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2:00 P.M. ET: Biden To Announce Executive Action On Immigration; Indian PM Claims Third-Term Victory Woth Vote Count Still Underway; White House Official Meeting With Families Of American Held By Hamas. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired June 04, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're monitoring what's going on up on Capitol Hill where the Attorney General of the United States Merrick Garland is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee. House Republicans are continuing to grill the attorney general on the baseless allegations of a so-called weaponized Department of Justice. We'll continue to monitor the hearing and bring you the latest throughout this hour. Stand by for that.

But first, there's other important news we're watching right now. President Biden is getting ready to bypass Congress and unveil executive actions cracking down on the flow of illegal migrants across the southern border. The measure would severely restrict asylum seekers who crossed unlawfully. The threshold effectively shutting down the border would kick in once the crossings reach a daily average of 2500. The regulation was enforced under the Trump administration and was widely denounced at the time by Democrats.

CNN's Rosa Flores is on the border in Hidalgo, Texas for us. So, Rosa, what's the reaction there to this expected executive action by the president?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the reaction is mixed. There are officials who say that the president is doing something to impact the issue at the border. And they are thankful that he's taking this action.

There are mayors here from South Texas that will be at the White House today. We have confirmed that they are participating. They're going to be supporting the president there at the White House as the president announces this new sweeping executive order on the border. Now, one of those mayors is the mayor of Brownsville, Texas, and he issued a statement saying in part "President Joe Biden is expected to unveil an executive order that may notably impact migrants' ability to seek asylum along the U.S. southern border."

Now, a lot of these officials are pretty vague. They are not commenting on camera because they're waiting for the specific details to be announced. And we're expecting that announcement later today. Now, some officials are upset about what the president is doing. They say it's too little too late. And some individuals are upset because they weren't invited to the White House to participate in these meetings, to participate in the expected event later today.

One of those mayors is the mayor of El Cajon in Southern California. That Mayor is issuing a statement saying in part "This is nothing but a sham and an insult to those of us dealing with the real consequences of his failed border policies." Now, the White House would argue that no executive action is going to fix all the ills on the U.S. southern border, that what's required is action from Congress that Congress needs to act so that there can be comprehensive immigration reform and so all of these issues can be tackled in a comprehensive way. Now, one of the curious things is the timing of this announcement. Why now?

[11:35:03]

When you look at the number of migrant apprehensions at the U.S. southern border right now, they are extremely low. Now, we have these numbers for you. We're not in December of 2023 right now when there was a migrant surge on the U.S. southern border, when the administration was surging resources to various parts of the border because of the number of border crossings that were happening on a daily basis. At that point in time, U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimated about 250 migrant crossings in between ports of entry just in the month of December.

You look at those numbers in April, that number was about 128,000. I talked to a source yesterday who said that last month, that number dropped even more. Closer to about 120. So, that gives you a sense.

Now, everybody that I've talked to here in the Rio Grande Valley points to that number. Points to the fact, Wolf, that the numbers are so low to say that this is a political move by the administration. Now, one of the big questions is, as you mentioned, this is something that the Trump administration tried back in 2018 and it was struck down by the courts.

The big question is, if this announcement is made and we know these details, will this executive order by the Biden administration hold in court? Will it -- will it stand a legal challenge? We don't know. We're going to have to wait for those details for that to be determined. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: All right. Good report. Rosa Flores, on the scene for us, thank you very much. Let's discuss what's going on with CNN political analyst Laura Barron-Lopez, Republican strategist, Doug Heye, and former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris, Ashley Etienne. And, Laura, let me start with you. How we're both Republicans and Democrats, first of all, from what you're hearing, responding to this upcoming executive action by the president?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, there's a bit of a mixed reaction from Democrats. There are some Democrats, especially ones in difficult reelection races, who wanted the president to take action, who wanted to see him do some executive action because of the fact that the Senate bipartisan deal was killed by Republicans. But then there are Democrats, including those within the Hispanic caucus that are not happy about this.

They feel as though it's way too strict, that it's going to essentially turn back migrants who otherwise would have qualified for asylum. And they, of course, I think are going to be supporting some legal challenges. And I think we can expect those legal challenges to come.

Republicans are attacking the president, despite the fact that months ago, a number of them thought that he should take executive action. And were using that argument as their reason for not supporting that bipartisan border deal.

BLITZER: Interesting. You know, Ashley, some of the -- some Democrats, as you know, are accusing the president now of doing what Trump would have wanted to do -- going into Trump's playbook, in effect by limiting the number of individuals who could seek asylum in the United States.

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Absolutely. And what I'm hearing from leadership in the House Democrats but also from the White House, is that the argument they're making to those members is we might be able -- we disagree on the remedy on how to solve this problem, but we all agree that there is a problem, and we have to take some action. The fact that there's a problem at the border is not lost on Democrats at all. And it's not lost on the president.

But I think what's really important here is the sequence as we talk about timing. The president day one introduced comprehensive legislation. As the reporter said, it's better to codify this into law.

That didn't happen. He negotiated a bipartisan deal. It was a conservative's wish list. They decided they didn't want it. Trump stepped in, he killed momentum, told them to walk away from the deal, and they did. And now, they voted against their own bill several times.

So, left with no other choice, the president has to take action at this point. And I think what's so disappointing about it is, Republicans' sort of fury about this issue and outrage about this issue is completely disingenuous. Why wouldn't they go ahead and vote and pass the bill? They've instead left jeopardized the safety of the country in these communities all over the nation to suck up to Donald Trump.

BLITZER: As if Republicans would have voted for that bipartisan bill that would have passed, the president would have signed into law, and a lot of these debates that are going on right now would not -- would not be taking place.

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes. I've spent a lot of my career on Capitol Hill working very unsuccessfully, I would say, on immigration reform. And this bill that was brought up, a bipartisan bill --

BLITZER: So, to remind for, a conservative Republican.

HEYE: Very conservative Republican from Oklahoma. This is a bill that we wouldn't have dreamed of back in 10, maybe 15 years ago that Republicans would get. But it didn't pass. So, we're in a new reality now.

BLITZER: It didn't pass because Trump didn't want Biden to get any benefit --

HEYE: Yes.

BLITZER: Political benefit if it would have passed, right?

HEYE: EXACTLY. Because if you look at the polling when we dive down on issues, Donald Trump is crushing Joe Biden on questions about the border. And it's why House Republicans, Senate Republicans, and clearly the Trump campaign as well feel that this is their opportunity to campaign to. Not just voters who are concerned about the borders but specifically Hispanic voters who are very upset with Biden's enforcement on this.

And we see -- you know, Donald Trump is somebody who says, I'm -- when I do something on day one that may or may not happen, but you don't make promises of I'm going to do this on day 1200. And that's where Joe Biden is right now. And these images that we see of people coming across the border are a big reason why it's just been too little too late at this point, despite the legislation.

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BLITZER: It's a very, very serious issue going into the election, as we all know. Doug Heye, thanks very much. Ashley Etienne, thank you very much. Laura Barron-Lopez, thank you very, very much. And we'll be right back with more news.

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BLITZER: Right now, the U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland, is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee up on Capitol Hill. Moments ago, the chairman, Jim Jordan, grilled the attorney general on why he appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith to investigate former President Donald Trump. We're going to continue to monitor the hearing and bring you some live coverage of that coming up. Stand by for that.

[11:45:16]

But there's other really important news we're following right now as well. They're counting ballots in a massive election in India, the world's largest democracy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears headed for a rare third term in office. But he also appears unable to reach the outright majority he wanted, and that would certainly be a shocking loss.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson is joining us live from New Delhi right now. Ivan, where do things stand with the results as of right now?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're still being counted. And when you consider that you had more than 640 million ballots cast, that's nearly twice the population of the U.S., this is a big job. So, while this is still going on, Narendra Modi, the man who has been Prime Minister of India for 10 years, is already declaring victory. He's come out and he's just given a speech saying this is a glorious day. This is a victory for the world's largest democracy.

But he's spinning a little bit because it does look like his electoral margin has shrunk. We're still looking at preliminary numbers. But he was boasting that he was going to have a massive electoral win, a landslide. Instead, it does look like he's majority will have shrunk compared to the last two elections that he may actually even end up having to govern in a coalition with other political parties.

So, the opposition, they're saying -- they're spinning this as a major defeat for Narendra Modi. Take a listen to Rahul Gandhi. He's the leader of the main opposition party.

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RAHUL GANDHI, INDIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: The country has unanimously and clearly stated, we do not want Mr. Narendra Modi and Mr. Amit Shah to be involved in the running of this country. We do not like the way they run this country. We do not appreciate the way they have attacked the Constitution.

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WATSON: So, his opponents criticize Modi and argue that he's eroding democratic freedoms in this country. That's a charge he, of course, rejects. And India is headed into new territory because again, the man who's dominated this country for a decade, he may have to now govern with partners and making compromises he's never had to make before, Wolf.

BLITZER: Very interesting. Ivan Watson, thank you very much. Ivan is in New Delhi.

Other important news we're following. President Biden now saying it's uncertain -- his word, uncertain, if Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. How those comments could resonate in Israel as the president's peace plan hangs in the balance right now? Lots going on. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[11:52:27]

BLITZER: Happening right now. President Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is meeting at the White House with families of American hostages being held by Hamas. The backdrop for this meeting is a ceasefire plan announced the other day by President Biden. It's hanging in the balance as Hamas and Israel weigh their full responses. Also, new this morning. President Biden telling Time Magazine that it's "uncertain whether Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza." But he's still pushing back against the world court warrants for top Israeli officials, including the prime minister and the defense minister.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is joining us from Jerusalem right now. Jeremy, we know there have been disagreements about what exactly was discussed in these latest ceasefire talks. Is there any more clarity today? Are they any closer at all to a deal that would allow the hostages to come home and at the same time remove the Israelis -- the Israeli forces from Gaza?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, right now, all parties are waiting for Hamas's official response. The Qataris have now officially confirmed that the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal was indeed transferred to Hamas. And now, the ball is very much in their court.

But as we await Hamas's response, what we've been hearing from the Israeli prime minister has sparked some concerns from Israeli officials. And I'll explain why. Because over the last couple of days, we've been hearing Netanyahu repeatedly emphasizing the fact that this deal in his view is not going to lead to an end of the war, that Israel has not agreed to a permanent ceasefire and won't do so until and unless Hamas is first defeated fully on the battlefield.

And that runs -- he's doing so because he's trying to shore up the support of some of his far-right ministers in his government who have threatened to collapse this government if Netanyahu follows through with the deal. But two Israeli sources familiar with the matter tell me that there are now concerns within the Israeli government that the Israeli prime minister in doing that is also undermining the very fabric of this deal. Undermining, in particular, the way in which this deal is being sold to Hamas by the mediators as well as by the United States.

And that is very much to frame this deal as a way to end the war, as a way to eventually get to a permanent ceasefire. That's part of the reason why President Biden, in his speech on Friday, very much framed this agreement that way. But of course, the Israeli prime minister isn't going to have to confront this choice about whether or not to save his government or to go through with the ceasefire agreements, until we hear Hamas's response.

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And ultimately, what will be critical here, Wolf, will be knowing whether or not Hamas is willing to accept this deal when that could potentially lead to a permanent ceasefire, but with no guarantees, or whether they will continue to insist on an upfront commitment from the Israeli government to a permanent ceasefire. That was their position as of a few weeks ago. But we still don't have their official reply, Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem, we'll stay in close touch with you. Thank you very much. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining me here on the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

I'll be back later tonight, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM," right back here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Dana Bash starts after a very short break.

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