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Immigration Battle; New Details in Georgia Toddler Death; Tensions in Israel

Aired July 08, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: The flow of children has forced the government to house thousands of kids in facilities all along the border. You see all the yellow states here, all the way from California, down through Texas, military bases, emergency shelters and potentially unused and empty school buildings.

The influx of these children is raising lots of questions about immigration and its wider impact on the country.

So, before we talk politics and policy, here's the big picture from our friends at CNN.com.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Decades ago, the word immigration conjured up images of boats at Ellis Island, of course, the Statue of Liberty. Today, it's a different story. The issue is more heated, more politicized, more complicated.

Immigrants are now entering the U.S. from every corner, Miami to Seattle, L.A. to New York, and especially along the Mexican border. We're talking more than 40 million immigrants in the United States right now, both legally and illegally. That's roughly 13 percent of our population, making America the number one destination on Earth for immigrants.

So who are these new arrivals? Well, about a quarter or 11 million are undocumented, a number that's increased almost year by year since 2000. Of those who become legal residents, you would probably guess a lot are from Mexico. You would be right, 14 percent, but you might be surprised to find out the next two leading countries of birth for new U.S. residents. China and India.

Those are the two most populated countries on the planet. As for work, the latest labor stats show, by and large, immigrant workers are in the service industry. We're talking hotels, restaurants, gas stations and they're making a lot less than U.S.-born workers, about $160 less per week.

So, regardless of how you feel about the issue, there's no doubt immigrants are here to stay and they play a huge role in the American economy every day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: There's your 75-second refresher.

Now let's talk politics and policy, Michelle Kosinski joining me now live from the White House.

Initially, we thought, Michelle, it was $2 billion. And now we know the president's request, right, of Congress, $3.7 billion. How will that all be divvied up?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's really interesting that it's nearly double what has originally been talked about, what many people thought it would be.

We knew this was going to be expensive, but didn't quite know exactly how much. Today, the White House in its request for this emergency funding from Congress wanted to lay out and show where exactly it would be going. And the costs are substantial, nearly $2 billion alone just for housing and caring for the children once they're apprehended at the border and brought here.

You were talking about some of the possibilities for housing them. I mean, it's difficult. Now there's talk of using abandoned schools. Another $1 billion -- or actually it's closer to $1.5 billion -- will be for border security and enforcement. This is interesting because just yesterday, we were asking about this, and the White House said, no, the amount that's requested from Congress is going to be more for the lawyers and judges and caring for these children.

But now we know that a substantial piece, like we said, about $1.5 billion, is for security and enforcement. And then the remainder will be for that legal process that's required by law, giving each one of these kids due process to plead their case before a judge to stay here, even though in reality most of them will be sent home, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, so we have that dollar amount now. Let's talk Texas, because we know the president, President Obama heads to Texas tomorrow. The plan was to travel there for these fund-raisers. Then you have this whole, you know, story that is front and center as it pertains to immigration, all these thousands of kids crossing over.

The question for you, this whole back and forth between President Obama and Republican Governor of Texas Rick Perry, they're finally meeting. Governor Perry wasn't going to meet him on the tarmac. Now they're having this longer meeting. What's the story?

KOSINSKI: Yes, this is really interesting, especially the way it's played out, because, obviously, the White House doesn't want to bend to political pressure, but this has been front and center in the news every day for a few weeks now.

Still, the White House says that the president does not have plans to go down to the border. That's being criticized harshly today and yesterday, and by Governor Rick Perry. He's been one of the president's toughest critics on this issue. Governor Perry wrote a letter to the president, and addressed the issue saying, you know what? Just meeting on the tarmac and greeting you isn't going to be enough. Let's have a substantial meeting and sit down and talk about this humanitarian crisis.

Well, then the White House said, well, they have now extended an invitation to Governor Perry. So they're not saying they have accepted his invitation. They're saying that they have now extended their own invitation because the White House had originally planned for the president to meet with community leaders, faith leaders in Dallas, and talk about humanitarian needs.

So the White House now has asked Perry to attend that meeting. The question is, well, are the governor and the president now going to sit down together and have that substantial meeting that the governor asked for? And the answer is, we don't exactly know.

It's possible, the White House says, but nothing established, at least for their one-on-one meeting. But we know that the governor is invited to attend that meeting with other community leaders in Dallas tomorrow, again, not at the border, but it's in Texas, and on the subject, and that's movement from what the plans were even a week ago.

BALDWIN: OK, Michelle Kosinski, we will be watching and we will be talking tomorrow as the president is in Texas. Thank you so much at the White House for us this afternoon.

Now to this. Have to talk today about this case out of Georgia about the toddler who died in his dad's scorching hot car in that June day in Cobb County. Justin Ross Harris is the father here. He's charged with felony murder, child cruelty for allegedly leaving his son in the car on purpose.

Today, Harris' wife, Leanna, visit this Georgia jail where her husband sits after being denied bond end of last week. This is video from our affiliate -- no, actually, that information is from our affiliate, WXIA, out of Atlanta.

And while Leanna Harris, seen here on your screen, is not charged, is not a suspect in the eyes of police, many are wondering if she should be behind bars herself based upon what police said during her husband's probable cause hearing on Thursday.

So, Martin Savidge, let me bring you in here. You have been covering this whole horrific story. The fact that Leanna Harris went to this jail, XIA is saying she was there for 36 minutes today. Do we even know if they saw each other?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, we don't.

You have no way to know what happens when she gets inside the building.

BALDWIN: Right.

SAVIDGE: You would presume, if they did meet, husband and wife, that it wasn't for the entire 36 minutes.

You don't know what they talked about. Presumably -- and it tends to be standard -- that they record, meaning the authorities do, the communications that take place. And you have got to figure it's probably not their first visit as well. It may be the first that was captured on video, but it's quite possible husband and wife would talk. She might check on his welfare. She might have other things she wishes to discuss with him.

So, we really don't know much more than that it took place.

BALDWIN: Could whatever they discussed at any particular meeting be used against him down the road?

SAVIDGE: Could be eventually, depending on what is said. We have seen that in other cases, Casey Anthony, when there were conversations that took place between her parents and Casey, so maybe.

It really all depends on what happens with her. We should point out, she has not been arrested. Authorities are not saying that she's under investigation. In fact, the way they put it carefully is that she is part of the investigation. However, in the court of public opinion, which is where a lot of this is playing out, people are measuring the things she says, the lack of reaction she seemed to have to the death of her child, to the outrageous statements authorities are making about what her husband was doing at the time and also about the things she said in the eulogy.

Those are being perceived that this is a woman who really doesn't seem that upset that her child is dead. And then people seem to want to make the leap that, well, maybe she's not upset because somehow she was involved.

But, again, she is not charged with anything.

BALDWIN: Just looking at the calendar, we had the probable cause, the bond hearing last Thursday. What's next to watch for?

SAVIDGE: Well, the next thing is, of course, it's going to go before a grand jury, but we could see a lot of time pass between now and then. There's a lot of evidence, of course, authorities say they have. A lot of that is forensic computer evidence they're going to have to go through.

Clearly, since the judge has upheld the charges, they don't feel the pressure of the clock ticking down on the prosecutor's office. They will take the time. It could be months, I'm told.

BALDWIN: OK. Martin Savidge, thank you very much.

I also have Jane Velez-Mitchell and she's joining me now to shed a little light on this whole process, joins me from New York.

Again, Jane, WXIA, this TV affiliate out of Atlanta, reports that this jail in which this father is sitting, it allows up to two people to visit at any time. It's by videoconference. Do you think this wife, Leanna Harris, took a big risk in visiting her husband there?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Well, Brooke, what I want to know is why is she being so loyal to the man who has committed the ultimate betrayals, the death of her son? Whether you believe it's accidental or intentional, it happened on his watch. And then the sexting with half a dozen women.

Why would she make this symbolic gesture? Is she simply tone-deaf to the implications of her actions? Is she that naive? Or is she defiant, standing by her man, maybe telling herself, well, I'm in love, and romanticizing the situation?

BALDWIN: Right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You have really got to wonder. But I have to say this. I believe that prosecutors in that probable cause hearing last week really wanted to send her a message. Lady, stop sticking up for this guy. Your loyalty is misplaced. You need to tell us exactly what toxic secrets were going on in that home because we need the truth to get justice for your deceased son.

And I will give you one quick example.

BALDWIN: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It turns out that the car seat that they had was a rear-facing car seat involved in the death of their son. Well, six weeks prior to the death, we're told, they had bought a forward-facing car seat that some say is more appropriate for his age because he had outgrown the old one.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let me hit pause on that exact point, on that point. Roll the sound from the hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DET. PHIL STODDARD, COBB COUNTY, GEORGIA, POLICE: What she told me was -- it actually is what Ross told me -- is that the car seat they were using, they have had since birth. Six weeks ago, they bought the forward-facing car seat. Leanna went to Alabama a couple weeks back. They swapped out car seats again. So Ross had been using the rear- facing car seat for the last couple weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I just wanted our viewers to hear that, to your point. Pick up where you left off.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, yes, so she would know why, exactly, they switched back to the rear-facing car seat.

Obviously, if you have a forward-facing car seat, it would be much easier to see the child. Was there a sinister reason that the car seat was switched in time for this hideous day? She can give prosecutors the information they need because the sexting might not be enough.

We have heard already analysis that the defense may try to use the sexting to say, oh, well, that's why he was distracted. That's why he forgot about his child, because he was involved in this fantasy play. Prosecutors say it's more than fantasy play, that he actually met up with one of these women. I want to know, was he having an affair with a particular woman, and did he plan to leave his wife?

BALDWIN: Just -- I know people keep saying whether that can be part of the defense or not. Just to think as a parent, three minutes, right, from that breakfast when you're with that little child to work, how could you forget? But it happens. It happens.

Jane Velez-Mitchell, thank you so much.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, we have just gotten word air raid sirens are going off in Israel. This comes as Hamas militants try to enter Israel by sea while Israel authorities are authorizing some 40,000 troops to be called up. Both sides are stepping up their rhetoric on Twitter even. We will take you live to the region with a report from the ground on the social media attacks and obviously what is happening here, the air sirens, from both sides.

Also, Clippers owner Donald Sterling expected to appear in an L.A. courtroom about an hour from now. He's taking on his wife to see if she has the authority to sell the team. Hear what both sides are arguing in this case.

Stay right here. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Israel is mobilizing military reserves, some 40,000 troops approved by Israel's cabinet today for the conflict raging with Gaza's Palestinians. And we have just gotten this. As we reported a moment ago, air raid sirens are going off on a beach near Tel Aviv. Take a look.

Tel Aviv, that is just this afternoon, no reports of deaths or injuries from incoming rocket fire from Gaza. But I can tell you that the Israelis today also ordered camps and schools closed within 25 miles of the border there with Gaza to protect Israeli children from those incoming rockets.

Those are the small rockets, here you go, fired by Hamas at a rate of more than 100 a day with no confirmed deaths. Just to give you some contrast here, Israeli airstrikes with targets in Gaza killed at least 15 people overnight. This is according to Palestinian sources flying American-made aircraft.

The Israelis leveled several homes in Gaza and killed a man they call a senior terrorist. In one attack, seven people were killed, including two children, again, according to sources, when an Israeli bomb hit the home they were defending as so-called human shields.

CNN's Diana Magnay is live in Ashkelon in southern Israel.

And, Diana, you're there on the Israeli side of the conflict. You have these rockets from Gaza hitting nearby. You have the Israeli cabinet approving this troop call-up. Does it feel like war right now?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This feels like a very serious escalation.

And, frankly, 15 minutes ago, Brooke, the air raid sirens here in Ashkelon sounded. We had a barrage of rockets go over our head, 15 or more. Israeli media, there's a huge screen just behind me which was here for the World Cup, but no one is watching the World Cup now, showing casualties, injured people in a town of Ashdod. They're saying it was 30 rockets fired towards Jerusalem, fired towards Tel Aviv.

The Iron Dome missile defense system which Israel has in place has intercepted two rockets over Tel Aviv, but this is what Hamas has been threatening, that they will start using their long-range missiles if Israel doesn't stop its airstrikes into Gaza. And those airstrikes don't seem to have thwarted Hamas' capabilities to date, not at all, given what we just saw flying overhead in the last 15 minutes, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Seeing those overhead, hearing the sirens, in terms of the back and forth, tell me more about the Israeli airstrikes, Diana, that killed those seven people, including the two children with the so- called human shields. What do you know about that?

MAGNAY: Well, the Israeli Defense Forces say that they are trying to target Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip. So this was an attempt to target the house of a Hamas militant.

But a family -- the family had decided to form a human shield, we're hearing from Palestinian sources, on the roof of that building, and they were killed in that airstrike. Now, the Israeli Defense Forces say that it's very difficult to operate there, to strike effectively and with precision without causing casualties because Hamas has embedded its infrastructure within civilian architecture, so to speak.

They have even sent out a message in Arabic, asking people not to associate with Hamas or they will risk their own lives in the Gaza Strip. So, this is something also the IDF said that many of the weapons facilities and sort of armament stores in the Gaza Strip are housed in mosques. This is the difficulty that they face trying to root Hamas out of these areas.

But clearly when you have airstrikes on that kind of level, with that kind of frequency in this small and very densely populated area, you are going to get civilian casualties, children dying, and this is just going to inflame passions there yet further, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Diana Magnay reporting on the increasingly escalating situation, Israel, Gaza, live for us in Ashkelon. Thank you so much.

Coming up next, we have to talk about Chicago, the violence there over this Fourth of July holiday weekend, dozens shot, nine killed. A high school principal in Chicago says the violence increases every summer, so she has a specific plan to keep her students busy. We will tell you what she's doing next.

And it's the family drama that has played out very publicly. Today, Shelly Sterling and Donald Sterling will face off against one another in front of a Los Angeles judge. We're live outside the courtroom, where both sides are expected to arrive any moment now. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Chicago's top cop calls it Groundhog Day; 53 people were shot over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Nine of them were killed.

That is 50 separate shooting incidents from Thursday night at 6:00 through Sunday night at midnight. And in two of those cases, police shot and killed the suspects, both of whom were 16 years of age.

This is the grim reality of Chicago, frustrating for families forced to bury their loved ones all too soon. But as the finger-pointing continues, those on the front lines are left trying to find a solution.

One of those people is Liz Dozier. She's the Chicago principal featured in the CNN documentary "Chicagoland." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH DOZIER, PRINCIPAL, FENGER HIGH SCHOOL: Larger ongoing gang conflict within the community, and like the school, we sit like in the middle of this.

Gentlemen, gentlemen, not going to happen, not today, not today! Keep it moving! Get out of the street. I'm not going to say it again. Get out of the street.

He's headed southbound on 112th and Emerald. Principal down, principal down. I done -- I broke my shoe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: There she was. And here she is.

Liz Dozier joins me live from Chicago.

And it's such a pleasure having you back. We thought of you immediately as we saw all these numbers of injuries and death in Chicago over the weekend. You know, listen, I know summertime, a lot of people are so excited to be out of school. It's break. This is not break time for you.

I have to imagine that reading the reports of the violence over the weekend, this is what keeps you up at night.

DOZIER: Yes, most definitely. This is -- we have been thinking about this really since February, making sure that we're prepared and ramped up for the summer with programs and supports for our students, because we know the violence on our streets and what our kids can run into if there's nothing in place for them, so it's super important for us.

BALDWIN: How -- what are some of your solutions? A lot of these individuals involved in these shootings over the weekend, they are young men.

DOZIER: Absolutely.

So we specifically -- and, like I said, we start in February and we target our students. So, we look at students who are most likely to get involved in maybe specific incidents or most likely to be victims or perpetrators of violence.

And we specifically target them for summer programs and summer jobs. It's so extremely important to us. And so we start -- we start the conversation in February. We begin in March and do extensive recruiting so that every student has a summer program or job to go to, which is critical for us.

We also look for corporate sponsors. So, Wendy's was a great sponsor for us and actually gave us 40 jobs for our students, which is huge when you think about keeping the kids off the streets, absolutely phenomenal.

BALDWIN: Point being -- and this echoes what my guest said last hour, talking about these young men, keeping them busy, keeping them on the right path.

DOZIER: Yes.

BALDWIN: I'm curious. I wanted to ask you about this, Liz, because there was a letter sent to the editor of "The Chicago Trib," "The Chicago Tribune," from someone saying basically -- and I'm paraphrasing -- it's time to pass stop and frisk in Chicago. That was the New York City policy that allows police officers to search anyone, and you had all kinds of critics saying this was absolutely racist.

A lot of, you know, young African-American men were the ones most impacted by this in New York. Would you support a policy like that?

DOZIER: Yes, I think we really have to get to the root of what the issue is if we really want to talk about solutions. And I think it's getting -- the issues that are happening in communities, what's happening in families.

I don't necessarily know that that's the best policy. It has to be, you know, keeping families and communities engaged, keeping people active, getting to the root of what the actual -- what is actually causing the problem.

BALDWIN: Let me just ask you, as a principal, you have to be obviously not just caring about these young people, but you're in touch with their parents.

DOZIER: Right. Right.

BALDWIN: What are parents saying, especially after violent weekends like this? How are they wrapping their heads around this and helping you help their kids, if at all?

DOZIER: Yes.

No, I think parents are very interested. There's a misconception that parents aren't involved or they don't care. We had about 100 kids we weren't able to supply with jobs. And let me tell you, whether it was right after school got out or it was this past Monday, we had parents at our school saying, can you please help us get Lance a job, can you help us get Serena a job, can you help get them connected?

So, parents do care and they're invested and involved in their child's life.

BALDWIN: Liz Dozier, we thank you. You do a phenomenal job.

DOZIER: Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: Keep it up. Thank you, Liz.

DOZIER: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: You got it.

DOZIER: Take care.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, a U.S. senator accused of having sex with underaged prostitutes is firing back today. Senator Robert Menendez talks exclusively with CNN about the allegations, suggestions that he's part of this Cuban smear campaign. You will hear directly from Bob Menendez coming up next.

And we're following this breaking news out of Israel. You hear them, these air raid sirens? They're now going off. A CNN team is hearing explosions near Jerusalem. We're keeping a close eye on this story for you.

Stay right with me. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)