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Trump's Immigration Policies Spark Deportation Fears; Who is Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster?; Ohio Voters On What's Working in Trump Presidency. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired February 22, 2017 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:02] SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He also revealed more about the suspects, four North Korean suspects believed to have fled the country on the same day of the attack. They believe they are now in the capitol of North Korea. They have asked the North Korean embassy to help return them and in another twist, three more people they want to speak to, two of them, one of them is an airline staff from the North Korean airline air carrier and another one the second secretary at the North Korean embassy here in Kuala Lumpur -- Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh my gosh, Saima! What a mystery and the fact that it all played out in public at an airport.
Thank you for giving us the update. And we will check back with you.
So, police giving the all clear at a Houston hospital hours after a shooting scare. It was a chaotic scene at Ben Taub Hospital Tuesday following reports of shots being fired. Medical personnel evacuated patients on gurney, as you can see, and wheelchairs. Others had to lock themselves in rooms. SWAT teams and specially trained dogs searched the facility for two hours and found no evidence of a shooter.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Better safe than sorry.
Self-proclaimed web troll Milo Yiannopoulos is out at Breitbart. The right wing provocateur's resignation happening after a live-stream interview resurfaced in which he appeared to speak fondly of sex between younger boys and older men, including an incident of abuse involving a priest. He is now apologizing, calling his language imprecise. The backlash also cost this guy a book deal and speaking engagement at CPAC.
CAMEROTA: We'll be speaking more about him later in the program.
Meanwhile, President Trump's top diplomat and his security chief both heading to Mexico today to speak to meet with the Mexican president. What can they accomplish there? A closer look, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:51] CUOMO: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly are heading south of the border today. They're going to meet with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto and other leaders over the next the next two days.
This comes as the Trump administration plans to deport undocumented immigrants to Mexico, even if they are not from that country.
Joining us now is former deputy assistant secretary for defense of drug enforcement policy and support, and Latin America political analyst, Ana Maria Salazar.
We need you this morning.
Three big points. First, what is the potential of these new enforcement measures if they're taken seriously and at the letter of the law and you have a flood of deportations into Mexico -- what is going to be the major impact?
ANA MARIA SALAZAR, FORMER DEPUTY ASST. SECY OF DEFENSE: Oh, it's going to be huge. I have to say right now that this is not making the United States any safer and I know that -- General Kelly should know that since he was head of South Command and what this is going to do is that you are going to have thousands and thousands of potentially not only Mexicans but from other nationalities coming to the U.S. border where there could be increasing violence, a humanitarian crisis.
I mean, you can imagine the worst case scenario not only for Mexico by the way, but also for the United States. The United States needs a safe, secure border and you don't get it that way.
CUOMO: Well, you have the Mexicans who are here illegally and are found to be in violation of these new parameters and they get sent across. Then you identified a second issue, which is these third party deportees, non-Mexican citizens that the United States is anticipating sending to Mexico anyway.
Is there a chance that Mexico would refuse to take them?
SALAZAR: Mexico is going to have to say no for a whole skew of reasons. I mean, there's already on the border potentially 10,000 Haitians. There's potentially on the border right now, we don't know the numbers, could be 5,000, 10,000, potentially 20,000 Cubans trying to cross into the United States, Africans trying to cross into the United States.
Mexico is going to have to say no and the reason why they're going to have to say no is because the U.S. has to solve this problem, now on their own. Once you create this rift between both countries, not only because of this whole deportation issue, but also the NAFTA issue and the way Donald Trump has been speaking about Mexicans and the Mexican government.
I mean, the problem that the United States have right now is that the most important national security partner that the United States needs, particularly on this issue is Mexico, and with this memorandum and the way it's written, it is clearly, not only an anti-migrant strategy, which is going to affect Mexicans in the United States. But it clearly is anti-Mexican in the sense that now they want Mexico to assume the responsibility of the United States.
CUOMO: Right.
SALAZAR: In the past, Mexico has done. I remember cases -- I remember cases where the Mexican government would intercept ships of Chinese in the middle of the sea, pick up these Chinese, put them in planes and return them to China. Mexico isn't going to do that anymore.
CUOMO: The main pushback argument is the law. If you cross illegally into the United States, you are de facto a criminal, and you are subject to deportation. And it is on Mexico to keep its own border, keep its own citizens under control. And if they come in here illegally, they get sent back and you have to deal with it because it was your problem in the first place.
SALAZAR: Chris, if that was the argument, then that would not apply right now because the number of Mexicans crossing into the United States has dramatically reduced. The problem -- the United States problem with the undocumented people in the United States is no longer a Mexican problem. I mean, the people they want to deport are people living in the United States for the last 10 or 15 years and already have children in the United States or who have spouses who are American.
[16:40:02] I mean, that is not -- that is not the security problem the United States should be concerned about. What they're doing now is going to be massive deportations and it's going to be some -- obviously some of them are going to be Mexicans, are going to be central Americans, Chinese. I mean, Africans. They're going to be from all over the world and want to send them back to Mexico, and Mexico has to say no.
And if there was a better discussion about this in terms of prioritizing what is a threat to United States national security, then you can develop a strategy --
CUOMO: Well, that's what takes to today.
SALAZAR: -- of how to return all these people home if that is what the United States -- that's going to be the discussion today and the Mexican government and the way it's been attacked by Donald Trump and the way it's weakened this government is going to have a lot of difficulties to agree to any of this.
And all the other issues that have to do with heroin trafficking to the United States, the trade issues. I mean, all this is very difficult to discuss --
CUOMO: But do you think that Pena Nieto --
SALAZAR: -- when you are attacking the government.
CUOMO: Do you think that Pena Nieto is going to be looking to continue animosity when he is given the respect of Rex Tillerson and General Kelly coming down to see him. Or do you think this will be about coming out of this meeting and both sides saying progress was made?
SALAZAR: Respect -- they issue this memorandum the day they're coming to Mexico. I mean, what can you negotiate once you have this memorandum out there? Respect? I mean, the way they have been speaking about Mexicans and Mexican-Americans -- I mean, it's very difficult to negotiate.
If something General Kelly should know, having travelled all over the world is that you can weaken your counterpart thinking that you're going to do something that goes against their interest. You can't weaken other governments in order -- so that's -- I mean, I think this is the worst case scenario for both governments. But that memorandum what they did yesterday is to weaken U.S. security, not strengthen it.
CUOMO: A tough task for Tillerson and Kelly to be sure.
Ana Maria, thank you for helping us understand the issues. Appreciate it.
Alisyn?
CAMEROTA: All right. A group of Ohio voters share their thoughts on President Trump's first month in office. What do they think he's accomplished and how about those Russia connections? Our voter panel, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:46:15] CAMEROTA: So, a legendary NBA franchise is calling upon a legendary former player to try to right the ship.
Hines Ward has more on the Magic touch.
What am I talking about, Hines?
HINES WARD, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Alisyn.
Magic Johnson is taking over as president of basketball operation for the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, one of the NBA's most successful franchises currently have the third worst record in the NBA and they missed the playoffs for three years in a row.
Yesterday, Magic said he has his sights set on the future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGIC JOHNSON, LAKERS PRESIDENT OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS: It's not about what I did when I played, what Kobe did when he played. It's about this new -- and I'm not going to come in telling them old stories about show time and all that. It's not about that.
It's about them, the new Lakers. It's about having a clear direction and a clear strategy. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WARD: Now, Magic called his new role a dream job. He's won five NBA championships and played his entire Hall of Fame career for the show time Lakers, so hopefully he can get things turned around in la la land. And finally, the Fort Wayne Komets, a minor league hockey team requiring over the weekend, but it was hung upside down. And to make things worse, they hoisted it up in the rafters just like that. How embarrassing for the team.
Good news is they got it right. They ended up fixing it.
And, Chris, let me tell you, it's a great -- it's an honor to get your jersey retired, but not upside down. You don't want to do it like that.
CUOMO: No, that's not true, but I take it anyway I can get it.
Hines Ward, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
WARD: No problem.
CUOMO: All right. So, voters are making their voices heard on President Trump's first month in office.
Are they okay are these alleged connections to Russia? Alisyn goes to Ohio and brings you the truth.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:51:40] CAMEROTA: So, how are voters feeling about President Trump's first month in office? Well, we wanted to head to heartland. That's where I sat down with some passionate Trump supporters, as well as his critics in Columbus, Ohio.
We were inside the lady's gallery, that's inside the Ohio statehouse. And our discussion centered on foreign policy, Russia and whether there's any chance of uniting this divided country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: Are you comfortable with the idea that some of Mr. Trump's top advisers would be dealing with the Russians during the campaign and before he was installed in the presidency?
DENNIS MCKIRAHAN, RETIRED SALESPERSON: It's the old rule that 80 percent of the things you worry about never happen. We probably get over excited about a lot of these things and probably it's nothing most of the time.
Look at our history. It's been that way. It's not the only thing that's ever happened that was skeptical.
CAMEROTA: So, not a big deal to you?
MCKIRAHAN: Not a big deal to me. Here's the big deal --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep them under the radar. They're supposed to be talking to these people.
CHRISTIAN TAMTE, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: Does anybody here remember Gorbachev and the shoe and I will destroy you from the inside? Is that lost or is that because it's not our generation that we don't remember that?
CAMEROTA: What do you mean by that?
TAMTE: Russia told us they were going to destroy us from the inside. They are a snake.
SARA MARIE BRENNER, FORMER DELAWARE COUNTY CHAIRMAN FOR TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Oh, sure.
(CROSSTALK)
TAMTE: So keep your friends close and your enemies closer. We have been doing that I think over the years and we haven't -- I could see how you would want to go ahead and increase communications with them but that is a slow careful process not let's get in bed with Russia. I don't want to be buddy, buddy with the bad guy.
BRENNER: I don't think we are.
(CROSSTALK)
BRENNER: No, I don't think it's buddy-buddy at all. I think what it comes down to is you got to look at Trump from a business person, and if I'm sitting down and I'm doing a business deal with you. If we hate each other, we're going to get nowhere, right?
But if we can at least converse, then we have a chance of getting somewhere.
TAMTE: So, we do converse into those backrooms where no one can see anything.
MCKIRAHAN: Sometimes you do.
BRENNER: Sometimes you have to.
CAMEROTA: Have you guys ever played a game with yourself called "what if Hillary Clinton did it"? And do you ever sort of a mind trick --
MCKIRAHAN: I do it all the time both sides.
CAMEROTA: So, yes. I think it's an interesting game. And so, when you say, what is Hillary Clinton's national security adviser before she was installed in the White House, if she had won, had had repeated calls with the Russians, her top advisers had had repeated calls with the Russians and went on a Sunday show and misled her vice president and lied about it, then what?
MCKIRIHAN: I would call for an investigation. That's not a problem. That's what you're doing.
CAMEROTA: Why are you so calm about it on the Trump side?
MCKIRIHAN: I'm on either side.
CAMEROTA: Are you calling for an investigation with Mr. Trump as well?
MCKIRIHAN: Sure. I don't have a problem with it.
CAMEROTA: OK. If Huma Abedin were in the same situation, you would say people have back room conversations, what's the big deal?
MCKIRIHAN: No, I would say (INAUDIBLE) being skeptic.
KRIS MCCURRY, MORTGAGE BANKER: I'm more of a facts person. We're just speculating. We don't know what happen. I did hear they have transcripts of his calls, so there's not any funky stuff they don't know about going on. But once the facts come out, you know, that's what we run with.
CAMEROTA: And if there was something where he was saying oh well these sanctions, then we should be disappointed and would you think differently?
MCCURRY: Yes. I'm all for doing the right thing.
[06:55:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's the right thing?
MCKIRIHAN: Only God knows.
MCCURRY: If there's stuff (INAUDIBLE) then good. He should -- he already re-signed, you know? I agree with that.
TAMTE: This is the whole thing with Trump -- I want to do the right thing. Silence. There's nothing after that. You all want to do the right thing and you got behind the guy that yelled the loudest and made the best show. And the thing is, there's nothing -- he didn't say anything when he was running and he's not saying anything now.
And you don't know what that right -- you can't even tell -- please -- I really and I don't mean this is an attack, I would like to sit back and be calm and really listen.
BRENNER: But at the end of the day, it seems like when someone on the right does something wrong, there's an automatic assumption that they're wrong and that there was evil motive there. And if you look at the course of the last 10 or 20 years, it's gotten even worse.
CAMEROTA: Do you guys ever play that mental game of what if barrack Obama did this, what if Hillary Clinton did this? What if Hillary Clinton's national security adviser had conversation with the Russian ambassador before Hillary Clinton? Wouldn't you say she's making an overture to a foreign dignitary? Then what?
TAMTE: I would be very upset.
CAMEROTA: You would?
TAMTE: In fact, I was not even happy with all the things Obama did. I was not like oh Obama for everything. I would be livid with Hillary Clinton if I found out that she did something too. I try hard to look at things from all sides.
REV. DR. MARY REAMAN, PASTOR, TREE OF LIFE COMMUNITY: This is what I think is part of the issue. I don't know that I'm right and you don't either.
MCKIRIHAN: We only know what we know.
REAMAN: And we have to say -- we have to begin to say to each other, I don't know. I believe X, Y, Z, but I don't know and I want to have the humility enough to listen. If we keep saying I'm right and you're wrong or you have to be wrong for me to be right, which is not true, we can both be right and we can both be wrong.
Until we overcome that, until we can say with humility, I don't know how to address these issues, and I'm not going to come at it in a partisan way, but I'm going to use my mind and my heart equally and have compassion and empathy for the human being and the planet, nothing changes.
CAMEROTA: How are you left feeling? When you see the division in this setting and you see the division in the country, what do you think is going to happen in that --
MICHAEL MILISITS, VOTED FOR HILLARY CLINTOIN: Honestly, I'm cautiously optimistic because, you know, he did say he was going to unite America and it appears to me that the majority of America has united against his agenda and is starting to mobilize in a way we have never seen before.
CAMEROTA: But then, where does it leave these guys? Like, in other words, if you're marching all the time against President Trump, then what about the 44 percent of the country that thinks that he's doing a great job? What do you do about these guys?
MILISITS: That's the question I have been asking everyone that I come in contact with. A million dollar question really. I mean, that -- you know, and that's why we need to have this dialogue.
CAMEROTA: How do you feel? Do you feel that there's any -- do you feel like trying to find common ground? Or do you feel like giving up with the other side because you don't have a lot of common ground with them?
MCCURRY: I personally have tons of friends from all walks of life, we get along. I think there's just too big of an anti-Trump bandwagon going on right now. We have to give him a little bit of a chance here. It's gone a little crazy. CAMEROTA: And, Christian, what do you think in terms of the division?
Is this just what we live with now?
TAMTE: He ran on make America great again. One, I've always thought America was great before. I think we're still great. I think we're just getting better and the world is now seeing what America really is and that is that when we see something that isn't lined up with what we believe then we have the right to stand up. The world will see. The world will see.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: Your thoughts.
CUOMO: I think that it's early.
CAMEROTA: It is early. It feels as if it's been longer than a month but it's a month.
CUOMO: It's early. The president has presented a lot of challenges to himself by what he says and what he does. He's provocative, he's confrontational and he often doesn't have the facts on his side. So, he's been getting beat up.
But it is early. One thing that was interesting there, that guy saying he is unifying. He's unifying people against him. He's got to be careful about that -- galvanizing his own resistance.
CAMEROTA: That's how many Democrats feel and that leaves the other side out again.
But in any event, we'd love to hear your thoughts on all of this. You can tweet us using the #newdayCNN or you can post your comment at Facebook.com/NewDay. So, we will read those and we'll choose a few of those responses to read later in the program.
CUOMO: Republicans and Democrats, because you, Democrats, have to figure yourselves out tonight in a big debate, who's going to lead your party?
All right. Thanks to our international viewers for watching. For you, "CNN NEWSROOM" is coming up.
For our U.S. viewers, we're getting after it on NEW DAY right now.
