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Biden's Immigration Policies May be Backfiring; North Korea Warns U.S.; Asian-American Restaurant Targeted by Vandals. Aired 8:30- 9a ET

Aired March 16, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTA JACOBSON, WHITE HOUSE COORDINATOR FOR THE SOUTHERN BORDER: The smugglers are agile and quick and word of mouth gets through and they are exploiting people's hope and desperation. Our own message is getting out less than smugglers. We always know that. But we are doing everything we can, and that includes Spanish language radio, social media, making sure that we convey the message that the border is not open.

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ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: That's the Biden administration's coordinator for the southern border on NEW DAY just moments ago talking about the new surge of migrants, especially unaccompanied minors.

Joining us now, Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS," and the author of "Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World."

Good to see you this morning.

You wrote recently an op-ed in "The Washington Post" talking about where we stand with immigration, with what is happening at the southern border.

When we just heard there from Ambassador Jacobson, what is missing, do you think, from the messaging from the Biden administration? I mean is there a way to cut through that, in her words, more pervasive messaging from smugglers?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: The problem is not the messaging. It's the policy. The Biden administration has reversed large parts of Trump's immigration policy, which is exactly the right thing. Trump's immigration policies are terrible. They're ruinous.

But there's one piece of them, the asylum policy, which was working after a while, after they finished with the cages and the separation of children and all that, they had come to a somewhat practical policy. There's no good answer, but it was somewhat practical. Biden reversed all that.

So one of the reasons you're getting a lot of unaccompanied children is because he reversed -- he made an exception that allowed unaccompanied children to come in. So what they have to do is confront the fundamental reality.

The asylum system is being gamed. It is being gamed by these smugglers. It is being gamed by gangs. And you're getting large numbers of people who are not really asylum seekers in the traditional sense of the word. And you've got to have a somewhat hardline approach to it otherwise the border will get overwhelmed. You already have twice as many people in the last two months coming to the southern border as you had last year. That number is going to double at least once the weather gets warm.

The Biden administration has to realize this is not a messaging problem, it's a policy problem.

HILL: But the clock is certainly ticking as we're seeing just the sheer numbers and as our reporters are seeing down there on the border as well.

You know, to your point, what I'm hearing is the Biden administration needs to say very clearly, here's what constitutes, you know, asylum if you're seeking asylum. Here's what we can talk about. And if you're not, follow the proper channels or the sort of normal channels, I should say.

The other thing that came up and, you know, John brought this up as well in his interview earlier today, is the fact that these policies were reversed, but it doesn't seem that there was really a plan in place to deal with what most had expected would come. That, too, is a major issue. So now you're playing catch up on simply not being ready.

ZAKARIA: You're exactly right. The policies were reversed largely because, you know, the idea was everything that Trump did on immigration is bad, which is, broadly speaking true. The problem is this asylum policy is a very specific problem. It was -- there is a crisis. You have had that -- you have now ten times as many people coming to the southern border applying for asylum as you did a decade ago. Youi know, people are gaming the system. The asylum process is broken. So before you overturn Trump's policies, which had somewhat controlled the problem, you need a plan in place. And there wasn't one. There was just the hope that by, you know, taking a more generous or humane approach, you know, somehow magically things would get solved. But hope is not a policy.

I think that one of the tragedies here is that this asylum issue is going to overwhelm the immigration issue. In other words, Biden has a lot of very good policies on immigration that are going to be difficult to implement because they're going to get tarnished by this issue of asylum at the southern border, which is a small piece of it. You know, asylum seekers make up a tiny percent of the overall immigrants to the United States and yet the crisis on the southern border with asylum is going to make it harder to get something like comprehensive immigration reform passed because people look at the images and say, you know, we don't want to do anything with immigration. Immigration becomes the hot-button issue that the right is able to mobilize its base around.

HILL: Is there -- is there a way -- and I think I know the answer, but do you think there is a way to start to have that conversation and remove the politics from it?

ZAKARIA: Oh, very hard. I mean this was the last great attempt at compromise in American politics.

[08:35:02]

You know, the immigration bill that Ted Kennedy from the left supported, that John McCain from the right supported, George W. Bush, the president, supported. And it got eaten up by the, you know, the extremes of both parties. I hope that Biden can do something, but certainly this makes it much harder. He has to resolve asylum if he wants to solve immigration.

HILL: You know, one other issue that you point out in your piece, which I found really interesting is, there's a separate crisis that also isn't being talked about, and that is, you know, what is not happening in terms of immigration and celebrating all of the wonderful contributions that immigrants can make as they become citizens of this country.

Talk to us about that a bit.

ZAKARIA: The single most distinctive feature of American society compared to other rich countries these days is that we take in lots of immigrants and we assimilate them well. That's what adds to our GDP. That's what adds to our innovation. That's what adds to our dynamism. That's why we're having lots of young workers means we don't have a Social Security problem because we have young workers paying into the system.

All that is in jeopardy because since Trump, immigration numbers have plummeted. The pandemic, of course, has meant they've cratered. But even before that, Trump had made it so that the United States was very hostile to immigration. More hostile than at any point since 1965. That's the crisis we've got to solve because, I mean, this country -- our country was built on immigration. It's going to be built on immigration if we want it to remain dynamic, if we want it to remain innovative.

I'm not talking about illegal immigration. I'm talking about legal, skill-based immigration, family reunification, the kind of things that have built America. And nobody seems to notice, a lot of smart people are going to Australia, to New Zealand, to Britain, to Canada, where the environment is, right now, much more hospitable.

HILL: Fareed, always good to see you. Thank you.

ZAKARIA: A pleasure.

HILL: North Korea with a warning for the new Biden administration. But it didn't come from Kim Jong-un. We'll have more on that and how the Biden administration is responding this morning, next.

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[08:41:07]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Developing this morning, North Korea breaking its silence after weeks of ignoring U.S. outreach. The younger sister of the nation's dictator, Kim Jong-un, warning the White House to avoid, quote, causing a stink if it wants peace.

CNN's Blake Essig live in Tokyo.

And North Korea really extending the sniffing metaphors here, Blake.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, they absolutely did. And that -- that statement, that timing, really likely not a coincidence.

Now, the goal of the Biden administration's first overseas cabinet- level meeting was to promote security, peace and reinforce to the world that America is back. And the fact that they did that here in Tokyo really reinforces the reality that the Japan and U.S. alliance is incredibly important in the world. And, today, they were able to share their mutual values throughout the day as they work towards a better future here in the Indo Pacific.

Now, the -- for Japan and the United States, the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is a top priority. And that was discussed throughout the course of the day. Secretary of State Antony Blinken went on to talk about the alliances and the allies in this region, Japan and South Korea, as key tools in order to combat the threat of North Korea.

At the same time, the United States has reached out to North Korea to try to communicate. Those efforts have been met with silence.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: To reduce the risks of escalation, we reached out to the North Korean government through several channels starting in mid-February, including in New York. To date, we have not received a response from Pyongyang.

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ESSIG: Now, just as those meetings are set to take place, and at the same time that the U.S. and South Korea are conducting joint military drills in South Korea, albeit scaled back, North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, issued a warning to the Biden administration. She said, quote, we take the opportunity to warn this new U.S. administration trying hard to give off powder smell in our land. She said, if it wants to sleep in peace for the upcoming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step.

Now, Blinken was asked about that statement later today. And while he said he was aware of it, he said that he preferred to focus on the comments made by allies.

Now, Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd will now head to South Korea where they'll meet with their counterparts in Seoul.

And, Erica, you better believe that North Korea will be high on the agenda.

HILL: Yes, it certainly will.

Blake, thank you.

Breaking news out of the U.K. Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, released from a hospital in central London. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said the 99-year-old royal has returned to Windsor Castle and is in, quote, good spirits. The prince was taken to the hospital a month ago after feeling unwell. And we're told he underwent a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition. The palace at the time also said that his initial admission was not related to coronavirus.

Here's a look at what else to watch today.

ON SCREEN TEXT: 2:00 p.m. ET, Stacey Abrams speaks in Austin, Texas.

3:30 p.m. ET, President Biden visits Chester, Pennsylvania.

5:00 p.m. ET, Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks in Washington, D.C.

[08:45:07]

HILL: Vandals tag a restaurant with anti-Asian slurs after the owner takes a stand on masks. He's going to join us with more on his story, live, next.

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BERMAN: A Texas restaurant vandalized with anti-Asian graffiti after the owner appeared on CNN last week to criticize the lifting of coronavirus restrictions by Governor Greg Abbott. The harassment has not let up. The owner had to leave town.

Joining us now is Mike Nguyen, chef and owner of Noodle Tree Restaurant in San Antonio, Texas.

Mike, we appreciate you being with us. We're so sorry you're going through this. I mean the graffiti on the windows of your business, racist and also directly threatening. One window had "hope you die" written on it.

[08:50:02]

So are police involved, and how concerned are you for your own safety?

MIKE NGUYEN, CHEF AND OWNER, NOODLE TREE: The police are actively investigating this. I actually talked to a detective yesterday and we're going through some leads and we're looking through cameras to see if we can potentially find the identities of the peoples, or the peoples who have done this.

And, you know, with the threats, they've been -- they've been ramping up since yesterday and, you know, it makes me believe that there might be another secondary attack on the restaurant and, you know, that my safety is maybe at risk or, you know, it might escalate.

You know, and the thing is, the more I speak about it, the more it seems like the threats are ramping up. But that's not going to stop me, you know? I'm going to bring awareness to this situation because, you know, we're not going to let the hate and ignorance, you know, prevail. You know, we're going to bring awareness to this and we're going to end -- stop this.

BERMAN: I was reading what your initial reaction was when you first saw the graffiti. And I have to say, it would have been mine, too. I mean you were pissed.

NGUYEN: Yes, absolutely. I mean I was enraged, you know. And to have something hit so close to home and such a direct message, you know, and over, what, something senseless. Over someone's opinion, someone's belief? I mean last I checked, you know, we lived in a country where we had the freedom of speech, you know? And the fact that, you know, someone would make such a direct, personal attack just because they don't agree with my views or agree with my opinions is -- you know, it's -- it's -- it's -- you know, it's, like, for me, it's just very -- like it doesn't make sense to me, you know? I don't have -- I don't understand why it would escalate to this point.

BERMAN: You -- just so people know, you are battling cancer for a second time. Your grandmother lost to coronavirus. I mean this is -- when you're saying that you want people in your restaurant to wear masks, this is life and death for you.

NGUYEN: Correct. You know, this is -- you know, I've been compromised. You know, I've seen, you know, how deadly this virus can be, you know, and, you know, our family has been grieving for the past year and I'm deal with my personal just stress of that, you know, and then the stress of owning a restaurant and trying to make it survive, you know? And it -- when we lost, you know, our grandma last year, you know, that was hard. That was tough on us. And we're trying to make sense of it. And, you know, my thing is, I don't want other people in the community to have to go through that, even though they -- a lot of us are going through that. You know, I -- if I can prevent it, that's what I'm trying to do and that's why I'm so passionate and so strong about, you know, having these masks, having the community protected, you know, because, you know, this is a serious thing, you know, and, you know, whether if you believe, you know, or not that it's been blown out of proportion doesn't matter. People are dying at the end of the day.

BERMAN: We've been talking about the bad. Some of the bad things you've experienced. But there's also a good side to this. Sunday morning, a lot of people from the community came up and helped clean the graffiti off your restaurant. We're seeing pictures of that right here.

What did that mean to you?

NGUYEN: That means a lot to me. That -- that's a true representation of us Texans and us San Antonians, you know? That's -- we woke up in the morning, Sunday morning, it was negativity, but that -- by the end of the day there's nothing but love and support. And that's a very important message because that's who we are. When Texans are in need, Texans will be there for each other. And that's what we do.

And this is not a good -- this is not a representation, you know, of Texans or San Antonians. This is, unfortunately, you know, a couple bad seeds or misguided people, you know? And I will say this, you know, Sunday, our windows were filled with, you know, hate and ignorance. But by Monday it was filled with love and support because people started drawing these paper hearts, writing positive messages and sticking it on our window. You know, and, for me, that's a powerful thing. That shows that we're not going to accept or allow, you know, ignorance, hate or racism in our town, in our city, in our state.

BERMAN: Mike Nguyen, we appreciate you speaking out. We appreciate you coming on. We hate that you're going through this. I mean there's no place for this in our society. But we do appreciate your time.

Thank you so much. Be well.

NGUYEN: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

BERMAN: Erica.

HILL: Time now for "The Good Stuff."

Hot sauce helping to save one Minnesota family's farm.

So a hail storm right before harvest all but ruined Dana Jokela's pepper crop. Well, that's when Craig Kaiser, the founder of Cry Baby Craig's Hot Sauce stepped in to salvage what was left of the peppers and make a new sauce appropriately named "Hail Fire."

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CRAIG KAISER, FOUNDER, CRY BABY CRAIG'S: Yes, it's a -- it's a nice gesture. But at the end of the day, I -- I wasn't looking at it like that.

I think what I wish for the most is that this shows how easy it is that you can help someone else.

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HILL: So neither Kaiser nor the shop selling the sauce are taking a penny of the profit.

[08:55:02]

So if Hail Fire keeps selling, that could mean nearly $40,000 for Dana and his farm.

BERMAN: It's a great name.

HILL: It's a fantastic name.

BERMAN: I mean I'm inspired by the name.

HILL: Yes.

BERMAN: I'm not -- I'm not a big hot sauce person.

HILL: I love hot sauce.

BERMAN: I think it takes away from the taste. But I'm in favor of Hail Fire.

HILL: I hear you on that. I think having hot sauce just to have hot sauce is not worth it. But when it's got a good flavor that can enhance something, then I'm all in.

BERMAN: All right, we're going to take this offline because there's much more to discuss here.

HILL: I'm ready.

Meantime, a new coronavirus vaccine trial by Moderna now focusing on children.

CNN's coverage continues.

BERMAN: Eating shouldn't be painful.

HILL: I'm not saying it should be painful, I'm saying it should enhance your experience.

BERMAN: OK, fine.

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[09:00:05]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.