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Special Counsel Smith Pushes Back on Trump's Immunity Claim; Paula Abdul Accuses Nigel Lythgoe of Sexual Assault; Netanyahu: War Against Hamas "Will Continue for Months"; Israel's Military Has Killed More Than 8,000 Terrorists; December Sees Largest Number of Migrant Encounters at U.S. in More Than Two Decades; Alejandro Mayorkas Heading to Eagle Pass, Texas January 8; Powerball Jackpot Now at $810 Million. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired December 31, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:01]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting where 18 were killed in a bowling alley and a restaurant.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: There is such a deep sadness here.

CASAREZ: To the Covenant school in Nashville where three children and three adults died.

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an active shooter in our building.

CASAREZ: A bank employee in Louisville killing five of his colleagues.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clearly, this community completely shaken.

CASAREZ: And Asian-Americans celebrating Lunar New Year in January. Eleven shot dead.

2023 was a year of more than 600 mass shootings in this country, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Jean Casarez, thank you so much.

The next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts now.

(MUSIC)

BLACKWELL: Happy New Year's Eve. I'm Victor Blackwell. Amara Walker is anchoring later this afternoon.

We are just hours away from 2024 here in the U.S., but look at this -- Sydney, Australia, is celebrating right now. It's just after midnight there. We're seeing all the fireworks. Let's take a moment and watch and listen.

(FIREWORKS IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA)

BLACKWELL: All right. Fantastic fireworks show over the Sydney harbor. Sydney, one of the first major cities in the world to celebrate the New Year heading into 2024. Sixteen hours before we do here on the East Coast. Happy new year to everybody there in Sydney.

All right. Let's come back home now and start with New York City putting the finishing touches on its preparations for the iconic New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square.

Brynn Gingras is up early on a Sunday morning for us.

Brynn, happy early New Year to you. What were you seeing?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You, too, Victor. Thanks for that introduction. I appreciate it.

Yeah, listen, I'm in the heart of Times Square right now. This is where the action is going to happen several hours from now. But still, as you said, preparations are under way, continuing at this hour.

Let me get out of the way so you can see what everybody is going to be staring at when the clock strikes midnight. That's, of course, that ball with 2024 there. It's a little not exciting right now, but it will be a totally different picture in just a few hours.

Actually, there's not even crowds in Times Square just yet. The police have not opened up all the pens. But, of course, this whole area will be filled with more than a million revelers ringing in the New Year as we will, too, with Andy and Anderson later tonight.

But, also, of course, when you get crowds like this, as we know, every year security is a top priority for the NYPD. We got sort of the briefing about all the things they're looking out for. Of course, there was a major incident that happened last year if you remember. There was a person who tried to attack three officers at one of the security checkpoints with a machete. They have learned lessons from that experience to bring into this year. That means more cops, more checkpoints, more areas shut down to people so police can react quickly.

On top of that, Victor, because of what's happened in the Middle East, we have seen protests every single day since October 7th, thousands of protests. NYPD has had to react to those. That is something they're keeping their eye on, as well, this year, as they focus their attention on Times Square in dealing with protests, having cops be nimble to them.

I want you to hear from one of the chiefs at the NYPD about how they will react to any protests that try to get disruptive in this area tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN CHELL, NYPD CHIEF OF PATROL: We're not going to allow unlawful behavior into a lawful assembly and celebration on New Year's Eve, just like we did for the tree lighting, the same posture. We'll be bigger. We have more cops. We'll be ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: You heard him say we'll have more cops. That's because, just like every year, there are hundreds of cops that graduate from the academy, and their first assignment is to come here and work New Year's Eve, Times Square, this area.

[08:05:05]

So, there are definitely more cops on the streets ready for any issues that might arise security-wise when it comes to Times Square. But let's not talk about that, Victor, because it's a party tonight. It will be very exciting when this ball drops later this evening, the clock strikes midnight. And there's going to be more than a million people here celebrating and, of course, a billion worldwide watching that ball drop down -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Brynn Gingras, first there at the party for us. Good to have you this morning. Happy New Year to you. We'll check back.

Joining us now, CNN law enforcement analyst Jonathan Wackrow.

Jonathan, good to see you.

Let's talk, though, about the preparation because we heard from Brynn and from the law enforcement agent there about reaction to potential threats, especially related to the Israel and Hamas war.

What's the preparation look like as we've seen this continuing trend of protests related to the war and in the context of the celebration?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, good morning, Victor.

Listen, you know, first, I want to note that, you know, law enforcement has conducted a joint threat assessment with the FBI, DHS, and local law enforcement entities. You know, they have assessed that there is no specific or credible threat to any New Year's Eve celebration in New York or broadly across the country. However, that doesn't mean that threats don't exist, and that is why you are seeing this significant mobilization of law enforcement and public safety resources being applied to these public gatherings.

The reason being is that, in assessment by law enforcement, they have concluded that events such as New Year's Eve celebrations remain a very attractive target for malicious actors. What I mean by that is for terrorist organizations, homegrown violent extremists, or what is top of the list and top concern for law enforcement are the lone offenders, what we refer to as lone wolf attacks who are seeking to exploit the opportunity. So, what are you going to see? You're going to see a large

mobilization of both uniformed and plain clothes officers that are securing a specific perimeter around events such as at Times Square. And then you're going to see that perimeter radiate out in concentric circles, basically establishing zones of diminished threat.

What they're trying to do is ensure that any type of threat, whether it's a lone actor or an organized group, you know, are pushed as far away as possible from the event site, ensuring that the safety and security of those who are attending is not impacted. So, you're going to see everything from, you know, K9 and bomb technicians.

You're going to see countersniper, aerial surveillance, a significant overt security structure being applied. All of this is being done with the backdrop of intelligence services both from the federal, state, and low resources that are trying to identify any type of new emerging threat, any type of new attack tactic that could be used against these events across the country.

So it's a very significant security structure that has been set up, not only in New York, but you're seeing this across most major cities and any type of large gatherings this evening, all with the aim of ensuring that we have no type of interruption to the celebration.

BLACKWELL: Done without the presence of a specific threat, as you described it. The spectacle, the opportunity, even those vulnerabilities are in place every year in Times Square at New Year's. Would you expect that this security posture would be any different than it has been in past years?

WACKROW: Well, listen, you know, these types of events take an entire year to plan. The reason being is they look back at what has been done in terms of the security posture in the past, and they realign it to the current threat environment. As Brynn talked about in the intro here, last year we saw an attack against three NYPD officers at a checkpoint.

Taking lessons learn from that type of attack, that is why you're seeing the perimeter push out. So, the security apparatus isn't static. It's constantly evolving. Why? Because the threat environment is constantly evolving.

The backdrop of the Israeli/Hamas war plays a significant impact to security planning for these events, ensuring that, one, peaceful protesters have the ability to express their First Amendment rights, however, if those protests transcend into nonviolent direct action or direct action, civil unrest, law enforcement must be prepared to react quickly to ensure that type of action doesn't impact the celebration.

BLACKWELL: With so many officers and resources dedicated to this event, are there greater vulnerabilities at the soft targets away from Times Square, away from these celebrations in major cities across the country?

[08:10:14] WACKROW: Yeah, Victor, that is a big concern by law enforcement. You know, we're focused on times, a couple of square miles of New York City, but there are over 300 square miles in New York City that law enforcement must protect. They have to maintain, you know, civil order across the city as well as, you know, address, you know, the criminal element that persists every single day.

Now, those secondary targets are a concern. We're talking about areas that do not have, you know, hardened security structures built into it -- hotels, restaurants, you know, transportation hubs. Law enforcement is putting resources, you know, through the coordination with federal, state, and local partners, to ensure that they start eliminating as many of those soft targets as possible, trying to eliminate, you know, the opportunity for someone to cause harm.

BLACKWELL: All right. Jonathan Wackrow, thank you so much for being with us. Happy New Year.

WACKROW: Happy New Year to you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is in the CNN weather center.

So, we're getting ready to ring in the New Year. What's the weather going to be? What are we expecting?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, that's the big question everybody wants to know, especially not just in New York but other places. Maybe you want to head out for festivities. You got to know, am I suppose to bring a coat, gloves, or maybe an umbrella? Something like that.

Right now, here's a live look at New York City. The sun is up. Temperatures are hovering around that 40-degree mark. It is dry, and we hope it stays that way for the remainder of the day today. The big concern is going to be this system right here. We're starting to see some wintry mix, some snow and even some freezing drizzle across portions of the Midwest. That's going to begin to dive down to the south and east over the next few hours.

That means, even though we have winter weather advisories out for several states in the Midwest, most of those are expected to drop by the back half of today. So, by tonight, conditions are expected to improve significantly if you have some New Year's Eve plans.

We're also keeping an eye on the next system that's making its way onto the West Coast. This is a look at what is expected to be at midnight tonight. You will see the bulk of this moisture is still expected to be off the coast, so it's going to be a close call, but I really think most of those areas are going to get lucky in holding off that rain until the overnight hours, especially into Monday, before that surges into southern California and Arizona.

This is the low-pressure system, however, that's likely going to cause the biggest problems for any New Year's Eve plans tonight. It starts to shift down into the mid-Atlantic and the central Appalachians by midnight tonight, so unfortunately, places like Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Scranton, even around Syracuse have that potential for a rain/snow mix around that midnight time line.

Now, I want to emphasize, we are not talking feet of snow or anything massive. Most of these areas will likely pick up some sprinkles, maybe even some drizzle. At most, a lot of these areas picking up 1 to 2 inches total of that snowfall by overnight tonight.

So, not enough to cancel your plans but something to be aware of. If you are planning to be in New York City specifically, those temperatures will hover into the low 40s. Pretty similar to where they are right now, mostly cloudy skies. You may have a few sprinkles here and there closer to midnight, but we're not looking at anything heavy by any means, not just here but for a lot of the surrounding areas as well.

Victor, back to you.

BLACKWELL: Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

Still ahead, two major wars, a humanitarian crisis at the U.S./Mexico border, deeply divided Congress still needing to pass funding to address it all.

And there's lot on President Biden's plate for 2024 in addition to the election that's coming in a little more than ten months. We'll discuss.

Plus, Jack Smith has a new strong warning about former President Trump's claims that he should have absolute immunity from prosecution. Why he argues it threatens to license presidents to commit rimes to remain in office.

And Paula Abdul accuses her former "American Idol" executive producer of sexual assault and harassment. What we're learning from the lawsuit just filed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:18:12]

BLACKWELL: We're just a few hours away from being in a presidential election year, but for President Biden, some key 2023 issues will be following him into the New Year. And voters will be closely watching how he deals with them as he makes his re-election pitch.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is traveling with the president this New Year's Eve.

Lucky enough to be on a beach in St. Croix.

Kevin, what's the mood? What's the message from the administration this last day of 2023?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, I think there's a sense of resolve among President Biden's aides, but certainly, they recognize that he has a plateful of significant issues for next year, and they all take on this new degree of consequence against the backdrop of the 2024 election. Near the top of that list has to be immigration and the situation at the southern border.

The administration really trying to pull every lever that it can to alleviate the crisis there. That's part of the reason that President Biden dispatched that high-level delegation to Mexico City last week and part of the reason why Mexican officials will be in Washington next month to continue these discussions about ramping up enforcement in Mexico, trying to create some incentives for migrants to remain in the country.

That's the diplomatic front. But, remember, there's also these talks in Congress between Republicans and Democrats on strengthening the rules on the southern border. Those are tied up in President Biden's requests for more financial assistance for Ukraine and Israel, and, of course, those two overseas wars are sort of the overriding issues President Biden has been dealing with over the last several months.

Just on Friday, Russia launched its largest assault on Ukraine since the war began nearly two years ago, and certainly in Israel, President Biden is dealing with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We will see the Secretary of State Antony Blinken heading to the Middle East this week to continue these discussions with Israel about lowering the intensity of its fighting.

[08:20:08]

Certainly, the U.S. wants to see that happen in the near term. All of this, of course, heading into the election, President Biden certainly in a position of relative political weakness when it comes to the polls, but his advisers think that as voters start to tune in and as President Biden starts to ramp up his discussions of President Trump, the threats he sees to democracy in a second Trump presidency, that his position will increase.

It's been a quiet week here in St. Croix. We haven't seen much of President Biden, but we saw him last night coming home from dinner. He was asked what his New Year's resolution was. He said just to be here next year -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Kevin Liptak for us -- Kevin, thank you so much.

Here to talk about it, Shelby Talcott. She's a reporter for the website Semafor.

Shelby, good morning to you.

So, Kevin reports that the White House puts immigration, acknowledges that's high on the list. Do you think that at the top of the list of the challenges, of the issues for the president for re-election?

SHELBY TALCOTT, REPORTER, SEMAFOR: I think it's certainly one of the top issues for a few reasons. First of all, we still don't have a deal at the border, and that is one of the top issues when I go out and talk to voters on the ground that they're concerned about. At the same time, you have this group of progressives who have been really critical about President Biden working with Republicans on this topic. So, he's facing criticism from all sides of the spectrum right now, and that's going to continue. He's going to have to make a decision.

And regardless of that decision, the repercussion is that one faction of the American people are going to be frustrated with whatever he decides to do.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, fill out that list for us of those top issues. We know that -- we've talked about the kind of softening of numbers as it relates to demographics and some of the members of the coalition that the president's team has to put together for him to be re-elected.

But as it relates to the confidence on the issues, where are those challenges?

TALCOTT: Yeah. I think there's a huge swath of challenges lying ahead for President Biden in terms of re-election. He's struggling with young voters. Recent polls have indicated that he's also struggling with Black and Hispanic voters. The age issue has been a topic for President Biden in the way it's not been for his likely opponent, Donald Trump.

So, you have a number of problems that we're seeing in the polls heading into 2024, and to top it all off, although we still have a Republican primary, team Trump is already trying to capitalize on these weaknesses from Biden, and they're heading into the primary with an eye on the general election, sort of trying to get a head start on that aspect.

BLACKWELL: You know, when James Carville points out these challenges for the president, we've heard that Senator Fetterman says that Carville should shut the F up -- sorry, it's a Sunday morning, but that's what he says.

Is the Biden team acknowledging this will be a harder re-election, this will be a tougher fight than 2020 was?

TALCOTT: Yeah. I think there's certainly an acknowledgment. I talked to people close to the White House who have admitted, yes, this is going to be more difficult than 2020. At the same time, they're confident, as Kevin said, that once things ramp up, that once voters see their arguments that Trump is a threat to democracy, that voters are going to turn out regardless of what the polls are saying right now, and that it's not going to be an issue.

BLACKWELL: The president has a record now. This will be a tougher fight. But his opponent has a mug shot, right? And he's facing 90-plus charges.

The administration has stayed clear about talking about the legal troubles, the criminal cases facing Donald Trump. But will the campaign -- how do they navigate this without feeding into the narrative that Trump makes, this -- well, lie that it is a political persecution of him that is dictated and directed right out of the White House?

TALCOTT: It's a difficult path for Biden's campaign. I think the way they're going about it right now and the way we're going to see them go about it in the coming weeks and months is by highlighting that aspect and that argument that Trump is a threat to democracy and using the legal issue sort of as evidence of that.

At the same time, they're also focusing on issues like abortion, where they believe that that's going to bring out voters. So, there's a huge plan for Biden's team to focus on things that they've seen success with in the past heading into this election, where it seems likely that they're going to be up against Donald Trump.

BLACKWELL: Talk about the vice president, Kamala Harris. Is there a clearer indication of how she will be utilized in the campaign?

TALCOTT: Not yet. That's a good question.

[08:25:01]

I think her path -- she's been more vocal in recent weeks and months and certainly publicly, the president is very much behind her. But I think right now the focus is on Biden and what he can do in order to convince voters that he is the person that they should vote for going into 2024 and that he is the best option for Democrats against a potential Trump rematch.

BLACKWELL: Shelby Talcott, thank you so much. Happy New Year.

TALCOTT: You too.

BLACKWELL: A violent New Year looms for the people of Gaza. Israel's prime minister warns the war will last many more months. We'll live in Tel Aviv, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]

BLACKWELL: A new filing from Special Counsel Jack Smith hits back at Former President Donald Trump's claims of presidential immunity in the 2020 election subversion case.

Jack Smith argues that Trump's claims threatens to license presidents to commit crimes to remain in office. Trump's lawyers argue the constitution protects a former president from criminal prosecution for official acts unless he is impeached and convicted by the Senate.

Let's go now to CNN's Zachary Cohen who has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Special Counsel Jack Smith is arguing that the former president, Donald Trump, is wrong in claiming he should have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution in the federal election subversion case. And he's asking a federal appeals court to move quickly in hopes of preventing the March 4th trial date from being delayed.

Now, this is in a new court filing by Smith, in which he says Trump's claim of absolute immunity "threatens to license presidents to commit crimes to remain in office." Smith also emphasizing the historical importance of the court's decision, warning that granting Trump such broad immunity "threatens the democratic and constitutional foundation of America of our republic."

This filing is coming ahead of oral arguments. Those are set to be beginning in Washington on January 9th. The trial was initially scheduled to begin on March 4th, but Trump has been trying to delay that and his fight over the immunity claim really underscoring those efforts. But if the appeals court moves quickly, it could keep the original trial date from sliding. And with the looming presidential campaign only months away, it's clear that timing is critical for both sides in this case.

Zachary Cohen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Paula Abdul is accusing American Idol executive producer and "So You Think You Can Dance" judge Nigel Lithgow of sexual assault and long-term harassment.

In the lawsuit, she claims that Lythgoe assaulted her in an elevator in the early 2000s and again at dinner in 2015. Lythgoe has denied all the allegations.

Tom Wilkinson, two-time Oscar nominated actor from famous films like "Michael Clayton" and "The Full Monty," passed away Saturday. He was 75. Wilkinson had 130 screen credits to his name throughout his career. He was known for his skilled ability to appear in both period stories and contemporary dramas and thrillers.

Wilkinson's "Michael Clayton" co-star George Clooney said in a statement that Tom was the epitome of elegance and will be dearly missed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war against Hamas will continue for months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The war is at its height. We are fighting on all of the fronts. We have huge success, but we also have painful cases. Achieving victory will require time. As the Chief of Staff has said, the war will continue for many more months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Netanyahu also said that Israel's military has killed more than 8,000 terrorists so far. The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza says that the latest death toll has risen to almost 22,000, with almost 56,000 wounded. The ministry's figures don't distinguish between combatants and civilians, and CNN cannot independently verify either of those numbers.

Joining me now is journalist Elliott Gotkine from Tel Aviv. So, what has been the reaction thus far to what we're hearing from the Prime Minister?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Victor, I don't think there was a huge amount of surprise about much of what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last night. He held this news conference and actually, at the same time, by coincidence or by design, demonstrated thousands of them trying to keep up the pressure on Netanyahu and his government to do everything that they possibly can to bring the more than 100 hostages still in captivity inside the Gaza Strip after being kidnapped on October the 7th, putting up the pressure, keeping up the pressure on Netanyahu to do everything he can to bring those hostages home.

And he did allude to that in his comments, suggesting that there are talks that are on the way that some kind of deal might be doable at some point, but he didn't want to get people's hopes up. And in fact, that ties in very neatly with what we saw from Axios' reporting in recent days saying that Qatari mediators have told Israel that Hamas is prepared to resume talks that could lead to some kind of truce which would see the release of something like 40 hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting of up to a month in length. So, things seem to be moving a little bit. on the hostage front.

The other things that Netanyahu said that the war would continue possibly for months, at least until Israel has achieved its objectives, namely destroying Hamas militarily. So, it can never repeat those terrorist attacks of October the 7th, as it has said that it would, and to get those hostages home.

[08:35:00]

He also thanked the United States, the Biden administration for its support at the U.N. Security Council. And also providing Israel with weapons. And indeed, over the weekend the Biden administration again, bypassing Congress to expedite delivery of materials relating to shells, fuses and charges and the like, because said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken of Israel's urgent defensive needs.

The other slightly new thing that Netanyahu said is that Israel, after the war between Israel and Hamas, would maintain control of the so- called Philadelphi Corridor, which runs between Gaza and Egypt. Netanyahu said Israel would retake control of that strategic area. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Elliott Gotkine, live in Tel Aviv for us, thank you so much.

Ahead of 2024, the number of migrants encountered by U.S. Border authorities in December, has not been this high for a single month since 2000. And many of them are busts from Texas to cities like New York and Chicago. I'll speak to someone who says the U.S. can and should do more to address the humanitarian crisis. And it's already 2024 in Sydney, Australia. This is how they rang in the new year at the top of the hour. Fun fact, three hours earlier at Sydney Harbor, there was a special fireworks display for kids. The next big fireworks display will see that will be in Tokyo, also, in Seoul. That's in the 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Homeland Security says authorities have encountered more than 225,000 migrants along the U.S. Mexico border in December. That's the highest monthly total recorded since 2000.

The federal government has more than 11,700 migrant children in its custody. The mayors of these so-called sanctuary cities, New York, Chicago, Denver, they're taking measures into their own hands now. They're trying to slow the flow of migrants, mostly being sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. They're requiring bus operators to coordinate arrivals under the threat of impound, fines, even jail time. Here's CNN's Camila Bernal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (through translator): A breaking point at the U.S. Mexico border as preliminary Homeland Security statistics show authorities encountered more than 225,000 migrants so far in December, the highest monthly total recorded in more than 20 years.

And from the border to cities all over the U.S. struggling to keep up. Because this welcome comes at a cost.

MAYOR MIKE JOHNSTON (D-DENVER): When you're talking about 10 percent of the budget to allocate for cities on this, that's unsustainable. When we have every single hotel room in the city full of migrants that have arrived, that's unsustainable.

BERNAL (voice-over): For months, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has bused thousands of migrants to these cities, led by Democrats, resulting in turmoil and straining resources.

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D-CHICAGO): And at one point in the summer, we had 25, 30 buses showing up every single day without any coordination or any notification. He is now sending buses outside of the City of Chicago, in some instances a hundred miles away, where people are being dropped off, they're being told that they are in the City of Chicago, literally dropped off in the middle of nowhere. I find that to be inhumane and unconscionable.

BERNAL (voice-over): Some smaller municipalities have passed ordinances to try to stop the drop offs, while the mayors of Chicago, Denver, and New York City are asking the federal government for help.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NEW YORK): I think much more could be done with all of our national leaders from a decompression strategy to making sure the cost of this is not falling on the laps of everyday taxpayers in our cities.

BERNAL (voice-over): They are also demanding for coordinated drop offs with exact times and locations to dedicate the appropriate resources.

JOHNSTON: What we need is everyone that gets paroled into this country should have the ability to work as soon as they enter. They should have federal dollars to help support them in the cities that they arrive in. And we should have a coordinated national plan for where those folks arrive.

BERNAL (voice-over): In a statement, a spokesperson for Abbott accused the Democrat mayors of hypocrisy, saying, they're now going to extreme lengths to avoid fulfilling their self-declared sanctuary city promises. The statement also said the mayors should call on their party leader to finally do his job and secure the border, something he continues refusing to do.

But some activists believe the crisis at the border takes Republicans, Democrats and all levels of government to solve.

PEDRO RIOS, AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE: And if the governments are not doing that, then most likely what we'll see is people will be further traumatized and harmed, and likely we will see more people die as a result of the inability of governments to really address the humanitarian needs that asylum seekers have.

BERNAL (voice-over): Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is heading to Eagle Pass, Texas next week. He'll meet with Customs and Border Protection officials and local officials. Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Mexico's president last week to discuss the migrant crisis.

President and CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, joins me now from Washington, D.C.

[08:45:00]

Krish, first, thank you for being with us. And for people who are not engrossed in the border news and they're not watching it every day, can we start with just why we're seeing these surges now? As I said, 225,000 this month, highest monthly number recorded since 2000. Why is this happening?

KRISH O'MARA VIGNARAJAH, PRESIDENT AND CEO, LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE SERVICE (LIRS) AND FORMER WHITE HOUSE POLICY DIRECTOR TO MICHELLE OBAMA: Victor, thanks for having me and Happy New Year's Eve. What we're seeing at our southern border is a global and regional crisis colliding with a broken immigration system.

So, essentially, why we're seeing so many migrants coming to the southern border is a combination of slow burning crises like seven million Venezuelans who have fled their country, roughly the same number as Ukrainian refugees who have gone to Europe, combined with the fact that we have not had reform of the immigration system for three decades.

And as other legal pathways into the country have essentially been broken down, backlogged, dysfunctional, you have Chinese, Indians, people from all over the world who are coming to the southern border because it really is the only route into the country.

BLACKWELL: Fixing the immigration system in 2024 in election year with a Congress that is divided and really wasn't that productive anyway in the first year is probably unrealistically ambitious. So, what works short of that to improve the system that we're seeing?

VIGNARAJAH: It would be a great New Year's resolution to actually fix this, but I do think in the short-term, there are some real solutions that are implementable.

One is securing the border by putting resources into additional patrol officers, immigration judges, asylum officers, but also creating legal pathways so that those folks who aren't seeking asylum don't come to the southern border. Second, it's acknowledging that we have 114 million globally, globally displaced, that's unprecedented. The U.S. can't do it alone and that's why we need to invest in root causes. And then, the third is making sure that we are not just supporting the immigrants, but also the welcoming communities.

Immigration is a national issue and there has to be a federal solution. The Biden administration needs to step up. We have solutions of coordinated national responses like the refugee resettlement system, but for asylum seekers, they come in and there's essentially a cliff. And so, we need to reallocate resources instead of putting $3 billion per year into private prisons, put them into nonprofits, community-based organizations, churches who are serving these migrants.

BLACKWELL: The administration was touting, I think it was maybe February or March of this year, more than $4 billion of private sector investment in Central America, in the Northern Triangle, in these countries where these migrants are coming from, the crises they're escaping. Are we seeing any fruit from that investment?

VIGNARAJAH: It's an important investment. It has to be an initial investment because what we're seeing in Central America and, you know, in South America are authoritarian dictators. The climate crisis, gang violence. And so, in some ways it's a drop in the bucket, but it is something that we have to invest in because if the U.S. is going to remain a global humanitarian leader, just as it, you know, Europe has taken in 7 million migrants, smaller countries like Peru and Colombia are housing 3.5 million migrants, we can't feel like we're paralyzed just by accepting a couple hundred thousand migrants per month.

BLACKWELL: So --

VIGNARAJAH: We need to step up. BLACKWELL: -- after the holiday break, the White House and congressional Republicans, they'll continue their negotiations with the potential changes in the immigration law as part of this foreign aid package. I wonder what you think when you hear consideration of tightening of some of the asylum laws or expelling migrants before they begin the asylum process.

VIGNARAJAH: I think it's really important for people to understand because sometimes I hear, well, they're not coming the right way. Asylum seekers can only seek asylum once they have reached American soil. And so, these people are coming because they are facing political persecution, religious persecution and they actually need to exercise what is a legal right. But we need to create other pathways.

People who are coming for economic reasons shouldn't be coming to the southern border. And that's about Congress acting to create other legal pathways that actually function.

BLACKWELL: But they can seek asylum in one of the countries they're passing through before they get to the U.S., correct? If --

VIGNARAJAH: No.

BLACKWELL: I mean, not in the U.S., but they can seek asylum somewhere else?

VIGNARAJAH: Yes. So, that's where the Biden administration, to their credit, have created other processes like humanitarian parole. Our goal is always that we can allow for people to apply in country or in third countries so they don't have to come to the U.S. in order to start the legal process.

[08:50:00]

All of the clients we work with have always said rather than undertake a thousand mile treacherous journey, they'd much rather apply from their home country if that's a possibility.

BLACKWELL: All right. Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, thanks so much. Happy New Year.

VIGNARAJAH: Happy New Year.

BLACKWELL: And stay with CNN for the State of the Union this morning. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, Congressman Jamie Raskin, and Senator Chris Murphy join Dana Bash. That's at the top of the hour right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Starting the year with more than $800 million. Doesn't that sound nice? It took a second to daydream. It is possible now, after last night's Powerball drawing did not end with a winner. New jackpot has now climbed to $810 million, according to the lottery's website. The next drawing is scheduled for tomorrow, January 1st, and of course, that would make for a wonderful start. Very happy new year for somebody.

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2023, the world marks some concerning milestones in the climate crisis. The effects of global warming became more evident. Storms and wildfires grew larger, more devastating. Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir has a look at the year in climate change.

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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Starting our list at number 10, the water whiplash that became a signature of 2023 in the American west.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What you're seeing here is an attempt to try to get ahead of the storm that continues to pound California.

WEIR (voice-over): After years of megadrought, rivers in the sky unloaded on California, turning dust bowls into raging floods that took at least 20 lives and filled the mountains with record snow, but not enough to end the drought.

At number nine is COP28 in Dubai.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allow me please to declare the meeting adjourned.

WEIR (voice-over): Where the world came together and for the first time in three decades of climate talks agreed to transition away from fossil fuels. Over 130 nations were hoping for a more ambitious phase- out of oil, gas, and coal, but petrol states like Saudi Arabia would not agree. Scientists warn that to meet the ambition of the Paris Accord, planet heating pollution must be cut by more than 40 percent by 2030, a rate four times faster than the current pace.

At number eight, the Mediterranean storm Daniel blasted parts of Greece with over an inch of rain an hour on its way to drowning thousands of people in Libya.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everywhere you turn, it's apocalyptic scenes here.

WEIR (voice-over): Entire neighborhoods in Derna were washed into the sea. A tragedy that scientists say was 50 times more likely on an overheated planet.

At number seven, over a dozen young people successfully sued the state of Montana for ignoring their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by developing fossil fuels. For the dozens of states and cities taking big oil companies to court for their role in climate change, it was a key win.

Number six is the summer of smoke brought by a record-shattering scale of Canadian wildfires. An area the size of Missouri burned north of the border.

WEIR: If you get any glimpse of the sun at all on these surreal days, it's this apocalyptic glowing ball in the sky.

WEIR (voice-over): American air quality in some cities was the worst in generations, closing schools and filling emergency rooms.

Number five is the ocean water around Florida reaching hot tub temperatures of nearly 100 degrees in July, bringing devastating new levels of coral bleaching to the cradles of Caribbean Sea life.

That warmer water is also jet fuel for hurricanes.

And at number four, rapid intensification became a watch word phrase in 2023.

WEIR: Well, the water has come up and over that seawall and we're getting sprayed every minute or so.

WEIR (voice-over): Storms like Idalia in Florida's big bend, Otis in the east Pacific, and Hilary in Southern California showed us how modern storms are getting stronger and faster.

At number three, Phoenix, Arizona, gave us a new definition of heatwave with 31 straight days at or over 110 degrees. Temperatures hot enough to kill cactus plants. Also took the lives of at least 100 people. A grim new record. That is just one facet of a warmer globe.

At number two, earth's record temperature, the highest in 120,000 years. A few days in 2023 were a full 2 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels. And if that becomes the new average, science warns of cascading collapse.

And at number one, the Maui wildfires.

WEIR: We're just pulling into Lahaina now. Just getting our first glimpse at this town after hearing these nightmare stories. And it is worse than you can imagine.

WEIR (voice-over): Generations of water theft, invasive grasses and recent drought created the fuel. Downed power lines are suspected of providing the spark. And hurricane winds fanned the flames until most of beloved Lahaina was turned to ash. With around 100 souls lost, it is the deadliest fire in modern U.S. history and the battle over how best to build has just begun.

Bill Weir, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Remember tonight, Anderson and Andy are back to ring in the new year from Times Square, "New Year's Eve," live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen starts tonight at 8:00 on CNN.

We leave you with a live look at Times Square. They're getting ready for the ball drop there. Also, in South Korea and illumination event in Seoul, as they get ready to ring in 2024 in a little more than an hour.

Wherever you are, Happy New Year. Be safe. Have a great time. Thank you so much for joining me this hour. "State of the Union" is next.

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