Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Mayorkas: Illegal Entrants Will Be Treated With "Assumption" Of Expulsion; E. Jean Carroll: Trump "Did It" And Now World Knows It; Ukrainian Military Claims Successful Counterattack Near Bakhmut. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 10, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I expressed earlier, which is that our president has led the expansion of lawful pathways more than anyone preceding him. The regional processing centers are an extraordinary example of that leadership. These are places where we -- we feel an -- a humanitarian as well as a security imperative to meet people where they are, to cut the smugglers out, and to provide them with a safe and orderly way to arrive in the United States if they qualify for relief.

We are surging our personnel in close partnership with the Department of State in close partnership with countries in the region. We -- we require a regional response to what is a regional challenge.

We will, in these regional processing centers, screen individuals to determine whether they are eligible for refugee status in the United States; whether they qualify for what we are expanding in our family reunification programs; or whether on an individualized basis, on a case-by-case basis as the law requires -- whether they are eligible for other humanitarian relief. That is what we are doing.

The phenomenon of migration is different than it was 10, 12 years ago. We are seeing an unprecedented level of migration throughout the hemisphere. I believe there are approximately 20 million displaced people in our hemisphere.

In addition, the smugglers control the migratory paths. We will cut the smugglers out. We will reach qualifying individuals where they are and provide them with a safe and orderly pathway. If they arrive at our southern border, they will meet consequences.

We urge migrants, once again, not to believe the smugglers who are lying to them solely to make a profit.

We are building lawful pathways for you to come to the United States. Do not place your life and your life savings in the hands of ruthless organizations.

Thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you've just been listening to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. I think the headline here is he said that they're going to add an additional 1400 DHS personnel to the border as well as that a thousand more who can process those who are seeking asylum.

He also confirmed that there is a surge of migrants at the border at this time that they're seeing it in some, as he put it, sectors. This is all coming as the end of Title 42 goes into effect tomorrow night, he says. But when it does that, they're going to put another something in put -- in place Title Eight, which he says will have some serious consequences for those who do cross over the border.

Let's get straight to Priscilla Alvarez, who is at the White House for us. What stood out to you in what he talked about?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: There are two key points here, Sara. The first is that you heard the secretary stress the legal consequences. As you mentioned, they're going to go back to that decades-old protocol known as Title Eight when Title 42 lifts and that has additional consequences.

The second point, though, equally important. Even with that in place, smugglers often determine what migrants are hearing and the information they get. So, the bottom line here is that President Biden's border policies are going to be put to a major test as they hit this frankly, unprecedented moment.

So, what are those policies look like? We know that they are going to issue and put into effect tomorrow an asylum regulation that will essentially largely bar migrants who transited through other countries from seeking asylum in the United States. They will also be able to turn away some non-Mexican nationals back across the border to Mexico. In practice, what this means is that it is going to be increasingly difficult for migrants to seek asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border, as has been the case under U.S. law for decades.

But in addition to policy, this is a logistical challenge. You heard there how the secretary walked through the resources, additional asylum officers, additional CBP agents, all of this shoring up as they see those numbers creep up over the week. A source tells me they already hit over 10,000 daily encounters yesterday. They have more than 28,000 migrants in custody as of this morning. So, the challenge is clear.

And look, I have been talking to White House officials and administration officials over the last two years including Secretary Mayorkas and they all knew this moment was going to come because this is a policy that is based on the COVID-19 pandemic. But even so, they see this as a difficult moment. And as President Biden said himself, it remains to be seen how effective those preparations are going to be, and that it may be "chaotic for a while."

[11:35:12] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And, Priscilla, thank you for that because Mayorkas said something of the same. Saying he thinks the plan is going to deliver results, but it will take time for those results to be fully realized, kind of setting the expectation of what people are going to see over the coming days.

Let's see what the practical application of this really means. Rosa Flores is on -- is in the border town of El Paso for us. That's -- we've heard a lot about the policy, Rosa, but what does it mean for places like El Paso?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, here on the ground, the situation has changed. And I'm talking to officials about what they're expecting once Title 42 lifts. Let me show you around and tell you about it because, Kate, you have seen the streets before, they were packed with migrants. We'll take a look now, just their blankets are left.

According to a county official, the overnight census here was 150. That was down from 2000 from earlier this week. Now, why did all of this change? Why did the scene change? Well, yesterday, there were two law enforcement actions here.

There were agents who were walking around giving fliers to migrants during the early morning. And then during the day, agents were asking migrants to turn themselves in to immigration authorities. And in very large groups, a lot of these migrants turned themselves in.

Now, about the flow, take a look at this live drone footage. It's just a few miles away from where I'm standing. And you'll see that is El Paso. That is the border wall. Those long lines of migrants they have turned themselves in to immigration authorities and what they're waiting for now is to be transported to processing.

Now, county officials are expecting here in El Paso that about 2000 migrants will be released into this community once Titled 42 lifts. Now, here's the thing. They are planning to open shelters here pretty soon.

They say that shelter capacity in this region is between a thousand and 1500, and they're also -- they also have a respite center with a capacity of about 1200. They are hoping that that is going to hold, Kate, but they don't know. That's the big unknown about Title 42. You see those long lines of migrants waiting to come into the United States and then El Paso is going to have to grapple with that reality.

Now, I should add one more thing, Kate, the federal government is prepared to decompress. That's a really fancy word to say if there is no capacity here in El Paso, they're ready to transport some of those migrants to areas where there is more capacity, Kate.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Rosa Flores, Priscilla Alvarez, our thanks to both of you. Terrific work. Thank you for your help on this.

A lot going on today, including a "CNN TOWN HALL" with former President Donald Trump. You're looking at live pictures of that town hall stage in New Hampshire. This "TOWN HALL" will be moderated by Kaitlan Collins. We've got some new information on what you can expect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:42:53]

SIDNER: After less than three hours of deliberations, a jury in New York found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. And almost immediately after that, the former president and current White House candidate vowed to appeal. His accuser, E. Jean Carroll was awarded $5 million, and shared this with "CNN THIS MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

E. JEAN CARROLL, WON SEXUAL ABUSE & DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST DONALD TRUMP: The old view of what the perfect victim looks like totally changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean?

CARROLL: The old view of the perfect victim was a woman who always screamed, a woman who immediately reported, a woman whose life is supposed to fold up and she's never supposed to experience happiness again. That was just shut down with this verdict. He did it and you know it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: That is what she told Trump's attorney when he came over to her to shake her hand after she won her case. CNN's Kara Scannell is with us. Kara, walk us through what happens next. And we know we have heard from Donald Trump now as well since this verdict came down.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Sara. So, Donald Trump has been on his social media platform reacting to the verdict, you know, criticizing both the judge and the jury of six men and three women. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This was a very unfair trial. That's all you have to say. This was a very unfair trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Now, the judge in this case, Lewis Kaplan, he gave the former president three extra days to decide if he wanted to come and face this jury and testify before that. And, of course, the former president decided not to. He didn't show up for one day of the seven days of testimony you know.

But Trump's attorney, he came out and addressed reporters at the end of the day after he had spoken with the former president and he said they're going to appeal. They're going to appeal for some of the evidence that was allowed in and that the jury was able to hear including the Access Hollywood tape where Trump is bragging on tape that he kisses women like a magnet, he doesn't wait.

[11:45:03]

And then they're also going to appeal some information that they couldn't get in. They wanted to get in some testimony about a Democratic donor who had contributed to E. Jean Carroll's litigation fund. The judge did not allow that in.

But, of course, there is -- there are other investigations that the former president is facing. He has been indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records by a Manhattan grand jury. That's related to the reimbursement of those hush money payments. He's also facing those investigations in Fulton County, Georgia, and by the Special Counsel. Sara.

SIDNER: A lot that he is facing now. Thank you so much, Kara Scannell, appreciate it. Kate.

BOLDUAN: And tonight, former President Trump, he'll be facing questions on a whole range of topics as he's set to appear at a CNN presidential Town Hall in New Hampshire. For more on that, CNN's Jeff Zeleny is here with me. It's good to see you.

Good to see you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, this is now -- as we're hearing about the latest of E. Jean Carroll, this is now an issue for voters to consider. Add it to a long list of issues for voters to consider when it comes to the former president again. How do you -- how much do you think voters care about this?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think we have to look at it a couple of different ways. Republican primary voters may not necessarily care as much about general election voters. And that's what Republicans really over the last day or so have been so worried about.

How can he win a general election if he has all these charges hanging over him? Of course, he did one the other time right after the Access Hollywood tape but now this is so much different. This is just one piece in a long list of charges.

But in the immediate thing. He has to win the primary first, of course. It's an open question if Republican primary voters are indeed concerned about this. But I think his answer tonight at the Town Hall when he's pressed on this, I think that will go a long way to showing if he's able to win over some of those voters who don't like him personally, but thought his policies were OK.

BOLDUAN: What do you -- what do you see as this moment tonight signifying? Because, obviously, other Republicans are going to be watching how the -- how the former president performs this evening as well. A starting point of some sort? ZELENY: I think it is. I mean, this is basically the firing line if you will, the -- you're from Indiana, of course. This is like the Indianapolis 500. I mean, this is the opening round here.

And look, all the other rivals are watching him very carefully. They did not expect him to be in this strong of a position right now in the middle of May. He probably didn't either if he's being honest about this.

But look, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, about to jump in. We're told in the next few weeks or so likely, by early June. Tim Scott from South Carolina, others all ready are in the race here. So, they are seeing sort of how he holds up to this.

But there's no doubt. He is the front-runner in this race. And he has done this before. And running for president before offers you sort of a roadmap. And he's surrounded now by a professional staff, which he wasn't when he was running eight years ago.

So, it's hard to believe next month marks eight years since he walked down the steps at Trump Tower and things are so different. He does enter this as the front-runner. But we will see if that holds. We've covered a lot of races over the years and the front-runner early is not always the one at the end, but he certainly is in the command of this race at this point.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And the front runner is not often - not often been Donald Trump in the grand scheme of history when we talk or so.

ZELENY: And so many more legal cases to come, so you know stay tuned -- (INAUDIBLE)

BOLDUAN: Standby to standby or stay tuned, whichever one you want to pick today. It's good to see you, Jeff. Thank you.

ZELENY: Good to see you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Reminded all of you, you can watch the "CNN PRESIDENTIAL TOWN HALL WITH FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP" on CNN tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. John?

BERMAN: Jeff Zeleny in the house.

BOLDUAN: I know.

BERMAN: Ukraine says it has inflicted huge losses on Russian forces in a counterattack near Bakhmut. What this signals or my signal about the long-expected counteroffensive?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:52:13]

BERMAN: All right, new overnight. Ukrainian military says it has inflicted huge losses on Russian forces in what they call a successful counterattack near the eastern city of Bakhmut. This is where so much fighting has taken place over the last several months. The leader of the Wagner group which is the Russian-backed mercenary organization fighting there is now also accusing Russian regular troops of fleeing.

With us now is CNN military analyst, retired Major General James "Spider" Marks. General, great to see you here.

JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you, John.

BERMAN: This fighting in Bakhmut, this counterattack that Ukrainians are claiming some success, and to see the leader of Wagner, maybe verify that. Describe the significance.

MARKS: Well, what's probably happening right now is the Ukrainians are having some great success of removing what we call the enemy's eyes, their ability to do reconnaissance against the Ukrainians. Ukrainians are then conducting counter-reconnaissance, deciding where they want to attack -- which is what we've demonstrated right in here, where they want to attack so they concentrate fire, they concentrate forces, then they penetrate through a salient as quickly and as deeply as they can.

Well, that maneuver takes time, takes a lot of effort. We've seen the buildup or we've anticipated the buildup. The Wagner forces probably have realized they were at the tip of the spear, we're not deep enough, we're not fulsome enough, and the Ukrainian forces have stripped them away. And so, that's the challenge that they're seeing right now.

BERMAN: All right, so I'm going to erase that and put it back up again. That's a battle. What we're seeing in Bakhmut is a battle. What we have been expecting for some time, deals of that war --

MARKS: Counteroffensive.

BERMAN: -- this counteroffensive.

MARKS: Right. Yes.

BERMAN: Show me where that could take place and how this plays out.

MARKS: Yes. John, there's a difference between tactical success and operational victories. You have to tie together a number of tactical engagements with the Ukrainians do magnificently. They've demonstrated creativity, innovation, fearlessness, and combat.

But you have to have the heft, you have to have the mass, the amount -- the volume of forces to tie tactical victories together here and here. And then you achieve this penetration. Then you can hold on one side, and then you can reduce in that direction.

We haven't seen that yet. So, we are seeing the start of tactical victories that then need to lead to some type of operational advantage.

BERMAN: Let me put a different map up. And I'm going to mark where you just had before. This is Bakhmut, where you've seen the fighting there and tell people that there have been Ukrainian drone strikes in Russian territory here, here, here.

And then in previous weeks, we've seen some attacks here and also in Russian-occupied Crimea. So, this is what the Ukrainians are said to be doing.

MARKS: Right.

BERMAN: How are these drone attacks important perhaps to the counteroffensive?

MARKS: Hugely important. It's about time. Russians in this area have sanctuary. They can go back, they can refit, they can reorganize, they can rest, they can refuel, etcetera, so they prepare for engagements.

[11:55:07]

When you are in sanctuary, that gives you all the advantage. When you have no ability to rest, you have no ability to refuel, and you're back here and you're being attacked, that reduces your ability to concentrate forces going forward. So, these are the deep fires that are essential to achieve that operational maneuver. If the -- if the Ukrainians can continue to apply pressure across the border into the sanctuary areas where the Russian forces are, it will limit the number of Russian forces, it will give the advantage to the Ukrainians to achieve that level of success.

BERMAN: It may be that we are seeing signs of coordination --

MARKS: Yes.

BERMAN: -- about what is to come.

MARKS: This is synchronization that we probably haven't seen at this level yet. That's good news.

BERMAN: All right. Retire General James "Spider" Marks, always a pleasure to see you even better in person. Thank you so much.

MARKS: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: Kate? Sara?

SIDNER: So nice to see him here on the set here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. And thank you for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS," coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)