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Migrants Line Up at Border as Title 42 Expires Tonight; White House National Security Adviser Met with Top Chinese Official in Highest U.S.-China Engagement Since Spy Balloon; Trump Repeats Election Lies, Dodges on Ukraine and Abortion Ban. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 11, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The town hall with the GOP frontrunner, the reaction from his Republican rivals and the impact now on the Republican primary. What voters in New Hampshire and far beyond learned from Donald Trump last night.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, the Biden administration continues preparing for a surge of migrants hours before a COVID era policy ends tonight. CNN is live at the border.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, a new twist in a decades-old murder case. Joran van der Sloot, one of the last people to see Natalee Holloway alive, being extradited here to the United States, all this now on CNN News Central.

SIDNER: The end of Title 42 happens just before midnight tonight, the policy that's allowed U.S. officials to quickly send migrants back over the border to Mexico for the past three years. It is a moment that border towns and the Biden administration have been anticipating for weeks now. Agents in three regions along the border have been apprehending more than 2,000 migrants each and every day. A spokesperson for the border town of Brownsville, Texas, tells us, migrants are looking to travel to these destinations, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Denver and Miami.

CNN's Nick Valencia is in Brownsville, Texas, for us this morning. What are you seeing there on the streets?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, it is a lot. It's a lot to be surrounded by this hopelessness, these migrants who have been crossing seemingly optimistic that their journey into the United States will lead to a better future only for all of these people here now to be waiting for loved ones that they were separated from by immigration officials after they crossed.

These are mostly Venezuelan nationals. That's what we have been encountering here in our week or so. And I want to bring you -- introduce you to one of them. He is a 19-year-old from Venezuela. He was separated from his father, his mother and his brother.

How many days have you been here?

He arrived yesterday.

You were separated from your family?

He said, yes, when they arrived yesterday, they were separate.

You don't know where they are at all?

Your brother, what, I'm sorry?

He says that he believes that they let his brother go yesterday, but that his parents may still be wrapped up in the process themselves, which is why he is waiting for them here, which is why many of them are waiting here to see if their family members get off these immigration buses that drop people off here.

Tell me about the journey. How long was the journey to get here?

More than two months?

You were walking or how did you get here?

Buses, also -- he said the bus journey is very long and a lot of things happened along the way.

What did you see?

He said that some people did help him along the journey in Mexico.

Were you aware of Title 42?

That is why you came here?

He said that he wanted to get here, he wanted to make sure to get here before Title 42 ended, but he was well aware.

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Thank you, good luck with your journey here.

It is a lot, Sara. I mean, these streets are packed and overrun in a sense. A lot of people sleeping on the streets, we saw that this morning. This is one of the respite centers. You see crowded people going in there to get basic goods, supplies, to try to get help. Yesterday, Team Brownsville telling me that 902 migrants were processed, that includes 51 children. That's up from about 844 yesterday. So, you see the numbers are going up and the activity that we see does reflect that.

The city here -- the mayor of Brownsville tells me that they are prepared as they can be for what is a potential influx of migrants after Title 42 ends. They have a plan in place. The big question, as we have been saying all week, though, Sara, is will that plan work? Sara?

SIDNER: You've talked to a lot of Venezuelans, their country is in a horrible humanitarian crisis, and now we are seeing that surge because of the end of Title 42. Thank you so much, Nick Valencia, there in Brownsville, Texas. John?

BERMAN: Sara, it's important to note, each number is a person, a person like the one that Nick Valencia was just speaking to. And I'm so glad that we were able to hear that story.

Now, the numbers crossing the border have been growing since the pandemic. In 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 450,000 land encounters at the southwest borders. Now, these are encounters. And that word means non-U.S. citizens who engage for the border law enforcement agent, that includes migrants apprehended or not let into the United States under Title 8 and those expelled under Title 42. And many of the same migrants are part of multiple encounters. They get turned away and they keep coming back.

So, by 2021, the number of encounters more than tripled to more than 1.7 million. By the end of 2022, 2.3 million encounters occurred, this just last year alone. As for 2023, it is only May, and it is already nearly 2021's total encounters.

Border officials say they encountered 1.2 million migrants so far this year. The time between February and March saw a 22.9 percent spike. Now, more than 10,000 encounters each day are taking place.

These asylum seekers who cross or categorize this way, family units, single adults and unaccompanied children, so far this year, more than 70,000 children without a parent or caretaker have been encountered.

So, as the Biden administration sends of thousands in additional manpower to the border, they are also ruling out new measures to track migrants, those who are released into the United States. One part of it does require some to wear GPS ankle monitors.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is at the White House for us. Again, Priscilla, we are counting down to midnight tonight when things, frankly, will change, and the White House has been counting down for years, including implementing some of these new policies. What is going to happen?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: And, John, when we say that things will change, we mean they are going to go back to what they were for decades. Remember, Title 42 was the unique circumstance here because of the pandemic. But as you mentioned, White House officials have known that this was going to come to an end at some point now, especially with the COVID-19 public health emergency ending. And so they're ruling out new measures to try to manage the flow of migrants who are crossing. That includes also migrant families. They are a vulnerable population and one that the administration has been keenly aware of for some time now.

And so what they are rolling out for at least some of them is that if they are released from custody, that they will be tracked by an ankle monitor, that would be the head of household, and they would also be put under a home curfew.

Now, there was a pilot run last year to this effect where the curfew was from dusk until dawn. Now, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency has not provided details as to what they curfew would look like in this instance, but it is another way for them to track families and to hold the accountable to their releasing conditions after, of course, they have been vetted and screened.

But this is part of a concerted effort by the administration to try to process those migrants who will come into the United States as they make their asylum claim or be put in the deportation process. It's also part of the measures that, in conjunction with this, will make it even harder for migrants to cross the U.S./Mexico border. So, all of this together, John, just one way to try to manage this challenge that even President Biden has acknowledged may be chaotic.

BERMAN: Priscilla Alvarez, no one has done more reporting on this subject than you. I always learn so much. Thank you. Keep us posted over the next several hours. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Joining us now is El Paso City Representative Brian Kennedy. Thank you so much for being here.

Let's talk about all of this and what it means for El Paso in this moment and going forward. I saw that the mayor of El Paso said that he estimates there are between 5,000 to 10,000 people just across the border in Ciudad Juarez. What are you then -- with that in mind, what are you expecting to see happen after midnight tonight when Title 42 lifts?

BRIAN KENNEDY, EL PASO CITY REPRESENTATIVE: Thank you for having me here. It is good to be here. And one of the things I think that has happened that El Paso can be proud of is that we've started preparing early.

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We have been working with the Customs Border Patrol. They're going to close a couple of lanes on the bridges that will be walkover lanes. We have actually opened up two schools as shelters for families, for those that are coming with children. And at the end of this, sometimes horrific travel up to the border, they will then have a place that is safe.

One of the schools, the Red Cross is helping with, we are getting a third-party vendor to help with the other one. But we are going to have a situation where the hardest thing we've got is the time it takes to process paperwork for people so we can get them into the system. And that's a concern.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And you also told my producers, Mr. Kennedy, that what you have been hearing from the migrants is also that they are getting a lot of misinformation about the situation, about lifting Title 42. What are you hearing from them? What are they telling you? Where is this misinformation coming from? KENNEDY: It is hard to track, of course, because everything spreads word of mouth. And information is critical in this situation because people are showing up, and saying things like, oh, well, we were told by the people that were driving us up here that if we just got to the border, that we would have automatic citizenship, which is obviously not the case. Title 8 is still in shape after 42 is gone. And there is paperwork to be done, and they're a little shocked.

Now, we have countered that here with Border Patrol and the city and everybody handing out information saying, okay, you have to register, you need to register so that you are not then expelled from the country, where then there is going to be a five-year wait before you can try to come back in legally. So, we are trying to clear it up.

And I think -- in my personal opinion, I think some of these is people that are just trying to make money off of the horrible conditions in South America, Central America, and they figured, well, if I just tell them this, they will pay me all their life savings to get up to the border, and I think that is something we need to do a really better job on trying to inform people of what the real story is, because information is powerful.

BOLDUAN: It absolutely is. And President Biden, he said this week that it is going to be chaotic for a while, is kind of how he put it, once 42 lifts, and the Department of Homeland Security secretary, he said yesterday that the plan that they have in place to handle the surge and what's next will work, but he did acknowledge that he thinks it's going to take some time.

And I was sitting here thinking about that and thinking what does in between time look like for a place like El Paso?

KENNEDY: Well, one of the things that I will say is that we do have some troops that come to the border. They are taking administrative roles so we can free up CBP officers to help with the processing. Getting the paperwork done under Title 42 to 15 minutes, and then the Title 8, it takes an hour and 15 minutes. So, just the sheer time it takes to process people will change.

We have started processing people now to be prepared for it that they're in the system and ready, and I think that we'll just have to see what the surge is when we hit tonight. But I think that as prepared as we -- and I think if people see that there is processing going down, we have a whole lot less problems. And what has happened in Downtown El Paso is a lot of the streets have cleared because we're already processing people. And to go back with information, they realize, oh, they are processing people. There is a system going on. This is not just a free for all.

BOLDUAN: Yes. There is the what is known, which is things are going to be -- are changing or reverting back to what was before tonight, and there is the unknown, which is what kind of -- what kind of surge this really is going to look like, and you are going to be in the middle of it. Brian Kennedy, thanks for coming in.

John. BERMAN: So, the Trump town hall is over but the reverberations being felt in the race for 2024, how things have changed this morning and notable reaction from his opponents.

A man shot nine times by South Carolina deputies, now a lawsuit claims those officers were reckless in their use of deadly force, what the dash cam video shows.

And dramatic new video showing a stranded driver rescued by helicopter, look at that, this is after he was caught in rushing floodwaters.

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SIDNER: New this morning, White House officials have met with China leaders this week for candid and, as they put it, constructive talks. It is highest level engagement between the U.S. and China since the spy balloon incidents.

CNN's Kylie Atwood joins us now from the State Department with details on this meeting. There are so much to talk about, from trade to Ukraine. What else did they discuss?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, this is a pretty surprising meeting, because it had not been previously announced before the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, went to Vienna and met with the top Chinese official, Wang Yi, who is a member of the politburo, the director of the Office of Foreign Affairs.

And in the readout from the White House on this meeting, as you were saying, Sara, they called it substantative, they called it candid, they called it constructive, essentially indicating that the U.S. and China are potentially moving forward in what has been a tremendously troubled relationship, particularly after that spy balloon earlier this year, because you'll recall that that spy balloon was traversing over the United States just as the secretary of state was supposed to be going to China for a meeting with his Chinese counterpart and he actually canceled that meeting.

Now, the Biden administration said that it was going to be rescheduled, but we still don't have a date on the calendar for that meeting with the secretary of state. So, the fact that the national security adviser sat down with his Chinese counterpart here is pretty significant.

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Among the topics that they discussed included the Ukraine war, cross- strait issues, of course, that is related to Taiwan. And they also agreed, according to the White House, to maintain this open communication, this channel of communication, to make sure that the competition between the two countries does not veer essentially out of control. That is something that the White House has said that they want to do for a long time. But now that they had this meeting, we will watch to see if there are further meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. We'll wait for those details. Thank you so much, Kylie Atwood, there for us at the State Department. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Former President Donald Trump making a direct pitch to New Hampshire voters last night during a CNN presidential town hall. And from the stage last night, voters heard much of the same Donald Trump they heard from 2016 to 2020 and that all continue as he heads now into 2024, something not lost at all on some of his potential Republican rivals.

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GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): If you are an independent voter, if you're a suburban mom, all these voters that the Republicans are trying to bring back into the mix, I don't see of them being convinced by anything because it was just kind of a same old regurgitation.

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BOLDUAN: Same old regurgitation is what Chris Sununu says.

Jeff Zeleny is joining me now for more on this. But, Jeff, I want to talk about some of the moments that really stand out to a lot of folks or some of the news that he made and, really, when he didn't really answer some questions. What stands out most to me in that is his answer when he was asked about the war on Ukraine. What did you hear in that moment?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Kate, it was dramatic and it was extraordinary. Asked by Kaitlan Collins a simple question really that had a very revealing answer, do you want Russia or Ukraine to win the war? And, virtually, everyone who would be asked that question here in the U.S. at least, certainly in the Congress, the Republican Party, et cetera, would say Ukraine. Donald Trump did not say that.

Take a look at what he said. He said, I don't think in terms of winning and losing, I think in terms of getting this settled so we stop killing people.

So, you may agree, of course, stopping to kill people, of course, is the ultimate goal here, but did not once again take an opportunity to put distance between himself and Vladimir Putin. In fact, he really expressed his affinity once again for the Russian president. So, this is why this is important.

Of course, there is a big, robust foreign policy debate that is happening right now on the future of Ukraine on funding, et cetera. And the former president right there essentially sending a message that he does not see the difference and does not even say who he believes should win that war.

So, Kate, of all of the things said last night, if you listen a little harder, go beyond the election lies, et cetera, there were many new things in the town hall, and that is certainly one of them that will continue to be a central part of the foreign policy discussion here in Washington. Kate?

BOLDUAN: I think that answer especially is an important marker for voters to consider going forward.

ZELENY: Indeed.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Jeff. Thank you. John?

BERMAN: All right. With us now, PBS Firing Line Host and CNN Political Commentator Margaret Hoover and CNN Senior Political Analyst John Avlon, who, I should note, just won an award from the New York Press Club for the Reality Check. It was an honor to watch you do that every day for such a long time. I'm super happy for you.

And because of that, you are going to get the first question. Normally, we'd go to Margaret first because she is smarter than the both of us combined. But, listen, in what way did Donald Trump add votes last night?

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: He did not. He did not aim to. He was playing to the base in a classic Trump performance. But the thing, of course, is New Hampshire is a swing state. New Hampshire is a state where independent voters outnumber Democrats or Republicans. That was a very -- the questions were from people -- some good, tough questions, but who had voted predominantly for Donald Trump in 2020.

And I think what was clarifying about the debate, for the people who have not been paying attention to Trump this time around who want to cordon him off, who have been paying attention to the state of the Republican base, that should be a real wakeup call, a reality check, if you will, that Donald Trump is not running a more mature, dignified campaign than in the past. This is the same old relentless pace of lies and demagoguery and fundamental hostility to the American constitutional order.

BERMAN: So, we heard from Chris Sununu, the New Hampshire governor, who may run for president, right, and could be an opponent of Donald Trump. There was a statement from the super PAC backing Ron DeSantis, which basically said Donald Trump was stuck in the past, Margaret. I am curious, if you are a Republican running against Donald Trump, how this affects how you handle things.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It just depends what kind of Republican you are. Asa Hutchinson had no trouble coming out and distinguishing himself, differentiating himself from Donald Trump and many of the things he said last night. First among them, this point we were talking about before, refusing to support the war in Ukraine, refusing to condemn Vladimir Putin.

So, there continues to be a few candidates in the field, and we suspect, by the way, I still think that Ron DeSantis may not get in, but as long as there are a couple of other Republicans that are duking it out and drawing contrasts between themselves and Donald Trump, the Republican primary electorate, self-identified Republican voters who vote in primaries still overwhelmingly don't want Trump to be the nominee. Trump has his 27 to 30 percent. If there are 15 other candidates like in 2016, perhaps he emerges again. But if there's only one or two or three, and then that narrow lane is narrowed more, maybe we don't elect Donald Trump as our nominee.

AVLON: And, look, the point that Margaret makes is essential to understand, but this is a time for choosing for the Republican Party. These were primary voters in --

HOOVER: Thanks for that Reagan quote. We needed that.

AVLON: You're welcome. We did need that actually. Because if you do identify as an American conservative, a constitutional conservative, the positions that Donald Trump laid out, the news he made last night about the policies he would pursue as president, from pardoning January 6th voters to basically promising peace within 24 hours in Ukraine, but somewhere along the lines of making Neville Chamberlain look like Winston Churchill, the policies over and over again that are the opposite of what Ronald Reagan and American conservatives have supported. It's only about what Trump wants with utter disregard for anything resembling the truth.

BERMAN: And as for Joe Biden, he put out a tweet overnight basically saying, you want four more years of this, saying to Donald Trump. How does this impact Biden going forward?

HOOVER: Biden benefits from the contrast. In some ways, as independent voters, Democrats are reminded of what Donald Trump does when he has the microphone, when he has the stage. It serves as a political campaign ad for Joe Biden's re-election, okay? All of that contrast does is help Joe Biden for his voters and for independents and the same crew who came out and voted in this last cycle, in 2022. It does not however mean that people should think that this is a shoe- in for Joe Biden's re-election. If Donald Trump is the nominee of the Republican Party and Joe Biden -- this is going to be a very tight race again, as every presidential contest has been for many years.

AVLON: And the peculiar thing is they both benefit when the other is sort out of the news, right? Donald Trump, I think, has benefited for not being from and center in people's face as the way he was last night. All of a sudden, people realize that the policies he represents are a fundamental problem. We saw just among the news he made, basically urging America to default going -- on the debt ceiling, a policy that he had avoided with three debt ceiling increases when he was president, when Democrats voted with Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy, not to keep raising the debt ceiling among profligate spending.

So, look, this contrast is important for the American people to see, it may benefit Joe Biden in the short run, but there is going to be a demand for something different, but it's up to Republicans to show the way.

BERMAN: Margaret Hoover, John Avlon, congratulations, thanks again. Sara? SIDNER: All right. A new era in the U.S. as the COVID-19 public health emergency officially ends tonight. How this may impact you, next.

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