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Mexico to Deport 500 Migrants Who Rushed U.S. Border; Russia Fired on and Seized Ukrainian Navy Ships; Former Trump Advisers Allege He Has Embedded Enemies; U.S. Border Patrol Fires Tear Gas to Migrant Protesters; Family Demands Answers After Police Kill Man Mistaken for Gunman; Trump to Hold Two Rallies in Racially-Charged Senate Contest. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired November 25, 2018 - 20:00   ET

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

[20:00:00] VANI HARI, CREATOR, FOODBABE.COM: You know what, we're not going to sell meat that's raised with --

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Right.

HARI: These antibiotics.

CABRERA: OK. Thank you so much. Vani Hari, good information, we appreciate it.

HARI: Thank you.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

CABRERA: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thank you for being here.

Our breaking news at the southern border. The Mexican government now says it is going to deport 500 migrants who just hours ago tried to rush the border near San Diego at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

That crossing, the busiest in the western hemisphere, only partially reopened last hour. In a statement tonight, the Department of Homeland Security says the migrants sought to harm Customs and Border personnel by throwing projectiles at them, and the agency warns the U.S. won't tolerate this type of lawlessness and will not hesitate to shut down other ports of entry.

Tonight additional agents are now headed to the border as patrol helicopters stalk from overhead. For his part, President Trump has threatened to close the entire southern border if the U.S. and Mexico cannot broker a deal on how to handle asylum-seekers.

CNN's Nick Watt is live at the San Ysidro crossing for us.

Nick, what more are you seeing right now?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, this is, Ana, one of the busiest border crossings in the world and particularly busy this weekend with Thanksgiving, with people coming back and forth. Now this border crossing was closed to vehicles and pedestrians for

around four hours. It just reopened about a little over an hour ago. The road which is just up there, the 5 Freeway, is still closed, in fact, when I was driving down here earlier this afternoon the roadblock was more than two miles back from the border. That's where they were diverting people from. They obviously did not want a big mass of people here causing problems. There were are a few hundred people waiting in line to cross.

Now I have now spoken to people who were stuck on the Mexico side who have come across. And one man told me that he doesn't think it was quite as many as 500 people who managed to get past those Mexican authorities and try to storm the border.

Kirstjen Nielsen has said that they were trying to climb what she describes as legacy fencing, so I'm assuming that is older fencing, perhaps the kind of fencing that the president wants to replace. And she also said that they were trying to harm CBP officers by throwing projectiles at them.

We do not have any evidence of that but eyewitnesses, freelance journalists who were working with us, who were on the scene, said that tear gas was fired from the U.S. side. Now as I say, this border is now open again after this incident. And listen, President Trump said just last Thursday that if there comes a situation where the U.S. officials feel that they may be losing control of the border, that there's a danger somebody is going to get hurt, he said we will temporarily close the border. That is exactly what they did today -- Ana.

CABRERA: Nick Watt, please stay with me.

I also want to bring in CNN's Rafael Romo.

Rafael, this decision by the Mexican government to now deport the 500 or so people who were rushing that border comes after loud complaints by the mayor of Tijuana. What more can you tell us?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Ana. Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum has been bitterly complaining since Friday saying his city doesn't have the resources to provide food, shelter, medical services to more than 6,000 immigrants. He says he refuses to use local taxpayers' money to pay for these expenses and is asking the Mexican federal government and the United Nations for help.

And now the migrants were generally well-received in southern and central Mexico but the situation has been very different at the border where local residents have been very vocal and antagonistic about their presence.

The Tijuana mayor also said that he doesn't want the chaotic situation that ensured at the border Sunday morning to in any way harm the good relationship there has been between his city and San Diego.

Many people in Tijuana have, as you know, Ana, relatives in San Diego and the other way around. There are also strong business ties between both cities, and the mayor expressed concern about what kind of impact the group of migrants rushing the U.S. border might have on those relations -- Ana.

CABRERA: And, Nick, DHS now saying it is sending additional agents tonight to the border. What kind of show of force are you seeing there?

WATT: Well --

ROMO: Well --

CABRERA: Go ahead, Nick.

WATT: I'm sorry, I thought that was for me. Well, I mean, the CBP said that they did beef up their deployments here in advance of today because they knew that there were going to be demonstrations on both sides of the border. So they had extra personnel here.

Now, of course, there are also U.S. army troops, U.S. soldiers, deployed on the border right now. There are about 1500 of them in California. I did not see any evidence of them today, but there was plenty of presence on the ground from the CBP, helicopters above. And as I say, they kept people well back. They kept that roadblock well, well back -- Ana.

[20:05:02] CABRERA: So there's this issue of what's happening right now, this immediate moment there on the border. There's also the larger picture about what's going to happen as more and more people try to seek asylum in the U.S. We've now learned that there is a reported deal between President Trump and the incoming Mexican government.

Rafael, any word on what this deal may look like? And I understand Mexico is pushing back to a degree.

ROMO: Yes, that's right. We reached to the transition team of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and they say, listen, we're not even in power yet. He is not going to be sworn in until December 1st next Saturday, so there cannot be any formal deal between his government or the government that he will form and the United States, and he also said that the president-elect has been very clear that he doesn't want Mexico to become sort of a waiting room for Central American migrants who want to claim asylum status in the United States, sort of like a holding territory for these migrants.

But in any case, we know that there have been different meetings between officials on the U.S. side and the Mexican side, and the government of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. So it doesn't really mean that there couldn't be a deal. It's just that they say there's not one officially just yet.

CABRERA: Rafael, what's your sense about this potential deal? Obviously there are outstanding issues between the U.S. and Mexico, not just on immigration itself but on trade. Is there an extra incentive for Mexico to be trying to just maybe sweeten their relationship up in order to get something back on their end? ROMO: Well, the reality is that this situation is costing the Mexican

government money. They have had to provide for shelter, for food in different stages of the caravan, throughout the country and I could possibly see a situation where there's some sort of financial aid from the United States to take care of these immigrants in exchange for them to stay in Mexico. I'm not saying that that has happened but that's a possibility of what could happen.

The other point here is that the Mexican government has also said that they're going to reinforce security at the border sending more federal police, sending more military, although they're careful to say that they are not going to be armed police officers, so in a way they're going to just block the access to the American side but not in any way, shape or form try to go beyond that point, Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Rafael Romo, Nick Watt, thank you both for your reporting.

Also breaking tonight, an escalating standoff overseas as the Ukraine -- as Ukraine accuses Russia of firing on and seizing several of its naval vessels off the coast of Crimea. Russian state media says the ships entered territorial waters illegally and CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance has more now from Moscow.

Matthew, what is the latest there?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been some quite dramatic developments in the sense that the Ukrainian government or the Ukrainian president has suggested or asked the parliament to impose martial law or a state of emergency, rather, in the country which is an unprecedented move that would really give us a sense of how tense the situation is and how volatile it is and how likely it is to escalate.

The Ukrainian Navy, as you mentioned, say that six people were injured. Six of its sailors were injured when Russian forces fired on three of their ships and then Russian special forces boarded them. And we don't know what's happened to the crew of those ships, whether they are in Russian custody or not, but nevertheless a very tense situation in that strategic stretch of water which lies between the Crimean Peninsula which was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 and the Russian mainland.

Now U.S. officials along with the Ukrainians have been accusing Russia of interfering with international shipping in that waterway for several months now. They've been giving Ukraine some assistance to try and prevent that. Russia, as you mentioned, has said that this is just them policing their territorial waters and that Ukrainian ships have entered them illegally. And so it's very conflicting accounts from both sides after the course of this.

What the -- what the Russians are saying at the moment in terms of what is being broadcast on state television, they're saying that this was a provocation that was invented by the Ukrainians in order to try and disrupt the forthcoming meeting between President trump and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, scheduled to take place at the G-20 summit in Argentina -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Matthew Chance, in Moscow, thank you.

Two longtime Trump advisers settling in scores, naming names, alleging the president has imbedded enemies in the White House and beyond. Details of the bombshell book making waves tonight.

[20:10:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Tonight embedded enemies. Two of the president's former advisers using a new book to paint a dark and even conspiratorial picture of Trump's White House. The book written by former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie is set to be released Tuesday. It was obtained early by the "Washington Post" and it claims, among other things, that the president has been a victim of disloyalty by staffers, Republican lawmakers and, quote, "swamp creatures" who want to delegitimize his presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Look, we have seen individuals who, my guess is, not only do they not support him when he was running but probably didn't vote for him on Election Day two years ago.

DAVID BOSSIE, FORMER TRUMP DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: There are people inside the White House who understand and are for this president's agenda and there are those who are there for their own agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: And this book names names, going after Trump's former tone Michael Cohen, his former campaign manager Paul Manafort as rats.

[20:15:03] Slamming former economic adviser Gary Cohn as a limousine liberal, describing former press secretary Sean Spicer as a member of the November 9th Club or a Republican who didn't embrace Trump until the day after he got elected. And just like President Trump this book uses colorful language to dismiss the Russia probe calling it a, quote, "sweeping work of fiction so complex, so audacious, so unbelievable that they gave up awards for bad excuses the Democrats would win an Oscar, an Emmy, maybe even the Heisman Trophy."

CNN's Sarah Westwood has more.

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, two of the president's top outside advisers Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie are claiming that there are enemies of the president hidden among the ranks of the Republican Party, the intelligence community, the media and even the president's own staff.

They cite Gary Cohn, a former top economic aide to the president, and former press secretary Sean Spicer, as two people who are not necessarily loyal to the president. They claim both are members of what they call the November 9th Club, that's a group of people around the president who only supported Trump after Election Day.

Lewandowski and Bossie also took a little bit of aim at Chief of Staff John Kelly, both of them lamenting the restrictions that General Kelly had placed around President Trump when it comes to access. In their book they apparently mentioned an instance from August where the two advisers were assigned an escort to walk them around the West Wing.

Lewandowski and Bossie also sat down for an interview with the president for this book, and of the Russia investigation, Trump apparently told his two advisers that he believes Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe has only solidified his support. He told them, "I think it makes my base stronger. I would have never said this to you, but I think the level of love now is far greater than when we won."

The president also in this interview doubling down on his decision last spring to fire former FBI director James Comey. He said, "I should have fired him the day after I won and announced, please get the hell out."

Now the president returned this evening from West Palm Beach, Florida, to the White House. He's not yet responded to this forthcoming book, but as we know, Ana, the president frequently tweets about the books that his supporters write about him.

CABRERA: Sarah Westwood reporting. Thank you.

Joining us now "New York Times" political editor Patrick Healy and senior political correspondent for the "Washington Examiner," David Drucker.

David, as Sarah just mentioned, one of the quotes we've learned that's come out of this book is the president saying the Mueller probe makes his base stronger. Is he right?

DAVID DRUCKER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think he is right, and I don't know that it really matters. If you look at what happened in the midterm elections, the president's base was as strong as ever. We saw elevated turnout in part because the president's base and Republicans generally responded to his call to turn out because it was such a crucial election, to treat it as though he was on the ballot, and it still wasn't enough.

Now obviously 2020 is going to be a whole different ball game, the turnout universe could be a lot different. It will still be bigger than the midterm election, but president is so focused on his base, Ana, he's not where he needs to be heading into what is going to be a tough re-election when he may not have the luxury of running against a Democrat who is disliked, distrusted and under FBI investigation.

CABRERA: Patrick, the book comes at a time of transition as well. We know the president is weighing a number of Cabinet and staff changes. Do you think this book will have an impact on that? PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I mean, I think that the

-- just the intensity around Trump to try to sort of get his own house in order, just, you know, is just furthered by a book that he really suggests, you know, he himself may think that there are kind of enemies around him that he needs to deal with. I mean, he's already sidelined or really ousted Jeff Sessions, his attorney general, but now there are questions about what he's going to do with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and even John Kelly's future as chief of staff.

And, you know, we've known for a while that Corey Lewandowski has been no fan of General Kelly's but the degree to which Trump himself is sending some messages in this book, I mean, I think that's part of what's going on. I mean, unlike some other books that he hasn't been happy with, I mean I think this is one in which, you know, he is talking to Corey, he's talking to David Bossie and getting sort of the idea out that basically he sees the world as either people who are very much friends, loyalists, people on his side or are enemies.

That that is sort of how he has seen kind of the political world for a while. So in terms of at least the Cabinet shake-up that, you know, may or may not be coming in a bigger way, I mean, I think the book kind of lays some groundwork for that.

CABRERA: I want to pick up on something that you just mentioned which is the president looking at things sort of as black and white, either you're a friend or an enemy, and Bossie was asked or asked the president, I should say, who or what his biggest enemy is and here's what he said.

[20:20:11] I quote, "The greatest enemy of this country is fake news. I really mean it."

"Of this country." The question was about his greatest enemy, David, but he took it here. What's your reaction to that?

DRUCKER: Well, this is what Trump typically does. Now look, if Trump just wants to name fake news, in other words, news that would be made up and not real, that is a problem because people wouldn't know what to believe or when to believe it, but you know, what the president usually does is decide that news that is true that he doesn't like, that is critical of him, is fake and he accuses all of us of making up sources, so not just getting it wrong, not just approaching him from a biased perspective but making up fake people who are not real to say things that they couldn't have said because they weren't real just to target him.

And I think that -- you know, that's the difference between actual fake news which is actually a problem and we've seen it including fake news that caused someone to go into a pizza shop to try and stop something from happening that was never happening, and putting people in danger. So it is a problem but usually the way the president talks about it is something that doesn't exist.

CABRERA: And the president's own relationship with the truth has also been called into question for good reason, as the "Washington Post" fact-checkers showed he's had over 6,000 mistruths, false statements since the beginning of his presidency.

But let me move on because there is a part of this book and an instance in which Lewandowski was asked this morning on FOX News about a report in the "New York Times" from October that described an actual physical altercation between Lewandowski and White House chief of staff John Kelly. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEWANDOWSKI: The Secret Service didn't break anything. Now John and I had a very candid discussion as he probably has many times with the president. The difference is --

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Did he grab you?

LEWANDOWSKI: Look, I don't want to get into what John may or may not have done, but what I do think is he understands that my position is to support the president and the president's agenda all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So, Patrick, since it was the "New York Times" that initially gave that report, you're there with the "New York Times."

HEALY: Right.

CABRERA: What happened?

HEALY: Yes. I mean, there was basically a sort of a scuffle. I mean, John Kelly ultimately sort of grabbed Corey Lewandowski by the collar and just was really trying to send sort of a message. I mean, I think it just -- the clash sort of escalated but what it revealed again was just a lot of frustration on John Kelly's part that he's not able to control both the president and these folks around the president who believe that they should have some sort of direct access that doesn't involve the chief of staff and Corey Lewandowski was with Donald Trump early on in 2015 with Hope Hicks when it was just a small number of people.

Lewandowski has always seem himself as sort of a singular figure within the Trump orbit when, you know, Paul Manafort couldn't be trusted, when, you know, the family was still adjusting to presidential politics, and the reality is like John Kelly is still, even after all these months, is still trying to impose some kind of -- some kind of order.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Well, even Lewandowski was asked about it in that interview with FOX News today and he did criticize Kelly for not being able to allow Trump to talk to who he may want to talk to, including --

HEALY: Right.

CABRERA: People like Corey Lewandowski. Do you think that this book in some way is his way of enacting revenge? HEALY: Well, I think that's part -- I definitely think that's part of

it. I mean, Lewandowski -- you know, John Kelly has been, you know, a target for a while for a lot of folks around Trump who feel like they have had their access cut off. And Corey Lewandowski, you know, was one over time. That said, President Trump has shown himself someone who can reach out to folks like Corey and others, you know, as he sees fit and it's something that drives the disciplinarians like General Kelly kind of crazy.

CABRERA: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

HEALY: You know, but this is a -- again, it's so extraordinary the way that President Trump --he's unlike other presidents and the degree to which people who are sort of whispering in his ear, playing to the sort of conspiracy thinking to even the paranoia around these -- the notion that there are sort of these enemies out to get him or people who can't be trusted.

If you look at Jeff Sessions, who had such an impact on --

CABRERA: On policy.

HEALY: On carrying President Trump's immigration policies, and yet was just always seen as disloyal just because of Russia and Mueller.

CABRERA: Yes. It's really interesting what the influences this president.

David, I want to fast forward real quick to tomorrow and a federal judge we know has denied George Papadopoulos' request to delay the start of his 14-day prison sentence in which he's going to now have to begin serving tomorrow. He's of course the former Trump campaign aide who pleaded guilty to lying to Mueller and his team.

Mueller has argued in recent days that Papadopoulos wasn't the remorseful guy he had been in court because he had been tweeting things like calling the FBI's investigation the biggest case of entrapment.

[20:25:10] Mueller is clearly watching Twitter feeds. What message should that send to the president?

DRUCKER: Well, I think that the president should just be aware that nobody really knows where the Mueller probe is going to conclude and when, and obviously his lawyers will be privy to some things that the general public and we're not privy to, and you know, lest we can report it. But Mueller has kept a very tight ship. He's kept focused. There haven't been any leaks out of his team or very few.

This has been a very carefully run, delicately run investigation, and I don't think that anybody right or left, pro-Trump or an opponent of Trump can make any assumptions. They can make all the assumptions they want but nobody really knows where this is headed and where it's at except for Mueller and the people on his team. CABRERA: Patrick?

HEALY: I think that that's true. I mean, I think that the notion that, you know, for whatever reason Papadopoulos and his lawyers, they very much sort of tried to go to the judge at the 11th hour and sort of derail, you know, this prison time. But the reality is, you know, people have tried so much over the last year and a half to sort of create bad barriers or obstacles for Robert Mueller, and at this point I think the report is going to come. Like, at some point we're going to sort of see what he's found and, you know, the chips will fall where they may, but everything between now and then just feels a lot like theatrics.

CABRERA: Theatrics but also we have to stay on top of it because there's so much.

HEALY: Absolutely.

CABRERA: So many characters so we want to make sure it makes sense to our viewers when that report at the end comes down the road.

Thank you so much, Patrick Healy and David Drucker. Always good to have you both.

DRUCKER: Thank you.

CABRERA: New tonight, President Trump may be willing to accept Saudi Arabia's denials in the murder of "Washington Post" contributor Jamal Khashoggi but two top Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Bob Corker are saying not so fast. They want a briefing about the role of the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Khashoggi's death. And they hope to get that on Wednesday.

Graham tells CNN's Dana Bash, "Don't think Congress is going to look away if Mohammed bin Salman is making the world a more dangerous place. We are not going to give an autocratic leader a path. We don't want to give a green light to others that they can go down this road."

Coming up, we're staying on top of the breaking news at the U.S.- Mexico border. A chaotic scene as hundreds of Central American migrants rush toward the American side. Mexico now announcing they will be deported.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:31:59] CABRERA: Breaking news. Tonight on the U.S.-Mexico border crossing where a dramatic scene played out earlier today, this hour the U.S. is reopening the pedestrian and vehicle access to the San Ysidro Port of Entry near San Diego.

Now Mexico's government says it is going to deport the 500 or so Central American migrants who just hours ago tried to rush the border. Many of these migrants are fleeing violence in their home countries.

Want to show you some powerful video showing what happened. This video was shot by Wendy Fry, she's a reporter with the "San Diego

Union Tribune" and she's joining us now.

Wendy, what was it like when this clash happened?

WENDY FRY, REPORTER, SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE: Hi, Ana. Well, it was pretty chaotic, pretty scary right in those moments. We -- at first I was shooting video of the migrants and everyone sort of ran in all different directions, and so my photographer ran in one direction, I ran in another direction, following a group that was heading to the border, trying to get to the line of the border and then when those shots -- they were actually flash bangs and when we heard them, it wasn't very clear what was going on, if the Border Patrol, the U.S. Border Patrol was shooting at the group of migrants or what it was.

After a few seconds, of course, we realized they were flash bangs, you know, non-lethal explosives meant to scare people back and also tear gas was thrown at the group that was trying to cross over. They were sort of trying to tear a hole or tear back the fencing a little bit right there in San Ysidro where the border is, and that's the way that the U.S. Border Patrol responded is by firing off flash bangs and then the tear gas.

So we all -- I was following this group of migrants, women and children. They ran underneath a train to hide because at first they didn't understand if it was real fire, real gunfire or not. Very scary, a little child was wailing, very scary moment but after that we've kind of realized everything was meant to push them back away from the border.

CABRERA: We're looking at your video, and I just want to pause for a moment and listen, to give our viewers a greater sense of what happened there.

So, Wendy, we can certainly hear the tension, the fear, the yelling, the chaos. We did see at some video earlier, it did appear that there were objects being thrown, but did you see any weapons used during this clash?

[20:35:04] FRY: Right. So I think this was just a little bit earlier prior to when this group got actually to the actual border fence to the line so what I think you're playing is before earlier when the federal police, the Mexican federal police, were trying to hold the group back. There's about 500 or so. And keep in mind, I can only tell you what happened where I was.

CABRERA: Yes.

FRY: So the larger groups ran in all different directions. So something else may have been happening in other places, but where I was there was a clash between a group trying to run past the line of the Mexican federal police. They did get into a scuffle there.

The group has said over and over again this prior week, as they've done here this whole week, they've been saying that they want to keep things peaceful. They've been reminding each other when they get frustrated, they get too hot headed, calm it down, calm it down. I think what he was saying there is, you know, this federal police is trying to antagonize me a little bit and I'm not -- you know, they did get into a scuffle.

That federal police officer actually ended up with a bloody lip but then the rest of the group went ahead and ran around them, and it dissipated right then and there. So --

CABRERA: And why was there --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Why was there this break for the border? Because as you mentioned, a lot of these migrants have been there for some time. What was it about the timing now for them to make this huge rush?

FRY: Most of them have been telling me that they were waiting for everybody to get here to Tijuana. And most of them from the caravan have arrived here mostly and now they are starting these demonstrations. So they also did the demonstration on Thanksgiving Day with much more peaceful, much more calm, that demonstration. It was just basically slowly and peacefully walking to the line.

Today this demonstration obviously got a lot more heated, a lot more intense. I did see people throwing rocks at Border Patrol. A couple, or three or four men was throwing rocks, throwing over the feds, Border Patrol, and again that's just what I saw. There may have been people ahead of them throwing more rocks or weapons and there may have been people behind but where I was there were a few throwing rocks, yes.

CABRERA: Also, Wendy, now we're learning that the Mexican government is saying they're going to try to track down the people who tried to rush the border who were throwing those rocks, who were part of this, I guess you could call it a scuffle of sorts or clash.

FRY: Right.

CABRERA: Have you seen them take any action now to actually calm and round up some of those individuals?

FRY: No. I have not yet seen them gather these individuals from today but they have already deported about 100 or so. You know, they detained them on suspicion of public intoxication or disturbing the peace, and they have deported them back. And they warned them on Thursday night into Friday morning when they stayed the night in the pedestrian plaza for a demonstration. They said you're having an unlawful assembly and we're going to detain the people who are doing the unlawful activity and deport them.

So that's one of the ways that the Mexican authorities are trying to keep peace. They're trying to keep a handle on this situation, control over the situation here where they are vastly unprepared for the number of migrants that have come into the city. That's one of the ways that they are trying to keep to handle this by, you know, saying if you do anything that is -- CABRERA: Yes.

FRY: A violation, we're going to deport you.

CABRERA: A quick answer, if you will, real quick, Wendy. Do you get a sense of what their plan is next? What the migrants there are going to do now?

FRY: It was pretty disappointing today. When they started out they were praying, they really thought God was with them and they were going to cross the border. That was their thinking. And today they are just kind of gathering I think very disappointed. I do think that they will continue to try to press to the border in other demonstrations so that's one of the things we're going to have to wait and see.

CABRERA: Yes. All right. Wendy Fry, I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for the insight. Good reporting.

FRY: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:43:22] CABRERA: Investigators say at least one gunman is still at large in connection to the shooting at a busy Alabama mall on Thanksgiving. So far police have released very few details about this incident but they admit the man they killed at the scene is likely not the shooter.

The family of 21-year-old E.J. Bradford Jr. is demanding an apology, accountability and the release of all videos from the incident. The family's lawyer Benjamin Crump spoke with my colleague Fredricka Whitfield earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF MAN KILLED BY POLICE: We've been there trying to justify killing their son, and they know the video is going to tell us a different story. As we have been saying you don't need to say anymore. Just show the video. That's all this family wants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN's Natasha Chen joins us now from Atlanta.

And Natasha, you've been staying on top of the latest developments. What else is the family telling us?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, you can see there the family is upset for many reasons, but on a very basic level. They say police have not even contacted them since the shooting happened, and that's interesting, especially when you consider that E.J.'s father Emantic Bradford Sr. said he served with the Birmingham Police Department for 25 years so he considers law enforcement to be family.

They held a press conference with their attorney Benjamin Crump today. In this video we're showing you can see one family member to the left of the podium became very emotional in just hearing again how E.J. died.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY THOMAS, UNCLE OF E.J. BRADFORD JUNIOR: They literally assassinated my nephew on Thanksgiving night. As far as I'm concerned he was assassinated, and for the mayor to come on TV and say we -- my officers swiftly killed the gunman and slandered his name, I called for him to go on TV and publicly apologize and retract that statement.

[20:45:20] That's not right. Somebody got to have accountability for this, and I would never stop fighting until the day I die. I will get justice. Release the video.

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CHEN: After their attorney Benjamin Crump did an interview on our air he told me by phone that the family was given video by an individual showing exactly what happened and how E.J. Bradford Jr. was shot. Crump said the family may consider releasing that video.

An 18-year-old and 12-year-old were injured in the shooting at the mall. The police have not found the person responsible. They did issue a statement when they realized at least one gunman is still at large. In a statement late Friday, early Saturday, they said they believe E.J. Bradford Jr. may have been involved but was likely not responsible for firing the rounds that injured the other two.

Now over the past two days we've asked repeatedly questions of the state agency in charge including simply whether the public is in danger with a gunman at large, but a spokesperson for the Alabama law enforcement agency continues to say there is nothing she can release to us yet -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Natasha Chen, thanks for staying on top of it.

President Trump heading back out on the campaign trail. This time for a Senate seat in Mississippi, a candidate with a history of celebrating confederate figures, and who once joked about attending a public hanging.

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[20:51:22] CABRERA: President Trump was up early and tweeting this morning about embattled Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Mississippi Republican facing for a tougher-than-expected runoff on Tuesday. "She is an outstanding person," the president writes.

President Trump will be in Mississippi tomorrow holding two rallies to help Hyde-Smith save her seat. She has come under fire for her history of celebrating confederate figures and jokes she made recently about voter suppression and attending a public hanging. CNN's Martin Savidge has more.

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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Cindy Hyde- Smith tried to dial back the storm of criticism that Republican sparked by joking about a public hanging.

SEN. CINDY HYDE-SMITH (R), MISSISSIPPI: If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row.

SAVIDGE: During Tuesday's debate in a runoff campaign Hyde-Smith apologized but also accused others of twisting her words for political gain.

HYDE-SMITH: You know, for anyone that was offended for my -- by my comments, I certainly apologize. There was no ill-will, no intent whatsoever in my statements. This comment was twisted and it was turned into a weapon to be used against me, a political weapon used for nothing but personal and political gain by my opponent.

SAVIDGE: Her Democratic opponent, Mike Espy, said her words weren't distorted by anyone.

MIKE ESPY (D), MISSISSIPPI SENATE CANDIDATE: Well, no one twisted your comments because the comments were loud. You know it came out of your mouth. Well, it's caused our state harm. It's given our state another black eye that we don't need.

SAVIDGE: Since the public hanging remarks, a number of corporate donors to the Hyde-Smith campaign have asked for their money back including Walmart. And a 2014 Facebook post that surfaced Tuesday showing Hyde-Smith posing with confederate artifacts further fueled critics.

Just how much of an impact the Hyde-Smith controversy is having on voters depends on who you talk to.

JIMMY RHODES, SEN. CINDY HYDE-SMITH SUPPORTER: If people really truly are understanding what she is all about, I don't think that will affect them.

JORDAN MALONE, MIKE ESPY SUPPORTER: It made it very clear both to me and to a lot of other black Mississippians that the Republican candidates do not really have our best interest at heart.

SAVIDGE: Espy who is still considered an underdog in this deeply red state is counting on an energized black electorate as well as possible crossover voters now reconsidering their support of Hyde-Smith.

President Trump will be in Mississippi next week to campaign for Senator Hyde-Smith. And Tuesday he seemed to already be working damage control.

TRUMP: She made a statement which I know that she feels very badly about and it was just sort of said in jest. She is a tremendous woman. And it's a shame that she has to go through this.

SAVIDGE: Martin Savidge, CNN, Jackson, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Coming up on this holiday weekend, a powerful message about sacrifice, love, and gratitude.

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[20:58:28] CABRERA: Finally this holiday weekend, as we celebrate, we give thanks, we want to revisit the inspiring words from the widow of Major Brent Taylor, the Utah Army National Guardsman and mayor of North Hampton, Utah, who was killed three weeks ago in combat in Afghanistan.

His wife Jennie Taylor spoke to CNN about spending the holidays without her husband and what she will tell her children about him.

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JENNIE TAYLOR, WIDOW OF MAJOR BRENT TAYLOR: Our hearts are full. Our hearts are broken but our hearts are full. And when I talk to our children, not just now but into the future, it will always be with a sense of pride. To be able to be a soldier's son or a soldier's daughter, a soldier's wife, a soldier's mother, is an honor. There are not a lot of people willing to pick up a soldier's uniform and especially to go into combat.

And Brent wasn't forced. He wasn't obligated to even join the Army in the first place. He was driven. Something within him. His connection to God drove him to want to serve our country and not just from a desk job in America. He wanted to be where the action was. He wanted to be where he felt he can make the best impact, have the greatest cause or the greatest chance of making progress, helping other people. And our children know that.

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CABRERA: Taylor was 39 years old and the father of seven children.

That does it for me. Thank you for joining us on this holiday weekend. I hope yours was safe. It was fulfilling. I'm Ana Cabrera. Up next is "ANTHONY BOURDAIN, PARTS UNKNOWN."

Have a great week.

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