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ICE Says Hundreds of Illegal Immigrants Arrested in Recent Days; Powerful New Chinese AI Tech Shocks Experts, Disrupts Markets. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired January 27, 2025 - 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: Changes to the nation's military. President Trump expected to sign four new executive orders that would reshape the U.S. Armed Forces.

Plus, immigration crackdowns are in full swing across the country. Nearly a thousand people were arrested on Sunday alone and the Texas National Guard is sending more reinforcements to the border.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, what the tech? Why Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is jolting Silicon Valley and Wall Street. We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar alongside Boris Sanchez here in Washington. In just a couple hours from now, President Donald Trump is set to speak at the annual House Republican retreat from his Doral resort in Florida. And it comes as he's expected to bring sweeping changes to the U.S. military.

CNN has learned that the President will sign four executive orders today, including banning transgender troops, ending the military's diversity, equity and inclusion programs and reinstating service members with back pay who are discharged for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The President is also expected to sign an order creating a, quote, "next generation missile defense shield for the U.S."

SANCHEZ: Meantime, more than a thousand people have been arrested or detained as part of the immigration crackdown. And sources familiar with the raids across the United States tell us that federal agents are being told to be camera ready in case they're filmed by the media to apparently send a message to the world. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is live for us at the White House, Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon.

Jeff, first to you, talk to us about these executive orders that Trump is expected to sign specifically involving the military.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, one week after taking office, President Trump is continuing his revamping and remaking of federal government, and today is the military. We're told he is likely to sign those executive orders, likely in Florida, where he is today before returning to the White House this evening. And they would essentially ban transgender members from serving in the military. They would also specifically allow the back pay of - and the reinstatement of members of the military who were discharged after their COVID-19 vaccines, after they refused to get those vaccines.

And perhaps even the bigger executive order of all here is continuing the elimination of the diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Of course, that's a continuation of what he signed last week across the government. So, of course, the Defense Secretary is starting his first official day here. He said he'll follow those orders, but this could be a fairly dramatic reshaping of some parts of the military.

KEILAR: And Oren, talk a little bit more about the impact, the real- life impact that these new EOs are expected to have on service members.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the biggest impact is almost certainly to come from the ban on transgender members of the military. This was there during President Donald Trump's first administration. He signed it in 2017. President Joe Biden revoked it. And then within hours of taking office, Trump put that ban back in place.

Now, this, according to officials we've spoken with, is expected to go farther than the previous ban. That one had some exceptions. For example, if you'd completed the transition, you could remain in. This time, that - those exceptions may not be there. It may be a wider ban to essentially capture a larger portion of the transgender community in the military. According to an advocacy organization, there were some 14,000 transgender members of the military back in 2018.

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So, this could have a very real impact, depending on the specifics of it and how it plays out.

In terms of going after DEI funding, that's something both Trump and new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have talked about at length. How big of an impact will gutting the DEI programs have? That's a good question. The number $114 million came up for annual DEI programs in Hegseth's confirmation hearing. That is certainly a big number. But to put that in perspective, that is less than one tenth of 1 percent of DOD's budget, so there's a lot more there.

And then the real question on service members is how many of them want back? Eight thousand were booted from the military for refusing the vaccine. About a hundred have come back since they were allowed in 2023, so how much bigger is that number going to get? We'll find out soon enough.

SANCHEZ: And Jeff, Oren talked about Hegseth's comments to reporters regarding this weekend's immigration crackdown. How is it being received at the White House?

ZELENY: Look, the military was certainly a central part of that, which is something we have not seen, particularly on military planes and aircrafts. That was at the center of the whole dispute between the President and the U.S. ally of Colombia. But specifically, these immigration enforcement actions, we saw a considerable activity on Sunday in major cities throughout the country.

At least a thousand arrests or some type of action were reported. And that is going to be something that is going to be continuing, the extent of which is slightly unclear. But this is effectively putting into action the executive orders from earlier last week about immigration. This is a central part of what this president ran on. Immigration has been at the heart of his agenda for nearly a decade, I would say. But now, specifically, they are showing those ICE actions in communities across the country. So we expect the President to likely address that today as well when he speaks in Florida in just a couple hours.

SANCHEZ: We'll, of course, bring you those remarks as they happen. Jeff Zeleny, Oren Liebermann, thank you both.

Today, we're learning that leaders from Latin America and Caribbean nations are holding an urgent meeting on Thursday to discuss regional migration. This comes at the request of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, after his short-lived showdown with President Trump over the weekend resulted in Colombia renewing its pledge to accept U.S. military flights carrying deportees.

The abrupt about-face came just hours after President Trump threatened severe penalties for blocking flights into the country, penalties that included steep tariffs, a travel ban and even the revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the United States. The spat certainly piqued the interest of China, which has been asserting or attempting to assert its own influence in the region. China's ambassador to Colombia even using the opportunity to point out an interview where Colombia's foreign minister said that Bogota and Beijing were at their best moment in 45 years.

We're joined now to discuss by anchor and chief correspondent for CNN en Espanol, Juan Carlos Lopez.

Juan Carlos, great to see you, as always.

I have to admit, I want to speak in Spanish to you because that's what we do all the time in the hallways, but I'll keep it in English.

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN EN ESPANOL ANCHOR AND CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: We'll get in trouble.

SANCHEZ: Yes. I wonder what you think this negotiation tactic from Trump, even though apparently in his eyes effective, what effect that might have on the rest of the region, especially as you see countries like China eager to get their hands on Latin America's resources.

LOPEZ: Well, let's put in perspective what Colombia is. It's a close U.S. ally, but without the capital is a three-hour flight from Miami, 50 million strong. The economy is struggling, but it's doing well, and it has a trade deficit with the U.S., which is what President Trump wants. So, by taking actions like he did yesterday, where he threw everything out the window, he is opening a window for China that might find Colombian coffee or flowers or other exports attractive to buy, and President Petro has been saying that Colombia has to diversify. This could pressure other countries to try to do that.

SANCHEZ: Trump is also going to have to deal with countries that are not U.S. allies in repatriation flights and returning folks that are deported: Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua. How is he going to accomplish that if these threats of tariffs may not work?

LOPEZ: That's a challenge. Cuba was just returned to the list of countries that the U.S. consider sponsored terrorism. It had been removed in the last week by the Biden administration, so it's going to be hard convincing them. There are negotiations, there are conversations about migration with Cuba.

Venezuela, the same thing. There had been agreements, too, for them to take back their deportees. But you can't have it both ways, and this type of action is not going to help them with countries like Cuba or Venezuela.

SANCHEZ: What do you imagine might come from this meeting of Latin American and Caribbean nations? Is there going to be some kind of a united effort to confront Trump if these are going to be the negotiation tactics moving forward?

LOPEZ: I guess they understand they're limited in the actions they can take facing someone like President Trump. There was silence from some of the region's leaders on the spat between Petro, who is very similar to President Trump on his activity on social media, on the statements he makes, on the fights he likes to pick on social media.

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But Petro is going to head that organization in the near future, so I think this is going to try to unite countries that have leftist- leaning governments like Petro's to try to have a united front, but obviously it's a big task ahead.

SANCHEZ: Juan Carlos Lopez, appreciate the perspective. Thanks for being with us.

LOPEZ: Gracias.

SANCHEZ: Brianna?

KEILAR: And joining us now to discuss is Colorado Attorney General, Democrat Phil Weiser.

Sir, thank you so much for being with us. We are obviously watching these actions happening, these raids happening across the country. How are you seeing this? Because part of this is cracking down on Tren de Aragua members, which the Biden administration designated as a transnational criminal organization, which you certainly don't want in your state. PHIL WEISER, (D) COLORADO ATTORNEY GENERAL: A hundred percent. When someone's here and commits a dangerous crime, like a gang, dealing drugs, assault, murder, that is immediately a deportable offense. That's how our system works.

When someone is shown to be a violent criminal, we should deport them. When someone applies for asylum and is turned down, they're deportable. That's following the legal process.

What concerns me a lot right now, Brianna, is these mass indiscriminate roundups, even citizens getting rounded up, dreamers, people whose asylum applications are being processed. That type of fear that people have to walk around with is harmful, is going to harm our economy, is going to potentially break up families. It's not how we do things in America.

KEILAR: Do you think this is what voters wanted to see, if ultimately those people, you know, are not deported, which would be the expectation, that they are not deported as folks who should be are? Do you think that's what voters who voted for this, including the 43 percent of voters in Colorado who voted for Trump, is this what they wanted?

WEISER: What I think voters want is to fix our immigration system. We need to secure the border to make sure that people are not coming here in ways that aren't following procedures. People who are here applying for asylum can get that asylum termination quickly, not five years, which is what it takes now. People who are here and a part of our communities, grandparents, hard-working dreamers who are in law enforcement, in the military, to be treated fairly, sensibly, and according to the law.

What we have to do right now is make sure the law is followed, make sure we honor how our immigration system is supposed to work. And I say this as someone who is a first-generation American. My mom and my grandparents came here as immigrants, as refugees, after surviving the Holocaust. We need to honor about what this nation's about.

And I'll tell you one more thing, it's not about revoking birthright citizenship in violation of the 14th Amendment. No president can override the Constitution. That's why we're challenging that in court.

KEILAR: Yes. You, Colorado, one of a number of states doing that. Following the law, I wonder if you are seeing that because DEA Rocky Mountain Division posted video yesterday. It's of federal agents with local law enforcement partners conducting raids, an operation in this case in Adams County, which does target Tren de Aragua members. Again, gang members. Have you gotten any advance warning? Do you normally get it?

WEISER: We are going to work hard to have the best collaboration we can with federal authorities, and federal partners and local authorities. When we work best together as a state, as local government, as the federal government ...

KEILAR: Okay, but are they collaborating with you? Have they gotten in touch with you?

WEISER: Historically, we've built strong relationships. I'm not getting into specific cases here, but what I would say about this incident, it's exactly how this system should work. It's law enforcement targeting people, breaking our laws, harming people.

Those who do commit dangerous offenses and are convicted are people that we can either keep here in prison or send them back right away or send them back after they serve their sentence.

KEILAR: Are they - but I mean, are they in touch with you?

WEISER: Generally ...

KEILAR: It seems like that would be helpful, right?

WEISER: We generally work very closely ...

KEILAR: But in this case?

WEISER: In this case, I'm not going to get into specifics ...

KEILAR: Okay.

WEISER: ... but I do want to say that the way we need to operate is to continue collaborating federal, state and local to make sure we uphold our laws, treat people fairly and protect the public.

KEILAR: Okay. John Sandweg, who was Acting Director of ICE under President Obama, we spoke to him earlier in the program and he said that he expects that once the federal agencies largely exhaust what he described as kind of low-hanging fruit, individuals who have had contact with the criminal justice system, that what you are then going to see is probably local law enforcement entering into these 287(g) agreements with federal agencies. So, they're basically deputized to be enforcers of federal immigration law. What's your expectation about that happening in Colorado? How would that play out?

WEISER: What I would say first and foremost in Colorado is we need our law enforcement enforcing the law protecting public safety.

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We don't have enough law enforcement officers to address public safety needs in Colorado. The idea, first of all, the federal government trying to force Colorado law enforcement, that's a non-starter. We'll make sure that our law enforcement first and foremost enforces the law, protects public safety. We had to go to court in the first Trump administration to protect that principle.

And as law enforcement does their work, their job is first and foremost public safety. If there's a immigration situation where someone is here, they're not here with lawful authorization, they commit a crime, then obviously there's going to be communication to ICE, this person is a violent criminal. They finish a sentence, pick them up. But the idea of law enforcement doing immigration enforcement is not the norm, that's the federal government's responsibility.

KEILAR: And I hear you on that. When you talk to a lot of people who are very much in favor of these kinds of operations, they see these things as one in the same. That immigration enforcement is a public safety issue. That's how they see it. So what do you say to that? And if you see law enforcement using this as sort of a priority in a way that it seems like you don't think is appropriate, then what does the state of Colorado do?

WEISER: When someone is here and a dreamer, for example, and they are following the law, the idea that they might get rounded up or might get put into some immediate deportation, I view as a scare tactic, not something that we in Colorado want. We want to protect people who are here and following the law.

When people are part of a gang engaging in dangerous behavior, a hundred percent, we need effective law enforcement, we need cooperation with immigration authorities. And the critical thing in this moment is that we do things the right way here in America.

KEILAR: And finally, Sheriff's Departments in Boulder and Denver, they notify ICE before they release inmates who are wanted on civil immigration detainers. Counties like Weld and El Paso, they don't do this. They say that those alerts would actually be - could be illegal under state law. Are they?

WEISER: I am not going to get into the particular practices, but what I can say is the general norm is in Colorado, when people have violated the law and they ultimately deported, they will get deported. That is a normal activity and we understand that in Colorado. We believe in that. That happens.

What we don't believe in is our law enforcement engaging in, using their state authority, state payroll to do immigration enforcement. That's the federal government's job. We've got to make sure everyone's following the law, doing things the right way, acting not just legally, but in a sensible and fair manner. We can do that in this nation. We don't have to scare people, threaten these mass indiscriminate roundups, which we know are going to break up families, hurt our economy and lead to people not sending their kids to school, not going to church, maybe not even testifying in court. That's bad for America.

KEILAR: Attorney General Phil Weiser, thank you so much for coming in. We really appreciate you being with us.

WEISER: Thanks for your time.

KEILAR: And still to come, a look at DeepSeek, the ultra-low-cost AI app that is sending some U.S. stocks plunging.

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[15:22:35] SANCHEZ: A powerful new Chinese AI tool called DeepSeek is threatening the U.S. dominance of this emerging technology and sending ripples through financial markets. The tech heavy Nasdaq has been dropping much of the day after the startup company announced it's made stunning advances. Nasdaq down currently about 700 points. CNN's Matt Egan joins us now.

Matt, you saw the numbers there for the Nasdaq. Obviously, DeepSeek is concerning for some of these Western AI firms that have spent billions of dollars trying to grow their models using way more advanced chips. The Chinese did it for a fraction of the price with inferior technology.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Boris, this has been a real wake up call for investors. It's really forcing Wall Street to rethink what had been the hottest part of the stock market. And that is AI, of course. So this little known Chinese startup says that it has developed an AI model that can basically go toe to toe with the leading AI platforms on the market right now, like Google's Gemini and ChatGPT and that in itself, of course, is stunning.

But the real kicker is that DeepSeek says that it was able to do this without, A, those cutting edge computer chips and, B, at a fraction of the cost. They say that they developed this next model, this AI model, by just spending $5.6 million dollars to train it. That is a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars that other AI models cost to build. And so that's why we've seen NVIDIA plunge today, lose about 17 percent of its value. That equates to the loss of $600 billion just vanishing because this AI breakthrough suggests that maybe it's possible to build a super compelling AI model without those really high end and expensive computer chips.

I do want to note, though, that some of the experts and market veterans that I'm talking to are at least a little bit skeptical of some of these claims from DeepSeek, specifically the idea that they didn't have any access to the highest end computer chips and that they only spent less than $6 million. There's still a lot more that we have to learn here.

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I also do want to note that the non tech part of the stock market has held up better than one might have expected. The S&P down almost 2 percent. Not a good day, but not horrible. The Dow up 200 points, around half a percentage point. That is because there's not as many tech stocks in the Dow. And some of the non tech stocks could benefit from the idea of AI perhaps not being quite as expensive as we thought.

But clearly this is a very bad day for the tech market. There were already concerns, Boris, in the market before DeepSeek that some of these AI stocks had gotten too expensive, that the gains had gotten too concentrated. And this is just going to amplify those concerns, clearly.

SANCHEZ: And Matt, you noted that overall the market isn't doing that bad, but some energy stocks might have been affected.

EGAN: Yes, that's right, Boris. Energy stocks have absolutely been caught up in this AI selloff. We've seen GE Vernova, Oklo, Constellation Energy and some other stocks fall very sharply. And that's because the AI boom, many investors have been betting that there's going to be a lot more energy that we need to power the data centers and to make this AI boom possible. And this DeepSeek news has forced investors to, again, rethink that as well. And so we've seen the energy stocks come down very sharply today. Clearly, this news from this Chinese startup has sent shockwaves, really, across Wall Street. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Matt Egan, thank you so much for that update.

Coming up, returning to northern Gaza. Tens of thousands of Palestinians bracing for what awaits them months after being driven out by war. We're live on the ground with a live report from the region in just a few minutes.

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