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U.S. Expels About 4,000 Migrants in Del Rio Under Health Rule; Some Haitian Migrants Making Decision to Stay in Mexico; Republican Senator Blames "Defunding" for Bills Failure; Afghan Militants Launch Brutal, Oppressive Restrictions; Five Palestinians Killed by Israeli Forces in West Bank; EU Leaders Look to Post-Merkel Future; USA Dominates Europe to Clinch Ryder Cup. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 27, 2021 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: SOARES: ... $3.5 trillion package which would fund really key part of Biden's economic agenda. Party moderates says that figure needs to come way down for them to support it. Well as negotiations continue, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she believes the bill will pass this week. The vote is set for Thursday. All of this as the Senate is set to vote to end a possible government shutdown also coming possibly on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is facing ongoing backlash on both sides of the aisle for handling of the migrant crisis. There are about 4,000 people detained around the Del Rio, Texas camp. Many of them Haitians, have been expelled from the U.S. under a public health order. The same controversial rule was used during the Trump era. And that gives officials the power during a pandemic to turn back migrants and deny them the chance to seek asylum. At the same time, another 13,000 migrants have been allowed to enter the U.S. at least for now while it's determined if they can stay. Here's more now from homeland security chief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: When we do not expel an individual by reason of a public health imperative, those individuals are actually placed in immigration court proceedings. They go before a judge. They can make a claim of asylum or other claim to remain in the United States. If the judge approves that claim, they are under the law able to remain. If the judge denies it, then they are removed from the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

While Mayorkas has told Fox News another 10 to 12,000 migrants who were detained in Del Rio have been released into the United States and it's possible that number could be even higher. The Republican Governor in Texas had this response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Listen, Secretary Mayorkas and President Biden, they are in dereliction of duty. Listen, they talked about the laws they were trying apply, the United States Constitution itself requires that the president and the federal government secure the sovereignty of the United States of America including the states in the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, in Mexico, CNN visited an area where hundreds of Haitian migrants briefly formed a camp near Del Rio, Texas. And so, they were cleared out by Mexican authorities. As CNN's Matt Rivers reports, the threat of possible deportation exists is on both sides of the border for these migrants.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isa, in a sign of just how quickly things can change here along the U.S.-Mexican border. I am standing in what was a very busy encampment filled with hundreds of Haitian migrants. And as you can see, this encampment now empty. We're a couple of hundred yards from the U.S./Mexico border on the Mexico side here. And this was a place that saw many, many migrants chose to stay here.

And it was cleared out basically Friday night into Saturday morning. Not long after we saw the camp that was much larger than the one here in Mexico on the U.S. side also yet cleared out. That was formally cleared out on Friday as well. The people that had stayed here in Mexico though, Isa, they stayed here because they thought if they went to the United States, they would have a greater chance of being deported back to Haiti. So, they made the calculated decision, OK, we're going to stay in Mexico because we believe that we have a better chance of being allowed to stay here in Mexico, find work, start a life than they would had they gone to the United States.

Word of those deportations from the United States spread very quickly through this community. And so, people chose to stay here. Now they are formally in immigration proceedings where they do still have the risk of being deported from Mexico. But that risk of deportation is something that migrants on both sides of the border had and for good reason.

And for that end, you know, it really struck us when we heard the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in a press conference on Friday, Isa, basically say that the United States government in making the decision to deport all of these people had determined that Haiti does in fact have the capacity right now to accept all of these hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that it is deporting right now back to haiti.

And that really struck us because my team and I have spent weeks reporting in Haiti in July, in August of this year. First after the presidential assassination when President Jovenel Moise was killed in his own home on July 7th and also after an earthquake that struck there on August 14th.

And to us this does not appear to be a country that is ready for an influx of people who haven't lived there for many years. You've got poverty, a major issue. Gang violence is as bad as it has ever been. And then you add in that earthquake which displaced thousands and thousands of people already because so many buildings collapsed. There are so many people in Haiti who still don't have places to go and now you're adding hundreds and hundreds of people to that mix. It just doesn't appear clear to us how this exactly country is ready to accept all of these people who are being deported. But, Isa, that is the reality right now. United States deporting people could very well happen here Mexico in the near future as well. Sending people back to a country that in many ways is still reeling -- Isa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:35:02]

SOARES: Thanks very much, Matt Rivers there.

Republican Senator Tim Scott is blaming the Democrats for the failed negotiations in the police reform bill. There were nationwide protests and calls for greater accountability in policing after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year if you remember. Scott said Democrats walked away from negotiations after attempting to defund the police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): We have about a billion in grant money that goes to police. When you start saying in order to receive those dollars, you must do A, B and c and if you don't do A, B and C, you literally lose eligibility for the two major pots of money, the burn grants and the cop grants. When you tell local law enforcement agencies that you are ineligible for money, that's defunding police. There's no way to spin that.

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Again, it's unfortunate. You remember on this saga we got the head of the FOP and director of FOP, IACP, these are some of the biggest unions and law enforcement agencies to go with us on a lot of common-sense reforms. And those folks don't want to defund the police. This is a bill that would have had millions of dollars for police departments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: The Biden administration is expected to defend its pullout from Afghanistan this week. The Secretary of Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of U.S. Central Command are expected to speak to lawmakers on Tuesday. The military leadership will be testifying before the Senate Arms Service Committee with portions of the hearing close to the public. Be sure to follow CNN for all things development.

Well, that testimony will come after a weekend of violence from the Taliban and restrictive new measures for parts of Afghanistan. Inherit militants put the dead bodies of alleged kidnappers on display, while new rules for men were handed down in Helmand Province. CNN's Arwa Damon joins me now from Istanbul, Turkey. And now I mean, so much was said when the Taliban took over about this, you know, Taliban 2.0. A softer version of the Taliban. Clearly, we're not seeing this. What are you hearing from those inside the country?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, no matter how you look at it, Isa, it really seems as if on the one hand the Taliban is saying one thing or at least their top political leadership is saying one thing and, on the ground, things are being implemented very starkly differently. In fact, on the ground it really feels as if they are the exact same Taliban as they were 20 years ago.

This latest restriction that is coming about in Helmand has to do with men this time. Men are not allowed to cut their beard and if any barbershop is caught cutting a man's beard or, Isa, playing music, then there will be punishment for that. Add to that it's not just the fact that they displayed four bodies of these kidnappers after they were killed, hanged them in different areas in Helmand but a month earlier in Mazar. Something similar happened, too, when they killed, the Taliban killed four kidnappers who were reportedly kidnapping children. They dumped their bodies in a public square.

And so, when it comes to the role that global leaders and the international community can potentially play right now, the Taliban's actions on the ground do make that quite complicated because as we are all well aware, there is a big debate going on right now as to how to handle this Taliban-led Afghanistan. There is a debate going on as to whether or not to recognize this government. And if by not recognizing it, how do various nations maneuver around the issues of releasing money, especially releasing money for humanitarian assistance that is all being held up as the world tries to navigate this new landscape in Afghanistan.

And so, it's a very extraordinarily difficult, novel situation to a certain degree, but one right now that the Afghan population that really desperately needs that humanitarian assistance is at the moment paying the price for sadly.

SOARES: Yes. Arwa Damon for us in Istanbul. Thanks very much, Arwa, good to see you.

Now five Palestinians are dead after raided by Israeli troops in the West Bank over the weekend. Israel said the raids were targeting a Hamas terror cell planning an attack. The Palestinian officials are condemning the raid, calling them a crime and a threat to stability. CNN's Hadas Gold joins me now live from Jerusalem. Hadas, what more can you tell us about these raids?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isa, the Israeli Defense Forces says it was part of a major operation that was days long. But most of the action took place on Saturday night. The idea of saying that they were targeting Hamas, though that they say were imminently planning an attack as a result of these shootouts that took place at five locations across the West Bank. Five Palestinians were killed. Two were arrested. The youngest of those killed, Isa, was a 16-year-old from Janine. Two Israeli soldiers were critically wounded in this operation.

[04:40:03]

Now Israel has long had concerns that Hamas is gaining a foothold in the West Bank which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. But the Palestinian Authority is becoming more and more unpopular in the West Bank. A recent poll actually just out in the last few weeks from the Palestinian Center on Policy and Survey Research found 78 percent of those polled want the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resign. For its part Hamas actually blamed this operation, these deaths on security cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israeli officials.

They said in a statement they are calling on the masses of our Palestinian people in the valiant West Bank to escalate the resistance against the occupier. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for his part condemned the raid. Calling them crimes and field executions. And he warned that the continuation of this policy will lead to an explosion of the situation and to more tension and instability.

And that's the concern here, Isa. Is that the situation will at some point explode. There's been a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas led militants in Gaza since that 11-day conflict in May and there have been -- we've seen little spots of violence. But everybody is concerned that there will be some sort of spark that will really ignite this into another full-scale conflict.

And overnight actually there was more violence in the West Bank. There was a group of 500 Jewish worshippers who were being escorted by border police Joseph's tomb in the town of Nablus. And according to the Israeli border police, dozens of Palestinians began throwing rocks and other explosives. The border police responded with live ammunition. We know two border police were injured. We have no word yet of any sort of Palestinian casualties. I should note, Isa, that in just a few hours were expected to hear from the Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. He's expected to address the United Nations. And while we don't expect him to focus on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, all eyes are on the southern border on Gaza to see how and if Hamas will respond -- Isa.

SOARES: Hadas Gold for us there in Jerusalem. Thanks very much, Hadas.

And still ahead, Europe won't be the same. We'll look at the implications for the new German election and the end of the Merkel era. Back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:45:00]

SOARES: Germany's Social Democratic Party celebrating there after scoring a narrow victory in a landmark election. Preliminary official results shows the left-leaning party claiming the most seats in German's Federal Parliament. The results of course show --signal a big moment for the SPD which has spent years playing second fiddle to outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's Conservative Party. She'll stay in office now until a new governing coalition could be formed. That process could take weeks, or perhaps even months.

The other big question looming over Ms. Merkel's future, who will end up filling her shoes in the European Union. For more on that let's bring in CNN's Jim Bittermann in Paris. Jim, good morning to you. You know, Merkel after 16 years as chancellor of Europe's biggest economy clearly leaves Macron, I think fair to say, to be Europe's most influential leader. Has he started, Jim, from what you've seen to try to cement this position?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they wouldn't want to be obvious about it. In fact, Macron has been very judicious about playing this as neutral as possible, not interfering in the German elections. He met with both Laschet and Scholz in the three weeks before the election in Germany. And basically, trying to make sure that France remained absolutely neutral.

We even heard the same thing this morning from the Elysee palace. They made it very definitive they were going to be nondefinitive. There will be no reaction from the president of the Republic as voters swearing in the new chancellor at the Bundestag. And as you say, Isa, that could be months away. So basically, the French will continue to deal with madam Merkel as she's the caretaker prime minister or Chancellor rather until the new Chancellor is determined.

And I think, you know, while nature abhors a vacuum, I think power loves a vacuum. And this will be an opportunity for Mr. Macron to exert himself. And it's a double opportunity. Because on the first of January Paris take over the European council as its rotating president. So, Macron will be in a good position to push his policies. But he needs a strong negotiating partner in the Germans. He knows that and the people around him know that -- Isa.

CHURCH: Jim Bittermann for us in Paris. Thanks very much, Jim.

Now, it turns out Iceland isn't the first country in Europe to vote a female majority into Parliament, after all Iceland has a female Prime Minister. And for a short time after Saturday's election, it looks like 33 women and 30 men had been elected to Parliament. But a recount reverse those numbers. Now 33 men and 30 women. And around the world only one in Cuba and Nicaragua have more women than men in Parliament.

San Marino has voted overwhelmingly to end their abortion ban. Officials say around 77 percent of voters and the majority Catholic European Republic, approved making abortions legal during the first 12 weeks if pregnancy. The vote will also make legal abortions past 12 weeks if the pregnancy is life threatening or poses serious health risk to the woman.

Switzerland has become one of the last countries in western Europe to legalize same-sex marriage. More than 64 percent have voted to approve the change in a referendum on Sunday. Opponents forced a nationwide vote after Parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriage last year. The measure also gives married lesbian couples access to sperm banks and allow same-sex couples to adopt children. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAN MULLER, MEMBER OF "YES TO MARRIAGE FOR ALL" COMMITTEE (through translator): This is an historic day for Switzerland, a historic day for equal rights for people of the same sex who love each other. And a symbolic day for the whole LGBTQ community. Yes, it is a really very important day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And coming up right here on CNN NEWSROOM, it was a dominant performance for team USA on the links. A look at how they won golf's Ryder Cup. That is next.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Now the Kremlin has released new images showing Vladimir Putin enjoying the great outdoors. In this comes after the Russian president said he would self-isolate earlier this month as several people around him tested positive for COVID-19. However, the new images were taken prior to that possible COVID exposure.

Now the footage shows Putin recently fishing and hiking in Siberia. The Kremlin says he stopped there for a few days after a working trip to Russia's east in early September. Mr. Putin's downtime is being well chronicled over the years as he seeks to portray a macho image. He's often photographed if you remember outside famously riding bare chested on a horse. How can you forget that? As well as taking part in other extreme activities.

In less extreme activities, team USA dominated Europe to claim golf's Ryder Cup. And one NFL kicker puts his name in the record book in dramatic fashion. CNN sports Don Riddell has that and more in a minute in sports for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Isa, America's top golfers are celebrating a historic round in the Ryder Cup over the weekend. They thrashed Europe in the biannual tournament by a record margin of victory. Team USA had been so dominant that the result was never really in doubt on Sunday morning. But their singles players really turned the screw to amass 19 points for a 10-point trounce. It is a humbling defeat for the Europeans, who now have a lot of work to do ahead of the next tournament in Rome in 2023.

[04:55:00]

Well in all it was a pretty historic weekend of sport. Lewis Hamilton has regained his lead in the Formula One drivers championship after winning the Russian Grand Prix. And he's now the only driver to win 100 races in the sport.

And check out this, the climax of the Ravens nail biting win against the Lions in Detroit, Justin Tucker with an extraordinary 66-yard field goal that bounced off of the bar and over. That is the longest field goal in NFL history. It helped Baltimore to come from behind and snatch a dramatic victory in the dying seconds of the game. They are now 2-1 for the season. Detroit are 0-3.

Maybe a bit of luck there but you know what they say, Isa, you make your own luck. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thanks very much, Don.

Now I'll leave you this story. You know, ketchup packets if you know doesn't have a lot of sauce in it. So, it's really not uncommon to see people grabbing this to try to squeeze out as much as possible. And now Heinz is helping the process. Take a look at it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say hello to the biggest thing to happen to sauce since packets. The Heinz packet roller. 100 percent sauce extraction for 100 percent sauce satisfaction. Magically engineered to bring you every last drop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, the stakes for this nifty gadgets are high as a surge in takeout and delivery food orders during the pandemic, led to a scarcity of ketchup packets. Heinz has pledged to increase production by 25 percent to 12 billion packets annually.

And that does it for me. Thanks very much for joining. I'm Isa Soares. "EARLY START" with Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett is up next. Do stay here with CNN. I shall see you tomorrow bright and early. Bye- bye.

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