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Migrants Are Living Under Bridge at U.S.-Mexico Border; DHS Confronts Multiple Crises; Missing Woman's Family Begs Fiance to Break Silence.; Josh Taylor is Interviewed about Gabby Petito's Disappearance. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired September 17, 2021 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
DR. ALI KHAN, DEAN, COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: To keep these numbers down.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: OK. So, one big chunk of the population that has not been vaccinated are children under 12, right, because it has not gotten that Emergency Use Authorization. It does appear that that's the direction we're moving. Perhaps as soon as the end of next month.
How important a step is that, and how much of a positive might that be, right, in terms of getting the broader pandemic under control?
KHAN: So, it's an important step, especially if you talk to parents, which I do all the time, because they're concerned about protecting that five to 12 year age group.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
KHAN: But I think we need to remember, the only reason we need to protect our kids is because the adults in the room aren't protecting our kids. And if the adults in the room would protect our kids, we wouldn't need to be vaccinating our kids, we wouldn't need to be masking them in school.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
KHAN: So it's the adults who we need to get vaccinated.
SCIUTTO: Yes, adults failing the children, which is such a shame to see.
Dr. Ali Khan, thanks for having -- for coming on this morning.
KHAN: Always a pleasure. And, remember, get vaccinated and mask on.
SCIUTTO: All right. Listen to the doctors.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Always my favorite part with Dr. Khan, I have to say.
SCIUTTO: He also has some good masks.
HILL: Very good masks.
SCIUTTO: Well, there's a new surge at the southern border. CNN has new video showing thousands of migrants camped under a bridge. We're told that border agents simply overwhelmed there. We're going to take you to the scene live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:35:57]
HILL: More than 9,500 migrants are now living under a bridge along the U.S./Mexico border in Del Rio, Texas. That crowd continues to grow. People waiting to be processed as Border Patrol agents are struggling to handle the influx.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott now says he is sending additional resources to the border to help deter crossings. That's after a federal official said that his ordered to shut down six ports of entry would be illegal.
CNN's Michael Roa joining us now from Del Rio, Texas.
So, Michael, what is -- what is happening? Why is it taking so long to get people processed? Is it simply the sheer number?
MICHAEL ROA, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, Erica, it's simple, there is too many people and not enough manpower from the immigration authorities to process these migrants that are sheltering under the bridge.
The mayor of the Rio city tweeted last night saying there is more than 10,000 migrants that have crossed over the Rio Grande during the last 72 hours. They crossed through a path where there is not too deep. One of those migrants spoke yesterday with our affiliate, Univision, and he said that they got a number, a ticket, a number in line waiting to be processed.
The problem, Erica, is that there is no space at the shelters, at the immigration facilities in the area. They are at full capacity, so that's why they haven't been able to take out those migrants from the area.
Also, the CBP have said that those migrants, the vast majority of them, will be removal under Title 42 that allow immigration authorities to expel these people because of the pandemic, and also they will be expelled under, you know, express immigration procedures that are new implemented by the government.
Another problem in the area, Erica, is that temperature. The weather today is expected to rise over 100 degrees. That makes the situation more and more complicated for these people that are receiving water, towels from the authorities here in the area. It's a very complex situation right now.
Erica. HILL: Yes, it certainly is.
Michael, appreciate it. Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Well, the influx of migrants there comes as a source tells CNN that the Homeland Security Department has been, quote, operating in crisis mode since day one of this administration. And the agency is now losing two senior leaders as it confronts additional challenges.
CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins me now with her new reporting.
So, what's the source of this division internally?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, it all boils down to too many cooks in the kitchen and disagreement between factions. You have moderates and progressives and there's disagreement over how to handle the situation and manage the situation at the U.S./Mexico border, and that can sometimes leave little room for solutions or decisions. Sources tell me it's paralysis and exhaustion for a department that has been in crisis mode since day one.
Now, a Homeland Security spokesperson told me in a statement that we, quote, encourage candid and fulsome debate and we pride ourselves on inviting and considering different points of view.
But as you mentioned, two senior DHS officials announcing their resignation this week, each for differing reasons. It's unclear if these tensions played a role.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
ALVAREZ: But a shakeup at a difficult moment.
SCIUTTO: My producer and I have been down to the border, and our photo journalist. We've seen the challenges that they're under. And this has been for a number of months now. Really for a number of years, frankly.
The Del Rio situation, is there any understanding of why this particular surge in that spot right now and in those numbers?
ALVAREZ: So we have to understand who's coming in Del Rio. And the majority are Haitians. Now, these are not Haitians who are fleeing the recent earthquake or the assassination. Rather, Haitians who were living in South America and the toll of the pandemic and decimating those economies drove them north.
Now, some speculate that because of a deportation pause of Haitian flights, that that could have contributed to people coming over. As you snow, smugglers take advantage of every moment.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
ALVAREZ: And so right now they have to deal with what to do with these Haitians.
[09:40:02]
A Homeland Security official does tell me that flights to Haiti have continued.
SCIUTTO: And, by the way, smugglers lie. I mean they lie because they charge a lot of money, thousands of dollars, right, to help try to get these people across.
Priscilla Alvarez, thanks very much.
HILL: We are hearing for the first time from the family of a man who has refused to talk to police about the disappearance of his fiance. Just ahead, we'll speak with the police department investigating Gabby Petito's case. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: All right, now the latest on just an alarming story. Authorities say they believe the fiance of a missing Florida woman has critical information about her disappearance, that's her there, but he's refusing to talk to them.
[09:45:05]
Twenty-two-year-old Gabby Petito disappeared last month while traveling cross-country with her fiance, Brian Laundrie.
HILL: Laundrie returned to Florida without Petito and officials believe he was the last person to see her. Now his sister is breaking her silence, even though she says she hasn't spoken to her brother yet either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASSIE LAUNDRIE, SISTER OF MAN WHOSE FIANCE IS MISSING: Obviously, me and my family want Gabby to be found safe. She's like a sister and my children love her. And all I want is for her to come home safe and sound and this to be just a big misunderstanding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: CNN national correspondent Athena Jones joining us now in New York.
So, Athena, what more do we know this morning?
SCIUTTO: Yes.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, there's a lot that we don't know. We know there are a lot more questions than there are answers. We know that Gabby Petito's fiance, Brian Laundrie, arrived back at the home that they shared with his family in her white van on September 1st. Her parents reported her missing September 11th.
We also know that both the Petito family, her parents and step parents and, of course, their lawyer, they're all pleading for the Laundrie family and for Brian Laundrie in particular to be more forthcoming. They're calling Brian Laundrie's silence reprehensible.
And so we heard from Brian Laundrie's sister, Cassie Laundrie, saying she didn't have any information.
Well, Gabby Petito's father, Joseph Petito, responded to the initial clip of that interview that ABC put out yesterday and he was pretty emotional. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH PETITO, GABBY PETITO'S FATHER: Well, if you love Gabby as a sister and you knew your brother was home on the 10th and no Gabby to be found, who lives in that house, and told no one, OK.
She is a mother and she's got kids. So I'm hoping that the pleas and the begging and the community and the, you know, entire damn planet knock some sense into her where she's like, I got to -- I got to speak. Like, I can't live with this on my conscience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so just to clear one thing up, he said something about September 10th. As far as we know, the fiance, Brian Laundrie, returned to that home in North Port, Florida, on the first of September.
But we have heard from Joseph Petito all week, day after day, trying to make sure that this story stays in the spotlight and encouraging the Laundrie family to step forward. In fact, a lawyer for Petito's parents yesterday read out a letter imploring the Laundrie family to be more forthcoming, saying, put yourself in our shoes. Our daughter lived in your house for over a year. She was engaged to be married to your son. You know, if you have any decency left, tell us where Gabby is located. We believe that Brian knows where he last saw Gabby, where he left Gabby.
So, there is a lot of frustration on the part of Gabby's family as to why Brian Laundrie and his family have not been more forthcoming. Of course, their lawyer -- they've been advised by their lawyer to not comment here. So that's the problem. He, of course, has a Fifth Amendment right to not -- not to incriminate himself.
But this search for Gabby Petito is being carried out in Wyoming, where her family last believed she was in the Grand Teton Yellowstone area. That search continues. Her stepfather has gone out to join the search and do what he can to help out there.
We also know that we -- that the police in Moab City, Utah, released some body camera footage of an altercation that Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie had on August 12th. So several -- a couple weeks before her family last heard from her.
So police in Florida aren't sure. Of course, they're looking at that. They say, we look at everything that comes in. But they're not yet sure whether and how that has anything to do with Gabby Petito's disappearance. But the bottom line here, and the overarching theme here is a great
deal of frustration on the part of those looking for Gabby. One, to get some answers from her boyfriend -- from her fiance.
HILL: Yes, absolutely.
Athena Jones, appreciate it. Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HILL: Joining us now to discuss, Josh Taylor, he's the public information officer for the North Port, Florida, Police Department.
Good to have you with us this morning.
You know, as we have heard from the Laundrie family's attorney, we do not expect to hear from Brian Laundrie. As Athena pointed out there, it's his Fifth Amendment right not to talk.
But in a recent statement, the attorney said the family was staying in the background. His sister, though, as you heard this morning on "Good Morning America," said she had spoken to police.
Is the family being cooperative at this point?
JOSH TAYLOR, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER FOR NORTH PORT, FLORIDA, POLICE: She may have spoken to police, but I would not consider the family having -- being entirely cooperative.
[09:50:01]
You know, this starts Saturday with us showing up at the door and were essentially handed a piece of paper with their attorney's contact information. That has been the extent of our conversation with Brian's parents. We have never spoken a word with Brian.
HILL: And in terms of his sister, who said she spoke to police, did she come to the police or did you go to her?
TAYLOR: I'll been honest with you, ma'am, that was news to me. So I'll have to confirm that this morning on who actually spoke with her. I can't actually confirm with you that she has spoken to the police. There's -- obviously, the FBI is working on this case as well. It's certainly possible.
HILL: So it's possible she spoke with North Port Police. Is it possible she spoke with another police department somewhere?
TAYLOR: I do not think so.
HILL: OK.
TAYLOR: I don't --
HILL: Well -- go ahead.
TAYLOR: I have no information that she spoke with the North Port Police Department.
HILL: Well, we'll -- I know you said you're going to follow up on that. And we're going to stay in touch with you too, to see what comes out of that.
In terms of -- you mentioned the FBI. We know the van -- so the van that they used was found in Florida. It was processed, and I understand it. And there were materials in there that warrant further investigation. But as I understand it at this point, police in North Port are saying there's no information right now that ties to a crime in North Port.
Do you believe there could be evidence, material evidence though, perhaps more of it, in the area, perhaps in or around the Laundrie home?
TAYLOR: No, I don't know that that's necessarily the case. I mean we certainly went through the van. We know that van was back here in North Port for ten days. You know, that's a lot of -- that's a long time. And that she was (INAUDIBLE) we believe before that. So, you know, I can tell you that the FBI and their experts have gone through that van with our agency. We've been able to definitely get some material out of that van. We are certainly not at the point of revealing what that material was.
HILL: The search right now, as we know, there's a search ongoing in Wyoming. Is there a search potentially for -- is there reason to believe that Gabby Petito could be somewhere in the North Port area, somewhere in Florida?
TAYLOR: I have -- there is no indication that Gabby is here in North Port.
HILL: OK.
We saw just a little bit, our correspondent Athena Jones shows a little bit of that video that we know -- the body cam video from August 12th. I just want to play a moment of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABBY PETITO: We've just been fighting this morning. We're going through some personal issues.
He wouldn't let me in the car before.
OFFICER: Why wouldn't he let you in the car, because of -- because of your OCD?
PETITO: He told me I need to -- he told me I needed to calm down, yes, but I'm perfectly calm.
I have OCD and sometimes I can get really frustrated.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HILL: So she's talking through a little bit about what happened there. According to the police report, Brian told the officer Gabby was afraid he'd leave her behind in Moab. His sister, this morning, said it's typical of both of them, whenever they'd fight, they'd take a little break, then come back and be fine because that's what you do in a couple.
Have you uncovered any other evidence of incidents between the two, any disagreements, any issues of -- any domestic issues?
TAYLOR: Yes, we have no previous incidents with the two of them here in North Port. Brian does not have a criminal record, from my understanding.
HILL: So that incident was August 12th. Gabby's family said their last communication from her was the last week of August. As you said, the van and Brian, as far as we know, were back in Florida on September 1st.
Do you feel that you have a reliable timeline at this point, or are there some holes that you need plugged?
TAYLOR: Yes, there are definitely holes that need to be plugged and I think that that's why we're -- we're out here speaking with you and getting the information out, all of the tips that come in. I mean that van drove thousands of miles across this country to get back here to North Port.
What we know is that our chief has been very forthcoming. Two people went on this trip and only one returned. And, you know, every tip that comes in as far as, you know, what gas station that vehicle stopped in or any other interaction that somebody may have had with Brian or Gabby, we certainly want to know about.
And we are holding out hope that Gabby's out there. So certainly if anybody has seen her recently, we have nothing definitive that would indicate that Gabby is no longer with us. So we think that it's important that we all hold out hope.
Speaking with Gabby's father, Joe, yesterday, you know, he's holding out hope. Obviously, all of the details that we do know surrounding it do not paint a very positive picture. But that flicker and flame of hope still lives.
HILL: Josh Taylor, appreciate your time this morning. And we will continue to stay on this as well. Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Well ahead, a new warning of potential violence as early as today as Capitol Police brace for a right-wing rally supporting those criminally charged with storming the Capitol, attacking police, the building and others on January 6th.
[09:55:12]
Our live, team coverage is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: A very good Friday morning to all of you. I'm Jim Sciutto.
HILL: And I'm Erica Hill.
U.S. Capitol Police gearing up for potential violence ahead of tomorrow's right-wing rally in Washington in support of the January 6th insurrectionists. But authorities now say the threat could actually come even sooner.
[10:00:01]
Determined to prevent a repeat of January 6th, security measures are fully in place ahead of Saturday's event. There's a new warning though from the Department of Homeland Security, which suggests that.
