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New Report: Biden Administration Carried Out Most Deportations Since 2014; Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) Government Shutdown Looms As Bipartisan Revolt Sinks Trump-Backed Bill; Suspect Luigi Mangione Now In A Federal Prison In New York. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 20, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:05]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning as President-elect Trump condemns current immigration policies and vows to enact mass deportations as soon as he takes office a new report is showing the Biden administration actually deported the most immigrants in nearly a decade. Many of the more than 270,000 removals were of people who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is joining us now with more details. What does this report mean, and what does it say to the incoming administration?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the takeaways of this report that the incoming administration is likely going to lean on is that it mentions the in-country negotiations that the Biden administration was involved in to get some countries to accept more removal flights, which helped them bolster their deportation numbers.

But it also serves as a reminder that there are limited resources and personnel at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, including, for example, around 6,000 immigration enforcement officers.

Now, Sara, to sort of look through this number. You said the topline -- 271,484 removals -- the highest level since 2014. Now many of those were recent border crossers and that is a reflection of what the Biden administration has had to grapple with over recent years, which was multiple border surges and, as a result, multiple border crossings.

Now these numbers also show that the administration prioritized national security and public safety threats not only in their removals but also in their arrests in the interior. Now this might sound familiar because we have heard multiple times from Trump aides that they too want to prioritize on those threats. And we see in these numbers that is what the Biden administration was doing over the last year.

Then, too, there are where we were removing people to. Dozens of countries again reflecting record migration across the globe but also the top countries were Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. So certainly, all of this is going to be telling for the incoming

administration because they do want to up the numbers even more, according to what they have said publicly. But they are going to need money. That is something that Tom Homan, the president-elect's border czar, said on CNN earlier this week. And in a statement the acting ICE director said this. He said that they are "chronically underfunded."

So that tells you almost everything you need to know about the coming weeks and months, which is that the incoming administration is going to have to find the money if they want to hit numbers higher than this 271,000 that was done under the Biden administration.

I'll give you one more data point, Sara. Under the Trump administration the highest number of deportations in a year was just under this 271,000. So certainly they would still have much to do if they want to go higher than that in the years to come.

SIDNER: Priscilla Alvarez in Washington. Thank you.

Kate, speaking of money --

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Speaking -- exactly right, Sara.

The United States is currently spiraling towards a midnight deadline and a government shutdown over money, as Sara said. That is if Congress fails to reach a deal today to fund government operations. Right now things aren't looking good. Things also just look like -- it's just a mess.

Overnight, President-elect Donald Trump offered up another message on social media that he wants, in his words, the ridiculous debt ceiling gone or at least extended to possibly 2029. That's the latest wrinkle in this. Also noteworthy, that would be after the end of his term.

That's a new wrinkle because the debt ceiling is always a fight. It's never a quick deal, and it is usually something Republicans use leverage to bring about more -- to cut more government spending.

So enter conservative Chip Roy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): I'm absolutely sickened by a party that campaigns on fiscal responsibility and has the temerity to go forward to the American people and say you think this is fiscally responsible. It is absolutely ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:35:00]

BOLDUAN: So add this to the upside-down rock and hard place that Speaker Mike Johnson now finds himself between.

Here is how he spun it last night while saying they are now regrouping. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We will regroup, and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But will you drop the debt limit demand?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Stay tuned.

Joining us right now Democratic Congressman Greg Meeks of New York.

Congressman, you have seen a few government shutdowns or the race to -- the race to in front of government shutdowns in your time in Congress.

Where do things stand this morning?

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY) (via Webex by Cisco): I think that the Republicans have to get their back together. It seems as though the Republican members of the House have conceded their responsibilities to the co-presidents, Trump and Musk, and we don't have a separate legislative branch.

There was an agreement that was made and that's what the American people wanted. They wanted Democrats and Republicans to sit down and work this thing out. We did just that. We hammered it out for a long period of time and came up to an agreement only to have at the last moment co-president Musk start tweeting, then followed thereafter the president-elect -- I guess he's following Musk now -- saying that kill the deal.

And I would have thought that Speaker Johnson -- he had been down to Mar-a-Lago and a number of other places, and he had talked to Mr. Trump. And so therefore I would believe that he would have talked to him about the deal and Trump did not say anything about it negatively. But his co-president then came in after because he didn't like the deal and overruled Trump. And then Trump joined him so that they would now tell or dictate to the members of the House don't pass this bill.

I thought we -- you know, our democracy -- we don't have a king, but the co-kings here look like --

BOLDUAN: Well --

MEEKS: -- the Republicans are allowing to happen.

BOLDUAN: So, yes. In summary, it's a mess, no question.

But you said -- you said yesterday that in the face of the original bipartisan bill being torpedoed that there is no reason the Democrats should provide votes for Johnson's -- for the second bill that failed also last night. So that -- plan A, gone. Plan B, dead.

Are you ready to negotiate now?

MEEKS: Yeah. Look, plan A was negotiated. Our leader Hakeem Jeffries and our -- the chairs and the ranking members of both --

BOLDUAN: I hear you, but we're now hours before the deadline. We're not hours before the deadline. Do -- what's -- is there -- is there a plan C or do you think you were only going to accept plan A?

MEEKS: Over the last 48 hours with plan B or whatever it came -- it was the Republican plan. There was no negotiation and no talk to Hakeem Jeffries. Hakeem Jeffries should have been included therein. There was no -- this came apart at the last seconds is here.

And you look at what they did -- all of the things that we struck and tried to work -- I mean, that we worked together on was just taken out. And you saw this debt ceiling piece to come in where Trump and Musk has tried to prepare for massive tax cuts for their billionaire friends. That's what the deal is.

So I think that it is up to Johnson to come and negotiate with Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats if, in fact, something is going to come up. But it's not going to be something where they can just say OK, this is the bill. Now we're just telling you to vote for it in the manner -- we're not going to allow that Donald Trump and Elon Musk to dictate to us when we've got our legislative responsibilities and duties as a check and balance.

BOLDUAN: I've heard some Republicans now saying that what needs to happen now is that Donald Trump needs to get on a plane and get to -- get to D.C. and start negotiating this himself.

But Joe Biden is currently the president. Where is Joe Biden in all of this, Congressman? Do you want him to get involved?

MEEKS: Joe Biden is clear. Joe Biden has -- in a statement that came out of the White House is very clear that he is against this bill that they just put out that is basically laying the foundation for the billionaire class in the United States of America. That is clear.

Joe Biden has -- and I think that's what has to happen also. When you talk about the Senate, no negotiations there with Democrats or with the president who would have to sign it. And ultimately Joe Biden will have the last word because any bill that comes out has to be signed by him.

So I think that they are in the negotiating process also.

BOLDUAN: You think Joe Biden getting more involved would be helpful at this point?

MEEKS: I think that at this point Joe Biden and the administration -- and the administration is talking to Hakeem Jeffries and waiting to reach out to -- if Musk and Trump want to reach out to Joe Biden to talk then that's the negotiating period.

[07:40:05] Joe Biden is doing exactly what he has to do right now. What he's doing is clear and concise as to what his position is. What he's doing is to make sure that there is the smooth transition of government unlike what Donald Trump did back in 2016. So -- 2020, rather. So Joe Biden is acting and very present as the President of the United States with reference to what his responsibilities are.

The chaos that's being caused right now in the House of Representatives is not being caused by Joe Biden; it's being caused by two people: Elon Musk and Donald J. Trump.

BOLDUAN: Let's see what happens. The deadline -- the government begins shutting down operations at 12:01 into Saturday -- this evening.

Congressman, thank you for coming in. Good luck today -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. This morning we are waiting to learn more about what comes next for the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Right now Thompson's suspected killer Luigi Mangione is in a federal prison in New York as he now faces a slew of new federal charges on top of the state charges he was already facing in Manhattan. And this morning for the first time since his arrest the death penalty could be on the table as federal prosecutors are building their case.

CNN senior legal analyst and former state and federal prosecutor Elie Honig joining us now.

When you look at the state charges and then the addition of the federal charges which have -- which have come out --

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER STATE AND FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Yeah.

SIDNER: -- in your mind, is this a push to get a plea agreement?

HONIG: I don't think that's the purpose that prosecutors have here, but it certainly puts Luigi Mangione in a far different, far worse position.

First of all, as you noted, 24 hours ago Mangione was not eligible for the death penalty when he was only charged in the state.

SIDNER: Right.

HONIG: But then when the federal charges dropped, he's now death eligible. We'll see whether DOJ actually seeks that or not. But obviously that's a circumstance-changing addition to the case.

Beyond that the chances of a plea deal I think are much lower now. First of all, it's really hard to plead out a federal murder case because the federal laws don't really have a fallback or a middle ground. In the state you can go from a first-degree, to a second- degree, to manslaughter. In the feds it's just murder or no murder. And if he wants a plea deal -- if I'm his lawyer -- if I'm in Karen

Friedman Agnifilo's shoes now I've got to negotiate with both the feds and the state. So I think the odds of a plea deal went down substantially yesterday.

SIDNER: I want to talk to you about what we saw because everyone saw this extraordinary moment --

HONIG: Yeah.

SIDNER: -- of Mangione flanked by a bunch of officers and the mayor of New York and --

HONIG: Yeah.

SIDNER: -- the police commissioner.

Have you -- have you, yourself -- here's the picture here.

HONIG: Yeah.

SIDNER: In looking at that have you, yourself -- you've been in these courtrooms. You know what is normal. Is this normal?

HONIG: No. That was a lot. And I lived in that courthouse for many years. I mean, I saw gang leaders brought in, cartel leaders brought in, terrorists brought in not anywhere near as publicly visible as that scene yesterday.

Now look, the law --

SIDNER: So there's a -- there's a way to do this --

HONIG: Oh --

SIDNER: -- that is not --

HONIG: There would have been a way to do this where nobody would have seen it.

SIDNER: OK.

HONIG: There is underground -- there's a parking garage. You bring people up through the back elevator. I mean, this could not have been done more visibly.

Now I understand they were trying to get him here quickly and a helicopter is the quickest way. I know the law enforcement authority said it was necessary. And yes, there is a sort of bizarre groundswell of support for this guy that I think they were rightly concerned about.

But to walk him down that dock with 40 -- 30-40 people with guns with the mayor strutting behind was a scene that I think ultimately watch for -- watch for Karen to get some sort of motion about this.

SIDNER: But -- so this is what -- could she say you have just made a mess with the jury pool --

HONIG: Yes.

SIDNER: -- because you've shown this picture of him flanked, making him look like he is guilty -- and you're innocent until proven guilty. Could she file something?

HONIG: She will. I don't have any insider information here but watch for her to make that motion. It's not going to get these cases dismissed but it's going to be a point for her to make that it was prejudicial to take my client, put him in an orange jumpsuit and shackles, walk him down this dock with the media there which surrounded, like -- you know, like he's Hannibal Lecter or something. She will make that motion I am quite sure.

Again, it's not going to get the case thrown out, but it may not stand prosecutors in the best of light with their respective judges.

SIDNER: Let me ask you about what sort of happens next. You've these two cases now going and you have said they will happen at the same time.

HONIG: Yeah.

SIDNER: Federal case first? State case second? How does this work?

HONIG: So the word is parallel, right? Not a legal term but that's the best way to think of it. They will carry on. There will be initial appearances. Pretrial stuff happening like we saw yesterday in federal court. That'll also be happening in the coming weeks and months in state court.

[07:45:00]

But the big question is who tries him first? There's no law on this. It'll be up to the parties. It'll be a race.

But usually when the feds get the first shot, as they did yesterday, they will get to trial first. Things work much more quickly in federal court. And so I would expect he gets tried first federally and then in the state.

SIDNER: Elie Honig, you always have all the goods.

HONIG: Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: I appreciate it. Thank you.

HONIG: For sure.

SIDNER: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Alrighty. Get ready for the big holiday travel rush, friends. Yes, we were just talking about this for Thanksgiving and we're back. The TSA is predicting today will be one of the busiest days for people

to travel by air. TSA also says its teams are expecting to screen almost 40 million air passengers at airports between December 19 and January 2.

If you're planning to drive, you will have company as well. AAA expects nearly 90 percent of holiday travelers to drive to their destinations this season.

And the big x factor in all of this is always the weather, and that is where CNN's Derek Van Dam comes in. Derek, what should people be expecting?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right. So, Kate, maybe they'll have company on the air -- on the roads today but they also will have company at the terminals at the airports because there could be some delays because of the system moving through.

This is a projection of weather-related delays. And you can see Chicago O'Hare -- the airport is there. Yeah, they're being impacted by some squally snow that's moving through the region right now. And then a lot of that snowfall is moving towards the Ohio River Valley and eventually will reach the East Coast in a weakened state. But a very tricky forecast as well.

So heads up. Check your flight before you head out today. Maybe you're getting an early start to the holiday week next week and getting out to the family or friends' house. And guess what? It's not only the airports that will be impacted but also the roadways with this clipper moving through.

Look at how the snow is dropping the visibility in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In Fort Wayne, Indiana there have been some snowy road conditions, which you can see in Milwaukee right now because of this system that moved through.

We have winter weather alerts that are in place across the Great Lakes. Nothing, so far, along the East Coast -- the major I-95 corridor.

But we're going to keep a close eye on this because this type of a weather pattern and the energy associated with it could have some tricks up its sleeve. Let me explain. As this thing kind of evolves there's this narrow corridor of snow that could form right along the eastern periphery right here -- basically, the I-95 corridor, eastern Long Island into Cape Cod, Nantucket. Boston may or may not get a couple of inches of snow out of this.

I don't want to sound nebulous. Like, we don't know exactly how it's going to un-shape -- or unfold. But this is something that's going to really require a lot of hyperlocal weather forecasts. So we're going to see that rain-snow line right there near Boston. And you can see the influence with the ocean waters. It could cause this to fall in the form of rain at first before transitioning to all cold.

And some of the coldest air of the season will settle in behind this system. Today's daytime highs 36 for Chicago, and New York at 38. We cool off from there for the weekend. And just in time for the holiday stretch from Christmas to New Year's nearly all of the lower 48s dressed in this red to look very festive to end off 2024 -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: This is -- I mean, this is, like, emblematic of how everyone feels. This is literally all over the map. It's going to snow but then it's going to be, like, 80. And then it's going to drop down and be freezing temperatures. I mean, you said -- your map said -- your forecast said Minneapolis is going to be, like, 12 or 17 or something. It is all over the place. This is nuts, and it's your fault. I'm just saying.

VAN DAM: Welcome to the rollercoaster of my job.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

Glad to see -- glad to keep you employed, Derek. Glad to keep you employed.

VAN DAM: Appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you. He's going to be sticking close to this for us. We're going to bring you all the updates as they come in on what is going to be another busy day of travel.

Also this is ahead for us. Popular weight drugs like Ozempic have become gamechangers for millions of Americans. Now, though, more than 1,000 people are suing over side effects that they say they've experienced.

And President Biden announcing another round of student loan forgiveness in his final weeks in office.

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[07:53:37]

SIDNER: Excitement building for the first time in more than three decades. An historic matchup -- Notre Dame and Indiana set to clash in the college football playoffs tonight. Although both schools call Indiana home their paths haven't crossed since 1991.

Joining us now from Indiana CNN's Andy Scholes. Getting a little snow action there. It's pretty wild to think these two schools haven't played for so long even though they're just a few hours apart, and they're meeting again. What can you tell us?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Right, Sara. You know, you couldn't have asked for a cooler matchup to start the first-ever 12-team playoff in college football.

Indiana taking on Notre Dame. The Hoosiers versus Rudy. And Indiana has not beaten Notre Dame here in South Bend since '98 -- 1898. So Indiana certainly trying to make some history here.

The first-year head coach Curt Cignetti has just but a huge turnaround in the program in his first year. Three and nine last season, 11-1 this season.

And there certainly is a very interesting dynamic among all the fans here. Indiana is traditionally a good basketball school. Not so good at football. So for decades Indiana fans have cheered for Notre Dame football, but that will certainly not be the case here tonight.

[07:55:00]

And I've been walking around talking to Fighting Irish and Hoosier fans and they're certainly pumped up for the game. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's Notre Dame, and it's Indiana, and it's here. It's great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I graduated in 1980. I did not come by a shop then after (INAUDIBLE). So I got all sorts of stuff. It's going to be a cold night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You always have hopes when you get a new coach but to see IU football turn around like it has it's nothing I've ever seen before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Usually, you root for Notre Dame football and IU basketball, but this year we've got IU football. So we're half and half. We don't want to root against Notre Dame, but we want IU to win.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My in-laws are huge Notre Dame fans so there's definitely about, like, family rivalry going on right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be kind of ironic if we're wearing green and they're wearing red a week before Christmas. There's going to be basically the Christmas Bowl it looks like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah, it's going to be great.

And these schools 200 miles apart. A lot of their alumni live in Chicago and Indianapolis.

And as you can imagine, a lot of demand for this game. Ticket prices through the roof. The cheapest tickets to get in for this game if want a pair tonight it's going to for more than $800. It's the most expensive game of the four playoff games we've got this weekend.

It's the only game tonight, on Friday. Then you've got three games on tap tomorrow. SMU at Penn State, Clemson at Texas. You can watch both of those games on our sister network TNT. And then you're also going to have Tennessee at Ohio State for the nightcap.

And it's going to be cold everywhere but Austin. Kickoff here tonight in South Bend -- it's going to be 28 degrees. And Sara, you know, it's pouring down snow right now. It's truly going to feel like Christmas. You've got the white snow everywhere. Indiana fans wearing red. Notre Dame fans wearing green.

And I can tell you what. There is hundreds of cars lined up of tailgaters just waiting to get in here right now. This snow is not keeping them away. They're excited for the game.

SIDNER: Tailgating in the snow. They don't care about the frigid temperatures. But you know what? This one over here -- she's itching. She's wishing she was there.

BOLDUAN: You don't need to feel your fingers when you're -- when you're a Hoosier --

SIDNER: Indiana.

BOLDUAN: -- when you're in Indiana. Yes, as if -- yes, if can't tell I grew up in Indiana.

Wait -- put up the map again. I will show you in between those -- that -- Sara said that Venn diagram --

SIDNER: Venn diagram.

BOLDUAN: -- of the best state in the entire nation, Indiana. In between those two cities -- in between Bloomington and -- nope, wrong map -- Bloomington and South Bend is a little town called Goshen, Indiana, which is where I grew up.

SIDNER: This one.

BOLDUAN: So we were closer to South Bend, so we were Notre Dame fans. But my parents were from Ohio, so it was very confusing. I was one of those IU basketball, Notre Dame football fans but now I've gone to the dark side and now I'm a Michigan football fan. So I don't even know what to do.

SIDNER: Things have gotten complicated in Kate's life when it comes to football. That we can tell.

BOLDUAN: All complication.

SIDNER: It all goes -- Andy Scholes is, like, let me out of here. I'm freezing. Go get warm, Andy.

BOLDUAN: Andy Scholes is, like, I don't care. I can't feel my fingers. I am so jealous. You're going to have so much fun tonight.

SIDNER: Thank you, Andy.

SCHOLES: All right.

BOLDUAN: All right, should we do this?

SIDNER: Yeah, sure. Why not?

BOLDUAN: OK. Weight loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy -- they have been

lifechanging and really described as miracle drugs for so many people. But for others the drugs have led to some serious side effects. And now thousands of patients are suing manufacturers over this.

CNN's Nick Watt spoke to one of those patients.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICIA, FORMER OZEMPIC USER: I'm always going to the bathroom. I had to prepare myself for this. You know, I don't know how long I could sit.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Patricia is one of the 15 million or so Americans who've taken Ozempic or one of the other so-called GLP-1 drugs. She is diabetic.

WATT: What did you kind of hope it would achieve for you?

PATRICIA: Lower my A1C and help me to lose weight.

WATT (voiceover): She's a veteran.

PATRICIA: This is the battalion I was in. Can you pick me out?

WATT: There.

PATRICIA: (Laughing).

WATT: Am I right?

PATRICIA: Yes.

WATT: Yes.

WATT (voiceover): She did lose weight. Her A1C did fall. Then she says her doctor doubled the dose as suggested by the manufacturer and within two weeks --

PATRICIA: I was going to often it began -- I began to bleed. When it became bright red blood, I knew it was hospital time.

WATT (voiceover): She saw a doctor in the E.R.

PATRICIA: He said you have a lower G.I. rectal infection and you're hemorrhaging.

WATT (voiceover): More than 1,300 people have already filed suit against the makers of these drugs over side effects they say they suffered and inadequate warnings. Patricia plans to file soon.

WATT: And how many clients do you have now on this?

ANDREW VAN ARSDALE, PATRICIA'S ATTORNEY: We have over 6,000 clients.

PATRICIA: It doesn't say it on the pamphlet that you're going to be hemorrhaging.

WATT: And if it had said that on the --

PATRICIA: I wouldn't have taken it.

WATT (voiceover): The label does warn of diarrhea but not hemorrhagic.

VAN ARSDALE: I do think we'll find evidence that they were aware that some of these reports were coming in and maybe they didn't do enough about it.

WATT (voiceover): The maker of Ozempic declined an interview but gave us a statement that reads in part: "Novo Nordisk believes that the allegations in these lawsuits are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend against these claims. The known risks and benefits are described in their FDA-approved labeling."