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New Database Aims to Register Undocumented Immigrants; Trump to Sell "Gold Card" to Wealthy Foreigners; U.S. and Ukraine Agree to Minerals Deal; Pope Francis Continuing Treatment; Dr. Sanjay Gupta Answers Questions on Pneumonia; Trump Meets with Cabinet. Aired 10:30- 11a ET

Aired February 26, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump's crackdown on immigration is now expanding. We're learning his administration is launching a new database aimed at registering undocumented immigrants and threatening them with criminal penalties if they don't comply. The announcement coming just days after ICE says it made 118 arrests during an operation north of Houston in the Latino community of Colony Ridge. It's a community that's long been a target of right-wing media, which has made unsubstantiated claims that the area itself is a hotspot of drug cartel activity.

Joining me now is John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE under President Obama. Good to have you with us this morning. I want to start, if we could, first with this operation in Texas, which we're learning about. Tom Homan says he personally attended. Is there anything about this that stands out to you?

JOHN SANDWEG, PARTNER, NIXON PEABODY: Yes, a couple of things, Erica. First of all, this might be a unique situation, right? Colony Ridge is a private development outside of Houston. There's a history there. Not only these accusations of drug cartels, but also of the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Colony Ridge for defrauding migrant investors.

But what's interesting to me, tactically, is that the agency used a different approach here, right? They -- what I would call an area sweep. They flooded the zone with state police officers and ICE special agents and they executed a large number of traffic stops and hit business sites, kind of looking for migrants in a non-targeted way. So, this differs from what we've been seeing over the last -- the first month or so of the Trump administration where they were using -- looking for people with an identified nexus to the criminal justice system and going out to get one identified particular individual, a more targeted approach. This was more of an area suite.

It'll be -- this was done, to be fair, uniquely in the context of this larger criminal investigation of this private development. But it's going to be interesting to me to see whether this is something that spreads across the country. They made a large number of arrests and it just wouldn't surprise me with -- as this pressure mounts on ICE to ramp up these arrests if they start doing similar tactics and other, you know, communities and towns where there are high migrant populations.

HILL: Yes, you read my mind because that was my next question for you. So, thanks for answering it in advance. We also look at -- what we've learned about this new database, right? So, for people who are not familiar with it, anybody 14 and older who has not yet been fingerprinted or registered since coming into the country, been here for 30 days or more, it's told now they have to sign up, right? Go in and register. If they entered -- if they didn't enter legally. Now, if they don't, they're going to be considered as having committed a crime. So, this is a change now from what would have been a civil offense. Do you think this is an effective strategy or an effective deterrent?

[10:35:00]

SANDWEG: Well, I mean, I think a lot of this -- I think you're right, we need to use the word deterred. I think a lot of what the administration is doing is this -- you know, something has been bouncing around here in Washington for a decade or more, which is this idea of self-deportation, put pressure on the migrant communities to not just -- you know, it's very difficult to enforce your way out of this. It just takes so many resources to deport 11 million people.

So, I think part of what's going on here is create pressure on the migrant communities so that they just leave voluntarily, right? People decide it's just no longer worth it to stay in the United States. Clearly, I think this is part of such an effort.

On this particular effort, though, look, first of all, I think it raises serious Fifth Amendment concerns. What you're telling people, the population that you're saying has to register are those people who crossed the border illegally. That is a crime. Overstaying a visa is not a crime, but it's a misdemeanor offense to cross the border illegally.

And so, you're saying either come forward and declare that you crossed the border illegally and register or we will prosecute you. And that just basically, you know, violates the basic tenets of, you know, the right to avoid self-incrimination, the right to remain silent. You don't have to declare you committed a crime.

I don't know how this is going to survive a Fifth Amendment challenge, but I also don't think this will obviously be effective. I mean, I think most migrants across the border illegally are, you know, smart enough to know that if they come forward and register, they're going to most likely be arrested for deportation.

HILL: Yes.

SANDWEG: So, again, though, I think this is an effort to just ramp up that pressure writ large on the immigrant community in the United States to try to push people out of the country.

HILL: There's also -- I want to get your take on. So, the president talking about what he would call a gold card, this new plan to essentially sell a path to citizenship to wealthy foreigners for $5 million and in turn get rid of what's EB-5, right? Which is if you have a fair amount of cash and you pledge to investing in the United States, perhaps helping to create jobs, then that could be an easier path to your green card and ultimately citizenship. What is the message that this sends?

SANDWEG: I don't know, Erica. You know, this one seems a little bit -- kind of a little bit of a head scratcher for me. I'm not sure this one was entirely thought out. As you noted, there's this EB-5 program. So, EB-5 allows you to get a green card and a pathway to citizenship if you make an investment in the U.S. as low as $800,000.

Historically, there were some problems with it. In 2022, though, Congress made modifications and reauthorized it with bipartisan support. I mean, this is one of a rare immigration bill that gets both Republican and Democratic votes. Since then, though, even at the $800,000 level, we've only had about 5,200 investors who made that -- you know, investing $4.2 billion, but not a huge number of people getting green cards through this process. So, I don't know what problem the administration is trying to solve.

There were fraud issues in the program in its early days. There were developers who were taking this money and then, you know, stealing some of it, ripping people off. But a lot of that -- there's a lot more vetting both of the developers who are -- you know, the people are getting the investment and certainly of the migrants themselves. I mean, there's an incredible -- a lot of scrutiny into the source of funds.

So, I don't know what we're trying to solve here. But I also wonder if, you know, maybe the administration's not overestimating how many people would be interested in this program, especially when you look at -- you know, since it was reauthorized in 2022, you only have these 5,200 investors who got green cards under the -- you know, much cheaper program at 800,000.

HILL: Well, the president's comments about it also raising eyebrows when he was asked if Russian oligarchs, for example, could be available, he said, well, you know, I know some nice oligarchs. So, we'll see where that lands. John, really appreciate your insight. Thank you.

SANDWEG: My pleasure. Thank you.

HILL: Just ahead here, Ukraine's president says a natural resources deal with the U.S. could be a big success. Although that could depend on what happens next in Washington. That's ahead.

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[10:40:00]

HILL: New this morning, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is expected in Washington in the coming days. This announcement, of course, after the U.S. and Ukraine, we learned, agreed on a deal over natural resources and rebuilding the war-scarred nation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the final details are still being hammered out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: My last indication was that it was very close to the finish line. We were on the -- not even the one- yard line. We were like at the half yard line. You know, like almost like when the Eagles push the quarterback across, you know, that tush push thing. So, it's close and it's good. Look, it's a good deal. It's an important deal.

We still want to end this war. I mean, that's the important thing the president's made very clear. He campaigned on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is live in Kyiv. So, President Zelenskyy addressed this minerals deal a short time ago. What did he say?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, look, he most importantly in his first major comments since we heard from President Trump that he was going to be headed to the United States. He didn't actually confirm that he knew when he'd be meeting President Trump. He wants to have that meeting, certainly. He talks about going to London on the way back, and he sounded positive about this deal.

But the real issue seems to be, firstly, that it doesn't -- what -- he doesn't want to make any reference to the aid that the United States has already given Ukraine as debt. He said he wouldn't even allow 10 percent -- 10 cents to be Reimbursed in that situation. Also, to the language relating to security guarantees. Remember, the whole point of this, in their minds of Kyiv, is that they agree to hand over significant parts of their natural resources and rare earth minerals in exchange for security guarantees.

Now, we've obtained a copy of that particular draft deal. One that was current as of this morning from a source familiar with the negotiations. And there is reference by President Zelenskyy in his press conference, point 10 of the agreement that seems to go as far as -- thus far, both sides are willing to see in black and white the reference to security guarantees.

[10:45:00]

Let me read that to you because it is important. Much hinges upon it. The government of the United States of America supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace. Participants will seek to identify any necessary steps to protect mutual investments as defined in the fund agreement.

Now, that is absolutely not the U.S. security guarantee for Ukraine. It's saying that they would go along with Ukraine trying to find one. And it also does make that slight reference to protecting mutual investments. That's long been the pitch by U.S. officials that really this deal is about trying to get the United States incentivized in defending Ukraine. The deal also spells out that half of what they call relevant resources will be put into an investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, but it does also say that the bulk of working out what those assets are actually going to be will be in another agreement that's going to be negotiated once this is signed.

So, we're at a point where clearly negotiations are still going on. You heard that quarterback reference Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent saying at the one-yard line, but ultimately, this is going to come down to Zelenskyy and Trump, it seems, in a room discussing.

Zelenskyy said he wants to hear Trump say whether the U.S. is still going to provide aid. He wants to talk about security guarantees, too. It's going to come down to how well these men get along, if indeed they meet. The deal is moving forwards, last-minute haggling, to be expected, but it's not done by any sense of the imagination.

HILL: Yes, certainly not and unclear whether it's actually as close as the one or even the half yard line as we just heard from Secretary Rubio. Nick, appreciate it. Thank you.

Just ahead here, Dr. Sanjay Gupta answering your questions on pneumonia. We're also waiting on President Trump's first cabinet meeting. The top leadership in his administration set to join him at the White House with a guest, Elon Musk, the DOGE mastermind, who is under increasing criticism. Of course, not a member of the cabinet, but he'll be in the room. You are in the CNN Newsroom.

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[10:50:00]

HILL: This morning, the Vatican offering a new update on the health of Pope Francis, saying that he had a quote, "peaceful night," is now sitting in an armchair and is continuing his treatment. We asked you to submit your questions on pneumonia, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the answers.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, we got a lot of questions on this topic. People are really curious about obviously what is happening with the pope, but also about pneumonia in general. So, this question coming from Jan in New Jersey wants to know how much protection do the pneumococcal vaccines provide? And does that ensure you're not going to get pneumonia?

Really important question. A lot of people asking about the vaccines. So, first of all, when we've been talking about the pope, we've been describing the pneumonia as a poly microbial pneumonia. And what that means is that there's more than one organism, more than one bacteria virus that is sort of causing the pneumonia.

But overall, most common forms of pneumonia are typically bacterial. And even more specifically streptococcus pneumoniae is the name of the bacteria that typically causes the most common forms of pneumonia. And that is what the vaccine that we're talking about really targets. So, it targets the most common form of pneumonia. 60 to 70 percent of pneumonia is a bacterial, 30 to 40 percent typically viral, sometimes fungus and other things as well. Less common. So, children under the age of five, they're the ones who typically get this vaccine. And then again, people over the age of 50 with a possible booster over the age of 65. In terms of effectiveness, it depends a little bit on your age when you get the vaccine, but around 60 to 80 percent effective in terms of actually preventing pneumonia.

And keep in mind, as we've talked about in the past with vaccines, even if you do get the pneumonia, the vaccine can lessen the severity of the disease as well. So, I hope that helps.

Another question. Jag from Canada asks, what is walking pneumonia? How can you detect it? Can you treat it at home? So, Jag, as you might sort of guess, walking pneumonia is going to be a less severe form of pneumonia. It's pneumonia where you can be up walking around. So, you can see the symptoms there. They're going to sound like you have a bad cold.

The thing about walking pneumonia is that it does tend to persist, and that is typically why people end up getting checked out. Again, it can be challenging to determine whether you're dealing with an actual walking pneumonia versus a standard pneumonia.

Doctors will typically do a physical exam but also get a chest x-ray. And interestingly, with standard pneumonia, the pneumonia typically affects just one lobe of the lung. Whereas with walking pneumonia, even though, again, the symptoms are less severe, you tend to get sort of patchy involvement of your entire lungs.

So, it is oftentimes diagnosed with a chest x-ray and then treated at home. Not always -- or not typically needing antibiotics, just over the counter medications.

Let's do one more question here. Joyce from Mississippi asking, is pneumonia contagious? And if so, under what circumstances can it spread from person to person? Yes, it could be contagious. We're talking about the pathogens here specifically that can spread. So, if you have a bacterial pneumonia, much in the way that you'd spread any kind of respiratory infection, coughing, sneezing, getting those droplets into the air, someone else breathes in those droplets, that is typically how it spreads, just like any other respiratory sort of infection.

Less commonly, you could cough and sneeze. Some of those pathogens can get on surfaces. Someone touches those surfaces and then touches their eyes, their nose, their mouth, it can spread that way as well. So, you know, if you're sick, especially if you have a fever, if you're coughing and sneezing, stay away from other people. If you need to be around other people, wear a high filtration mask. And obviously wash your hands and wash your surfaces as much as possible.

Erica, that's what we have. Keep those questions coming in.

[10:55:00] HILL: All right. Sanjay, appreciate it as always. Well, we are just minutes away now from President Trump's first cabinet meeting of his second term in office. We're going to fit in a quick break here. We'll see you on the other side.

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[11:00:00]