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Mayorkas: Migrant Policy Transition Will Be "Swift & Immediate"; UK Sends "Storm Shadow" Cruise Missiles To Ukraine; Trump Won't Say If He Wants Ukraine To Defeat Russia. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired May 11, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: With 10 hours left of a pandemic-era migration policy, border officials are seeing more than 10,000 encounters with migrants every day. So, what happens tonight at midnight? Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas just address that.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And the debt ceiling standoff intensifies as the White House takes the Inflation Reduction Act off the negotiating table. We'll tell you what's next, and which states could get hit hardest if the U.S. defaults.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And another reason to get those snoring partners, don't look at me to a doctor. A new study shows that sleep apnea is linked to damage in the brain. We are following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: Just moments ago, the Secretary of Homeland Security hardened his message to migrants saying "the U.S. border is not open." His comments come hours before the end of Title 42. That's the public health rule that the U.S. used nearly three million times to immediately expel undocumented people under pandemic restrictions.

Communities along the border have been experiencing a surge in migrants ahead of that policy change. A source says the U.S. government is estimating more than 150,000 people are waiting to cross in northern Mexico alone.

Let's take you now to the southern border and CNN is Nick Valencia who's live for us in Brownsville. And, Nick, a big question is about the misinformation that some of these migrants have been receiving. The folks that you're speaking to there on the ground, are they aware of Title 42 expiring at midnight tonight?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's a great question because the assumption is that everyone knows about Title 42, which is why they showed up. The reality is that most of those who I have spoken to have no idea what Title 42 is. And those that do have an idea have the wrong idea about it. They think that the end of Title 42 means that the border will be shut down entirely so they're rushing to get here.

Others who I have spoken to though, they have knowledge of Title 42. In fact, I was speaking to a young man earlier, about 19 years old, he traveled with his family members here trying to get here before the May 11 date he said because he was aware that Title 42 was coming to an end. I want to paint a picture here of what you're seeing in this scene behind me here. We've seen some reunifications of people that haven't seen each other in days. All of these individuals are waiting for family members that they were separated from by immigration authorities upon arrival into the United States.

As we've been showing you all week, this is a very active scene and sort of the epicenter for activity once the migrants arrive. This is -- just across the street here, the nonprofit that has been helping them out with basic goods. And you could see the line wrapped around the corner.

Earlier this morning when we got here, there were dozens of migrants sleeping on the streets. That's because this migrant center -- this respite center is at capacity. And they've been that way for the last two weeks between 800 and a thousand migrants have been processed per day. And Team Brownsville says they believe they're in the middle already of what this surge that everyone is expecting.

I spoke to the mayor of Brownsville last night. He says we are as prepared as we can be for what's to come, reminding our viewers that they've been dealing with the immigration issue for decades here on the front line. They have declared a state of emergency to try and free up resources. And as we've been reporting, they're trying to get migrants on to their next destination. So, they're cooperate -- or they're working in conjunction with buses and airlines to get migrants to six different cities that we've reported about.

But again, really emotional stuff happening here, guys, as you know nationals here that have arrived from Venezuela mostly are waiting for news about their loved ones. Getting back to that plan in place here for Brownsville, I spoke to the police department a little while ago. They said they're also activating their auxiliary forces to try to support customs and border protection in the event that they need to help out Customs and Border Protection agents with what's going on here as Title 42 nears an end.

And what you're looking at here is migrants that have just been detained, likely from an illegal crossing, and released on humanitarian parole over to the care of the city, and then they're passed over to Team Brownsville. They have a plan in place, Boris. The big question though this week is will that plan work once Title 42 ends? Boris.

[14:05:07]

SANCHEZ: Yes, DHS Secretary Mayorkas echoing what you heard from the Brownsville Mayor there, doing everything they can with what they have. Nick Valencia reporting from Brownsville, Texas, thank you so much. I want to pivot now to the White House and take you to CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond who has been tracking the latest. Jeremy, DHS Secretary Mayorkas just gave a briefing from the podium. You asked him a very important question.

The White House rolling out these new policies about asylum this week announcing these new processing centers. The question ultimately is why it took so long for them to roll these out if they knew Title 42 was set to expire. What was the answer Mayorkas gave you?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Boris. Listen, the secretary of Homeland Security came out here with two messages. One, he wanted to make clear that the U.S. border is not open and that anybody who comes to the border and crosses unlawfully will now be presumed ineligible for asylum automatically under these new immigration rules. The second thing that he wanted to make clear is that the administration has been preparing for today. Preparing with new asylum rules by surging resources to the border and several other measures.

But as you just pointed out, the question that I asked the secretary is, look, we heard President Biden say just a couple of days ago that the situation at the southern border is going to be "chaotic for a while" as Title 42 expires. And so, I asked him, how can that be given the preparations that he is now talking about? And the secretary's answer was essentially to say, look, we have a broken immigration system. We do not have enough resources. And despite the preparations, we are still expecting to face a challenge.

He said that he has been clear-eyed for weeks now about the challenge that law enforcement is going to face at the border. He has nonetheless expressed confidence in border security personnel despite those challenges. But it does raise the question.

You look at those regional migration processing centers, they were on a screen in the White House briefing today as a deterrence measure. And yet none of those regional processing centers have actually opened up yet in countries like Guatemala or Colombia, where the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State said that they would open. Of the 1500 troops that have been deployed to the southern border, only about 550 are actually there.

Now, there are a lot of other resources that have been surged there, including additional DHS personnel, for example. And these new asylum rules are now in place. But nonetheless, there is a fundamental irony here that despite these preparations, they are still expecting a chaotic and very challenging situation, something that we have heard, of course, the Republican lawmakers call out. And this is a test for the administration. A big political test and a big logistical test for this president.

SANCHEZ: No question about that. And by my count, Mayorkas pointed the finger at Congress at least half a dozen times saying that their inaction on this issue in a broad way has led to this crisis. Jeremy Diamond from the White House, thank you so much. Brianna, over to you. KEILAR: And we are joined now by John Martin. He is the Deputy Director at the Opportunity Center for the Homeless in El Paso. John, tell us how you're preparing for the lifting of Title 42 at these various facilities around El Paso that you're responsible for.

JOHN MARTIN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OPPORTUNITY CENTER FOR THE HOMELESS: Well, we're here at the Opportunity Center for the Homeless operate five shelters, three of which have been significantly impacted by the influx of migrants. We're one piece of the solution. We've been working very closely with both the city and the county of El Paso, along with other NGOs within the community for preparation. And so, in turn, we feel that we are ready. But in all honesty, I don't believe that no matter how prepared we are, we will not be prepared.

KEILAR: Because already right now, John, you have folks who are sleeping outside of your facilities that you cannot accommodate. How many people are sleeping outside?

MARTIN: Well, in our particular case, we had up to 800 individuals that were sleeping outside in an alley that's behind two of our emergency shelter facilities. And that's just our location. There's a second location in the community, which is around a Sacred Heart church, a church in South El Paso, and typically their numbers were twice of ours.

So, you were looking to -- between the two, my apologies, that about 2500 individuals that were on the streets as of a few days ago. You won't see that today because there's been some efforts by CBP to decompress within the streets. And I believe that that was done in part because we don't know what tomorrow is going to bring.

KEILAR: Part of what the Opportunity Center does is help some migrants with processing, right? And so, when you are talking to migrants and your staff is talking to them, we've heard the Homeland Security Secretary, Mayorkas reiterating again just now the border is not open despite Title 42 expiring. But when you speak to migrants, is that message getting through to them?

[14:10:12]

MARTIN: The answer is no. That is not getting through them. In fact, the ones that you saw sleeping on the streets, roughly the 2500 at two different locations, many of them did not present themselves at a port of entry. And they were attempting to follow what's referred to as a pro se process, which is an I 589.

We have come to find out that that is not sufficient to support travel within the continental United States. That's that window that opened up a few days ago, or many of them put themselves in were (INAUDIBLE) and then released with the appropriate documentation for travel. Now, when we process individuals, we're basically assisting them with travel arrangements, we are not picking up the tab for that purpose. And so, regardless of where their destination is, and again it's their destination of choice, we will make the arrangements for them to get there. KEILAR: John, it is -- we're so glad to talk to you today. You're really there on the front lines, as this is lifting tonight, so thank you for your time.

MARTIN: Thank you very much. Take care and have a great day.

KEILAR: Over to you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's last-minute wheeling and dealing appears to have secured enough Republican support for the GOP border security bill, the final passage in the House expected later today to coincide with the expiration of Title 42. We should note, however, this legislation virtually no chance of passage in the Senate considered dead on the right -- arrival there.

CNN's Manu Raju joins us from Capitol Hill. So, Manu, what's in this? And is there anything in this that might at some point in the future get bipartisan support, or is this largely a show of force this week?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a Republican messaging effort to say what they would do if they had all levers of power if they had the White House to sign this into law. It's something that they campaigned on, but it has been very difficult to get to this point.

There have been serious divisions within the House Republican Conference over this issue. They have negotiated for some time to come up with this package and now they believe that they have gotten the conference in line say maybe one Republican vote Thomas Massie of Kentucky indicated he will vote against it but they can lose no more than four. The Republican leadership is confident they will lose no more than four House Republicans on the floor this afternoon.

Now, this package deals with focuses mainly on border security with reinstate -- building the border wall that was halted after Donald Trump left office.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

RAJU: I would also change the E -- so-called E verify requirements on the employers -- checking the immigration status of their employers. They would try to tighten that process. That became an issue internally that they battled over as well. It would also reinstate the so-called remain in Mexico policy for asylum seekers, and tighten some restrictions on asylum seekers as well.

But this is something that despite as expected passes this afternoon has no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. Chuck Schumer, the majority leader is poised to ignore this. The White House has issued a veto threat. So, Republicans will tout this after its expected passage this afternoon. Kevin McCarthy expected to talk to reporters afterward, argue that they are fulfilling their promise as Title 42 is going to -- will be lifted later tonight.

But there are some divisions within the ranks. Two of the Democratic side including the independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema who was caucusing -- still caucusing with Democrats, used to be a Democrat, she has a bill to allow for the administration to continue to expel migrants even after the Title 42 policy. She was sharply critical of the administration's handling of this issue as well. So, it's -- despite this passage today, no clear consensus within -- on Capitol Hill and how to do this with this issue of immigration, which of course has dogged capital for years and years and years without any bipartisan consensus on how to get it done, guys.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Listen. There are bipartisan measures out there that are disgusting is they just don't find their ways in the bills to get passed by the parties.

RAJU: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Manu Raju, thanks so much on Capitol Hill. Brianna.

KEILAR: Jim, sources telling -- you, actually, that Britain has delivered long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, some called the Storm Shadow, a game-changer in the fight against Russia. So, you will be joining us to explain why.

Also, ahead in a "CNN TOWN HALL" last night, former President Donald Trump says he wants people to stop dying but he wouldn't say whether he wants Russia or Ukraine to win the war. And the Biden administration has proposed Using some new rules that could potentially slash pollution from power plants, but how much is this actually going to counter the climate crisis?

We have some new details on that ahead. You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Stay with us.

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SCIUTTO: Today, the announcement of what a senior U.S. military official told me is a major game changer when it comes to weapons for Ukraine in the war with Russia. The UK confirmed it has delivered these to Ukraine long-range Storm Shadow missiles as they're known. It's a cruise missile, usually air-launched. And it has a range triple that of the missiles that Ukraine currently has as supplied by the U.S.

I'm joined now by Cedric Leighton. Let's talk a little bit about what new capability this gives. So, the current weapons range for Ukrainian forces as supplied by the U.S., 49 miles. That's deliberate. We'll talk about that in a moment. The newest one, the Storm Shadow here, a range that gets you up to about 155 miles. What's the difference that that makes for Ukrainian forces?

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: So, as a difference that that makes, Jim, is really quite profound because it's about triple V the distance of the weapons that Ukraine currently has. This is the export version of the Storm Shadow.

SCIUTTO: Right. LEIGHTON: The version that France and Britain use actually has a double this range as well. So, what you're talking about is a cruise missile with stealth capabilities and it also has nap of the earth navigation capability. That means that it flies about 150 -- 130 feet above the ground or a little less than that.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

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LEIGHTON: So, this is a very important missile from that standpoint.

SCIUTTO: And that can allow them to fully fly under Russian missile defense. I've seen these flying in Ukraine. And by the way, it's scary to see one of them because they don't fly that fast. You could actually see them as they move around. And it's -- anyway, it's threatening if you see one coming your way.

Let's look at the Ukraine map because distance is key here. Now, in my reporting, the agreement between the UK and Ukraine to get these weapons which they've been begging for, for a long time, from the U.S. and its allies is that they will only fire inside Ukrainian sovereign territory, some of which is of course, occupied by Russia, not fire into Russia.

LEIGHTON: Like this?

SCIUTTO: So, let's talk about the range here because this has a range of 150 miles, let's talk about and say the distance between, say Zaporizhzhia and Kherson here, roughly similar to that distance. So, you could fire for instance, from here into Crimea.

LEIGHTON: That's right.

SCIUTTO: That's a problem for Russia.

LEIGHTON: And the key thing is, Jim, that Crimea is recognized by the UK as being a sovereign Ukrainian territory. And as a result of that, that makes perfect sense, then for the weapon to be supplied that has this range.

SCIUTTO: That's important because it's not just here. And by the way, easy range with this to fire, for instance, into Donetsk, Luhansk, the eastern provinces currently, as well. The red areas here are occupied by Russian forces.

But the problem for us -- so I'm going to change the color again, just so it's easier for people to see is that with this range, you could conceivably fire across the border into Russia. And that's what has concerned U.S. officials. I should note again, though, Ukrainians have said they will not. Why does that concern U.S. officials?

LEIGHTON: So, what they want to do is they want to make sure that no Russian territory is in range of any Ukrainian weapons system. And the reason they are doing that is because for example, right about here is Belgorod. SCIUTTO: Yes.

LEIGHTON: And that is an area that has nuclear weapons. It also has a Russian military base. And it's so close to the Ukrainian border that would be within easy range, even of the weapons systems that Ukraine currently has. So, they want to make sure that the Ukrainians live up to this promise --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

LEIGHTON: -- so that they don't elevate to tensions and bring the Russians into a higher level of fighting.

SCIUTTO: We know for instance, that Ukrainians have been asking for this. This is the -- a U.S. long-range missile system known as the ATACMS based on its -- based on its acronym there. 185 miles, a little bit longer. They've wanted this, instead, they're getting the Storm Shadow. A major difference there for Ukrainian forces?

LEIGHTON: So, there are some differences. It actually has a slightly longer range than what the Storm Shadow provides. But the big difference actually is that the Storm Shadow has some capabilities that the ATACMS does not have.

SCIUTTO: Interesting.

LEIGHTON: And those capabilities include a GPS map of the earth's navigation capabilities.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

LEIGHTON: And the reason for that, is it actually allows for more efficient use of firepower and more effective targeting.

SCIUTTO: Interesting. So, a little less range, more capability, and again, before we go, just noting, Ukrainian forces, they're preparing for a counteroffensive right now. And this new weapon system, this new missile system is going to give them capabilities they didn't have before. Cedric Leighton, thanks so much as always. Brianna.

KEILAR: The name like Storm Shadow, it is just begging for a GI Joe reference, and I am here to deliver, Jim. So, as Ukraine gets ready for its long-anticipated counteroffensive, former President Trump in his town hall last night, well, he would not commit to supporting Ukraine if he wins the presidency again. Here's the moment.

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KAITLAN COLLIS, CNN ANCHOR: Do you want Ukraine to win this war?

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think in terms of winning and losing, I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people and breaking them. Now --

COLLINS: What do you -- can I just follow up on that? You said you don't think in terms of winning and losing. TRUMP: But one of the things that you have to do is you have to get the -- you have to get your --

COLLINS: Mr. President, can I just follow up on that because that's a really important statement that you just made there?

TRUMP: Excuse me, let me just follow.

COLLINS: Can you say if you want Ukraine or Russia to win this war?

TRUMP: I want everybody to stop dying. They're dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I'll have that done -- I'll have that done in 24 hours. I'll have that done --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: An answer heard all the way to Europe and beyond. And we have CNN's Nick Paton Walsh live for us in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Nick, President Zelenskyy says the country needs a little bit more time before launching this counteroffensive. Is he responding at all to any of these new comments from the former president?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No, not directly. But in an interview at the BBC before, we believe those comments were aired are not in direct relation to them. He said that in reference to the U.S. presidential elections next year, who knows where we'll be? Then I believe we will win. And so, I think there's a feeling certainly amongst Ukrainians hearing those comments that when Donald Trump talks about some kind of settlement negotiation, that effectively potentially reflects an idea that they would legitimize or stabilize the current frontlines in Ukraine.

[14:25:06]

And that's a deep fear, certainly held by many Ukrainians that diplomacy would essentially result in the West trying to encourage Ukraine to accept territorial concessions. And Zelenskyy has been very clear, they want to go back to the borders pre-2014 when Russia first did its land grabs inside of Ukraine. So, those comments will echo very clearly here and not really something that many of Trump's Republican colleagues have difficulty finding the answer to. Many of them are clearly in support of continued support for Ukraine.

But it's a stark reminder certainly here, that Western support isn't necessarily something that can infinitely be counted on. We are hearing statements that affect from Western capitals, but the nature of democracy, the economic turmoil we're seeing puts great focus I think, on Ukraine's forthcoming counteroffensive. Now, has it begun? Ukraine has been very clear that they will not necessarily sort of sound the bugle for that initial moment They want the element of surprise.

I think it's fair to say over the past weeks, we've been seeing a change in tempo along some of the front lines that suggest maybe the preparatory stages, some possible softening operations may have begun. Indeed, there may be more that we simply don't know about. The element of surprise here is something U.S. officials say they've been training the Ukrainians to be able to properly execute.

But there's great pressure now certainly on the Russians around Bakhmut. That's been a very symbolic city for them when the mercenary head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been talking about losses to positions. The Ukrainians are echoing that saying they're advancing to these incremental.

But the problem with Prigozhin's week of comments about how distant and angry he is at Russia's top brass is there are rare moments of Russia's elite under Putin kind of tearing each other apart, frankly, in public. That's going to have an impact on Russia's morale.

We know Russia's supply chains are pretty bad. We know that pro- Russian officials are telling civilians to get away from the north. In occupied areas in Zaporizhzhia where we're standing, 12,000 civilians they say have been pulled away. Ukrainian officials say troops are using that as a cover to pull back from the frontlines. There's reports of fuel, cell phone problems, all sorts of issues there potentially that could hamper Russia's already low morale and poor occupation presence.

So, in a real sense, I think of things tightening in multiple fronts across Russia's beleaguered front lines here in Ukraine. And certainly, I think president -- former President Trump's comments, they're reminding people of the need to not take endless Western support, something Ukrainians can count upon and to try and achieve, their territorial takebacks at some point during this summer, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. Clearly ramping up there. Nick, thank you so much for that report. Boris.

SANCHEZ: While Congress and the White House remain in a standoff over the debt ceiling, we have new details on which states could get hit the hardest in terms of job losses. Also ahead, the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway is set to be extradited to the United States. What's going to happen once he arrives? That and more next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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