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Senate Scrambles On Border Deal As Migrant Crossing Surge; Actor Jonathan Majors Guilty Of Some Charges After Domestic Incident; Pressure Mounts On Netanyahu After Hostage Deaths Sparks Outrage; U.S.: Navy Ship Shot Down 14 Drones Over Red Sea. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 18, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Texas governor, Greg Abbott, about to sign into law a controversial bill that makes it a state crime to enter the state illegally. This while the White House and Senate negotiators are urgently trying to reach an agreement on border policy before the year is over. We are live at the border.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump unleashing a familiar play from his old campaign book, targeting migrants in his campaign speeches, but his rhetoric darker than ever.

And U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Israel right now, pressing leaders for the protections of civilians in Gaza as global calls for a ceasefire mount.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

KEILAR: Right now, chaos at the southern border really Boris Sanchez, Brianna Keilar the focus here in Washington, in Texas and also on the campaign trail. Here in the nation's capital, senators worked through the weekend. They're still negotiating today, trying to get Republican-backed border security measures in exchange for military aid to Ukraine.

As those talks drag on, the surge in migrant crossings in Texas has spurred drastic action. U.S. border officials closing two international railway crossings starting today. The rail industry is already calling on the administration to reopen them.

SANCHEZ: And Texas governor, Greg Abbott, a couple hours away from signing a controversial new bill that would make entering Texas illegally a state crime.

Let's take you now to the border with CNN's Rosa Flores, who's live for us in Brownsville, Texas. Rosa, what are you seeing there? What are folks on the ground saying about the situation?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, this is really where the broken immigration system on the federal level and a state governor taking actions into his own hands really collide. But let me show you around, let me set the scene for you. I'm in Brownsville, Texas; this is the border wall that's actually being built by the state of Texas by Gov. Greg Abbott. On the other side is Mexico.

We are waiting for Gov. Abbott to arrive here, actually. There's a press conference that he will be holding right where you see those vehicles in the backdrop. He will - we are expecting him to sign Senate Bill 4, that controversial bill that you just referenced.

But back to your question about what's actually going on, on the border right now, there are thousands of migrants that are crossing into the United States illegally every single day and this is overwhelming the U.S. Border Patrol. Now, the Biden administration has decided to close ports of entry and then most recently, starting today, also railways. And the areas that are being impacted are Eagle Pass, Texas, El Paso, Texas, Lukeville, Arizona and San Ysidro, California.

Now, there's a lot of concern by community leaders in these communities because a lot of the border communities, they rely on the revenue from these crossings. I'll give you an example.

In the city of Eagle Pass, the city there says that 50 percent of their budget comes from those crossings and they've been dealing with closures for three weeks already. Now, in the state of Arizona, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has expressed her frustration with the Biden administration because of these decisions. She says that this hurts trade, travel and safety and security of her state because this creates gaps of border security.

Now, let me explain what she means by that. Whenever thousands of migrants enter the U.S. illegally, U.S. Border Patrol, and this is the federal law enforcement agency of the United States, they have to stop what they do normally, which is patrol the U.S. southern border, and they have to be reassigned to process migrants, to apprehend migrants, these thousands of migrants that are entering every day, that creates gaps in border security.

And Boris and Brianna, I talked to the U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens just about a week ago about this, and that's what keeps them up at night. It's these border security gaps because his agents are busy processing migrants.

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KEILAR: And also, let's talk - we mentioned this bill in Texas, Rosa, but what's that going to mean if crossing the border illegally becomes a state crime there?

FLORES: This is a historic bill, Brianna, and there's a lot of concern about the bill. A lot of Democrats are saying that this is going to lead to the racial profiling of Latinos in the state of Texas.

Let me take you through this. What this bill does is it creates a new state crime for anyone who enters the country illegally. It gives police, including local police, the power to arrest and it gives judges the power to deport individuals back to Mexico.

Now, immigration judges have come out saying that this is unconstitutional. The Republican author of the previous version of this bill has said that this is unconstitutional and there's all sorts of calls from immigration organizations, advocacy organizations, rights organizations calling on the governor not to move forward with this or for the federal government to take action to stop SB4, because as you know, the Supreme Court has upheld that immigration is a federal function, and this is the state of Texas taking it into its own hands. Brianna, Boris?

SANCHEZ: Rosa Flores live from Brownsville, Texas. Thank you so much, Rosa.

Let's take you now to Capitol Hill with CNN's Manu Raju, because Manu senators worked through the weekend on this proposed deal that pairs aid to Ukraine and Israel with changes to immigration policy, are they any closer to a deal?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're making progress in these negotiations, Boris, but the chances of a deal coming together that can pass the United States Senate this week are incredibly grim. There's a growing expectation that this will be punted until January, and there's still lots of uncertainty about whether or not Congress can actually pass legislation to deal with an issue that has dogged Congress for decades, immigration policy, dividing the two parties and much different opinions between the House and the Senate about what actually needs to be done.

Now, behind closed doors, the president has offered a number of concessions to move closer to the Republican position, dealing with tighter asylum restrictions, expanded detentions for migrants, as well as greater expulsion authority, things that have actually generated significant pushback already from the left. But he is also facing criticism from the right.

There are Republicans, particularly in the House, who do not want to give in to the hardline position that they took in passing a much tougher bill with much stricter immigration restrictions that passed their chamber earlier this year. So where does this all go? The - there's still a lot of questions about whether or not a deal can be reached. If it is reached, can it get the 60 votes out of the United States Senate? Can it get a majority of the narrowly divided House?

All huge questions, but even if a deal were reached today between a handful of negotiators who are working on this issue, work through the weekend, getting it to - getting it actually drafted on the floor is still a major question. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, said last week he wants a vote this week, but just moments ago, guys, he will not commit to having a vote, just simply said negotiations are ongoing.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a difficult proposition for it to pass.

Manu Raju, thank you so much. From the probability of it passing to then the actual implications of what it might look like and the blowback for the White House, we have new details on how President Biden's concessions on border policy to get Ukraine aid passed may put him at odds with key allies who will be charged with mobilizing voters.

KEILAR: The fallout underscoring the political headwinds that the Biden campaign is facing here in the upcoming election.

We have CNN White House reporter Priscilla Alvarez joining us now with her new reporting. What can you tell us about this growing tension over his border concessions?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, these measures are testing his key allies who are going to be hitting the trail to sell his agenda. But what happens if that agenda starts to look like some of the Trump-era policies in tightening asylum or expelling migrants who are encountered at the U.S. southern border without the chance to seek asylum.

But we knew going into 2024, and the campaign knows this, that the border security is a political liability for them. The polls show that there is dissatisfaction among voters over the President's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. And the reality for the President over the last three years is that there is unprecedented migration in the Western Hemisphere that has landed at the U.S. southern border and strained federal resources and created challenges for his officials.

But this leaning toward stricter measures is not sitting well with his progressive base. And you just have to look at some of what they're saying to get a key into what that is. Representative Delia Ramirez, who delivered the progressive response to the President's State of the Union, said the following: "I cannot campaign for someone in which I can't explain tangibly that they're looking for relief, that they are strengthening the asylum status, improving legal pathways."

Now, talking to the White House, their response to that is that the president is opening up legal pathways.

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Some Democrats want a hardline approach. But what this moment captures above all else is that the politics of immigration have moved further to the right, even within the Democratic Party. Where it lands, though, remains to be seen.

KEILAR: It's a tough one.

All right, Priscilla, thank you for that report.

And we are following breaking news. We have a verdict in the case of Hollywood star Jonathan Majors. A jury has found him guilty of some charges in this New York criminal case, which stems, of course, from a domestic incident with his former girlfriend.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Majors is best known for his roles in Marvel films and TV shows, along with Creed III. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister joins us now along with CNN Legal Analyst, Joey Jackson.

Elizabeth, first to you, what can you tell us about what he's been found guilty of?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: So Jonathan Majors was found guilty on some charges stemming from this domestic dispute. Now, this all stems from an incident that occurred in March of this year between Jonathan Majors and his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.

They were in a car and evidence that was released during the trial showed them outside of the car. Now, what Grace Jabbari alleged is that Jonathan Majors struck her in the head, also on her arm. There was a doctor who testified during the trial that said that she had a fracture on her finger. So he has been found on one count of assault and another with harassment and was acquitted on two other charges.

KEILAR: And Joey, you're following this, what's your reaction to this verdict?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So the reaction is, is that the jury had a lot to evaluate and by finding guilty on some charges and not the others, it means that in evaluating the testimony, Brianna and Boris, that there were some things that the jury credited and other things that they did not. It appears as though there was a guilty finding on what's called reckless assault. Well, what is that?

There's a distinction between intentional assault, which means that it was your intent, it was your goal, it was your aim, it was your objective to assault versus reckless. Reckless is the conscious disregard. It means the jury didn't make a finding that was intentional, but it was sufficiently reckless, right, such that the jury made a finding as to that. The jury also made a finding as to harassment, which is not a crime. It's simply a violation.

A violation of law means that it doesn't rise to the level of a criminal offense and just in terms of clarifying the parlance, a misdemeanor offense in New York State is an offense that is punishable by up to a year in jail, a violation punishable by up to 15 days. And so that's what the judge will have to do in sentencing, evaluate whether there's any time at all that is going to be imposed. But that would be certainly the parameters of any sentencing. Not there yet, but when we get there what he'll be facing.

SANCHEZ: Elizabeth, it's not just the sentencing that he's facing, but also a huge fall in grace and in his reputation as a Hollywood star. Take us through his story, because he was rapidly becoming a household name.

WAGMEISTER: Absolutely. And the fact that he was found guilty on some charges, no matter what \he is sentenced to or not, as Jesse (ph) said, you're absolutely correct that now there is going to be some sort of fall from grace. Now, not everybody at home may know who Jonathan Majors is, but he was on his way to becoming an A-list star had he not been on trial right now, he would likely be campaigning for an Oscar. Earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, he had a film debut called Magazine Dreams. It got rave reviews. He could have been on the Oscar campaign for that.

Now, perhaps even more important, he was cast as basically the future star of Marvel's next phase. He was cast as the character called Kang, who is a villain. He had already made his debut in this character, but had not yet debuted in his own film. Marvel was anchoring two films around him. We know that these movies can each make upwards of $1 billion, even $2 billion for one of the most recent Avengers films.

So now Disney has a big decision to make, do they keep him, do they not. With two guilty charges, that is going to be very difficult. And I have to tell you, prior to getting this verdict in, I spoke to my sources and people in the industry are saying no matter what the verdict was, this is hard for a company, particularly like Disney, which is family-friendly, to keep someone who has been accused and now found guilty of these charges.

KEILAR: Yes, very good point. I think we have much more to hear ahead on this. Elizabeth, Joey, thank you to both of you for that.

And still to come, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin taking his concerns about this rising Palestinian death toll in Gaza directly to Israeli officials in a return visit there. We are live from the region.

SANCHEZ: Plus, shipping and oil companies are suspending travel through the Red Sea after increased attacks on commercial vessels.

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Just this morning, the U.S. military responding to another vessel coming under fire. The latest from the region in just moments.

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SANCHEZ: Pressure is growing on Israel to change its strategy in its war against Hamas as the civilian death toll in Gaza continues to climb. Today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Tel Aviv where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli leaders. During a press conference, Austin reiterated U.S. support for Israel and says he discussed ways for Israel to move toward a more targeted approach in Gaza.

The White House echoing a similar message today, saying that Israel may need to adjust its rules of engagement after its military shot and killed three Israeli hostages after misidentifying them as threats.

We have CNN's Natasha Bertrand live for us at the Pentagon with the latest developments.

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But first, let's go to CNN's Will Ripley who's live in Tel Aviv with the latest details on these hostages that were killed.

Will, what are you learning about the circumstances that led up to that incident?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that these three men, these Israeli men were holed up in a home in the really embattled Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City. What's not clear is if they were actually being held at the time that they were shot by Israeli forces or if they had already escaped.

But what we are being told by the Israel Defense Forces is that essentially as soldiers were approaching this area in the Shejaiya neighborhood, the three men walked out. They were apparently shirtless. They were waving a white cloth that turned out to be a bed sheet that was - had a very simple plea for help written in what is described as leftover food. It said in Hebrew, "Three hostages, help."

But from a distance, the Israeli soldiers apparently viewed these three shirtless men waving a white cloth as such a threat that they opened fire. Two of them were killed instantly. The third was wounded, ran back inside the house, then reemerged once again, waving that white cloth, asking for help, and he was shot and killed.

Of course, this raises questions about the combat operations on the ground. If people who are shirtless, waving a white cloth are killed and they turn out to be Israeli hostages, have there been others? We know that the death toll in Gaza is now inching closer and closer to the horrific and staggering 20,000 mark. And yet, Israel says they are trying to target Hamas. It's a very complex situation. They've been uncovering this labyrinth of tunnels, hundreds of tunnels under the ground.

One of them revealed to be two and a half miles long, wide enough for a large vehicle like a truck or even a makeshift railroad, tunnels that Israel says are being hidden underneath civilian homes. And they even had a video that they released claiming to be a child's bedroom with one of the tunnel entrances actually underneath a bed that a child was sleeping on.

Now, of course, CNN cannot independently verify these videos from Israel, but they're trying to make the case here that they are fighting a war against a terrorist organization that would target the United States as well if they could. They're not fighting against Gaza civilians. They say that Gaza civilians, Boris, are being used by Hamas as human shields.

SANCHEZ: Will, please stand by.

Let's go to Natasha now at the Pentagon, because Natasha, part of Secretary Austin's visit had to do with an assessment of Israel's campaign against Hamas to this point. What was the secretary hoping to learn from this trip? NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Boris, a senior defense official told reporters, previewing his trip to Israel, that essentially the Secretary wants to get a sense for how the operations are going in terms of whether their objectives are being achieved in Gaza and whether this phase of their operations in Gaza against Hamas can soon come to an end. This very high-intensity tempo phase, which we have seen, involves a very high density of airstrikes, a lot of raids, a lot of ground forces. Can it be shifted to a lower intensity phase, perhaps by January that would be more targeted and more precise and perhaps more intelligence-driven, going after more senior Hamas leaders.

That is something that Secretary Austin really wanted to get a sense from Israeli Minister Yoav Gallant today, as well as the Israel war cabinet. And it's something that he alluded to during the press conference more than once, suggesting that the U.S. has good ideas that it's shared with Israel about how they can make that transition from the current phase to a more narrow and limited one. Here's what he said:

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LLOYD AUSTIN, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Today, we had great discussions about the status of the campaign, about goals and objectives, and about how to reduce harm to civilians in the battle space and to - and the need to ensure a sustained flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

We also have some great thoughts about how to transition from high- intensity operations to a lower intensity and more surgical operations.

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BERTRAND: Now, the U.S. has made clear to the Israelis that the international community's condemnation of the way they're carrying out their cooperation in Gaza is really becoming unsustainable, just given the sheer number of casualties and civilian deaths that we have seen coming out of Gaza since their military activities there began. And so the U.S. has been trying to drive home this idea that shifting to a more narrow operation could better achieve their goals and could also preserve their kind of moral high ground in this conflict.

But it's unclear if the Israelis are on the same page. The defense minister there, during the press conference, said that they will continue to conduct this operation at various phases of intensity, and they will only move to the next phase when they believe that this one is complete, Boris.

KEILAR: All right. Natasha and Will, thank you for those reports.

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And now to some alarming developments that we're seeing in the Red Sea. Today, energy prices are spiking, maybe that's no surprise, because you have oil giant BP that has just joined this list of major companies suspending shipments through the Suez Canal. They're concerned about escalating attacks on commercial ships by Iranian- backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

SANCHEZ: And this morning, the USS Carney responded to another merchant vessel that came under fire in the southern Red Sea. Over the weekend, the Pentagon says the destroyer shot down 14 drones targeting commercial ships in what is a vitally important waterway for commerce.

CNN's Jim Sciutto joins us now. So, Jim, what can you tell us about this latest round of attacks?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Listen, we should look at this as another front in the war in Gaza to some degree. I mean, these attacks picked up following Israeli ground operations inside Gaza. The Houthi rebels based in Yemen but backed by Iran, basically an arm of the Iranian sort of force projection in the region. It's a way for them to apply pressure.

They support Hamas, of course. They support Hezbollah, just to the north of Israel, and they support the Houthi rebels. And the Houthi rebels are exploiting their power, in effect, there to target shipping and that has enormous effects. It's basically closed down Israel's southern port, which is just on the Red Sea. But it also threatens other shipping going through the Red Sea and on through the Suez Canal, which affects loads of containers. So a lot of commerce going to Europe and elsewhere, but also a lot of oil, and that's the one that really seems to be having an impact right now.

And you got U.S. ships there. They're shooting down most of the stuff, but they can't shoot down all of it. So these shipping companies make private decisions that the risk is just too high for us and that has enormous economic implications. So it's kind of a force multiplier for the Houthi rebels as they carry out these attacks.

KEILAR: So it raises questions how long does this go on so that - then it also keeps the U.S. very engaged in the region. There's a possibility of some kind of misnavigation of the situation.

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

KEILAR: I mean, it's really a big question.

SCIUTTO: Listen, it stops when one side says the costs are too high, right? The Houthis say the costs are too high and at this point they haven't reached that point. The U.S. is shooting down a lot of these, but Austin and the President appear to want to have a more global or at least international response to it. They're trying to build an allied response, but among those allies in the region, there's disagreement.

So, you got UAE, for instance, who wants a more aggressive military response. You have the Saudis who want a more diplomatic response. But the U.S. doesn't want it to be just the U.S. versus the Houthis which could be seen as U.S. versus Iran. From the beginning of this, the U.S. did not want to expand this conflict. They certainly don't want to direct involvement in this conflict any more than they already have. Trouble is the economic costs are rising. So the urgency of that U.S. effort to internationalize this, it seems to be much greater.

SANCHEZ: There are something like 20 U.S. warships in the region. Obviously, it's not a huge deterrent to this point for the Houthis. I'm wondering, in your conversations with U.S. officials, have they described to you a red line at one point, perhaps they decide to intervene?

SCIUTTO: Well, the big picture read is that Iran does not want a direct conflict with the U.S. either. It's happy to keep up the pressure as it is. And the fact is, we haven't seen the war in Israel, for instance, expand to the northern front. Hezbollah has not jumped in, you don't have a northern front in that war. And Iran itself has not taken shots at U.S. ships.

But loads of Iranian proxies are firing at American forces in Iraq and Syria and you also have an Iranian proxy and Houthi rebels firing at something that the U.S. is very much interested in, which is clear commerce through the Red Sea. So neither side seems to have crossed their red line for a broader conflict, but the costs are so high right now. It's clear that there's much greater urgency for this administration.

SANCHEZ: Yes, something close to ...

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: ... a hundred attacks on U.S. and coalition forces ...

SCIUTTO: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: ... since October 7th.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Jim Sciutto ...

SCIUTTO: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: ... always good to see you in here.

KEILAR: When we come back, one day after marking his 87th birthday, we're learning that Pope Francis has signed off on a Vatican ruling stating that priests can offer blessings to same-sex couples. This is a major shift from recent Vatican doctrine. We'll have details ahead.

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