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New Day

Shelter for Migrant Teens in Dallas; Forty-nine Percent of Republicans Won't get the Vaccine; Texas Rolls out Bills to Restrict Voting; Small Colleges Struggle in Pandemic. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired March 16, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is to use the Convention Center in Dallas for boys ages 15 to 17 years old to, as you mentioned, alleviate overcrowding in Border Patrol facilities.

Now, this has become because a problem again because there are increasingly more encounters of children on the U.S./Mexico border alone and that those numbers have been growing almost daily at this point. And so to try to start alleviating that, the administration taking steps in finding new facilities to put them in.

Now, the administration is facing criticism from Democrats and Republicans about the handling of the situation. The White House press secretary pushing back yesterday and saying that they are focused on working on solutions, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Priscilla Alvarez covering this for us. Thank you very much for that.

Joining us now, CNN political commentator Errol Louis. He's a political anchor for Spectrum News.

And, Errol, Priscilla was just talking about criticism from Democrats and Republicans. And take politics out of it, there's just criticism period right now in some instances about how the Biden administration is handling this. Part of it is for what happens to these migrants once they're over the border and the second issue is how they are being approached before they get to the border.

And to that point, Henry Cuellar, a Democratic congressman from Texas, had this specific criticism.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): This Friday I was there and I talked to some of the people that had come across. There were about 20 of them. I asked them which message have they heard? Never heard the president but they heard from their friends and neighbors that they were coming across, they saw things on TV that people were coming across and they were getting recruited by people to come over across. So it has to be a strong message because with all due respect the administration's message is not coming through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The message is not getting through, Errol, and that from a Democratic congressman.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yep. Well, that's absolutely right, John. I mean we're going to have to see this administration do on the migrant crisis, on the border crisis, something akin to what they've done when it comes to dealing with COVID-19, which is clear messaging, strong action, the truth, even if it's a difficult truth and to sort of make good on some of the campaign promises that were made, which is to sort of go upstream. These kids don't just materialize out of nowhere. They are coming from some place. They're supposed to be diplomatic means, there are supposed to be aid tools that this administration promised to use to try and stop the flow. All of that has got to be brought to bear, but there's got to be transparency.

If -- the only thing we see is suddenly thousands of kids are being housed in what looks like confinement in the middle of Dallas. It's going to be a political disaster, as well as an ongoing humanitarian crisis, John.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're already arriving at that point, right? So it seems to me there are really two messages that are needed here from the administration. There is the message to migrants and there is the message to the American people to take stock and ownership of what this, quote, big problem, which is what it's being called currently, really is.

LOUIS: Yes. I mean, absolutely. We -- you know, look, this -- this is something -- you know, you can go back to the Reagan administration, you know, the last time there was a large scale attack on immigration and a -- and changes to our system. We don't know -- and certainly the Biden administration did not anticipate -- that this was going to be this big of an issue this quickly. But we can already smell political blood in the water. Republicans circling. They're going to want to make this a huge issue for the midterm elections and we're not even 100 days in.

So, you know, when the history of this administration gets written, one of those first crises that they didn't quite anticipate and they're going to have to be staying up late and working around the clock and trying to figure out their way out of a very, very sticky political situation, well, this is it.

BERMAN: So, Errol, the administration is dealing with the issue of vaccine hesitancy, right? The vaccination rate in the country right now has been remarkable. More than 2 million people a day are getting vaccinated. The supply seems to be increasing. The logistics seem to be getting smooth. And I think the administration is anticipating a moment when actually the demand isn't there. And one of those reasons would be for vaccine hesitancy. And one of the main causes is Republican vaccine hesitancy. Nearly half of Republican men say they have no plan to take the vaccine. President Biden was asked about whether or not he wants the help of

the former president, who himself was vaccinated but really hasn't lifted a finger to get people vaccinated, if he wants the former president's help.

Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And they say the thing that has more impact than anything Trump would say to the MAGA folks is what the local doctor, what the local preachers, what the local people in the community say. So I urge -- I urge all local docs and -- and ministers and priests to talk about why. Why it's important to get it -- to get that vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:35:03]

BERMAN: Errol, is it a question of either or? Why can't it be both?

LOUIS: Well, it would be nice if it was both, but I think the president is in some ways trying to be a little bit diplomatic here. I think everyone watching this right now, John, realizes that Donald Trump is going to be of absolutely no help when it comes to this. The fact that he took the vaccine and didn't tell anyone about it tells you everything you need to know. This is not going to be a reliable source of information. He never has been. It's a sore point. It's the reason, frankly, he lost the White House. It's not reasonable to expect that all of a sudden he's going to turn around and after a year and a half of doing, you know, almost systematically the wrong thing and being a completely unreliable source of information, that all of a sudden he'll be a trusted voice of authority.

That, I think, is -- is just wishful thinking. And the reality is, it wouldn't be reliable anyway. He could wake up the next day and decide he's got an entirely different approach for political reasons or just that of sheer ignorance. That's not a basis for public policy.

So I think President Biden is right to try and figure out some other source of trying to connect with people.

You know, and by the way, if people want to put their -- themselves, their families, and their communities at risk for that purely political reason, it's not clear whether a doctor or anybody else is going to change their minds. I mean there's kind of a deeper sickness here and it has nothing to do with the virus.

BERMAN: Errol Louis, food for thought, thank you very much for that. Appreciate it.

LOUIS: Thanks.

HILL: New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland making history again. Haaland confirmed by the Senate as Interior secretary. She is the first-ever Native American to serve in the cabinet. Several key Republicans joined Senate Democrats to support her confirmation. Haaland was also part of history in 2018 as one of the first two female Native Americans elected to Congress.

Texas's governor says he is not aware of any fraud that happened in his state during the 2020 election. So why then is he pushing to make it harder to vote in Texas? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:07]

HILL: Texas Republicans rolling out two dozen bills that would make it harder to vote. It's just the latest in a massive push to suppress voting rights across GOP-led states.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is live in Houston this morning with more.

Dianne, good morning.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

Yes, those two dozen bills join the more than 250 that are already being tracked across the country. The governor of Texas actually traveled here to Houston to announce his support for those bills, but critics who live here, a diverse and increasingly Democratic area, say they believe that the bills are a direct target of their record turnout.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER (voice over): Already home to some of the most restrictive election laws in the country, Texas is now the latest state with a Republican legislature introducing bills that could make it even harder to vote.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Election fraud is unacceptable. And that's exactly why I made it an emergency item this session.

GALLAGHER: Despite no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, Texas Republicans are calling for measures that would impose new limits on early voting hours and added requirements on mail voting. Now, some of the legislation appears to be aimed at Harris County, a recent Democratic stronghold and home to Houston, which saw a surge in turnout last year after the county implemented methods during the pandemic, such as 24-hour drive-thru voting sites.

PAUL BETTENCOURT (R), TEXAS STATE SENATE: Uniformity, transparency, consistency. Wherever voters are, they should be having the same access to that -- to that type of voting activity for early voting.

GALLAGHER: The attorney general's team looking for voter fraud in the 2020 election found just 16 examples of false addresses on registration forms in Harris County after more than 22,000 hours of staff time investigating, "The Houston Chronicle" reported.

Democratic officials say it's clear what Texas Republicans are trying to do.

JUDGE LINA HIDALGO, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: Obviously these Republicans are hoping that their work is going to disenfranchise mostly Democrats. But the truth of the matter is, it's going to disenfranchise both parties.

GALLAGHER: The left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice says it's tracking more than 250 bills in 43 states that would restrict voting access in some way so far this year. Election experts say that many of the proposals would place a greater burden on voters of color with dramatic effect.

DAVID SCHULTZ, POLITICAL SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES PROFESSOR, HAMLINE UNIVERSITY: In many ways it dwarves what we saw during the Jim Crow era in terms of numbers of people, numbers of states and numbers of laws.

GALLAGHER: That's a point echoed by Stacey Abrams about the sweeping election bills moving forward in her home state of Georgia.

STACEY ABRAMS, FOUNDER, FAIR FIGHT: I do absolutely agree that it's racist. It is a redux of Jim Crow in a suit and tie. And so the only connection that we can find is that more people of color voted and it changed the outcome of elections in the direction that Republicans do not like.

GALLAGHER: Now, Georgia became ground zero for former President Trump's big lie after President Biden flipped the state in November and then Democrats won a pair of Senate seats there.

But not all Republicans in Georgia support the bills being advanced.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Republicans don't need election reform to win, we need leadership.

GALLAGHER: But in Iowa, Republicans have already acted. The state's GOP governor last week signed a new law that cuts Election Day voting hours and reduces early voting by nine days.

GOV. KIM REYNOLDS (R-IA): There are Americans across this state that have some concerns about what happened in this last election. And, again, I think it's imperative that it's not just understood but they feel that there's integrity in election process.

GALLAGHER: The state was sued just 24 hours later.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER: Now, right now Democratic attorneys tell me that they are waiting and they will sue if other states pass these bills into law. Iowa may stand alone, but election experts tell me that there's probably an easy way to predict which states are most likely to eventually make these laws, Erica. They say it's those that have a trifecta, that means that Republicans control the state house, the state senate and the governorship. [06:45:02]

Those are more likely to pass them into law. Twenty-three states in the country have that trifecta, Erica. Of course, there's no guarantee anything will actually pass through. It is a process. And we've seen changes already happen on this level at each state.

HILL: Yes, but important to keep this reporting going as well. Dianne, great as always. Thank you.

Well, big-name colleges are setting records for admissions applications, which is also up ending that process. We're going to take a look at how the pandemic is changing campuses, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, we're learning of record numbers of applications to some colleges as coronavirus has changed the rules and, frankly, changed the world. But we're also learning that some schools are struggling to survive.

Bianna Golodryga has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're very aware of what high school students are going through.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For aspiring college students, the application process, like so much else this past year, has been challenging.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You really felt it.

[06:50:00]

The things that they thought they were just going to have on their resume or, you know, positions that they thought they were going to be able to have, or even their grades. The devastation of not being able to finish what they thought they were going to be able to present to us.

GOLODRYGA: Many of the usual steps, like working with high school counselors, visiting campuses and in-person interviews were made nearly impossible by pandemic-related restrictions.

In an effort to make things easier, many colleges have made standardized testing, like the SATs, optional. The result, a double- digit surge in students applying to some selective colleges like NYU.

GOLODRYGA (on camera): What has this experience been like for you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you see the number crest 100,000, I think I -- my stomach did just do a little -- a little flip and say, wow, now I've entered a whole new world. And I thought, oh dear Lord, how are we going to get through all of this. GOLODRYGA (voice over): Harvard University reported a 42 percent

increase in applications. The University of Virginia saw an almost 17 percent increase. And Colgate University received more than double the applications this year than it did last year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're trying to put their best foot forward in a way that they think might have a school give them a chance when they wouldn't have in the past.

GOLODRYGA: These eye-popping numbers are the exception though.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our enrollment was down about 10 percent in the fall. And it's down about 18 percent in the spring.

GOLODRYGA: At Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts, where 40 percent of those attending are first-generation college students, officials did everything they could to get students enrolled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We extended registration deadlines. We forgave as much debt as we could afford to do for students. We allowed students longer time to pay off any expenses they had from previous semesters.

GOLODRYGA: Fewer students also means less tuition, straining budgets that were already under pressure before the pandemic, which disproportionately affected low income students and students of color.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of our students, they are struggling economically. They've been out of work for some time. They're broke. And many of them are just struggling to put food on the table. Their goals, their dreams, their aspirations for an education and a better life have been quite rudely pushed off the table at this point.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Americans who can benefit the most from the mobility that a higher education provides are the least likely to be able to attend college right now. And that's a problem for all of us today and for generations ahead.

GOLODRYGA: The concern now is on when or even if they will return to that dream.

Bianna Golodryga, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: And our thanks to Bianna for that report.

So the road to the final four is set. Who are the favorites? The "Bleacher Report," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:13]

HILL: UConn earns the top seed in the Women's NCAA Tournament. Lady Huskies, very nice. They're going to have to play, though, without their head coach. Coy Wire has this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Boy, this is a tough one.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Erica.

Geno Auriemma, he's having to isolate away from his number one seeded Huskies. He has tested positive for COVID-19. UConn says the 66-year- old hall of famer received his second vaccine shot last Wednesday. He's not currently experiencing symptoms. He will miss the first and second rounds of the tournament games in San Antonio, though. Auriemma has won 11 national titles so far. That's more than any other women's or men's college basketball coach.

Stanford is your overall number one seed. N.C. State and South Carolina are the other top seeds. First round tips off on Sunday.

And Super Bowl MVP winning QB Tom Brady's phone might be ringing off the hook all week long. Trending yesterday he gave out his cell phone number on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS QUARTERBACK: So, listen, rule number one, before we get into any of this, no texting on game days. Sometimes it gets hard to sort through the you suck Brady in the comments. I know there's quite a few of those over the years. It's usually from the Jet fans. But to be clear, if you do text me you suck, yes, I'll see it. And I may or may not respond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: I have to ask, John, what would your first text to Tom Brady be? I feel like you'd be best friends.

HILL: I think they were just texting this morning, actually.

BERMAN: I was -- you're asking me like as a hypothetical, you know.

HILL: His text would be I love you, Tom.

BERMAN: Exactly. They're all emojis. They're all unicorn emojis, first of all. We don't use words. We communicate, you know, emotionally, on an emotional level.

WIRE: And don't forget the avocado. You know he loves his avocado ice cream.

BERMAN: Yes.

Thank you, Coy. Thank you deeply for all of that. Appreciate it.

WIRE: All right.

HILL: I'm sorry.

NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES: Spring break!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People enjoying spring break festivities maskless. This is all in the context of still 50,000 cases per day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and France, though, have all suspended the AstraZeneca rollout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am a little concerned that this is overcall in terms of stopping vaccination.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Department of Health and Human Services has opened an emergency in-take site to help shelter migrant children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All because the policies of our president has changed.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We recognize this is a big problem, but we are going to do everything we can to solve it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

BERMAN: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.

[07:00:00]

Alisyn is off. Erica Hill for a big morning as a co-member of the parent of teenage boy union.

HILL: Yes. Yes. This is a huge moment that we're about to learn about.