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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Crisis at the Border; Deadly Gaza Attacks Ramp Up; Argentina vs Germany in World Cup Finals
Aired July 10, 2014 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Can $4 billion solve the crisis at the border? Congress taking up President Obama's plan today as thousands of children cross into the country illegally. The very latest, ahead.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, death toll rising, as rockets fly back and forth over Gaza. Israel and Hamas vowing to step up their attacks. We're live with what's happening this morning.
ROMANS: A Texas standoff ends with tragedy. A father behind bars this morning accused of murdering four of his children and two other family members. What we've learned overnight about this just horrible standoff in Texas.
BERMAN: What an awful story that is.
ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Great to see you this morning. Thirty-one minutes past the hour.
The Senate Appropriations Committee today set to consider the president's request for nearly $4 billion to help solve this immigration crisis. This comes a day after the crisis -- the president met with officials, including Governor Rick Perry in Texas.
The president took another shot at Congressional Republicans for refusing to act on comprehensive immigration reform, then complaining about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The problem here is not a major disagreement around the actions that could be helpful in dealing with the problem. The challenge is, is Congress prepared to act to put the resources in place to get this done? Another way of putting it, and I said this directly to the governor is, are folks more interested in politics or are they more interested in solving the problem.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: And if you look at the president's request, it's all more about continuing to deal with the problem. We've got to do something about sealing the border and ending this problem so that we can begin to move on with the bigger question of immigration reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Several Republicans and some Democrats now pushing to scale back of Bush era policy which guarantees minors who cross from Central America at deportation hearing. It treats them differently than immigrants coming from Mexico.
ROMANS: Right.
And many said that is why -- that's actually an enticement. Because if you get here, by law, you have to have an immigration lawyer and a hearing. And that takes a very long process and sometimes you get that immigration hearing and then you just stay in the meantime.
BERMAN: So as lawmakers try to find a solution to this, people along the border are left to deal with the problem. It's on a federal level, it's on a local level with Border Patrol stepping up efforts and communities trying to settle things down.
Our Alina Machado has a look.
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, we are right on the border, right on the Rio Grande. On one side, you have Mexico. On the other side, you have the U.S. There is a very strong law enforcement presence throughout this area. Border Patrol has had boats out here and also helicopters.
Inside town, in town, in McAllen, in Mission, you see Border Patrol agents everywhere. We stopped by the bus stop, the bus station where people make a stop before heading to their final destination, heading to their families in other parts of the country. And we found a mother who was traveling with her 5-year-old son. They had traveled for 15 days from El Salvador to make it here to the U.S.
We also stopped by a Catholic charities shelter where they have a mobile medical unit that's been helping treat some of these immigrants. Take a listen to what the owner has to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYMOND SANCHEZ, OWNER OF MOBILE HEALTH CLINIC: We have no knowledge of where they are coming from, what detention center area. But we've seen sometimes where, let's say, 30 come on a bus, which is a shuttle bus from the city and we'll see, let's say, 80 percent. And then there's times where the same number come by and we'll see 25 percent.
MACHADO: Of people who are sick?
SANCHEZ: Yes. So it just varies -- it varies a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACHADO: I asked the owner how long is this sustainable? And he said it's sustainable as long as it needs to be. He is relying on volunteer doctors and nurses to make sure that these people get the medical treatment they need -- Christine, John.
BERMAN: Our thanks to Alina Machado on the border there.
Stay with us all morning. We are going to have Kate Bolduan's interview with Texas Governor Rick Perry. Rick Perry met with the president. The president and the governor, very different interpretations about what they talked about and what the solution should be.
Hear the governor's assessment with Kate on "NEW DAY" at the top of the hour.
ROMANS: Do you think you can ever talk about fixing one part of immigration without it being political?
BERMAN: At this point no. I mean at this point no. That's one of the issues here. It becomes such a politicized issue with extremes on both parties, which is almost always the case.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: Driving the discussion and it's very hard to find a solution.
ROMANS: All right. Let's move now to overnight in Israel. An Israeli police officer facing possible criminal charges after being caught beating an American teen. The officer has been suspended as the matters investigated this. As Israel targets hundreds of rocket launchers, smuggling tunnels and command positions of the Hamas terrorist group. Hamas still firing rockets into Israel leaving residents living in fear.
This morning, Diana Magnay, live for us in Israel.
Diana, bring us up to speed. I mean, it's been -- every day this week, an intensifying situation one night after another. The next morning, still concerns, still concerns for the people of Israel. The rockets and still are recriminations from the other side that the response has been too, too severe. The response of Hamas has been too severe. Bring us up to speed.
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the flow of rockets hasn't stopped and the Israeli assault is continuing and ramping up. Overnight, there were far fewer rockets coming out than there were airstrikes going in. And when the Israeli Defense Forces say they are targeting command-and-control centers, that is normally the sitting room, for example, of Hamas militants and they may give a five-minute warning via telephone to the occupants of the house.
