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Chicago Mayor Signs Order to Resist Trump's Immigration Crackdown; Trump Administration Plans Chicago Immigration Operation as Soon as this Week; Scholars: Israel's Actions in Gaza Meet Legal Definition of Genocide; Parents Navigate ICE, Federal Crackdown Fears as Kids Return to School. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired September 01, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: ... pressing together of the two sides, because while India had been taking advantage, yes, of cheap Russian crude, India sells that Russian crude onwards to the European Union, which has doubled the amount that it buys from India. So inside India, you see this fury over what they see as a double standard. The EU escapes U.S. tariffs over secondhand purchase of Russian oil. China isn't facing tariffs over its much larger portions of Russian oil. All of that together spells out an India that is ready to do business with anyone but the U.S. right now.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, China, we should note, the largest buyer of Russian oil there. Kim Dozier, thank you so much.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump warns a crime crackdown could be coming to Chicago. The governor of Illinois says it would be an invasion.

Happening now, a dangerous rescue operation underway after a huge earthquake kills hundreds. That death toll is climbing.

And this morning, new dispatch audio from a deadly plane crash in Colorado.

Kate and Sara are out today. I'm John Berman with Bianna Golodryga, and this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

This morning, the Trump administration is increasing threats to deploy federal forces to Chicago. The president said he wants a crackdown on crime there, while the Democratic governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, is calling it something else, a potential invasion.

So far this Labor Day weekend, dozens of shootings have been reported in Chicago. The president is warning that Pritzker, he better, quote, straighten it out fast, or we're coming. The governor says the White House is making plans in secret without communicating with his office.

And it does come as CNN is reporting that the Trump administration is planning a major immigration operation in Chicago as early as this week. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has confirmed that ICE will expand operations in that city and other locations. But Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has now signed an executive order instructing local police not to assist in any federal immigration crackdown.

Let's get right to Chicago this morning for the latest. CNN's Whitney Wild is there. Whitney, give us the status.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: John, the expectation here is that there are going to be federal resources surged into the city of Chicago by Friday. The expectation is that's going to look like at least armored vehicles, very likely boots on the ground here.

And when you're looking at some framework across the country to find out how this is going to look in Chicago, the question is, is it going to look like Washington, D.C., or is it going to look like Los Angeles? And our sources are telling us that this is going to look a lot more like Los Angeles. And that means that this is going to be an immigration push. So the plan here, as we understand it, is that this is going to surge immigration agents to Chicago.

The potential for the National Guard deployment would be for a peacekeeping effort. The White House in Los Angeles had previously said that the role of the National Guard was really to ensure that these agents can carry out their immigration duties effectively and safely.

The city is doing whatever they can to try to stop this ahead of time, John. And law enforcement here will admit that there's just -- and city leaders here will admit, there's just not a lot that they can do. The Illinois attorney general has made clear he cannot file a lawsuit preemptively. Meanwhile, Brandon Johnson, as you had mentioned, signed an executive order reaffirming the city's steps in reaction to this.

So it directs city officials not to engage with federal officials as they carry out these actions. Specifically, the Chicago Police Department is not to partake in any of these actions. City offices need to look for legal and legislative efforts to try to stop this.

Meanwhile, Governor JB Pritzker, who has publicly sparred with President Trump, who has drawn the president's ire by name, is firing back. Here are some very terse words from JB Pritzker on this potential immigration deployment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JB PRITZKER, (D) ILLINOIS: No one in the administration, the president or anybody under him, has called anyone in my administration or, and me, have not called the city of Chicago or anyone else. So it's clear that in secret they're planning this, well, it's an invasion with U.S. troops if they in fact do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: The crime situation here, as we just had some crime stats up, I want to walk you through that a little bit more, because what the leaders here say is that Chicago represents a success story. They've been able to effectively bring down major crime categories in double digits.

[08:05:00]

However, as you saw President Trump point out, they had a really violent weekend in Chicago over Labor Day weekend. Two dozen people shot, several people killed. So there is, you know, you can make data say a lot of things, John, and for the Trump administration, it is representative of a major problem here. However, leaders here look at the crime drop as a success story.

BERMAN: Yes, the data in the middle of the political debate right now. Whitney Wild for us in Chicago, thank you very much-- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right, joining me now CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. He's written a CNN analysis about the messaging from Democrats against the president, including his threats to send National Guard troops to more U.S. cities. It's titled This One Word Captures the Most Important Division Among Democrats.

And not to spoil too much, but that word is distraction. Tell us more what you mean about that one important word, Ron.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Good morning (INAUDIBLE) --

GOLODRYGA: Oh, Ron, can you hear us? We may have a connection issue. All right, we'll try to --

OK, we're going to go to -- we're going to go to break. Hopefully we'll reconnect. And he's back, I'm told now.

All right.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Here I am. Hey, good morning.

GOLODRYGA: It's very early there. I know we're just working things out on this Monday morning. OK, Ron, tell us about this all-important word before we lose you again.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, absolutely. Look, the one word is distraction. You know, when Democratic congressional leaders like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries criticize Trump's actions in terms of threatening democracy or deploying troops to U.S. cities, they almost invariably describe it as a distraction from something else, whether it's Epstein, Medicaid cuts, inflation.

That infuriates a whole other camp of Democrats who believe that the deployment of troops to U.S. cities, the other steps Trump has taken to kind of corrode the foundations of Democratic safeguards in the U.S., aren't a distraction. They are the central front of his second term. And JB Pritzker, Gavin Newsom, I think, would be the leaders in that camp.

And it really is a divide. Do you want to run against Trump fundamentally on the price of eggs? Or do you want to focus the public on the things that he is doing that very much depart from our tradition?

You know, the idea of armored troops in multiple American cities, whatever the justification, whether it's justified on the grounds of immigration enforcement or crime, that is fundamentally alien from the American tradition. I mean, we have not seen troops in U.S. cities except at the moments of greatest civil disorder. We have a Posse Comitatus Act from the 19th century, which theoretically on paper bars the use of troops for domestic law enforcement.

But this is really an image that is more in common with authoritarian countries of troops in the streets of the biggest cities. And so this is a this is a very significant departure from the way the military has existed throughout our history. You have one group of Democrats who believe that is a fundamental issue, another one that wants to talk primarily about Medicaid and tax cuts.

GOLODRYGA: And at this point, it's not hypotheticals or threats. We've seen this actually happen --

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

GOLODRYGA: -- in cities like Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and now it appears to be heading for Chicago as well. Secretary Noem saying that ICE resources are going to be deployed to that city with broader expansions, quote, on the table.

So politically, what is the playbook here for the administration, Ron? And Chicago being the case study, as Whitney reported, they're planning for this to look a lot like what we saw in the streets of Los Angeles where you are right now.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, first of all, I mean, it's important to understand the administration has been claiming in court the authority to do this everywhere and anywhere that that original executive order that authorized the deployment of the National Guard to L.A. did not specify L.A. or California. It specified -- it said that the president would be justified to take control of the National Guard anywhere where there are protests against immigration enforcement or where protests could reasonably be expected to develop.

And simultaneously in court in California, they are arguing of the Posse Comitatus Act, which is the 19th century law barring the use of the military for domestic law enforcement, essentially is toothless.

Courts cannot order any remedy. The only remedy is a criminal prosecution. A court cannot require the administration not to deploy troops. They are basically saying they can do this wherever they want. We'll see whether the courts agree.

Now, I think the fundamental issue here is what is this about? Is this fundamentally about fighting crime or is it about numbing Americans to an image that, as I said, is alien to our history and much more common in authoritarian countries of troops in the streets of our big cities?

[08:10:00] Voters trust Trump more than Democrats on crime, whether they are willing to see troops patrolling the streets of multiple American cities, setting up checkpoints that people have to go through, as they have had at points in D.C. I think that is a very different political question.

GOLODRYGA: Well, quickly, Governor Pritzker says this is part of Trump's plan to stop the election, the midterms, in 2026, or, quote, to frankly take control of those elections. Do you think he's right?

BROWNSTEIN: I think they are putting -- they are, as I said, numbing America into the image of troops in the streets of cities, something that is completely alien to our history and much more to our history, except for the moments of greatest, you know, threat, like major civil disorder. The last time -- you know, to do this, Bianna, he will have to federalize the National Guard over the objection of the governor of Illinois, just as he did in California. We haven't seen that since the heyday of the civil rights era, when Southern segregations were actively impeding the enforcement of federal law.

And I think once you make that a routine reflex, anything is on the table and possible.

GOLODRYGA: That's right, because historically, it's always been the governors that have requested the National Guard, if need be. Not the case now, that's for sure. Ron Brownstein, thank you so much.

Up ahead for us this morning, the world's leading scholars on genocide are speaking out, saying Israel's actions in Gaza have met the legal definition of the word. What the Israeli government is saying this morning.

And one person killed and several others injured after a car crashes right through the front doors of a grocery store. Wow.

And airports from coast to coast will be packed today as millions of Americans make their way back home this Labor Day. How you can avoid the headaches on what could be a record-setting travel day.

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: New this morning, the world's leading genocide scholars association passed a resolution that says Israel's actions in Gaza, quote, constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. Let's get right to CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem for the latest on this. Jeremy, it's a scathing report.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Without a doubt, John, and it is one of the latest reports that have now accused the Israeli government of carrying out a genocide in Gaza. We have seen, of course, multiple other genocide scholars and experts make this claim in the past, as well as most recently, two Israeli human rights organizations who also accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. And now it is the leading association representing genocide scholars that is making this case.

This is an organization that currently has 600 members from numerous countries around the world. It was formed in 1994. And they now say that quote, Israel's policies and actions in Gaza, in their view, meet the legal definition of genocide in Article 2 of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention of Genocide.

They are calling on Israel to cease all actions that are related to genocide and war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government, for its part, of course, seriously rejects any allegation that it is carrying out genocide in the Gaza Strip, insisting that all of its actions in Gaza are directed at Hamas and not at the civilian population in Gaza. We know, of course, that the reality is that more than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed over the course of this war, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, although the majority of those victims are indeed women and children.

As those allegations are being made, we are watching the latest in Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, as Israel is intensifying its attacks on Gaza City ahead of a planned full-scale assault of the city. We have seen bombardments and artillery shelling of key neighborhoods in Gaza City that have been intensifying, with 135 Palestinians killed in that city over the course of just the last three days. That operation is already beginning to force thousands of people to flee Gaza City, with up to one million people, according to the United Nations, at risk of displacement, something that could worsen the humanitarian situation in the city.

The Israeli government and military, for its part, says that this is one of the last remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza, and that its operations are aimed at pushing the Islamist militant group out.

We know that the Israeli Security Cabinet met last night to discuss this planned military operation in Gaza City as well as how the Israeli government will respond to what is expected to be a wave of countries, in particular European countries, set to recognize Palestine as a state. Actions that the Israeli government is vowing it will respond to, among the options that the Israeli prime minister is considering, full annexation of the West Bank, partial annexation of the West Bank, and of course potentially a raft of sanctions against Palestinian authority representatives -- John.

BERMAN: A lot of focus on the West Bank and on Gaza City as well this week, to the extent that Western journalists can even see what's happening inside Gaza. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much for being with us.

Back to school coming with new fears for some parents amid the president's law enforcement takeover and immigration crackdown.

And former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, in a serious car accident, we have new information about his condition.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: New this morning, back to school season with parents in Washington, D.C. sending their children off as National Guard troops patrol the city as part of President Trump's federal takeover of the police force and immigration crackdown. Some schools are battling student fears that ICE agents could actually show up in class.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is joining me now. And so, Sunlen, what are schools doing amidst this fear?

SERFATY: Yes, Bianna, schools really acknowledge that this is a tense environment right now for students, for teachers, for parents as they send their kids back to school. And they're taking very specific steps to combat that anxiety. Many schools that I spoke to, they are posting teachers both on campus, out and out in the neighborhoods as kids arrive.

[08:25:00]

Others are setting up more formalized chaperone system where teachers and parents will walk with students from public transportation to the schools and vice versa, after school, just to make sure that they are safe should they run into any National Guard, should they be pulled aside.

One school has even pulled money from their actual annual budget. They've pulled money out of their own budget to charter a private bus line to bring kids from public transportation to the school. So that just speaks to the concern right now.

And we spent some time late last week in a Spanish immersion program at preschool here in Washington, D.C. They have about 90 percent immigrant teachers. They are all of legal status, but they acknowledge that their teachers are really fearing that there could be an ICE raid.

And they're really trying to reassure parents and teachers. And they said on back to school night, their parents specifically, they wanted to know about two things. And this was certainly notable to me. Parents ask about, are your snacks organic and what is your ICE protocol?

And the director said they've never had an ICE protocol in the past, but that's something that they have now had to formally write to let teachers know what to do should ICE show up. They've also spent weeks ensuring employees document -- the documentation is locked solid and also advising teachers to keep their passport and papers on them. Here's what the executive director told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNINE PIACENZA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMUNIKIDS PRESCHOOLS: I couldn't imagine in a million years that we would have to carry our passports in the United States of America. I never would have thought.

I've been an educator for over 30 years. I was born and raised in this country, and I never thought that I would see the National Guard patrolling a city that there are not riots going on, that there is not unrest occurring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And similarly, parents that I spoke to as they brought kids to their classrooms on the first day last week, they noted this as well, that this is certainly a tense environment. And even if they are U.S. citizens, they are really just worried about them getting caught up in all this, their kids being caught up in this, teachers getting caught up in all this, and they are taking some extra precautions. Here's what one parent told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARLA MARRERO SANTOS, PARENT OF A DC PRESCHOOLER: I'm afraid of speaking my language, and I'm sticking to English just to feel safe, especially when I'm with my daughter outside. So never, ever thought in my life I would be in this position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And school administrators, we talked to, really trying to maintain a sense of calm, make it a normal start to the school year, even if all this, Bianna, has certainly cast a big shadow over the kickoff.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, so much of this doesn't seem normal, a new reality, a new anxiety for some of these families. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much.

So how are President Trump's tariffs landing with Americans? We have some new data this morning. We'll run through the numbers.

And happening now, nearly 1,000 people dead, thousands injured after an earthquake rocks Afghanistan. Now the urgent search for survivors is underway. We'll bring you the very latest.

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