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Tension Grow As Zaporizhzhia Gets Cut from Power Grid; Judge Order Release of Redacted Affidavit by Friday; Power Outrages Cuba Becoming Increasing Common; Former U.K. Ambassador Charged with Immigration Crime; Growing Outcry After Nicaragua Detains Bishop; Migrants Families Relieved to be in the U.S. After Grueling Journey. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired August 26, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:13]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Michael Holmes, I appreciate your company. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, disconnected, Europe's largest nuclear power plant is cut off from Ukraine's power grid, raising fears of a potential disaster.

We're expecting new details about the search of Donald Trump's home in the coming hours after order by U.S. judge. And warnings the record breaking heat could become the new normal, even if countries meet their commitments to cut greenhouse gas.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: Now, the largest nuclear plant -- power plant in Ukraine has been disconnected from the nation's power grid once again sparking fears of potential disaster. Ukraine says it happened after fires damaged the last remaining power line out of the Zaporizhzhia plant on Thursday. Kyiv and Moscow have been trading blame over outages at the facility, which has been held by Russian forces since March.

While still not connected to the grid, power has been restored to the plant itself. And that is critical because it needs power to call its reactors to prevent them from melting down. President Zelenskyy says his government is not taking any chances.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I want to assure all Ukrainians we're doing everything to prevent an emergency scenario. But it depends not only on our state. International pressure is needed that will force the occupiers to immediately withdraw from their territory of the Zaporizhzhian nuclear power plant. The IAEA and other international organizations must act much faster than now. Because every minute of the Russian military staying at a nuclear plant is a risk of global radiation disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, the disconnection is raising concerns that Moscow might be trying to divert electricity from Zaporizhzhia to occupied parts of Ukraine. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has also been pushing for its inspectors to go to the plant. The agency's director now optimistic that might happen soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL GROSSI, IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL: I think now there is a general recognition that we need to be there, we need to be there soon. Kyiv accepts it. Moscow accepts it. We need to go and we are going to be there hopefully very, very soon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very soon, days or weeks?

GROSSI: Days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Power losses might be the biggest but they're not the only threat to the Zaporizhzhia plant. Sam Kiley explains.

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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are two major threats to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the one civilian, the other military. The civilian threat a technical issue reared its head today with two power cuts effectively, the power supply to the nuclear power station was severed. There were four lines that was down to one that was cut the Ukrainian say as a result of Russian shelling. The Russian say as a result of a short circuit.

Either way, the danger is that if that is cut and then not reconnected as it has been, the cooling system to the two functioning nuclear reactors there could be in danger. There is backup generators that are diesel powered, but they can be unreliable and they rely obviously on the supplies of diesel going into a war zone. But the other issue is military and that also poses a severe threat.

KILEY (voice-over): A fireman tests for radioactive fallout. It's an essential ritual repeated several times a day. It's safe for now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All OK.

KILEY (voice-over): But the war and the shelling that puts this city of the frontline of a potential nuclear disaster continues.

(on-camera): The pattern over the last month has been that the city has been hit mostly at night. But in the last week, the locals are telling us that there's been regular attacks during the daytime more or less at exactly this time of day, around about 3:00.

(voice-over): While communications are reestablished, an officer explains where the shelling is coming from, pointing to three locations close to a Ukrainian nuclear power station captured by Russia in March.

And now Ukraine's top nuclear official is raising fears that Russian trucks which have been parked inside the plant turbine hall could be laden with explosives or cause an accidental fire.

PETRO KOTIN, ENERGOATOM PRESIDENT: And if it happens, then there will be major fire in turbine hall and after that it can actually impact the reactor building.

[00:05:04]

KILEY (on-camera): Essentially, are you saying that that risks a meltdown of the reactor?

KOTIN: Yes, it could be because, you know, you cannot stop this fire if it goes.

KILEY (voice-over): There's been a renewed exodus of civilians living under Russian occupation in the towns close to Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. Safely and Ukrainian held Zaporizhzhia, they consistently told CNN that Russian troops were bombarding locations close to the plant shelling that Russia blames on Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): The Internet is switched off before it starts.

KILEY (on camera): Now international inspectors may be able to get to that power plant in the next few days. But it won't solve the significant problem that this is a nuclear power plant for the first time in history that is on the frontline of an international war and it is the first time that this nuclear power station has ever been cut from the Ukrainian network. Both of those factors unlikely to be solved merely by inspections.

Sam Kiley, CNN in Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And for more, I'm joined by Mariana Budjeryn. She's a research associate with the project on managing the atom at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center. She's speaking with me from Berwick, Maine. And thanks for doing so. So the power completely disconnected from the Ukrainian grid, ostensibly because of a fire, but Russia has threatened to disconnect Ukraine from the grid before and redirect power to Russia unhealed areas. Do you think that's what's happening here?

MARIANA BUDJERYN, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, BELFER CENTER, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL: It certainly looks like that's what's happening, Michael. We have no way to independently corroborate the reports about Russian designs to disconnect the plant and reconnected or switch it to the Russian control grid, something we heard from the Ukrainian authorities. But judging by what's going on around the plant that certainly it looks like something of this sort is being implemented. There were four high voltage power lines, three have been put off earlier. And finally, the last one went down yesterday. And the plant is completely disconnected from the Ukrainian grid, which I should say is not only the risk to the plant, but also the risk to the Ukrainian grid.

HOLMES: Yeah. And then that brings me to my next question. Zaporizhzhia is designed to cover a fifth of Ukraine's electricity demand. So what does a full disconnect from the Ukrainian grid mean for Ukraine in terms of its needs, especially as winter appears on the horizon? I mean, what could be the ripple effect here?

BUDJERYN: It could be really quite severe. I mean, it is part of a critical infrastructure of a country. And it seems that if you disconnect this large source of electricity from the national grid, there could be a risk of what is called a cascading grid failure when there's not enough that there's grid disruption in the electrical grid. And some of the nodes in the infrastructure, in this critical infrastructure such as pipelines, or other electricity generating facilities don't get enough electricity and the effect snowballs and going into the winter, this would be -- this would spell dire consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe to which grid Ukraine has now been connected since March?

HOLMES: Yes, absolutely. European fallout as well. The IAEA as we heard, they're still pushing to visit they hope to go, what would they be looking for when and if they get there? And other light Russians likely to listen to what they're told or recommended?

BUDJERYN: Well, the IAEA mission, Michael is badly needed for several reasons. One is to get that kind of verified information, third party information about exactly what is going on in the plant. At what -- in what state are the safety and security systems there? What technical assistance might be needed to support the plant in the middle of the war, and also to show support for the Ukrainian personnel that has been working under terrible conditions for the last six months, under great physical and psychological duress. I think that much this this mission will achieve because it will show that they're not forgotten and that their efforts are being appreciated in the world. They're really doing a hero's job.

HOLMES: They are, several apparently have been killed doing that job. There is evidence that Russia is literally packing military vehicles inside the plant. I mean, Ukraine, of course claims shelling is coming from the area of the plant. As a nuclear expert, what is your reaction to a nuclear power plant being used essentially as a base for military operations, can you quite believe it?

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BUDJERYN: It is unprecedented. We've never seen anything like that happen as you mentioned earlier, and to be honest, as robust and as stringent as the safety systems and protocols are at a nuclear facility like that, they are not designed for this kind of scenario. And as we heard earlier, the president of the (foreign language) mentioned, should there be even a small accident, the possibility to mitigate it is encumbered by all this military equipment by access to the tour turbine holes being blocked. And in general, you know, even a small accident could sort of snowball into a bigger event, because there's such a limited possibility to mitigate consequences and to supply the emergency aid or bring firefighters, you know, what have you things that we know, we are prepared to do should there be an accident.

HOLMES: Yeah, very concerning. Mariana Budjeryn, thank you so much, I really appreciate your expertise.

Well, now to the FBI search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, a U.S. federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to release a redacted version of the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant. Now, that could happen anytime between now and noon Eastern time on Friday, a little under 12 hours from now, but we may not find out much more about the investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents, CNN's Jessica Schneider reports from Washington.

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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We could see the Mar-a- Lago search warrant affidavit in redacted form at any moment. And that's because the federal judge in this case Bruce Reinhart has ruled that the Justice Department must make public the version they submitted to him on Thursday. Now, this is a version that is likely significantly blacked out, but it could still reveal a few procedural details about why the search at Mar-a-Lago happened on August 8th.

The judge wrote that the DOJ must unseal their version of the affidavit by noon on Friday, and we saw that the judge did agree that the DOJ does need to black out substantial portions of the affidavit. Since the judge said it could reveal the identities of witnesses, law enforcement agents, it could even reveal uncharged parties who might eventually be charged with crimes related to this ongoing criminal investigation into classified information.

The judge also said that the DOJ could black out details relating to the sources and methods and grand jury information since we know of course the grand jury has been hearing evidence for months. They even issued a subpoena to Trump for return of some of this material. So the public will soon see a bit more detail but probably not a lot more about what prompted a federal judge to approve this unprecedented search at former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and resort. That will be by noon on Friday.

Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

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HOLMES: Conservative voters in the United Kingdom will finalize their choice next week to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister. But the leading candidate Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is already putting France's president on notice. Here she is.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Macron, friend or foe?

LIZ TRUSS, U.K. FOREIGN SECRETARY: The jury is out. But if I become prime minister, I'll judge him on deeds not words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now relations between the two NATO allies have been stormy ever since Brexit with bitter disputes at times over fishing rights turning especially heated over the past year.

Now, for his part, President Macron is in Algeria on a fence mending trip over remarks he reportedly made last year that deeply angered many Algerians. On Thursday, the French leader acknowledged the "complex and painful legacy" that French colonialism had left on the country. And underscoring all if this is the matter of natural gas, which Algeria has, and France needs. CNN's Melissa Bell with our report.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is an extremely important trip for France coming as it does as European leaders scramble to get extra natural gas supplies ahead of the winter months. The Italian leader piping Emmanuel Macron had the post by going to Algiers in July and securing 4 billion cubic meters of extra Algerian natural gas. (Inaudible) ahead of the visit really dampening down expectations and talking instead about the need for this visit to deal with the history of France and Algeria. The memory question that it has meant that relations have been so fraught historically, over the years, not just the colonial presence of France and Algeria for so long, but the particular brutality of the Algerian war for independence.

[00:15:15]

To this day, French president's find it difficult to deal with the question when they go to Algeria was 2012. (Inaudible) had been expected to apologize when he'd stopped short of that. Algerians had been extremely upset. There had been hope on the Algerian side when Emmanuel Macron became President, when he went there as a candidate and spoke of the need for France to apologize that things would change. But in fact, the relationship only then soured with the comments made by the French president last year to a group of the Algerian students about Algeria nationhood having been born as a result of French colonialism, causing a huge backlash on the part of Algeria. The Algerian Ambassador being recalled to France.

In the last few months, Emmanuel Macron trying to improve the relationship with the Algerian president. There have been a number of telephone exchanges. Now it is about bringing that together in the context of France needing Algeria, and its gas supplies and Algeria, hoping that it will convince the world that it is very much on the side of Europe and not on the side of Moscow. Despite several months (inaudible) between Russia and Algeria.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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HOLMES: Now, Europe's extremely hot summer might become the new normal, why climate experts say the record breaking heat is here to say, when we come back.

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HOLMES: A new study warns the record breaking heat wave that has been scorching Europe is going to become the new normal in the coming years even if countries fulfill their pledges to reduce greenhouse gases.

Now, that analysis from the U.K.'s Meteorological Office says the hearing the searing heat will be considered average by 2035. Researchers looked at how quickly temperatures have been changing across the region. And they predict that by the year 2100, the average summer in Central Europe will be hotter by four degrees Celsius than it was in the pre-industrial era. And that's largely due of course to human induced climate change.

Let's bring in CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam, quite a stunning report and study isn't it?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, indeed, Michael, you know, if this is the new normal 48.8 degrees Celsius reached in central Italy last August. You can cut my holiday to Italy out next summer, right? I mean, this is just incredible. But all seriousness this report is very revealing because not only is it stating that this summer's heat that we experienced across Central Europe and the United Kingdom will become the new norm by 2035. But the long term prospects of Climate change since we have been emitting these carbon dioxide gases into the atmosphere burning fossil fuels the heat trapping gases.

[00:20:09]

We have a central Europe that could be four degrees warmer, four degrees Celsius warmer than if we hadn't burned those fossil fuels and release these heat trapping gases into the atmosphere. So just look at this, for instance, let's say we reach 35 degrees Celsius on average, one two times a summer, right? Before we started to burn greenhouse gases are released greenhouse gases. But now that we have done so we've seen that shift the frequency of reaching those warmer temperature days, 35 degrees Celsius or higher, roughly 95 degrees Fahrenheit, more frequent, right. And also the extremes are becoming higher. In fact, we're seeing those temperatures top over 40 degrees Celsius in many locations. I mean, just take, for instance, London Heathrow Airport, this month of July -- or rather in July of this year, reaching over 40 degrees Celsius for the first time ever, we have never seen the mercury climb that high.

And this is an astounding graphic. There's a lot of information here. But what you're seeing is the top 10 hottest days in the United Kingdom prior to this summer. And then look what happened the top 10 locations, all occurring just within the month of July across the U.K., this is going to be telling us something, right, five times more likely to see these heat waves occur, according to the IPC 2021 report. And if we do more than two degrees Celsius above average pre- industrial averages, we will have the likelihood of 14 times higher. I've seen heat waves of this magnitude this frequency and this endurance as well. Michael, lots to unpack there.

HOLMES: Yeah, very, very concerning. Derek, good to see my friend. Derek Van Dam, thanks so much.

Now, the U.S. state with the most people and the largest economy has taken a big step towards phasing out cars that run on gasoline and thereby reducing foreign -- fossil fuel emissions. California and regulators unanimously approved strict new rules that would ban the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035. Now, this would be the first such ban in the nation and one of the first in the world, "This will kick in along the way four years from now, 35% of all new cars sold in California must be zero emission vehicles."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIANE RANDOLPH, CHAIR, CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD: I just really want to thank all of the hard work that went in to building this package and working with stakeholders and putting together something that is world changing.

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HOLMES: Other U.S. states are expected to follow suit, 15 of them including Colorado and Minnesota have adhered to California's previous vehicle emission regulations.

Power outages are increasingly commonplace in Cuba, the authoritarian regime blaming everything from American sanctions to a lack of investment to a disastrous fire. That is CNN's Patrick Oppmann tells us now the crisis has driven define Cubans to do something rare protest in the streets.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): For many Cubans, this is now their life, waiting in the sweltering heat for the lights to come back on. In this neighborhood, people say the power is regularly cut by the government amid growing energy shortages for up to 16 hours each day.

Very difficult, really uncomfortable, when it's time to go to bed, you can't, he says. The mosquitoes eat you alive. The heat doesn't let you sleep.

Power cuts are nothing new here, but Cubans are now dealing with the worst outages in decades as a perfect storm of economic calamity. A drop in tourism and skyrocketing inflation batters the island. The Cuban government blames increased U.S. government sanctions for the outages but lack of investment in the state controlled energy sector and a massive fire that destroyed Cuba's main oil storage facility had brought the crisis to the brink.

As the lights go out more frequently, Cubans fed up with the outages have taken to the streets in rare protests that the government usually does not allow. Cuba's president says protesters need to be patient.

Some people take advantage of the situation to shout anti- revolutionary slogans, he says. Others take part in vandalism and throw rocks and break windows and that doesn't resolve the situation. But government officials admit there is no quick solution to the outages.

(On camera): The power outages have a major impact on people's lives. When the lights go out foods boils more quickly in the summer heat. People can't go to work or to school. And they often have to sleep outside on the streets where they're exposed to mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue. At this point there's no indication that the energy crisis is going to get better anytime soon.

[00:25:06]

Wendy is nearly nine months pregnant and most nights has to sleep on the ground outside her house. She says out loud what many here are thinking. The food spoils and there's no food in the stores. There's nothing, she says. This is going from bad to worse. I want to leave.

Already a record number of Cubans have left the island in the last year. For those that remain they know there are more long nights like this one to come. Patrick Oppmann, CNN Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: You're watching CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta, coming up after the break, a former British diplomat arrested in Myanmar. The charges she's facing and why some say it's all just a pretense. We'll be right back.

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HOLMES: Welcome back yet another American politician is visiting Taiwan in defiance of Beijing which of course, considers the island a renegade Chinese province. U.S. Republican senator Marsha Blackburn met with President Tsai Ing-wen assuring her of American support for the self-governing Island.

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MARSHA BLACKBURN, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: And we look forward to continuing to help and support Taiwan as they push forward as an independent nation.

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HOLMES: Blackburn does not represent the Biden administration on this trip and her comments do not change the long standing one China policy which recognizes Taiwan as part of China. Blackburn's visit comes despite increased pressure from Beijing to hold such trips by U.S. officials. Several high profile visits from Congressional lawmakers, including the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi have all angered the Chinese government in recent days.

The former British ambassador to Myanmar is facing five years in prison accused of violating the country's immigration act. But some say Vicky Bowman's arrest could be retaliation for new sanctions imposed by London, CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vicki Bowman was once the top British diplomat in Myanmar. She is now behind bars charged with breaking immigration laws charged by the military who seized power in a bloody coup in February last year.

MICHELLE BACHELET, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: If a former ambassador was being detained or hasn't, can you imagine what happened to so many other normal people without influencers, without a country who can help them like the U.K.?

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Bowman was ambassador from 2002 to 2006. Marrying Burmese artist and former political prisoner Htein Lin, making Myanmar her home. She spoke of her husband's pro-democracy activism in 2017.

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VICKY BOWMAN, FORMER BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO MYANMAR: He was very much part of those student demonstrations in '88, which then when the military took over, took him on a very long journey first to the Indian border to Manipur and then to the Chinese border, and then back and then through three jails.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Both are being held in the infamous insane prison, according to the Irrawaddy, a local news website, although likely separated, a prison filled with political prisoners and tales of beatings and torture. Bowman leads the Myanmar Center for Responsible business and non-governmental group encouraging corporate responsibility.

PHIL ROBERTSON, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Vicky Bowman was always about engagement. She was always about working with people, building coalitions and trying to make the situation better.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): The U.K. Foreign Office well, not naming Bowman, says they are in contact with local authorities and providing consular assistance.

(On camera): The arrest comes as the U.K. increased sanctions against military linked businesses in Myanmar on the fifth anniversary of the massacres against the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State. The U.K. is also joining a case against Myanmar and the U.N.'s top court, the International Court of Justice, which accuses the military of genocide.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, (inaudible).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: It has been four years since a panel of U.N. experts drew attention to "credible reports that more than 1 million Uyghurs Muslims were being subjected to brutal so called reeducation at camps in northwestern China, but along the way to do and report could be delayed even further leaving many to wonder if China will ever be held to account for its mistreatment of that minority population. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is set to end her term in office in a few days and her office says she is trying to release a report on the Uyghur crisis before she leaves her posts, but it's unclear if that will happen.

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MICHELLE BACHELET, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: As you may imagine, we have been receiving pressure for all countries for people who wants the publication and from countries who believe that they shouldn't be publicize, but to be honest, that that's not the way we decide how we work. We follow our own human rights procedures and human rights methodology and no pressure will make any change on our decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Human Rights Activists accused the Chinese government of detaining more than a million Uyghur Muslims in a network of reeducation camps across China, where there are reports of torture, sexual violence, and even forced sterilization. Beijing says the camps are quote, vocational education and training centers created to counter ethnic extremism.

Now, cry is growing over Nicaragua's detention of Bishop Rolando Alvarez, a vocal critic of President Daniel Ortega. Alvarez was arrested along with several other clergymen last week amid escalating tensions between the government and the Catholic Church. Stefano Pozzebon with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST (voice-over): A cry of pain is rising from the pulpits across the Americas from Costa Rica to Miami.

SILVIO BAEZ, AUXILIARY ARCHBISHOP, DIOCESES OF MANAGUA (through translator): Lead the prisoners go. My thoughts go to my brother Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who is wrongfully detained and all the priests behind bars in Nicaragua.

POZZEBON (voice-over): The detention of Bishop Alvarez, a Nicaragua clergyman and the critic of the government of Daniel Ortega is just the latest in a yearlong crackdown against Ortega opponents, the media and now the church.

Catholic radio stations have been shut down, nuns, including Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity expelled. Before arresting the bishop, Nicaraguan police stood guard that Saudis residence for almost two weeks preventing him from leaving. The government accuses Alvarez of subversive actions and says that the detention was necessary.

Calls to release the bishop and seven other clergymen arrested with him are mostly coming from abroad. That's because at home dissent can lead to arrest. The tension between the church and the government began in 2018 when the clergy acted as mediator during an intense wave of anti-government protests. In the year since, Ortega has moved against opponents with brutal efficiency. In 2021, he won a fifth presidential mandate almost unopposed. His main rivals either jailed or exiled. The church critics say is the only institution standing up to the government after political parties in the free press have been quashed.

[00:35:04]

Martha Sanchez knows these reality from experience. She used to work for a television station run by Bishop Alvarez.

MARTHA SANCHEZ (through translator): He asked me to be in charge of the news because the government censorship on traditional media was rampant. He saw a role as much more important than just spreading the gospel.

POZZEBON: In 2019, Sanchez says that she had to flee the country due to government repression. She now lives in Costa Rica. When she found out the bishop was being arrested, she was sad, but not surprised.

Pope Francis has expressed concern for the church in Nicaragua, and called for dialogue to resolve conflicts in the country. Before those in exile, like Gabriel Potoy (ph), a Catholic teacher who says he served prison time for taking part in the protests, the Vatican just seems too distant.

GABRIEL POTOY (through translator): Holy Father, we pray you, step in.

POZZEBON: Bishop Alvarez is currently under house arrest in Nicaragua's capital, Managua. The question now is will he appear in front of a court or like so many who dare to question Ortega's rule will be forced to leave the country. For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, in the U.S., the governor of Texas is sending 1000s of migrants on buses to cities like New York and Washington D.C. and while it might be a relief for those families who finally be somewhere safe, many wonder if the cities can keep up with the influx, more of that when we come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: For weeks now, the Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been putting 1000s of migrants on buses and sending them to Washington D.C. and New York City as a protest that Biden administration's immigration policies. The head of the Department of Homeland Security told CNN that Abbott's, "relocation efforts" are wreaking havoc on the processing system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It is problematic, however, when an official works, not in collaboration with us, but unilaterally and that lack of coordination wreaks problems in our very efficient processing. It also puts financial pressure on us in that we fund the nonprofit organizations, we understand their capacity, we understand their needs. And when that action is not coordinated with us, and with them, the whole system is out of whack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: But for the 1000s of people, those on those buses headed to New York and Washington, the trip is both the end of a grueling ordeal and the beginning obviously of a whole new life. Our Polo Sandoval reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You wouldn't know it as they stroll through Brooklyn, but this family dog included has been through hell to get here. Navigate in the concrete jungle that's their home today pales compared to the Central American jungle Chris Manova (ph) said just partner Annabelle Gonzalez (ph) survived this summer.

[00:40:09]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): We made it. We made it alive. We made it, thank God.

SANDOVAL: The young Venezuelan couple documented their two month journey that took the family of four, five if you count their dog Max through 10 countries. They carried only a few belongings on their backs and occasionally their six and nine year old as well as they trek to the infamous Darien Gap linking South and Central America, at times even swaddled their pup like a baby to sneak him onto buses and into hotels, fearing they will be separated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): There goes Sabastian and Criszanyelis.

SANDOVAL: But the blood sweat and the countless tears were worth it for this moment, the day they waded across the Rio Grande. And onto U.S. soil for the first time officially requesting asylum. After a brief stop in Texas, it was onto a bus and a three day drive to New York City where they wait for their asylum cases to be heard.

(On camera): What's next for you the next few days or weeks?

Annabelle explains that her family came to the U.S. not for a handout but to work. She's one of over 7000 asylum seekers that official say have turned to the city for shelter since May alone into a system that was already overwhelmed by homeless New Yorkers, long before the governors of Texas and Arizona use these families to make a political point.

KATHRYN KLIFF, STAFF ATTORNEY, LEGAL AID SOCIETY: Unfortunately, the city was not prepared to meet the need and the capacity. So we have a capacity crisis which we have had since early June.

SANDOVAL: Attorney Kathryn Kliff says she saw this coming. Her organization ensures the city of New York adheres to its right to shelter law, which requires anyone eligible and didn't need to be offered a bed be they an asylum seeker or New Yorker falling on tough times.

KLIFF: There's been so much focus on migrant families coming into the system and -- but it ignores the reality that we have had mass homelessness in New York City for a really long time.

SANDOVAL: According to New Yorkers, We Met there is a general desire for New York City to embrace this latest wave of tired, poor and huddled masses as it's always done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it'd be great. That's the best thing about New Yorkers who come from everywhere.

SANDOVAL: But there's also a call to fix preexisting issues like the shelter crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the city has always been kind of a beacon to people who arrived here from other places. But I think that there's a lot of things that need to be fixed here. And there's a lot of kind of work that needs to be done.

SANDOVAL: City immigration Commissioner Manuel Castro, and immigrant himself says he understands those concerns even as public schools alone expect an additional 1000 migrant students this fall.

(On camera): Is New York City in a position where it is able to welcome 1000s that have arrived and 1000s more that will come here?

MANUEL CASTRO, NEW YORK CITY'S COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRANTS AFFAIRS: Look, as you know, we're constantly improving. We're adjusting, we're adding capacity. We're continuing to open hotels to be used as shelters. We're contracting with community based organizations to add additional services. So yes, we continue to improve.

SANDOVAL: Those improvements can't come soon enough for the Orbais, Gonzales (ph) family back in Brooklyn.

There's a sense of frustration increase man's voice as he tells me he's pleading with city and federal immigration officials to speed up the process of securing work permits for asylum seekers at 27, this young father knows the sooner he can legally provide for his family here, the sooner he won't have to rely on New York's overburden shelter system. Polo Sandoval CNN, New York.

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HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes, thanks for spending part of your day with me. I will be back at the top of the hour with more CNN Newsroom. Meanwhile, World Sport after the break.

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