatened them individually. One woman explained that she had given a drink of water to the police and now the police -- that the gangs believe she is helping the police. And so she sold everything she has and she and her four-year- old son fled the country. She believes that she would not survive if she went back.

We talked to others. We talked to mothers who just said -- from Honduras in particular who said, there's nothing there for us. We have no jobs, we have no money, we have no food for our children, and America is our last hope.

The question we asked many of them where they sat in this cage, were they glad they came? And for all of them it brought smiles, and they said yes. I am here in America.

This is not over. This is only the processing center. So I will -- I finished here. I'm going from here to Catholic charities and then I will go on to the detention center which will be the next place that many of these people go. I've got more work to do today, so forgive me if I can't stay long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would like to ask you about the tweet by President Trump today, which I'm guessing you are --

WARREN: I don't think I've seen that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He made a tweet which -- I would hate to quote him specifically. It seemed to suggest that he did not want due process for people who come across the border, no court hearing, just send them back.

WARREN: That's not what our country stands for. We are a people who believe in the work of every human being. And we do have a system of laws in this country. And when a woman comes here with her four-year- old son and says, I am asking for amnesty, I have been threatened by gangs in my home country, we should at least give her a hearing. And that is the least that is required by us as a country and as a community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Senator, there are --

WARREN: I'll talk to you people later, OK. We've got more work. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Democratic Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, seemingly very shaken after what she just experienced at a processing center there in McAllen, Texas. She came out after visiting roughly about an hour, according to -- when our reporter first saw her enter.

She says it's a very disturbing picture. She saw a six-month-old baby. She saw children by themselves. She also saw five little girls, 12 years old who had been taken away from their family. She observed that they are on concrete floors and she said there's no other way to describe it, in cages.

From here, she says she will be going on to a detention center where she will also be able to observe with her own eyes the kind of treatment that she is able to witness of people who have entered the country and are being processed, and then what's next, she hopes to find out.

All right, we'll continue to keep close tabs on that.

Meantime, this is the last week now of the U.S. Supreme Court term and we're awaiting some pretty big decisions, including one involving the Trump administration's travel ban. Joining me right now is CNN Supreme Court Reporter Ariane de Vogue. So Ariane, what is potentially next?

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Well, as you said, the justices are taking the bench on Monday, it's the last week of the term, there is six remaining cases but there's also one big looming question.

[15:45:03] And that's whether Anthony Kennedy will retire. He's 81 years old. He's been on the bench for some 30 years. And that would have a huge impact on the court.

He'd likely be replaced with someone younger and more conservative. And if you think of some the issues in the past, for instance, he voted with the liberals for abortion and affirmative action. If he were replaced, the court would move to the right for decades to come.

And the most anticipated case, as you said, is the travel ban. It's the centerpiece of the president's immigration policy. It's the third version and it's ricocheted through the courts, Fred.

It's currently in effect pending appeal. The Supreme Court let it go into effect. It bans travel to varying degrees for these countries, Iran and Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela, North Carolina -- North Korea and Syria.

The challengers here say it was motivated by animus and it's illegal. The government says the president acted to protect national security, and they say that this version of the ban, it went into effect after a multi-agency review. They said the president was within his authority to pass it.

So we should get that. We could get it as soon as Monday but we'll certainly get it sometime this week, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ariane de Vogue, keep us posted on that. Thanks very much.

All right, still ahead, grief is swirling around the fatal police shooting of an unarmed teenager in Pittsburgh. A live report, next.

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WHITFIELD: The viewing for Antwan Rose is set to begin next hour. Rose is the 17-year-old who was unarmed when he was shot and killed by East Pittsburgh Police last week. His death sparked several nights of protests in Pittsburgh including last night with roughly 250 demonstrators walked through the city's entertainment district.

CNN's Ryan Nobles is in Homestead, Pennsylvania where the service is taking place.

[15:50:01] So Ryan, any more answers about this?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, there really isn't, Fred and that's why the community here is still very much on edge as they are looking for some answers to exactly what happened to Antwon Rose Jr. And they want some changes made as to how the investigation is going to take place.

You can see behind me the funeral home where the calling hours are set to take place for Antwon Rose Jr. It's not supposed to take place for another 15 minutes or so, but there's already a long line outside of the building for mourners to come and pay their respects.

We've seen protests here pretty consistently for the last four days but they're actually expected to suspend those protests for the next two days in honor of the Rose family. The calling hours taking place today, the funeral taking place tomorrow and the protesters have decided that they are not going to take to the streets to allow the family an opportunity to grieve in peace.

But they are warning that they will kick things right back up after the funeral takes place unless they get a certain set of demands met including the district attorney Stephen Zappala being taken off this case and recusing himself and having the case handed over to the Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. At this point, Zappala has told us that he has no interest in stepping away from the case so it's expected, Fred that those tensions will continue.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Nobles, thank so much in Homestead, Pennsylvania.

And we have breaking news about a teenaged boy who was been reported missing from a detainee facility. CNN's Polo Sandoval joining me now with more on this from McAllen.

SANDOVAL: Fred, you know, we have been asking questions about this situation that unfold about 50 miles east from where we are here at McAllen, Texas in the city of Brownsville. One of these privately- owned and operated shelters if you will, that converted Walmart that we've talked about. We can confirm now that a 15-year-old child who was at that facility has now been reported missing.

I spoke to a spokesperson with the Brownsville Police Department who got called out there yesterday at 4:30 to this welfare concern. Authorities now confirming that they searched for a 15-year-old boy in the water ways around the areas, some of the surroundings there at that facility, but they were unable to find him. So what happened next, that child was then input into a database of missing children across the country.

A spokesperson just told me if that child appears somewhere else in the country then they will know -- likely know who he is. Important to point out however, we do not know that child is. In what circumstances surround his stay or at least why he was in or around that facility.

We do know that Southwest Key, the program who runs this operation has released a statement a little while ago just sharing a little bit more investigation. I'll read you that statement that just came into CNN. A spokesperson, Jeff Eller saying, quote, as a licensed child care center, if a child attempts to leave any of our facilities, we cannot restrain them, we are not a detention center, we talk to them and simply try to get them to stay. If they leave the facility, we call law enforcement. A 15-year-old boy left the Casa Padre child center in Brownsville yesterday. We called local law enforcement and continue to work with them.

Fred, certainly it's something that we want to find out a little bit more about. Many of these children who have been there for of course some time now, it will certainly call into question some of the practices there of some of these children are being held there while their parents are prosecuted under zero tolerance. Then what kind of procedures are in place to make sure that something like this doesn't actually happen.

We'll continue to dig for more information but again, we can now confirm a 15-year-old child walked off one of these locations that has been used to house some of those children that's recently been separated from their children.

WHITFIELD: All right, Polo Sandoval, thank you so much for that update. Appreciate it.

And we'll be right back.

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[15:56:27] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Tonight on CNN, W. Kamau Bell is back with an all new episode of "United Shades of America". In this week Kamau heads to Canada to see if our neighbors of the north can teaches a thing or two when it comes to politics, healthcare, and winter sports. Here's a preview.

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W. KAMAU BELL, HOST, "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA" (on camera): What are the biggest differences between Canada and the United States of America?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In canada, no matter where I go, people are really informed on what's going on in Canada, what's going on in the world. And some of the places I go in the U.S. really don't know (INAUDIBLE) and I'm sorry I've really have to be cautious what I say.

BELL (on camera): I can't act like that's not true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's not like what's happened in the U.S. There's a lot more understanding.

BELL (on camera): What do you mean about this? What do you mean by what's happening --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the border situation.

BELL (on camera): And I'm not living south of the border, but in this case I do. From your perspective, what's going on south of the border.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, people are staying in their (INAUDIBLE). I think that in Canada, there's a lot more of that understanding. You know, there's a lot of Americans that came up here and go (INAUDIBLE). And (INAUDIBLE), yes, this is Canada.

BELL (on camera): Yes. Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, the host of "United Shades of America", W. Kamau Bell join me right now. Good to see you.

BELL: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: OK. So in this week's episode, you know, you're there in Canada, and, you know, historically, this is one of America's strongest allies. But A few things have happened in recent weeks that have kind of, you know, made for a rather tenuous relationship. Even the U.S. to a certain degree or at least the president, President Trump calling Canada a security threat to the U.S. So, did you feel safe while there?

BELL: Yes, I felt very safe. Very invited and also very -- you know, Canada's not perfect, I don't want people to think they were pitting this perfect (INAUDIBLE) of Canada. But there is sort of -- it seems like a the core of Canada society, a recognition that a diverse society, an international society, a welcoming society, is a better society. You know, so they -- so they're not a hundred percent perfect but being up there you fell that on every -- as you walk around. I mean it was in Montreal and Toronto. You fell it as you walk around the cities.

WHITFIELD: So you felt so comfortable that you decided to go curling too. And so how's your skill set on that?

BELL: You know what, I found out I'm pretty good at curling. I maybe should have been born in Canada, I would have been a natural born curler. And I maybe would have had a different career.

WHITFIELD: Oh, what about the other, I guess, winter sports. Did you get on some skates where they're trying to, you know, get you to join ice hockey? I mean, (INAUDIBLE) what kind of experience was this for you overall, Kamau? That's what I'm getting at.

BELL: You know, it was a -- (INAUDIBLE), here's the thing, it's kind of like America in that they speak a lot of English, they have a lot of the restaurants here. It sort of like a break, there's the very -- the feeling in Canada when you live in the United States, that was a very tense situation in the U.S. In Canada, culturally, it just feels like, just relax, take a deep breath, go get some free healthcare, enjoy yourself.

It's a very different experience up there. It is -- I think that we've really given Canada like a bad rap by just thinking them sort of America junior when really I think they're hopefully America's future.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right, W. Kamau Bell, thanks so much for joining us, appreciate it. Of course, we'll all be enjoying the journey along with you, tonight on "United Shades of America" only on CNN.

We got so much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, and it all starts right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

WHITFIELD: All right, hello again, everyone, and thank you so much for being with me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news. A teenaged boy has been reported missing from a detainee facility in Brownsville, Texas. CNN's Dianne Gallagher joining me now with much more.

And Dianne, what do we know?