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El Paso Mayor: City At "Breaking Point" As Migrants Keep Arriving; All Charges Dropped Against Officer In Fatal Traffic Stop Shooting; Biden Heading To Michigan To Join Striking Autoworkers. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired September 26, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

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[11:33:27]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: This morning, the mayor of El Paso says that his city is reaching a "breaking point." And leaders in Eagle Pass, Texas are planning to extend its emergency disaster declaration. All of this is over this serious wave of migrants that are coming across the southern border once again. And border communities are not expecting this to slow down anytime soon.

CNN's Rosa Flores. She has more on this. Always tracking this for us. She joins us now. Rosa, what -- where are the hotspots right now? Where is the focus?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, according to CBP, it's those two cities that you just mentioned, Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas. And in Eagle Pass, Kate, U.S. CBP doesn't have as robust of a processing system. So, the strategy that they're implementing there is called decompression. It's a fancy word for -- that the feds use to transfer migrants from an area that doesn't have as much -- as many resources to an area that has more capacity.

So, in the case of Eagle Pass, CBP is transferring migrants for processing to areas like Laredo, Del Rio, and also, the Rio Grande Valley. Now, in Eagle Pass. Eagle Pass does have a more robust processing system. They had a soft side facility for processing that has been open since 2021.

And so, they have a little more capability there to process whenever there is an influx on the southern border. But as you just mentioned, officials there are very concerned because of the number of migrants that have already crossed -- that are already in the city of El Paso. Shelters there are over capacity, according to the mayor.

[11:35:10]

Overnight, the city of El Paso housed about a thousand migrants in hotels. And the mayor there says that they're at a breaking point. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OSCAR LEESER, MAYOR OF EL PASO, TEXAS: We are at a breaking. We're running out of hotel. We're running out of space. And when I talked to Chief Ortiz the border patrol, he told us to prepare for about 2000 crossings a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, Kate, what a lot of these migrants who are entering in to the United States don't quite realize is that they're entering into a very backlogged U.S. immigration court system, which at this point has about 2.6 million cases. And that's according to an analysis from a group at Syracuse University. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Wow. Rosa, thank you very much for that update. Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: All right, ahead. We have some breaking news for you. Charges have been dropped against a Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a man during a traffic stop. He had been facing seven counts, including murder.

What happened? We have live coverage outside the court. That's next.

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[11:40:41]

SIDNER: We've got some breaking news for you at this hour. The charges against the Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed Eddie Irizarry, the man who was out of a traffic stop and shot several times, those charges have been dropped. This officer was facing seven charges, including murder.

Let's get straight to Danny Freeman, who was just in court. Danny, can you give us some sense of what happened? Was there new evidence that came to light in court?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, in this particular case, there was no new evidence that was brought up in court. And frankly, we saw in that courtroom just a few moments ago the same video from body camera footage worn by the two officers who were at the scene at the time. We saw the surveillance video that attorneys had released prior to this preliminary hearing today.

And there were testimonies from both the partner of Mark Dial, the officer who was on the stand. There was also testimony from a detective who is from the officer-involved shooting department. And after all of that little over two hours, the judge in this case, Judge Wendy L. Pew, said that she agreed one hundred percent with the defense in this case, and dismissed all charges related to Officer Mark Dial.

And, Sara, I just want to talk a little bit about what may have been some of the key moments that were brought up here. One of the main things that was brought up and discussed by both the prosecution and the defense was the knife. You might remember that Eddie Irizarry, he was driving the wrong way down the street. Police were chasing him. He parked his car on that one-way street. His windows were just about all the way up. That's when officers came around.

And there was this moment where we heard it on the surveillance video, we also heard it on body-worn cameras as it was played in court where the other officer who was there, the partner, testified that he shouted knife, knife. And then the defense basically said -- and he also when you hear it back, shouted that there was a gun. And then moments later, Mark Dial, the officer fired into the vehicle.

And the thing that came up, Sara, was we and the judge saw a picture of the knife in question. They brought out a picture of the knife and how it was actually positioned in the car. And knife, Sara, to describe it to you, had a handle. It was a -- it looked like a hunting knife.

There was a switchblade, but it had a handle and a serrated blade. It's clear that that knife, which is something that the defense harped on saying that could have been a gun in the eyes of the officer. It's clear the judge took that evidence an extreme amount of weight and agreed with a defense who argued at the very end that every tragedy is not a crime. The defense said this is a hundred percent not murder. The judge agreed. Sara.

SIDNER: Wow. This is a huge development in that case. And I'm sure the family will be responding shortly.

I do want to just go to the video that you were talking about. You said it was played in court. And I want to warn people that this is really disturbing video for you to look at right now.

But here is the video of what happened. We're going to stop it before the most gruesome parts. But if we show that video, you can see the officers coming up to the car. And here is what it sounds like and looks like at those moments.

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(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So, within seconds, you see the officer going up to the car, you hear a lot of yelling, and then you hear those gunshots go off. Very disturbing video for anyone to see, including, of course, the family. When you're in court, is the family in court listening to all this? Because one of the things that stands out to me is that initially, the first judge who saw this case revoked his bail and forced the officer into jail. This is a very different look at this case from this new judge.

FREEMAN: That's right, Sara. So, that was I explained what happened in the courtroom with regard to what happened specifically the charges. But I just want to paint a picture of the inside of this courtroom on the third floor of the Criminal Justice Center behind me. We -- the media, we were actually in the jury box so we were inside the main space where the bulk of this hearing was taking place. [11:45:06]

So, we were looking out actually on the audience. The people who were in the court just viewing. The entire right side of the court from our vantage point, Sara, were Philadelphia police officers and family members it seemed of other Philadelphia police officers.

The entire left side were predominantly family and supporters of Eddie Irizarry, the man who was killed in the situation. Many of the people on the left side of the courtroom, they were wearing shirts with Eddie Irizarry's picture on it.

And when the judge made this declaration that these charges would all be dismissed, the right side where there were several police officers, many jumped up. There were cheers. And then on the left side, there were many tears and a lot of frustration.

And then folks had to basically make sure that there was an orderly process as people were leaving the courtroom. There were some words exchanged between the left side and the right side. But for the most part, inside the court was peaceful and civil. But that moment was truly a stunning one.

I should also say there were tears during this two-plus hour preliminary hearing, Sara. There were tears from family members of Eddie Irizarry because they played the video of him being killed over and over again. And I should say each time the body camera footage of the moment of Irizarry's death was played, Officer Mark Dial who was sitting at the defendant's table. He also was crying and taking tissues as well. So, as you can imagine, Sara, an incredibly emotional day in court as a judge dismissed all charges against the officer who killed and shot Eddie Irizarry. Back to you.

SIDNER: Yes. There will be a lot of questions, especially since the initial story of police was very different from what people saw on camera. Danny Freeman, thank you for all of your reporting on this. I appreciate it. We've got a lot more ahead and we'll be right back.

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[11:51:21]

BOLDUAN: Moments ago, President Biden left a very rainy Washington, DC. He is now en route to Michigan where he is soon going to be joining striking auto workers, joining them on the picket line. And this is unprecedented. Really, no historian can recall a time a sitting president has ever done this before.

Joining me now is one of those presidential historians, Tim Naftali. CNN presidential historian. Former director of The Nixon Presidential Library. It's great to see you, Tim.

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Great to be here, Kate.

BOLDUAN: What do you make of this moment in presidential history we're -- that we're going to see today? NAFTALI: Well, this is a big deal. First of all, it is the first time that a sitting American president has ever walked a picket line. And there's a reason for that.

Presidents have basically positioned themselves as mediators between both labor and management. Yes, Democrats have tended to you know lean to the labor side and Republicans to the management side. But it's -- the president actually, under the law has a role as a mediator.

But 2023 is a very different America. We are actually seeing the beginning of a presidential election right now. 13 months before we actually go to vote.

BOLDUAN: Do you think today is very significant with this -- (INAUDIBLE)

NAFTALI: Well, the fact that former President Trump and Biden are both going to be in the same state talking to the same people, blue-collar workers, that's a presidential election. And the reason for that, Michigan is in play, and the difference between 2016 when Trump won, and 2020 when he lost, is that Trump lost union voters in 2020 in a big way. Biden needs them to win.

BOLDUAN: So, you've -- you noted that in 2009, Biden and Obama, they actually refused to cross a picket line in order to head into a conference -- a meeting that they -- that they had been planning to do so. They didn't join but -- they didn't cross the picket line, but they also didn't join the strike back then. He is now.

What is different now? 2023 is, of course, a different moment. But what do you see as a big difference?

NAFTALI: Two things are different. One. Joe Biden is a bigger risk- taker than Barack Obama. Barack Obama was a very cautious president. Barack Obama in 2007 when he was running for president -- and he said in Chicago, when he went to a picket line, as a senator said, I'm going to go to a picket line when I'm president. He never did. 2012, he was reminded of this. He never did. That's one.

Number two. Joe Biden recognizes that our democracy is in crisis. He's going to break the norm. He's going to do something that presidents have never done because there's no second chance for him. He needs Michigan.

And by the way, there aren't just striking workers in Michigan. They're also in Ohio, and they're in Missouri. Biden is not going to win Ohio and Missouri, but he could help Democrats in both states, particularly Sherrod Brown in Ohio.

BOLDUAN: You -- he has often talked with himself as the most pro-union president ever. I think I saw the White House even tweeting that out even this morning. Do you think that tracks when you look through history?

NAFTALI: Well, he's -- by going to a picket line, it makes him the most pro-union president in history. Harry Truman is known as a pro- union president, but he also threatened to draft railway workers if they kept striking. One thing to keep in mind that's so very important.

Joe Biden has a sense of history. Joe Biden remembers how Jimmy Carter lost the UAW. The UAW supported Senator Ted Kennedy in the struggle in 1980, and many UAW workers voted for Ronald Reagan.

Joe Biden knows that to be a second-term president, he has to hold his base. And part of that base is Union America. That's what's happening today.

[11:55:01]

BOLDUAN: The significance of endorsements, Tim, I would say lately is sometimes seen as overstated in modern presidential politics -- in modern presidential campaigns. But maybe not when we're talking about union support, and maybe not when we're talking about a union endorsement. What do you think it would mean for him?

NAFTALI: In May of this year, the UAW did not endorse Biden for reelection. It suspended -- it doesn't mean it's going to be against Biden, but it didn't say we're going to be with Biden. The question for the UAW is who else? And Biden today is trying to say, there's no one else.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, Tim. And we're going to be watching together very soon when President Biden is going to be landing in Michigan and then heading to the picket lines. Great to see you.

NAFTALI: Thank you.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Look who snuck in in the middle of the conversation.

BOLDUAN: I know. This is really -- it was --

SIDNER: He snuck in.

BOLDUAN: I suddenly felt this warm -- this -- (INAUDIBLE)

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BERMAN: Thank you all so much for joining us. There is a lot of news, so stick around. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

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