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Perry Talks Border Crisis, Obama Meeting; Children in Limbo as Border Crisis Rages; Emmy Nominations Announced

Aired July 10, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Brianna Keilar in for Carol Costello. Thank you for joining me.

Today the Senate will hold a hearing on President Obama's request for $3.7 billion to help the tens of thousands of undocumented and unaccompanied children who are currently here. That senate hearing comes a day after the President met with Texas Governor Rick Perry who has been very vocal in his criticism of the White House's handling of the situation.

Here's what Perry told CNN's Kate Bolduan about their discussion and possible solutions to the crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: You meet with the president after quite a bit of fanfare. He leaves the meeting saying that some of what you said he thinks makes quite a bit of sense. How would you describe the meeting? Are you guys on the same page?

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: I certainly think what I said made a lot of sense. So -- and I don't know whether we're on the same page or not. The president said, philosophically agreed with the things that I talked about because I said we need to secure the border. You need to put these National Guard troops on there. We need to change these policies that are enticing people to come to the United States. And these policies that I'm talking about are where that if you're from one of the Central American countries rather than Mexico you're treated differently. These incentives, if you will that if you come into the United States you can stay.

Stop those policies and secure the border. At that particular point in time it staunches substantially this flow of individuals. Then the United States border patrol can get back to doing what they're supposed to do, which is being on guard for those either drug dealers or those with terrorist ties back that are penetrating or attempting to penetrate our border.

BOLDUAN: You have requested that he still come down to the border. You're saying that it's really important to see. He says that he doesn't want to be part of theater. That he's not interested in photo ops. Basically saying that's what that would be. PERRY: It's not theater. The American people expect to see their

president when there is a disaster. He showed up at Sandy. Why can't he show up on the border of Texas?

BOLDUAN: On the issue of the border and you're talking about the National Guardsmen there, if you have a surge of National Guardsmen, no matter how many people you put at the border you still got to deal with the crisis, the immediate crisis, at hand. What to do with the tens of thousands of kids that are already through and are already sitting here on our side of the border. What do you do with those kids, Governor?

PERRY: But you first have to staunch -- that's a symptom. The children are a symptom of policies that have enticed them to come. The first thing you have to do is stop the flow, because if we don't then the problem is not going to be the size we have today.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: So say you stop the flow, though. You know this problem, what do you do with the kids? What's your prescription?

PERRY: At that particular point in time, they can follow the rule of law that we have and process them very quickly and send them back to the countries that they're from. The real humanitarian thing from my perspective is to first not give them reasons to be coming here to begin with. And the other one is to reunite these families together, not you know, continue policies that rip these families apart and send children by themselves or mothers and a baby away from their family. That's not humanitarian.

BOLDUAN: One of the things that the President said is a lot of what you suggested is part of this emergency funding that he's asking Congress for. He says that it hits the targets that you're talking about, especially trying to get these children through the immigration system faster, to process them faster, if they do make it over here. Are you going to come out and support him to have that passed?

PERRY: I'm going to come out and support the President to secure the border because if he doesn't do that first, I'm not sure the American people are going to trust the President or Congress to do what is required.

They look back in history has not particularly treated them well from the standpoint of border security, so when the President -- and the President could do this very quickly again. I told him today, I said, "Mr. President, take the action. I said put the onus on Congress, but you first have to act, Mr. President. That's what leadership is all about."

BOLDUAN: He says when talking about Congress, he says that he can't put the onus on Congress because they're not acting. He says that it all comes down to if they want to take action or if they want to play politics and he is pointing the finger squarely on Republicans saying Republicans are trying to have it both ways. They want to tell him to do something but at the same time they want to criticize him for taking unilateral action and sue him over it. Does he have a point on that?

PERRY: Well, I think when you look at the President's actions, particularly on this issue, you have Democrats that are asking for the President to come to the border, both Congressman Vela and Congressman Hinojosa as well as Henry Cuellar.

BOLDUAN: But beyond -- beyond showing up at the border and talking about the prescription of what to do about stemming the surge, stemming the flood like you think is so important and also dealing with this crisis of all of these kids on the border, him showing up at the border that's not going to do anything about it. It has to be dealt with either with governors like yourself, or through Congress.

PERRY: So actions are really important.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

PERRY: And unless we see this president acting, then the American people are going to think that he does not care about securing the border. I think that's the real political issue for this president. I think it makes sense for a president or a governor to go to the site of a natural disaster or a manmade disaster.

I don't understand why the President has dug his heels in and basically said to Democrats and Republicans alike, "I'm not going because it will look political."

BOLDUAN: On this latest crisis I have to ask you, Governor, you said last month that administration on this issue was incredibly inept or they're in on this somehow. After your meeting today with the President, which one is it, Governor?

PERRY: Well, I don't know. And that's the reason I ask that question a month ago was, why haven't we had any more action out of this administration. And, you know, again, the President has come to Texas. The President was gracious and allowed me to give him my insight on this and I appreciate that. But the fact is he still hasn't acted. And so actions are really important in this process.

BOLDUAN: But words are important here as well, as you're saying, as you think Republicans believe that the President's words in talking about the Dream Act previously, that has sent the wrong message to Central America. So, words do matter in this debate. Do you really honestly believe as you said in the interview last month that the administration might be in on this somehow? I mean you're suggesting there's some kind of conspiracy here.

PERRY: No. What I'm suggesting is that this administration and their words and their actions or the lack thereof are part of the problem. I think you're putting the words of conspiracy in my mouth which I did not say.

BOLDUAN: No. You actually did say the word, "I hate to be conspiratorial but I mean how do you move that many people from Central America?"

PERRY: And I hate to be conspiratorial. I hate to be conspiratorial. I did not say I was.

BOLDUAN: How can you move that many people from Central America across Mexico and then into the United States without there being a fairly coordinated effort.

PERRY: I don't know.

BOLDUAN: I'm just asking Governor.

PERRY: I don't know.

BOLDUAN: Because words can matter. You know that.

PERRY: And there is -- I totally understand. But the real issue here, rather than getting into a semantics battle, is whether or not this president is going to lead this country.

BOLDUAN: Can you work hand in hand though with the President that you criticize so harshly on an issue that is so important to you? Can you get past the politics?

PERRY: I did today. So I suspect we will.

BOLDUAN: Governor, thank you for your time.

PERRY: Thank you, Kate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: The president will spend part of the day in Texas before heading back to Washington. As of now though, he has no plans to visit the border.

And you can watch Kate Bolduan and the rest of the "NEW DAY" crew from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: As many as 80,000 children could cross the border into the U.S. this year without their parents. The Obama administration says they're desperate to escape the poverty and violence plaguing their home countries, specifically the Central American nations of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

CNN's Rosa Flores takes us inside one Texas shelter where those children, some unaccompanied, some with their families, are living.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After traveling hundreds of miles, these Central American families find a glimmer of hope at a temporary shelter at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, Texas. Most are fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries, arriving exhausted, with nothing but the clothing on their backs, laceless shoes and a manila folder handed to them by immigration officials with documents in English they say they don't understand. Daisy Villanueva says she traveled with her two-year-old son Stanley by foot and by bus from her home country of Honduras, nearly 1,500 miles, until she made it to America then turned herself in to immigration authorities. Few meals along the way, the fear and trauma still clear on this family's face. She didn't leave anyone behind but hopes to reunite with her husband in North Carolina.

Not the case for Sergio Bolanos (ph). He left a wife and two children in Guatemala, making the dangerous journey with his nine-year-old son, Vidal, who was anxious to change his dirty clothing and sit down to eat a meal.

Sergio says he crossed the border and turned himself in to immigration, spent three days with his son in a detention center, was assigned a court date to face an immigration judge, and was set free at a bus station. That's how thousands of people end up in temporary shelters like this one.

(on camera): This facility sees between 150 and 180 people a day. Take a look around, it's a quick stop. They get some fresh clothing, a blanket for the road, some shoes, and also some snacks for their bus ride. And if there's time, they get a quick shower.

(voice over): Sister Norma Pimentel established this temporary shelter a month ago and has already served more than 3,000 people.

SISTER NORMA PIMENTEL, CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE RIO GRANDE: They may be stripped of everything but one thing they do have is their faith. And so I think this is a beautiful encounter of faith alive amongst our people.

FLORES: It's the common story here.

Daisy says she wants to protect her son from the constant sound of gunshots in her neighborhood and the dead bodies on the streets.

For Sergio, he says he's escaping the extreme poverty in Guatemala where he had trouble putting food on the table working in agriculture. As he and his son boarded a bus to reunite with family in California it was left up to them to honor the immigration court date in that paperwork in the manila folder. Sergio wouldn't say if they plan to show up for the court hearing.

Rosa Flores, CNN, McAllen, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Big morning for CNN and all the Emmy nominees. The announcements were made about two hours ago and CNN captured nine noms but HBO led the way. Check this out a whopping 99 Emmy nominations including 19 just for "Game of Thrones".

Matthew Belloni is the executive editor of the "Hollywood Reporter". He's joining us from New York. Matthew, this was a really big day for Netflix too. We saw 31 nominations.

MATTHEW BELLONI, EXEC. EDITOR, "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": Yes. I mean HBO leads but that's normal. Netflix getting into the game here with 31 nominations. It's pretty incredible after only two years of being in the original series space. They now have a drama contender in "House of Cards" and more surprisingly they have a comedy contender now with "Orange is the New Black" getting 12 nominations.

KEILAR: And also we were sort of surprised though when you talk about the omissions are always a big story. No "Homeland".

BELLONI: Yes, no "Homeland" in the series category, however Claire Danes did get nominated for actress.

KEILAR: Yes.

BELLONI: I think "Homeland" not getting a nomination for series and "The Good Wife" not getting a series drama nomination -- those are the two big snubs.

KEILAR: Ok, so those are the big snubs. "Modern Family" always seems to do really well, again this year in the nominations. Do you think that maybe the run, though, could end as far as wins go this year?

BELLONI: I think this might be the year that "Modern Family" gets toppled. I think you -- some of the other nominations, Ed O'Neill not getting nominated for supporting actor, indicates it's a little bit weaker than in years past and you have this new hot contender in "Orange is the New Black" getting 12 nominations. There's a new contender from HBO called "Silicon Valley" that's in the race. "Veep" is always very strong with academy voters. So I think this could be the year that "Modern Family" loses its grip on that category.

KEILAR: Ok, we'll talk after and see if your prediction is right on that.

But, you know, when you sort of -- every year there might be a theme or you see how things are trending with the nominations. Is there a big takeaway this year?

BELLONI: I think in addition to the emergence of Netflix as a real power here, I think it's interesting to note that the Emmys go with the same people year after year -- the "Mad Men", "The Game of Thrones". But if you look at the nominations with "True Detective" and with "Orange is the New Black" and with "Fargo" the FX mini-series getting 19 nominations, you really have a lot of newer contenders and that's great for television.

KEILAR: I was stuck to my TV on Sunday nights watching "True Detective". I really loved the show. So before we go, just handicap this for me. You think we'll see a win here?

BELLONI: I think the momentum right now probably is behind "True Detective". It was one of those shows that really did galvanize viewers. It has Matthew McConaughey who just won the Oscar, and he's also nominated for an Emmy. So I think if there's a show to bet on it's probably "True Detective" although "Breaking Bad" had its amazing season and it's nominated as well.

KEILAR: Yes. And I would argue that his performance in "True Detective" might actually have been even better than his Oscar performance. I mean it was just fantastic.

BELLONI: It is but it's very tough competition.

KEILAR: Oh it really is, yes, definitely. Matthew Belloni, thanks so much.

BELLONI: Sure.

KEILAR: "NEWSROOM" is back in a minute.

But first our travel insider gives you a look at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis where Elvis changed music forever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM STILES, ARTIST: Hi, I'm William Stiles. I'm the Elvis tribute artist from Memphis, Tennessee and I want to show you my city.

When you think of Memphis, you think of Beale Street and you think of barbecue. Or you think of blues. Most of all you think about Elvis.

This is where it all began, Sun Studios.

MARLA STONE, SUN STUDIOS: Elvis Presley started recording here in 1953. Other than Elvis, artists like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis --

STILES: Where did the king stand?

STONE: He stood right about here. This is one of the original microphones that we used back in the 50s to record.

STILES: This is the exact microphone.

STONE: The acoustics, the ceiling tiles are all original. The floor tiles are all original. It's very special, because it does have that same quality of sound that they would have had back in the 50s.

STILES: Sun Studios has really cool old-style malts. (inaudible) over this.

When I'm in town, Beale Street is where I want to be. Here I am with my all-time favorite place to eat, Blue City Cafe. It's a hunk, a hunk of barbecue. Man -- that was awesome.

The best place to party that I like is at BB King's. This is BB's first bar. A lot of musicians have rolled through here.

Look, man, don't be a fool. You want good music come to Memphis, Tennessee.

Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Well, we like to go to the experts for advice -- right. But what happens when an expert falls on his face? In the case of one man, he gets gored.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Buffalo Bill Hillmann took the bull by its horns all right -- right in his thigh.

(on camera): Are you on drugs?

HILLMANN: Yes, I'm on a lot of drugs. I think I'm on morphine.

MOOS (voice over): That bull didn't just gore anyone, it gored one of the authors of "Fiesta: How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona". Noted one commenter, "The bull is now writing a book: how to gore a clown running in front of me on a street in Spain."

RTVE captured the moment that Bill, wearing suspenders, ran from the bull but got pushed by the guy behind him and then tripped on someone's foot.

HILLMANN: The horn entered on my inner thigh and exited on my outer thigh and then pulled through.

MOOS (on camera): Do you remember feeling it go in?

HILLMANN: No, I didn't feel it at all. I did -- when he lifted me -- that's when I realized I was gored. It was actually very slow and like kind of graceful to be lifted by a bull, but it didn't hurt at all.

MOOS (voice over): He was instantly in shock, didn't feel pain until he was put in an ambulance. Doctors told Bill the horn missed his femoral artery by about this much. We spoke to Bill shortly after he had surgery to clean the wound.

HILLMANN: Sadly, you know, its just part of the run, you know. All the great runners have been gored.

MOOS: This was the tenth year that Bill has joined in the running of the bulls. People trip each other, the bulls trip over the people, the bulls trip over the bulls. They pull the bull's tail to get it away from runners who are down.

Chapter three of "How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona" is full of tips such as if you fall down, stay down. Instinct tells the bull to jump over debris. Will Bill be making any additions to the book?

HILLMANN: I think the book is very solid and I think today was a situation where somebody pushed me and I fell over and I got gored. MOOS: Bill's prognosis is good, but not the bulls. They almost always wind up dead by the end of the day, killed in bull fights. The animal that gored Bill got separated from the herd which sends a bull into attack mode. It trampled another guy after goring Bill.

Will the author be back for the re-running of the bulls next year?

HILLMANN: I can't wait to get back on the street.

MOOS: But give that creature credit. The bull that gored bill hit the bull's eye of irony.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: I don't care what he says. I think that book needs a new foreword.

Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Brianna Keilar.

"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" starts now.