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Deadly Clashes Ongoing Between Israel And Palestinians; More Explosions Reported In Russian-Occupied City Of Luhansk; Officials: Russia Tried To Destroy U.S.-Made Patriot System In Ukraine; Van Der Sloot's Lawyer Says He Will Appeal Extradition; Suspect In Natalee Holloway Disappearance To Be Extradited To U.S.; Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) Is Interviewed About Expiration Of Title 42. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired May 13, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Seven-time All-Star finish with 10 points, three rebounds in a preseason in a preseason game against the L.A. Sparks.

[12:00:03]

And here is Griner after the game, while being back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRITTNEY GRINER, AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER: I felt the love, you know, the ones that sit courtside, that, you know, I really know who were really well, you know, they all came up, and talk me, and you know, it was -- it was just a good moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES (on camera): And the Mercury will play the Sparks again next Friday for the regular season opener in Los Angeles. Alex?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: All right. Thanks to Andy Scholes.

And we have a quick programming note. See how streaming changed the music industry and a new episode of the CNN original series, "THE 2010s," premiering tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Hello. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Alex Marquardt, in today for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with ongoing an escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military launching another round of rocket strikes on the narrow Gaza Strip today. The Israeli Air Force attacking sites that they say belong to the militant group, Islamic Jihad.

Its deadly strikes on Palestinian targets have been ongoing since Tuesday, and come after Palestinian militants launched rockets towards Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

At least two Palestinian men were killed in a clash with Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank today. Palestinian officials say that at least 33 people have been killed so far. That's both militants and civilians.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is live for us in southern Israel, near Gaza.

Ben, you are seeing rocket fire going on right above you as we speak.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, just seconds ago, basically, while you were entered -- starting the show, we saw right behind me three separate volleys of rockets being fired from Gaza.

That's the northern end of the Strip. I think that's the Sheikh Zayed area. They basically came just above us. You can probably still see the smoke from where they were intercepted by the (INAUDIBLE).

The alarm went off, just as those Iron Dome projectiles were going up to stop those missiles from coming out of Gaza.

This is since we were -- we've been here about six hours. This is, I think the fourth volley of missiles being fired out of there. We've seen a variety of airstrikes.

In this area, there seems today that the focus is the northern end of the strip. Now, we have heard reports that several houses were hit in this area behind me. But, so far, on the Palestinian side, no fatalities.

On the Israeli side, however, two -- OK, there's more rockets have just been fired out of there. But as we wait for the sound, I can tell you, two Palestinians who had worked permits to work inside Israel were killed by rockets -- missiles just like this that are being fired out of Gaza, into Israel.

In addition, one man was injured in that incident. But this just gives you an idea of -- for you can have hours of calm and then bang, this happens.

And you can hear it, and we'll see where these missiles are going. Alex.

MARQUARDT: Yes, right on cue there. Ben, is there any talk of a ceasefire in this moment?

WEDEMAN: Well, the last we heard was that the talks were in the words of one diplomatic source who spoke to CNN on ice.

The indications are that the Egyptians who are leading the mediation efforts are losing patience. That they're -- they've tried now for days, and they've done this as, you know, every time there is a blow up between Gaza and Israel, the Egyptians become involved to try to work out some sort of ceasefire.

But in this instance, we're now on day five, and they still have not been able to reach anything that approximates a ceasefire. Alex?

MARQUARDT: All right. Ben, stay with me. We do have some of your videos, showing one of the most recent volleys of rockets. Let's take a look at that.

WEDEMAN: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Let's do it.

WEDEMAN: OK, let's do it.

OK. All right. There are missiles going off over our head? One -- I see several. OK. And I can see that going over there, you can hear another one. This is just the latest of these volleys of missiles to be fired out of Gaza.

Yesterday, it was at about this time when there was also another volley. We believe most of them have been intercepted.

But today, in fact, two people were killed on the Israeli side. They were workers from Gaza. Palestinians who had worked permits to work inside Israel were killed, one other was injured.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Very dramatic scenes there where you are, Ben.

[12:05:00]

Ben, I have to remind our audience that few people understand the tension there better than you. We just saw in the past few weeks, a flare up in violence around Ramadan, around the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

What is this moment feel like in terms of one of these regular flare ups and where it may be going?

WEDEMAN: It's touch and go. You know, they sometimes it looks like there's going to be a breakthrough, a ceasefire will be achieved, and then, those efforts fall apart, and the fighting continues.

Now, we're at a sensitive moment. Next Thursday is going to be what's called Jerusalem Day. And there is what's called a flag march in Jerusalem, when Israelis, many of them, hardcore settlers marched through Jerusalem through the Palestinian parts of the Old City. And tensions really flare.

The feeling is -- the worry is that this is -- this sort of this back- and-forth strike and counter strike is going to continue until, at least, Thursday, when that very contentious March takes place.

Now, in the past, the Israelis would say, Hamas, you are the de facto rulers of Gaza, you must control. You will be held responsible for anything fired out of Gaza. This time, the Israelis aren't doing that. They are blaming Islamic Jihad, focusing their strikes on Islamic Jihad.

And if Hamas becomes involved, if Israel starts to strike Hamas, then, Islamic Jihad, which is sort of the b team in this struggle. If Hamas becomes involved, then, this conflict could become much more intense, and much more broad. Alex?

MARQUARDT: As we often say, a highly combustible situation. Ben Wedeman, we are very lucky to have you on the ground there in southern Israel. Thank you very much. We'll be back with you soon.

Now, with me now to talk more about this situation unfolding in the Gaza Strip and in Israel is Joel Rubin. He is a former deputy assistant secretary of state during the Obama administration.

Joel, thank you so much for joining us today. I want to ask the same question to you that I just asked Ben. Given what we've seen in the past few weeks in terms of escalating violence, and then, it subsides for a little bit.

Where do you think things are going right now, given that there is no talk of a ceasefire, as Ben was saying, in the words of a diplomat, those talks seem to be on ice.

JOEL RUBIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, Alex. It's great to be with you. And thanks to Ben for that reporting.

It points to the civilian impact of this, it's really heartbreaking to watch how Palestinians and Israelis are running for their lives. I have family in Israel, sending pictures of them running to bomb shelters.

So, this humanitarian part really needs to be first of mind in terms of how we assess this. But when it comes to the diplomacy, you know, right now, we're really stuck in the United States, in between two very strong, somewhat immovable objects.

Tehran is backing the Islamic Jihad, they're pushing them to, to launch these missiles going into civilian areas in Israel. And then on the other side, Israel, quite frankly, has a government that is not interested in a two-state solution. Or in talks with the Palestinian authority on any political horizon for peacemaking.

So, those two drivers continue to enable bad actors and in particular, the Islamic Jihad to really take these actions, harming civilians. And I do think we're going to see more intensity related to Hamas in the coming days as a result of the lack of calm that's continuing this morning.

MARQUARDT: Yes, to that point, what are you watching? As Ben was saying --

(CROSSTALK)

RUBIN: Yes. MARQUARDT: It is -- that this is now focused, this is between Islamic Jihad, which for our viewers, is one of the two main militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

RUBIN: Yes.

MARQUARDT: Hamas being the other one. Hamas not involved right now. We also heard to the north in Lebanon from the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, they're obviously watching things closely.

So, how worried are you about those two groups, Hamas and Hezbollah getting involved?

RUBIN: And you know, the longer this last, the more dangerous that becomes. And these are two groups that are again, aligned with Iran, and Iran is pushing them to take actions into Israel right now.

And it's important to talk about this diplomatic engagement by Egypt. Egypt and Jordan, led by the Biden administration have been very active in trying to keep things calm.

There is been a process underway, and (INAUDIBLE), and then, Al-Khobar (PH), and Jordan.

And it was very useful and effective during the last month when there was a confluence of high holidays and a concern about violence.

Well, now the violence is happening right now. And so, there needs to be signals from Israel about it's time to constraint when it's going to stop.

And also, these other countries, they need to get engaged because Tehran, Iran sees an opportunity here to continue to push and pressure and have missiles shot in.

[12:10:01]

And that only feeds into this cycle of violence that Israel's government seems to be in many ways, gearing up for responding to. And that's deeply concerning.

MARQUARDT: What would you want top Biden administration officials, Jake Sullivan --

(CROSSTALK)

RUBIN: Yes.

MARQUARDT: National Security Adviser Tony Blinken, the secretary of state and others to be doing right now, who should they be reaching out to?

RUBIN: Well, what they've done is right in terms of ensuring that Israel understands that we have Israel's back from security perspective. But with leaning in to the need for providing some oxygen, for example, to the Palestinian people, the Gaza Strip as an example, it's the most densely populated place on Earth. It has extraordinary unemployment.

And the horrible irony of the deaths of today described is that Palestinians from Gaza are getting into Israel to get work and improving their quality of life.

So, leaning in on that on improving the quality of life for the Palestinians, I'm pushing the Israeli government to get into a political discussion, and as well as ensuring they understand that the Iron Dome supplies are there, and on the Palestinian side, working with Qatar, with Egypt, and our allies to have Hamas really rein in the Islamic Jihad, and not have this metastasize and grow into a conflict between Israel and Hamas.

That up until now, clearly, Israel looks at Hamas not as the key protagonist that they want to fight and that the Hamas has some governing power in Gaza.

MARQUARDT: Yes, it's a very troubling moment. Joel Rubin, we are appreciative of your perspective. Thank you very much for joining us today.

RUBIN: Thanks, Alex.

MARQUARDT: Now, turning now to Russia's war on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he is in the Italian capital, Rome right now, working to strengthen his ties with Italy.

He's also holding meetings with the Pope. As you can see there, Pope Francis. The Zelensky out of his country, as new explosions hit the Russian occupied city of Luhansk. That is in eastern Ukraine, right up against the border with Russia.

Now, this comes just one day after the city was struck by two missiles. Russian officials say that six children were injured in Friday's bombings.

CNN's Sam Kiley is with us from southeastern Ukraine.

Sam, there is a lot of chatter about what kind of missiles may have been used in this strike. In Luhansk, some Russian bloggers are claiming that these were the new long range cruise missiles from the United Kingdom. What do we know?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the first thing to say there, as you well know, Alex, is that Russian officials -- a Russian-backed officials are likely to point the finger of blame wherever they can get the most attention.

Now, clearly, the Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which are very much state of the art cruise missiles that have been given by the United Kingdom. They are jointly developed with France to Ukraine.

Are potential game changers in a real sense in terms of the future offensive being planned here by Ukraine, because they can reach very deep into Russian hell territory and attack the supply lines. It's unlikely that they would have been used against targets in Luhansk. And in addition to that, the Ukrainians have their own cruise missiles, and other surface-to-surface rocket capability.

So, inevitably, this is going to be exploited as an example or as a -- and the claim will be made and has been made by the Russians and their proxies that this is an example of Storm Shadow use. There is absolutely no evidence for that.

But what there is evidence for, Alex, is an increasing pace of these longer-range strikes inside Russian held territory ahead of what is anticipated to be an offensive here over the summer, conducted by Ukraine, try to -- try to recapture and repeat some of their successes in terms of recapturing land that they enjoyed towards the end of last year.

That has not yet got underway. We may be seeing the shaping operations in the form of these attacks against Luhansk and elsewhere, in particular, into Crimea. But it's still very much the early days as President Zelenskyy himself has been emphasizing recently. Alex.

MARQUARDT: And then, Sam, one of the most important pieces of weaponry on the defensive side, and Ukraine's arsenal has been these new U.S.- made Patriot missile batteries, air defense systems.

What do you know about what U.S. officials are saying that, in fact, the Russians are now trying to target the Patriot system?

KILEY: What is very interesting indeed, the Patriot, you recall is designed before the hypersonic missiles that the Russians used -- have used against Ukraine were even kind of developed.

So, there is some surprise that a patriot system, as claimed by the Ukrainians was able to shoot down a hypersonic missile. That has since been confirmed. by the Pentagon.

The Pentagon now saying that they believe the missile system itself -- the Patriot missile system was targeted by the Russians.

No great surprise there, Alex. You've been in this part of the world. You know better than me that the major target, probably, the preeminent target for all and every attack being conducted by Russia in terms of strategic operations will be, first of all, against the air defenses.

[12:15:05]

Air defenses are improving here with Patriot and with a large number of others. There's just been a new pledge coming among $3 billion -- 3 billion euro -- or nearly 3-billion-euro package coming from Germany, including air defenses. So, we shouldn't be surprised that they have targeted a Patriot.

I think, what's interesting from the Pentagon's perspective is that whether or not the Russians knew where that Patriot anti-aircraft battery was, because that will worry both the Americans. The Germans have also supplied Patriot and, of course, above all, the Ukrainians, Alex.

MARQUARDT: Yes, a very good point. And the Kremlin had said as those Patriots went in very clearly that they would be targets.

Sam Kiley there in southeastern, Ukraine. Thank you so much for that report.

And still to come, cities along the U.S.-Mexican border are bracing for an influx of migrants after the COVID-era border policy known as Title 42 expired just a few days ago.

What the situation is like right now on the ground?

And a new twist in a decades-old murder case. The prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway is now being extradited back to the United States. We'll have the details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:21]

MARQUARDT: New warnings today stemming from the end of the U.S. immigration policy known as Title 42.

In a new court filing, a senior Border Patrol official projects up to 14,000 migrants could try to enter the U.S. per day in the coming weeks, which could strain the already overcrowded facilities along the border.

But that surge has not yet happened. Instead, authorities are saying that long lines of people who once wanted to enter the United States have actually dissipated in many of those border crossings.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is in El Paso, Texas. Polo, what are you seeing out there on the ground today?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alex, it is windy and dusty. But it certainly is not a chaotic scene that authorities had were concerned about. That you see much of -- many of the migrant arrivals that we saw leading up to Thursday night with the lifting of Title 42.

Well, those number is certainly not what we're seeing, at least not in this particular part of the border.

And for DHS officials, they will certainly seize on this opportunity to catch up with the processing of at least 23,000 people in CBP custody.

The concern here, as you just mentioned, is that we could see the average number of encounters go from roughly 9,000 to as many as 14,000 in the days or weeks ahead.

So, that's really a state of play in terms of the number. I tell you what this also means is a lot of the focus will certainly shift just south of where I'm standing in Mexico to see if the message from the Biden administration will actually resonate among migrant communities there that are waiting to see what they will do.

But also, north of here, and up to and I speak to a U.T. professor a few moments ago here in El Paso, basically telling me that, you know, she continues to speak with asylum seekers in some of the shelters here, and she keeps hearing the same cities time and time again, that once they're processed and released by border officials, they want to go to Los Angeles, to Denver, and New York City. And that's just to name a few.

So, I think what we're seeing is regardless of what the numbers may be here on the border, the numbers that are bound to continue to increase are asylum seeker arrivals in those major American cities.

So, for local officials there, they are the ones that continue to prepare to try to figure out a way to deal with some of these asylum seeker arrivals in New York where I've been following this story for the last year.

And there is one county that's even going as far as to sue the New York City mayor to stop him from relocating some of the closest 60,000 asylum seekers that have been processed by New York City alone.

So, that is leading to some political friction there as well. And it is just an example of what we may potentially see in American cities 1000s of miles away from where I'm standing today. Alex?

MARQUARDT: All right. A blustery day down there in El Paso. Polo Sandoval, thank you for all of your terrific reporting that you have done on the U.S. southern border.

Now, coming up, it has been 18 years since the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba. And now, the prime suspect in her disappearance, Joran van der Sloot, he is going to be extradited back to the United States. The charges he faces, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:27:21]

MARQUARDT: The attorney for Joran van der Sloot, says they will appeal an extradition order by the U.S. that has been approved by Peru's Supreme Court.

Van der Sloot, who is a Dutch citizen was one of the last people to see American teenager Natalee Holloway alive before she disappeared in Aruba, nearly two decades ago.

Now, a prime suspect in her disappearance, van der Sloot will face charges of extortion and fraud in the U.S. As CNN's Jean Casarez now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 18 years after Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway vanished on the school trip in Aruba, the prime suspect in her disappearance is being extradited to the United States.

Joran van der Sloot, who was one of the last people to see Holloway alive and twice detained in connection with her disappearance will finally face federal charges in the U.S. for extortion and wire fraud.

BETH HOLLOWAY, MOTHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: He knows exactly what happened, he knows what, where, when, who, why, and how. He knows the answers.

CASAREZ: He is accused of extorting 1000s from Holloway's mother, Beth, in exchange for details on the location of her daughter's remains.

According to legal documents in March 2010, van der Sloot, "offered to take the cooperating witness to the location of Natalee Holloway's body." Advised as to the "circumstances of her death, and identify those in her death and disappearance in return for a payment of $250,000.

Papers were signed. A total of $25,000 was given to van der Sloot. And Holloway's attorney flew to Aruba.

Van der Sloot took the attorney to a house, saying her body was buried within the foundation. Soon after fleeing to Peru with the $25,000, he e-mailed the Holloway, saying, "he had lied about the location of Natalee's remains. Extortion charges were filed a short time later.

In May 2005, the 18-year-old Holloway was last seen leaving a nightclub in Aruba with van der Sloot and two other men. All three were charged by Aruban prosecutors in 2007 for involvement in manslaughter. But a judge ordered their release citing a lack of direct evidence. Her body was never found.

Beth Holloway said in a statement, "She would be 36-years-old now. It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee.

After the U.S. legal proceedings conclude, van der Sloot will be sent back to Peru, according to a statement from Peru's judiciary.

[12:30:02]

To a Peruvian prison where he is serving time for the murder of 21- year-old Stephany Flores. She was murdered five years after Holloway's disappearance.

[12:30:00]

CNN was allowed exclusive access to van der Sloot's cell shortly after his arrest. And in 2012, he was sentenced to 28 years in prison for that murder. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: The attorney for Joran van der Sloot, Maximo Altez, is telling CNN that he is going to fight this extradition request that was ordered by Peru Supreme Court. He believes the charges are just too old to have it be valid. Of course, there is an extradition treaty between the United States and Peru signed in 2001.

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

MARQUARDT: Thanks to Jean Casarez for that report. And joining me now is CNN's legal analyst as well as being a criminal defense attorney, Joey Jackson. Joey, thank you so much for joining me. So, how likely is it and how soon could we see van der Sloot on U.S. soil?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Alex, good to be with you. The answer is it's very likely that he'll be extradited for the following reasons. Number one, there is an extradition treaty as it relates to this country, the United States and Peru. Number two, there apparently has been an agreement, although the State Department has not commented on that with respect to moving him here.

And number three, I think the legal formalities exist. What are those legal formalities? He was wanted indeed for wire fraud and extortion years ago. What impeded him from coming here at that time, of course, is that he was prosecuted and convicted for killing Stephany Flores, as Jean Casarez has pointed out in her excellent piece, that landed him in jail for about 28 years. So the shortest period, Alex, in which he could get here would have been 2038, 2040. But apparently authorities have reached an accord which would bring him here.

And I think, you know, it could happen pretty expeditiously. Certainly there's the notation that his attorney has appealed. That's fine. You're allowed to do that. Everybody's entitled to due process. I think in several weeks you could see the authorities here gain custody and pursue the case that has long since been delayed based upon his detention in Peru in serving the sentence for murder.

MARQUARDT: But, Joey, if this is just a temporary surrender, as Peruvian officials are calling it, what does it actually accomplish?

JACKSON: So I think it accomplishes, Alex, a measure of justice, which is very important. And when we say temporary under the law, what occurs is that once the United States gains jurisdiction, then of course, throughout the pendency of those proceedings, there are formalities associated with any criminal prosecution. This, of course, will be a federal prosecution. You know, there are all of those requisite formalities.

But make no mistake about it, that prosecution and those formalities could include a trial. That trial could include a conviction. That conviction could include a sentence. And let's understand that a sentence for wire fraud can carry 20 years. After that process is played out, then of course, he can be returned. So I think that we can -- what we can see moving forward is him coming here nights gates, gaining custody, him being prosecuted, him serving a sentence, and then potentially him being brought back to the jurisdiction of Peru to serve out the remainder of that.

But the measure of justice for Beth Holloway can't be overstated. She has been waiting for this for a long period of time.

MARQUARDT: And could you paint a picture for what will this look like in terms of the process? Will we see van der Sloot come face to face with the Holloway family? What's going to happen?

JACKSON: Yes, you certainly could. I think immediately what will happen is, is that the formalities between the State Department and the United States, all of that will be secured, ensuring that there's a valid underlying criminal prosecution, ensuring that all the evidence and documentation is in place, the statutes that he allegedly violated, all of that viable. That'll be challenged by his attorney.

His attorney will make whatever appeals deemed to be appropriate, which they're not many, quite frankly, as long as the papers are in order, as long as he's facing an offense for which is prosecutable. And let's understand, although the attorney is saying, hey, they're old, the United States began this prosecution a long time ago. They were just delayed because of the defendant, right? His own activities as it related to the murder, all of that challenge we'll see. After that, he'll get on a plane, be brought over here by the FBI.

At that point, Department of Justice will bring him into a courtroom. And, yes, he's entitled to that due process, which will include the Holloway family, if they choose, participating, being present, seeing that prosecution play out, subject to all the legal challenges, and potentially seeing a conviction in the event the United States has the evidence, which is, to this point, seemingly compelling.

MARQUARDT: And Joey, what do you make of the fact that van der Sloot pleaded guilty to one murder? He's consistently tied to this mystery surrounding Natalee Holloway and really continues toy with the Holloway family.

[12:35:06]

JACKSON: Yes, Alex, that's a great point, and it's one that's very unfortunate. And to your point about toying with them, this is what his appearance in the United States is all about, him giving the indication that is the defendant in this case, right, that, oh, I know, mom, where the body of your daughter is, how cruel. And then, of course, she goes to the authority that is Beth Holloway, the mom's we look at there and says, hey, this is what he's doing.

He then wires $15,000. Of course, FBI knowing need improvement (ph) $10,000. We know that this is a hoax, of course. There's no body to be found there. And I think he's just played this out for his own benefit. Fortunately, the authorities have been all over him, and now it's his day of reckoning where he has to come back and answer to these alleged defenses which have affected the Holloway family deeply for a substantial period of time.

MARQUARDT: Yes, really very twisted. Joey Jackson, really appreciate it. JACKSON: Appreciate you. Thanks.

MARQUARDT: Thank you.

And still to come, lawmakers are working overtime to hammer out a deal to avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debt as President Joe Biden warns this morning that default is not an option. Where the talks stand, that's just ahead. And we have a quick programming note. Follow a team of adventurous -- adventurers around the globe as they journey into the world -- wild, excuse me, as they take on incredible endeavors of physical prowess and mental fortitude. The four part documentary series Edge of the Earth starts tomorrow at 10:00 right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:44]

MARQUARDT: For many migrants trying to enter the U.S. Southern border, this week's end of the COVID-era Title 42 policy does mark a new challenge in an already grueling immigration process. CNN's Gustavo Valdes is on the Mexican side of the border and filed this report.

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We heard a lot of things on the days prior to the end of Title 42. But one thing we did not expect was this, an empty border. This is Gate 42 between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas. This is the place from which many migrants crossed into the U.S. They were lined up until Thursday when Title 42 ended, and we saw hundreds of them just waiting to be processed by the Border Patrol.

But Friday morning and all day, we saw the last group of migrants being taken into custody. A few other migrants were rushing in, trying to talk to the National Guardsmen, the state troopers, and the immigration agents who were in this place to see if they would let them cross through this fencing. But they were not successful.

And as you can see now, there is nobody risking to get into the United States. What we heard from the migrants yesterday in particular, was that they did try to be here before the end of Title 42, knowing that the new policies could result on a faster deportation with severe consequences. So perhaps the message is getting through to the migrants who are thinking about going into the United States and just enforcing existing laws is working.

However, we know that there are still hundreds of migrants coming north. We have reporters in Central America who are following more migrants coming up. The Mexican government still estimates that there are thousands of migrants in this country trying for the opportunity -- waiting for the opportunity to get into the United States.

The question now is, are they going to continue coming to places like this to turn themselves into the Border Patrol, or are they going to risk going through places more remote and avoid detention?

Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

MARQUARDT: And thanks to Gustavo for that report.

Let's talk more about this with Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, who represents Texas' 34th District, which shares a border with Mexico. Congressman, thank you so much for joining me today. I want to talk first about what we're seeing and really what we're not seeing on the border right now, which is this migrant surge that so many had expected to see. Do you think that is due to the preparations that were made by the Biden administration, or is it perhaps more the confusion on the part of migrants who don't yet know how to navigate these new policies?

REP. VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-TX): Well, I think the message has gotten through. Clearly, the Biden administration and Secretary Mayorkas did a lot of work in preparation leading up to the lifting of Title 42, which I was against. I wanted to extend it another two, three months to give us time to build more infrastructure. But at the end of the day, I spoke with our Border Patrol chief yesterday, and from the conversation we had, it was a pretty uneventful day.

We had regular crossings. They're enforcing Title 8. I think we're just back to basics and back to using the traditional immigration laws that we had in the books that were enforcing prior to Title 42, which are very effective if enforced. And I think the message has gotten through to migrants that they need to get a reservation on their app, and if they don't, if they show up and get deported, they could be out for a minimum of five years.

It's a pretty severe punishment for coming in unlawfully. We have sent a message, I think, pretty thoroughly to countries in Central America. Also, Mexico, I believe, is doing more of these days. I heard they were sending thousands of national troops to their southern border, something I've been asking for the last six years. I think Mexico could do so much more in defending their southern border and stopping the mass migration coming to our border.

MARQUARDT: Yes, their southern border certainly a lot narrower than the U.S. Southern border. Congressman, how has your district been preparing to handle a potential influx of migrants in the wake of the expiration of Title 42?

[12:45:06]

GONZALEZ: Yes, well, our Border Patrol chief established a staging center on the golf course, which is right on the Rio Grande. This is in one of them in Brownsville. It's called Camp Monument. People come in through a gate there and lead to this place where they're processed, one by one, their identification is taken from their -- taken a photo that has facial identification. And we create a file for them and start moving them, usually laterally and then north.

But, you know, now we're enforcing Title 8. I think there's going to be some strict measures. I think you're going to see an uptick in deportations, but also a downtick in just crossings the way we had the last few months.

MARQUARDT: And some of your Republican colleagues have compared the handling of the border crisis to the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, which of course, was famously chaotic. How do you respond to that?

GONZALEZ: Well, they were tragically wrong, right? I saw Ted Cruz and a few senators down there yesterday trying to create a big hoopla over nothing. I think they were all hoping and praying that the lifting of Title 42 was going to be a monumental failure for President Biden. Ultimately, it doesn't seem that it turned out that way for them.

And we're starting to see more order on the border. We're starting to see an orderly process of migrants not come in at the numbers that they were. And the numbers that are crossing now are under the capability and capacity of Border Patrol and CBP and law enforcement on our border.

Now, having said that, I continue to urge my colleagues to support a bill that I've filed called the Safe Zone Act that creates safe zones in places like Central America and around the world for migrants to be able to show up and claim asylum at that juncture and not have to force them to walk 1,500 miles to 2,000 miles to our southern border.

That does several things. One, it takes -- it allows Border Patrol -- it takes the pressure off our border and allows Border Patrol and law enforcement to do what they've been trained to do. And it also removes the cartels out of the equation of trafficking people through Mexico and enriching themselves by billions of dollars every year.

MARQUARDT: Would you, Congressman, like to see a bit more from Vice President Kamala Harris who was of course capped by President Biden back in 2021 to lead the administration's southern border response?

GONZALEZ: Well, I mean I'd like to see more from everyone. Everyone needs to -- it should be all decks on hand on the table and working towards a resolution. I would definitely like to be engaged more by our administration, our president, our vice president, cabinet members who make trips down there, come down, visit the border.

But let's come up with solutions and ideas that are out of the box that have not been done before that can actually have a long term impact on our southern border. I say this all the time. This is not a Democratic or Republican problem. It's an American problem that needs to be addressed by both parties with common sense policy.

When Trump was in office, you'd see Democrats going down to the border pointing fingers at President Trump. Now we have Biden in office, and you see Republicans on the border pointing fingers at Biden. But we don't have enough proposals with real long term solutions that can actually address the problem on the border.

For us on the border, this is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This is an American problem that impacts communities on the border. And I think that the administration, regardless if it's a Democrat or a Republican, should pay attention to border communities who have been dealing with the brunt of this for decades.

MARQUARDT: Yes, that is certainly something that we do hear from folks all along the border, that it should not be as political, nearly as political as it has become. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, thank you very much for your time.

GONZALEZ: Thank you.

[12:49:01]

MARQUARDT: And still to come, a severe storm is threatening millions with heavy rain and potential flooding. Which areas will be impacted the most? And how long this system will stick around? That's next.

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MARQUARDT: More than 10 million people are under flood watches across Texas and Oklahoma right now. A level three out of four threat of excessive rain is in effect right there in Southern Texas as the slow moving storm threatens rounds of showers and thunderstorms. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking all of this for us. Allison, what's the latest?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So and it's not just heavy rain, Alex. We also have a long line of very strong thunderstorms with a tremendous amount of lightning, too, equally as dangerous and equally concerning, especially even some areas away from the border. You've got some inland portions of Oklahoma, areas of Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, also dealing with a pretty tremendous amount of lightning.

Just in the last 24 hours, we've already picked up a pretty significant amount of rain, especially that area between Del Rio down towards Laredo and then portions of southern Texas, including Brownsville, where we've already had 2 to 4 inches just in the last 24 hours.

Now, we're going to be adding more rain on top of it today and even tomorrow, which is why you have those flash flood watches. Many of these exist through the evening, some of them even continuing through the day Sunday, just because of anticipation of that additional rainfall.

Not only heavy rain, but also the potential for damaging winds, large hail and frequent lightning for a lot of these areas here in East Texas, portions of Oklahoma, as well as Western Louisiana and Western Arkansas as that main line begins to make its way eastward.

[12:55:00]

But even as the main line does, you also have a lot of back building storms that will continue to appear in areas of Western and Central Texas as we go through the afternoon and especially into the evening hours. So it's going to be multiple rounds of rain, really, not just today, but also into Sunday. And that's why you have the threat for both of these areas, not only Saturday, but also Sunday as well.

And you'll notice a lot of them are the exact same places where we have the potential for rain today, same thing for tomorrow. And, Alex, when we talk about it overall, you're talking an additional 3 to 5 inches of rain on top of the 2 to 4 that many of these areas have already picked up.

MARQUARDT: Yes, a very nerve wracking situation. Allison Chinchar in the CNN Weather Center, thank you very much.

And still to come, new warnings from immigration officials after the COVID-era border policy known as Title 42 expired earlier this week, tens of thousands of migrants could try to enter the U.S. per day in the coming weeks. How cities on the U.S.-Mexican border are preparing. That's next.

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