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"Remain in Mexico" Rule for Migrants Back in Effect; Biden to Hold Video Call with Putin on Tuesday; Biden, Putin to Discuss Range of Issues Including Ukraine; Stricter Rules Go Into Effect for Travel to U.S.; South Africa Reports Jump in New Cases s Omicron Spreads; At Least 15 Killed, 1,700 Displace After a Volcano Eruption in Indonesia. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 06, 2021 - 04:30   ET

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

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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Remain in Mexico" is back for now. The signature Trump-era immigration policy which forced tens of thousands of people seeking asylum in the U.S. to wait out their claims across the border in Mexico is said to be reinstated on Monday. Trump held it up as an effective way to reduce illegal immigration, something then presidential candidate Joe Biden hammered him for.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the first president in the history of the United States of America that's anybody seeking asylum has to do it in another country. That's never happened before in America. They're sitting in squalor on the other side of the river.

RIVERS (voice-over): Well, Biden is now the second president on that list. Despite terminating the program after he became president, a federal judge ruled over the summer the administration broke federal law in doing so. The Supreme Court declined to reverse the decision and after a new agreement was reached this week with Mexico, the program kicks off once again Monday.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We also believe in following the law and that's exactly what we're doing, as there was a ruling that required us moving forward with implementation.

RIVERS (voice-over): Several changes have been made to the program according to U.S. officials. Migrants will be proactively asked if they fear going to Mexico, waiting to be processed within six months and categories of vulnerable people exempt will be expanded. But for critics, the changes do nothing to alleviate their concerns.

KENNJI KIZUKA, HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST: We see people today even who are already living in these terrible circumstances, and yet more people will be returned to these dangers.

RIVERS (voice-over): During the Trump administration, tent cities along the border sprang up. Migrants waiting for their asylum hearings, living in squalid conditions, easy prey for the myriad criminal organizations operating at the border.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez says his concern is that now the program is actually expanding, pointing to several examples in a statement saying in part, quote, by adding new nationalities to this policy, applying Remain in Mexico border wide and limiting access to counsel, the administration is going far beyond a good faith implementation of the court's order.

For some migrants already living in Mexico they say the conditions they're forced to wade in on the way north are terrible.

JEAN PIERRE, HAITIAN MIGRANT (through translator): We sleep badly. There are children here. I think that the migration authority should find another way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden once described the Remain in Mexico policy as dangerous, inhumane and goes against everything we stand for as a nation of immigrants, so why is he keeping it?

PSAKI: He continues to stand by exactly those comments and statements and the secretary of Homeland Security put out a memorandum conveying we want to end this program.

RIVERS (voice-over): In an October 29th memo, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the administration is still formally preparing to end the program, saying it, quote, fails to provide the fair process and humanitarian protections that individuals deserve under the law. But Mayorkas says he can't cancel the program until the courts let him.

It's unclear when that will happen and, in the meantime, as we've seen in our reporting throughout the year, be it in Honduras or southern Mexico, or the northern border, migrants are going to keep coming, only now getting to the U.S. just got that much harder.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: The White House says President Joe Biden is looking forward to talking with his Russian counterpart when the two leaders hold a video call on Tuesday. They're expected to discuss a range of topics including Ukraine. The White House says Mr. Biden will underscore U.S. concerns over Russia's troop buildup on the border with Ukraine.

And Joining us from Berlin is CNN Senior International correspondent Frederik Pleitgen. Great to see you, Fred. So, while everyone tries to figure out President Putin's intent at the Ukraine border, what can we expect to see come out of this video call he'll have with President Biden Tuesday?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think essentially what President Biden wants to achieve in all of this, Rosemary, is he obviously wants de-escalation there in the situation in eastern Ukraine and on Russia's western border. Certainly, what he's trying to achieve.

The Russians obviously, are trying to achieve something different. They want concessions from the U.S. and from NATO as well. It was quite interesting the run up to this, you have the Russians amassing forces close to the borders with Ukraine. Ukrainian forces say that the U.S. says that several satellite images seem to show that as well. And so, certainly, it does appear to be a very tense situation on several borders or border areas that Ukraine -- the southeast of Ukraine. The very east with the Donbas region as well. And of course, even the area around the border with Belarus, which of course, is a big ally of Russia. You had the Ukrainians doing some exercises there as well.

So, right now on the ground a very tense situation. Essentially what President Biden said, he wants to make clear to Vladimir Putin that any sort of invasion of Ukraine is going to be very costly for Russia. He didn't spell out exactly what that's going to mean but it certainly seems as though from what we're hearing from U.S. government officials, for instance the U.S. Secretary of State.

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That it would mean massive sanctions against Russia, much larger than the sanctions we've seen so far. And that obviously is something -- is a tool, if you will, that the U.S. has tried to use in the past as well.

The Russians for their part, they're sort of becoming more and more clear on what exactly they want. They do say that they also think it's a very volatile situation there. They say they believe the Ukrainians are the ones that are acting belligerently. Obviously, the Ukrainians say that's absolutely not true.

But the Russians are saying essentially what they want is they want guarantees that there's not going to be a further eastward expansion of NATO. They say they feel that NATO is infringing upon Russia. And they also say that they don't want or they want assurances that Ukraine is not going to become a NATO member.

NATO itself has rejected those demands already pretty much outright. The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in saying is that essentially it will be up to the aspiring country and of course, NATO itself as to who exactly would become a NATO member. And in all of this obviously, you have this massively tense situation there at the border where the U.S. believes that Russia could mount a massive invasion of Ukraine as early as January of 2022 -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, we'll see what comes out of that video call between the two leaders. Fred Pleitgen joining us live from Berlin. Many thanks.

Ahead of his virtual summit with President Biden, Vladimir Putin is set to go to India for face-to-face talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In those talks are kicking off in the coming hours with defense ties set to be high on the agenda. Russia and India are expected to sign several agreements focused on trade and defense. And coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, COVID cases are rising especially

in South Africa. We will have a live report from Johannesburg. That's next.

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CHURCH: Well, let's return to our top story now. In an effort to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, new COVID testing requirements are now in effect for air travelers coming to the United States. The U.K. will also implement similar measures beginning tomorrow after adding Nigeria to its red list. Earlier I spoke to a viral specialist, Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, and asked him if any of these travel restrictions would make a difference. Here's what he said.

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DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST AND VIRAL RESEARCHER: We keep dodging bullets and we keep thinking that this is just something that's going to go away, and that we have to do it, you know, in an easy way. We are now approaching two years of doing this in a relaxed fashion and we need to get serious about this.

CHURCH: And there's still a lot we need to learn about the Omicron variant. But it appears that it's mutated form contains more of the common cold making this more contagious but perhaps less severe unless of course you're particularly vulnerable. If that is proven to be the case, would it actually be better for that variant to eventually become the dominant one across the globe?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, it's never a good thing for more people to get infected, and we have to keep in mind that the virus doesn't replicate in thin air. It replicates within the human host or another animal host. It requires our DNA and it is replication mistakes that are variants. So, therefore, the more people that get infected, the more variants that are going to happen and the next one may be the really bad one.

So, I understand where some people are thinking, hey, maybe it's best to have natural immunity and that will take care of it, but we also see that natural immunity wanes and is not always protective against every variant. So, at the end of the day, you don't want people to get infected.

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CHURCH (on camera): And there's growing outrage across parts of Africa over those travel bans. This as cases continue to spike in South Africa where the Omicron variant was first identified. The nation recorded more than 11,000 new COVID cases on Sunday. One COVID-19 related death was also reported as the total number of COVID fatalities approaches 90,000. South Africa's President has said the Omicron variant appears to be dominating new infections.

And Larry Madowo joins us live from Johannesburg with more on all of this. Good to see you, Larry. So, rising COVID cases and also increased anger over those travel bans preventing the entry of travelers from southern Africa, what's the latest on all of this?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest is the surge here appears to be growing quite exponentially. In just two weeks the positivity rate in South Africa jumped from 2 percent to 24 percent. Right now, the last two days it's at 23.8 percent and that is why the President Cyril Ramaphosa is saying there is a need for South Africans to get vaccinated. He says as this continues to spread in the community, the reasons to get vaccinated are compelling and South Africa does not have a shortage of vaccines. There are vaccines in every part of the country. He just needs for people to go out and get vaccinated.

But that does not seem to be working with everyone I've spoken to. Some South Africans are saying this is a decision I want to make for myself and I don't want the government to make the decision for me. Or some who believed in some misinformation and conspiracy theories and that's playing into their decision not to get vaccinated.

But in the wider public a greater concern also about those travel bans, anger, frustration because some people are calling them racist. The only countries that are banned from traveling to many Western countries are South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia. These are all southern African black majority nations. And yet the same omicron variant cases have been identified in Western Europe and they're not on the travel bans. They're not restricted from coming into the U.S. And even President Cyril Ramaphosa calls it travel apartheid.

CHURCH: Right, and these of course are said because of that Dr. Anthony Fauci is saying that the Biden administration will re-evaluate those travel bans. We will wait and see what happens. Larry Madowo joining us live from Johannesburg. Many thanks for bringing us up-to- date on that.

Well, coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, more than a dozen people are dead after Saturday's volcano eruption in Indonesia. We will have a live report on the rescue efforts and the dangers that remain. We're back in just a moment.

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CHURCH: The situation in Indonesia's East Java province remains dangerous after Saturday's deadly volcano eruption. At least 15 people were killed and about 1,700 are displaced after the sudden eruption destroyed hundreds of homes, damaged many schools and left villages covered in ash. 27 people are still missing. CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has more for us -- Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good morning, Rosemary. We're watching portions around Indonesia, of course, because we know this is among the most volcanically active locations on our planet. You take a look -- when it comes to the countries with the most active number of volcanoes of the world, Indonesia easily tops the chart, 127. Second place there is Japan coming in with 108. You'll notice where the United States and Chile are in place compared to Indonesia as a significant number of active volcanoes.

And let me point you away toward the island of Java, the eastern periphery of the island where you find Semeru volcano. This particular volcano, of course, it is a very popular hiking location. Elevation here says that about 12,000 feet high. Then as the highest location across the island of Java. But when it comes to the history of volcanic eruptions on this particular volcano, 55 of them since 1918. Do the math. That's about one in every four years. Back in January of this year we saw an eruption take place.

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No fatalities with that earlier 2021 eruption. But unfortunately, we've now seen fatalities associated with this most recent eruption. And we saw the activity pick up. As far as earthquakes are concerned, you typically see this build in advance of eruptions. It certainly was the case across this region of the world with almost 170 quakes in the past 70 days. And the concern is, you get this particular ash fall that takes place. This is the wet season across portions of Indonesia. In fact, I was looking at the climatological data for Jakarta and you'll notice the wettest times of the year upon us here. And meantime, rain mixes with volcanic ash, it becomes a cement like sludge. It becomes very dangerous. It's very heavy and certainly destructive. So, certainly, a story to follow over the next few days -- Rosie.

CHURCH: All right, thanks so much for that, Pedram. Appreciate it.

Well, he was a baseball player, coach, executive and now a hall-of- famer. After nearly an eight-decade career John Jordan Buck O'Neill is headed to Coopers Town. O'Neill was a standout player in the so-called negro league before the sport was desegregated and he had a hand in that, too. He went on to become a scout for the Chicago Cubs. In 1962 became the first African-American coach in Major League Baseball. O'Neill also helped found the negro league's baseball museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Kansas City Royals pay tribute to O'Neill who died in 2006. Tweeting: Well-deserved and long overdue. Congratulations to the late Buck O'Neill on his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Well done.

Well, the stage is set. The college football playoff committee has selected the four teams who will face off for a chance to compete in the national championship. CNN's Andy Scholes breaks it down for us.

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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Unfortunately, we didn't get any chaos this year. The college football playoff committee getting it easy once again. Because everyone who needed to take care of business to get in did so on Saturday.

So, this is what we've got. Alabama now number 1 after convincingly beating Georgia for the SUC championship. They will take on Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl in north Texas. Michigan number two, they're going to face Georgia who falls to three in the Orange Bowl. Both of these games will happen on New Year's Eve. Who

And at least after years of the same old teams making it, we do have some newcomers this year. The Bearcats making history to become the first ever school outside of the power five conference to make the playoffs. They did it by going a perfect 13-0 to win the American conference.

And this will be the first time Michigan is in college football's final four. The Wolverines blowing out Iowa to win the big game for the first time since 2004. And Alabama now been to seven of the eight editions of the college football playoff. The only year they missed was the Joe Burrell 2019, 2020 LSU title season.

And the odds makers have Alabama as the favorites to win it all, followed by Georgia, then Michigan, then Cincinnati. And the two teams that win on New Year's Eve will meet in Indianapolis on Monday, January 10th with the national title on the line.

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CHURCH: All right, well, in the NFL the Detroit Lions are finally celebrating their first win of the season. The Minnesota Vikings took the lead with just under two minutes to go on this touchdown pass to make it 27-23. But the Lions drove down the field and scored on the final play of the game with this 11-yard touchdown pass with no time left. After the game the Lions coach dedicated the game to the Oxford Michigan community where four students were killed in a school shooting last week.

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DAN CAMPBELL, DETROIT LIONS HEAD COACH: First thing I would start with, this game ball goes to the whole Oxford community. All those who were affected.

JARED GOFF, DETROIT LIONS QUARTERBACK: You hope to be a light for those people and a positive thing that they could have fun watching today. I hope they were all watching today and were able to enjoyed that win and we could take their minds off of it, for whatever, maybe three hours.

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CHURCH: Lions players signed autographs for Oxford students after the game. And Vikings players also honored the victims by wearing t-shirts with the school's logo before the game.

A Dunkin' Donuts employee in Ohio is celebrating a Christmas miracle after one of her customers gifted her the surprise of a lifetime. Ebony Johnson and customer Suzanne Burke had been close ever since they met in a Dunkin' drive through. One day Burke noticed her favorite employee was missing soon learning Ebony and her kids were evicted from her home after falling on hard times.

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SUZANNE BURKE, HELPED FIND DUNKIN' EMPLOYEE A NEW HOME: When she experienced this hardship, I just wanted to see if I could help her just improve her life and the life for her kids. And make sure that they had stable housing so that she could continue to provide the excellent service that she does at Dunkin'.

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CHURCH: Wonderful story, and with help from several organizations Burke was able to find Johnson's family a home and furniture.

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EBONY JOHNSON, DUNKIN' DONUTS EMPLOYEE: Thank you for helping me.

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CHURCH: Wow, and now with a new fully furnished home Ebony says she and her kids are ready for a very, Merry Christmas.

We want to take you live now to Athens Greece as Pope Frances wraps up a trip there. That's his plane taxiing down the runway. While in Greece he called out countries in Europe for ignoring the migrant crisis. He visited a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos on Sunday. The tiny island has become a symbol of the migrant crisis. More than 2,000 refugees live in storage containers at that camp. Many from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. And during his visit Francis said other countries have to stop closing their borders to refugees and passing the issue on to others. Quite a message there.

Well, many thanks to all of you for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Be sure to connect with me on Twitter @RosemaryCNN. "EARLY START" is up next. You're watching CNN. Have a wonderful day.

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