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Frustration Mounting Inside Biden Admin Over Border Policy; CNN Poll: Just Over Half Of Latino/Hispanic Voters Leaning Towards Dems, Sources: Boris Johnson Allies Say He'll Try Again To Be UK PM. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 21, 2022 - 9:30   ET

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

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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Today there is growing discord between the Biden within the Biden Administration on how to handle 1000s of migrants arriving at the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security put together a plan months ago that included flying some asylum seekers to cities deeper inside the U.S. for processing. But that plan is dead for now at least.

Sources tell CNN The reason is in part because the White House grew hesitant over the complicated logistics. CNN Reporter Priscilla Alvarez has been following this. So Priscilla, this is just the latest dead end. What is going on behind the scenes here?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Well Bianna, there has been ongoing tension within the administration over how to manage the border and some plans have struggled to get White House approval and get off the ground. As you mentioned there one of those that officials pointed to was a plan to fly migrants deeper into the United States to get processed.

These are usually asylum seekers, and they would work with city officials and NGOs. Now of course, all of this is against the backdrop of the number of apprehensions along the U.S. Mexico border increasing in fiscal year 2022. There have been more than 2 million encounters. Of course that includes some repeat crossers, but it really speaks to the migration across the Western Hemisphere that the administration is grappling with.

One official described it as Hail Mary after Hail Mary as they try to sort through plans. Now, there have been some that have moved forward. Last week, for example, the administration announced a humanitarian parole program for Venezuelan migrants, and they reached an agreement with Mexico.

Mexico will now take back some Venezuelan migrants turned away under a public health authority, but others struggle to make headway and that is where there is frustration that can bubble up within the administration. The White House told me in a statement, quote, encouraging robust debate, hearing different ideas and getting lots of expertise before making policy decisions that impact millions of lives is a feature not above the Department of Homeland Security.

Also saying in a statement that they are, quote unified but they continue to struggle with the numbers along the U.S.-Mexico border as they see migration in the Western Hemisphere reach unprecedented numbers, Bianna.

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GOLODRYGA: Yes, that news from President Obrador of Mexico just coming in now that he will now work on these Venezuelan migrants as well at the border. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you.

Well, as the midterms approach, one voter group has become a clear challenge for Democrats. Right now historically left leaning Latino voters are shifting toward the GOP with the potential to swing some major races. In CNN 's latest poll, just over half of Hispanic and Latino voters say they would lean toward the Democratic candidate. That number is considerably down from just four years ago.

And 21 percent of Latino voters say they support neither party. Hispanic Americans make up a fifth of registered voters in more than a dozen hotly contested House and Senate races. That includes Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and Texas. Joining me now to discuss is Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona. He is up for reelection this year, and is also the Chairman of the Bold PAC, the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. So let's just go over those statistics because in 2018, in the midterms, 69 percent of Hispanic voters said that they voted for Democratic House candidates. So why do you think we're seeing the shift from some Hispanic voters away from the Democratic Party?

REP. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): Well, I think you're going to see some shift. But right now, all we're seeing is that we are pretty close to hitting 2018 numbers with Hispanic voters. There is, of course, some headwind, we have a very hard economic situation for working class Latino families. But overall, you know, we have Latinos running in some very competitive seats.

And what we've seen so far, again, Latinos are ready to vote for Democrats, maybe not at the highest level that we've ever had it 2018, it was a pretty high level. But we are still pretty on track to hit the numbers that we need to hit.

GOLODRYGA: How much of a factor is the border crisis for Latino voters, specifically those that are living there in the south along border States.

GALLEGO: I mean, it can be for them, but we have to remember Latinos are very, very diverse and from all over the country. We have Latino candidates running in Nebraska, we have Latinos in the northeast, we have Latinos in Arizona, and they all have very different experiences.

So to cast everything as a border issue, I think is not the way to go. Also people you know, they have a lot of other issues going on, too, whether it's inflation, whether it's trying to find work. At the same time, you know, there's a lot of good things that we're seeing right now Latinos have the highest unemployment - highest - has the lowest unemployment rate in the history, since we started taking labor statistics.

We have the highest amount of Latino businesses that are being opened up right now. So there's a lot actually to be talking about and the border is not going to be I think the prime, I would say the prime thing that most Latinos are going to be talking about.

GOLODRYGA: Of course, this is not a monolith we're talking about, but you have taken aim at your own party even recently, in a Vox interview, I want to play it and show our viewers what you said. You said people aren't excited for Democrats, because they never know what they're going to get. We get into power and we're afraid to use that power, we get into this vicious cycle where we sometimes only win because the other people are that bad when we need to show that by us winning, this is what you get.

You get a middle class lifestyle you need to live, you get to live the American dream. So what can Democrats do to change that messaging in your view?

GALEGO: Well, exactly. Like talk with the Democrats are at their core, right? We are the party of the middle class, of the working class. And but we need to also deliver, for example, we should get back into power and deliver the child tax credit. Something that was extremely important to Latinos, 60 percent of Latino kids while there was a child tax credit, were lifted out of poverty.

We should talk about childcare, because most of our houses like my house was were led by women, and they need childcare in order for them to go to work and go to school. We need to continue talking about college. Latinos want to be rich, they want to be successful. They know that that avenue to do that is college. College now is so unaffordable, and or they have to deal with the college loan that happens with that.

That's why the President's college debt plan is extremely important among Latinos. So what's important is really to win and do something, not just win and hold the ground. And I think that's what has happened in the past, largely because of two very reluctant senators in the Senate.

GOLODRYGA: And you're up for reelection. Let's talk about what your political action committee that you chair. You spent $6 million, this cycle, the largest investment ever made. What races do you see most critical aside from your own obviously, to keep control of Congress?

GALLEGO: Well, we have Senator Cortez Masto who is running a very, very tough race right now. Nevada is always tough. She's a great, great senator. We are solely behind her. We have our Congressman Cuellar and Gonzalez down in Texas. They are also in very hard race after the gerrymandered those districts.

We have a great pickup opportunity to get Vasquez in New Mexico. We have Andrea Salinas, who is running in Oregon who ran against you know, a crypto millionaire and was outspent 14 to one and she killed it.

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And we have for the first time a doctor, Yadira Caraveo who is running in Colorado. We've made even South Florida competitive. We have (inaudible) who's running down there and, you know really has been put the incumbent on notice, as well as Robert Asencio, a Police officer, a veteran who's running against Carlos Gimenez, an election denier. You know, I could keep going on and on. I'm going to miss someone. I apologize. You have Rudy Salas who's running against Valadao in the central (inaudible) of California, and kicking butt there and of course, we got to take care of our incumbents.

So we're everywhere we can be. We're spending about close to $6 million now in independent expenditures. We are teaming up with other campaigns to get out to vote, we're training also candidates how to speak to Latino community, as well as trying to fight disinformation every step of the way.

GOLODRYGA: Congressman Ruben Gallego, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today. Have a great weekend. We appreciate it.

GALLEGO: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And still ahead with Prime Minister Liz Truss on her way out, her opposition wants a general election but some in her party think they know a way around it. We're live this morning at Downing Street. That's up next.

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GOLODRYGA: The battle to be the next British Prime Minister is heating up now that Liz Truss has resigned after just six weeks on the job and momentum could be building for Boris Johnson of all people to retake the job less than 50 days after he was forced to step down soon.

CNN's Bianca Nobilo joins me now from Downing Street in London. So Bianca, this support for Boris Johnson also apparently coming from the country's defense secretary. How soon do we expect a resolution here?

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: A resolution could come as early as Monday it could come before. But the Defense Secretary Ben Wallace backing while tacitly backing the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is a big deal. He's a heavy hitter and also somebody that was tipped for leadership himself.

He's popular with the members and he's taken seriously and widely respected within the party. And if we look at the wider move, well, I have some papers to show. The Sun says Bojo: I'll be back. We also have the Daily Express. "He couldn't could he? Will Boris be back in Number 10? But for the part of the opposition parties here, they think the mere prospect of Boris Johnson returning to Number 10, Downing Street warrants a general election right now as we can see here on the cover of the Daily Mirror.

Now those who want Boris Johnson back in power will argue that he's the only one that has a mandate to continue and the legitimacy to continue as Prime Minister because he was the last Prime Minister to win the election back in 2019. They argue you can't put another leader and Prime Minister in place who hasn't won the public vote in this country and they say he could be somebody to unite the party because of that.

However, the prospect of Boris Johnson uniting the party is a difficult one to swallow because his acrimony that he had with his former chancellor, Rishi Sunak, who's likely to stand against him is becoming an ever bigger problem in Westminster today. There's a lot of factionalism between the two. So it may be that Penny Mordaunt, the current leader of the House of Commons could emerge as a unity candidate, or at least make the case for that.

But ultimately, it might be the Conservative Party members that decide and if they do, if it gets to that stage, then Boris Johnson according to all recent polls, would have the edge, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Boris Johnson, the uniter, words I never thought I would ever utter. But here we are, we could get a decision as soon as next week. Bianca Nobilo, thank you. And still ahead why the EPA has launched a federal investigation into the water crisis that crippled Jackson, Mississippi, this summer.

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GOLODRYGA: A medical examiner is now trying to figure out how a Princeton University student died after her body was found on campus. It's a sad update to a story we first told you about yesterday. Misrach Ewunetie went missing a week ago. Officials say her body was found Thursday with no obvious signs of injury. They also say her death does not appear suspicious or criminal.

In a statement the university called this and unthinkable tragedy saying our hearts go out to her family, her friends and the many others who knew and loved her.

And the EPA has now opened a federal civil rights investigation into the water crisis in Mississippi's capital city. Residents in Jackson, a majority black city were left without reliable safe drinking water for weeks over the summer. Activist blamed systemic neglect, under investment and years of discrimination. EPA Administrator Michael Regan has described the situation as a long standing injustice. CNN's Nadia Romero joins me now. So what more are we learning Nadia?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Bianna, this comes as welcome news to many people in the community and to community leaders who I have spoken with just this morning who say that they wonder what would happen after August and September, when there was this water crisis, the boil water advisory and all of the national media was there, the National Guard was there handing out supplies and many people said to me at that time, what will happen to us when you all leave when the national spotlight leaves, they were worried that they would be left behind.

So now hearing that the EPA has launched this investigation to see if racism, to see if racial discrimination was at the heart of why Jackson continues to have these water issues. Notably, they're asking that of the state's Department of Health and the state's Department of Environmental Quality. Those two departments are in question here.

And I want you to hear from the NAACP, the local chapter, the National chapter and nine city of Jackson residents who all filed a lawsuit last month making that same claim. This is part of a statement released just yesterday saying that "a decision by the EPA is a significant first step and holding the state accountable for its role and exacerbating the Jackson water crisis. For far too long, residents of Jackson, like black communities across the country have had water access weaponized against them."

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Now along with the EPA, we're also seeing investigations done by two congressional committees being headed by a congressperson from New York and from the state of Mississippi who sent a letter to the governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves just last week. And in that letter, asking the governor why neighboring communities of Jackson, Mississippi have had their water infrastructure fixed and maintained or redone and that Jackson hasn't seen proper maintenance since the 1950s.

And beyond it, this is our capital city in the state of Mississippi. I spoke with a woman this morning who worked with the Mississippi Urban League to distribute water over the summer. She says they're still distributing water because people are still complaining about a color and odor coming out of their water.

GOLODRYGA: Nadia, you'll continue to follow this important story for us. Thank you. And still ahead. Right now Steve Bannon is awaiting his sentence for failing to cooperate with the January 6 committee. Will he get the six months in jail that prosecutors want. We're live outside that DC courthouse, up next?

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