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Nicole Foy is Interviewed about a ProPublica Report; Trump Weighs Iran Action; Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) is Interviewed about Protests in Minneapolis. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired January 15, 2026 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[06:31:16]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
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MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight, stop. That is not helpful. Go home.
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AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we begin with this breaking news. More protests in Minneapolis overnight after a federal officer shot a person in the leg. This was during an immigration enforcement traffic stop on Wednesday evening.
Now, the Department of Homeland Security claims that the agent was violently assaulted during the encounter by two bystanders who allegedly attacked him with a shovel and a broom. Mayor Jacob Frey is asking for peace, with the city still reeling from the aftermath of last week's fatal shooting of Renee Good, also by an ICE officer.
Now, ICE-involved shootings in Minnesota are raising concerns about the enforcement tactics of federal officers. A new "ProPublica" investigation found more than 40 cases of ICE agents using chokeholds that can cut off breathing. Now, some of those chokeholds are actually banned by the Department of Homeland Security itself. And they're facing fresh scrutiny amid nationwide anti-ICE protests.
So, I want you to look at this latest polling from CNN. Fifty-one percent of Americans who say ICE enforcement actions are making cities less safe. And that is a feeling that is shared by Minnesota's mayor, Jacob Frey
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MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNESOTA: We have ICE agents throughout our city and throughout our state who, along with border control, are creating chaos. This is not the path that we should be on right now in America.
So, let's be very clear. I've seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable.
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CORNISH: Joining me now to discuss, Nicole Foy, investigative reporter at "ProPublica."
Good morning. Thank you for being with us.
NICOLE FOY, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, "PROPUBLICA": Good morning.
CORNISH: So, you were writing at "ProPublica" "that if officers are targeting specific individuals" that "they can minimize risk by deciding when and where and how to take them into custody. But when they don't know their target in advance," that's where you see kind of chaos or potentially abuse.
So, what is the thinking or strategy behind that?
FOY: That's one of the things that when we have been reviewing a number of videos showing some of ICE and other immigration agencies, like Border Patrol, their increasingly aggressive actions, that we found, and our experts that we asked to review these videos told us, that this is all coming from the fact that these are not planned operations. These are often roving patrols through neighborhoods where people don't know, where agents may not know the targets, and they're often in situations that you're not normally going to see agents deployed. You know, patrolling a border region is very different than rolling through a neighborhood where they are increasingly meeting protesters who do not want them there.
CORNISH: We've been talking all morning about the difference between law enforcement, local law enforcement and what guidance they have, versus DHS, ICE, et cetera.
What is the guidance from Homeland Security? Are chokeholds allowed?
FOY: No, they're not, honestly, based on DHS's and DOJ's own policy. The -- they -- we found that over the past year agents have used more than 40 different cases of chokeholds, carotid restraints, which those are explicitly banned by DHS policy.
[06:35:00]
But also, they have increasingly used things like kneeling on people's necks and backs and other maneuvers that can really restrict breathing and blood flow in a way that can be incredibly dangerous for the people that they're arresting. They were banned from using, particularly the chokeholds, but also highly discouraged by federal trainers who did not want them using these type of maneuvers that many Americans are so familiar with in the wake of 2020 because of how dangerous they can be. They're -- many of these moves are seen as a form of deadly force. And deadly force is only supposed to be authorized if there's no other option. It's not supposed to be authorized, according to DHS policy, if a subject is failing to comply, if they're resisting arrest, if they're fleeing.
CORNISH: What have you heard from federal officials when you reached out to them about this story?
FOY: Well, we sent them all of the videos that we reviewed and included in our story showing agents increasingly using these really dangerous restraints and chokeholds. Then they stood by their officers, just soundly. They said that all of these agents are acting with utmost professionalism, that they're using the least amount of force. This is even when we showed them cases of, you know, agents using a chokehold on a 16-year-old, or using these chokeholds when it's really unclear why a -- this form of deadly force would be necessary, because we, and many bystanders on the scene, could not see any incident that would warrant that.
CORNISH: Yes. OK, Nicole Foy, we're going to continue to follow your reporting. Thank you so much.
FOY: Thank you for having me.
CORNISH: Now to those protests in Iran. The rest of the world has been waiting to see when and if the U.S. might strike. President Trump has been making veiled threats for weeks against the Iranian government. And Iranians even closed their airspace for a time last evening.
And personnel at the U.S.' largest military base in the Middle East have been urged to leave. Then President Trump said this yesterday.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've been told that the killing in Iran is stopping and it's stopped. It's stopping. And there's no plan for executions or an execution or executions. So, I've been told that on good authority. We'll find out about it. I'm sure if it happens, we'll all be very upset.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, bringing back Rick de la Torre into the group chat. Rick is the former Caracas chief of station for the CIA. We'll be talking about Venezuela in a bit,.
But can I actually ask you, just given your expertise, once you're saying military personnel, you got to leave. The government itself basically preparing. Are we nudging closer to an actual strike?
RICK DE LA TORRE, FORMER CIA OFFICER: I think it's certainly in the cards, yes. I mean the presidents been very clear that he's not taking that off the table. He's turning to the Iranian leadership, making sure that they understand what the international community expects from them. Right now it looks like that behavior is being corrected. They want to avoid a confrontation with the United States.
Iran, right now, it's at its weakest, I think, ever really.
CORNISH: Yes.
DE LA TORRE: Their surface to air capabilities. Their leadership has been completely decimated. So -- and their economy is tanking considerably. So now is an opportunity for the Iranian people, and we're seeing that now in the streets under protest.
I think what's different between this one and previous protests that we've seen over the years is that we've got full throated support from the U.S. government now. I mean the president's tweeting out, you know, that he's behind the protesters, that help is coming. And that message is getting through.
CORNISH: Yes. I mean the difference to me is the threat of strikes. But, yes.
GARRETT GRAFF, FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNALIST: Rick, you've been in a room briefing a lot of these senior officials over the years. Do you think U.S. military strikes helps the Iranian regime or hurts the Iranian regime when they're dealing with these internal protests? I mean is this something that unites Iran against the external enemy, or is this something where you think actually a strike would help the protesters?
DE LA TORRE: In my opinion, yes, I think a strike like this would help the protesters. In other words -- because it's targeted towards the command and control systems and the leadership of Iran. So, in that case, you're not taking out measures -- or, I mean, excuse me, systems that they use for their economy or targeting these kinds of soft types of targets.
CORNISH: Yes.
DE LA TORRE: You're really going after the Iranian leadership.
CORNISH: OK, one more thing. I want to play some tape for you because another conversation happening around Iran makes me think of our conversations about Venezuela, which is, if it's -- it's one thing to say you want to see regime change, but what happens in its place? What happens the day after? Do you back existing opposition figures?
This is Senator Lindsey Graham, who actually met with Reza Pahlavi, the -- who is an opposition leader from Iran, and here was his takeaway.
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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): And followed you, your passion, the way you articulate the hope of your people.
[06:40:07]
It will be up to the people of Iran to pick their next leader. I can't wait till they have a chance to do that. But you are -- really risen to the occasion, compelling narrative for the long suffering people of Iran. And I believe, with all my heart, that help is on the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Do you guys -- what's your sense of the president, in this case, when it comes to Iran? Like, do you hear anything about the opposition -- supporting the actual opposition there? DE LA TORRE: Well, look, I think -- I think one of the things that we're seeing now is not so much regime change, right? What we're seeing is more along the lines -- I think "The Wall Street Journal" did a piece on this today regarding regime management. And as long as the folks that remain behind continue to work with the United States, continue to lay the groundwork for some sort of transition to something else, something better, this administration will continue to engage with us.
MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHTIE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I think that's a really important point because they -- a lot of people point to the mistakes made in Iraq.
DE LA TORRE: Correct.
DUBKE: The de-ba'thification and all of that. So, the way that this administration is approaching Venezuela, is approaching -- potentially approaching Iran is very important.
But we also have to remember, the president really kind of set the stage here, as did, frankly, Israel in --
CORNISH: Yes.
DUBKE: The demilitarizing the proxies that Iran had. And basically almost liberating the rest of the Middle East to know that Iran isn't really as tough as they keep talking. So, that's a -- that's the biggest difference, I think, with these protests. They're in a totally new atmosphere in the -- in the -- in the Middle East.
CORNISH: I want to stick with this issue of opposition leaders.
DE LA TORRE: Sure.
CORNISH: Because we've been talking about it when it comes from Venezuela. And today, Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, is going to meet with President Trump at the White House.
Now, Machado is the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has effectively been kind of neutralized by the U.S. since the ouster of Nicolas Maduro. President Trump says she lacks the respect needed to lead Venezuela. And instead, he's actually allowed Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, to assume power. We don't know yet if that could change.
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REPORTER: If she gives you her Nobel Peace Prize, will that change your view about her running that country?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I have to speak to her. I mean, I'm going to have to speak to her. She might be involved in some aspect of it. I will have to speak to her. I think it's very nice that she wants to come in. And that's what I understand the reason is. I can't think of anybody in history that should get the Nobel Prize more than me. And I don't want to be bragging, but nobody else settled wars.
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CORNISH: OK. And Machado was also asked about this. And here's her response.
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MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: But I'd certainly love to -- to be able to personally tell him that we believe (INAUDIBLE) his own people, because this is a prize other Venezuelan people certainly want to -- to give it to him and share it with him.
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CORNISH: Does it hinge on this?
DE LA TORRE: On the Nobel Peace Prize? No. No. I think -- I think that's much to do about nothing, really.
CORNISH: Would it help?
DE LA TORRE: Would it help? Well, I mean, who wouldn't want to be, you know, have a Nobel Peace Prize shared with, right? I -- she can share it with me. I don't care.
Look, I think -- I think in this case the reality is that -- and we've chatted about this. Once -- once you remove the regime, the next day electricity has to be turned on, hospitals have to operate, water needs to flow. You need to work with someone there on the ground.
The dissident exile community is exiled. They're not in the country. So, you have to pinch your nose and work with Delcy Rodrguez.
In this case, I think the issue with Machado is, if she -- you know, if the president were to go ahead and say, look, you're going to be now the new leader of Venezuela, all credibility from the international community goes down the toilet because they're going to say, well, wait a minute, you know, no elections. She's a puppet of, you know, of the U.S. And so now what we're going to focus on is on the safety, security issues.
CORNISH: Yes. Although, arguably, she got the Peace Prize because the international community believes that she was democratically elected, or supported, and therefore they do support her.
GRAFF: And I think we have to sort of acknowledge how far through the looking glass we are with American foreign policy right now, that we are even having the conversation about whether the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, giving her award to the president of the United States, influences who is in charge of another sovereign nation. You know, and, you know, it forced the Nobel committee to put out a statement saying, no, if someone gives you their Nobel Peace Prize, that does not make you a Nobel Peace Prize winner, in the same way that, Audie, if I picked up an Oscar statue at a pawn shop and handed it to you on set, you would not be able to declare yourself an Oscar winner. Although you deserve to be one.
CORNISH: You know, the thing I'm --
DUBKE: I was going to say Emmy.
CORNISH: Yes. Well, what I'm wondering is, if you're a person protesting in the streets of Iran, you are hearing, well, maybe there's -- have a conversation -- not opposition.
[06:45:08]
And if you're a person protesting -- not protesting, because of the massive crackdown and repression that's happening with the regime that exists, you are looking around and thinking, regime management? Am I supposed to be thankful for that? Like, help me understand how a person who lives in these countries is supposed to hear how the Trump administration is approaching this.
DUBKE: The --
MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: They're also not hearing that because they're not -- they don't have access to internet, so they're not hearing that. So, I don't know that that -- that message --
CORNISH: No, but what they see is the Maduro government is still in place.
HAYS: But you can --
CORNISH: They look around with their eyes and they see things have not changed.
GRAFF: Right.
HAYS: Oh, in Venezuela. But, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I thought you were talking about Iran.
DE LA TORRE: Right.
HAYS: I just -- Iran has no access to anything on the outside, so it's like --
CORNISH: But people are protesting in the streets for a reason.
DE LA TORRE: Sure. Sure. Look, I think the -- we need to first deal with the basic things, the safety, the security of people. The issue of just putting someone in place, right, and saying, OK, now you're going to run this country. This is the highest risk of it backsliding into, you know, into folks wanting to put the regimes back in power, because at least under the regimes there were some sort of semblance of order. And there was -- there was a chaos.
Democracy in itself is messy. And if you have these folks -- and you don't know who's in control of the military, if you don't know who's in control of the manufacturing of oil, of all these things -- CORNISH: Yes.
DE LA TORRE: These are very well-entrenched regimes. And the corruption runs very deep. They've got their folks all the way down. So, that has to be dealt with in some way. Certainly it's a better situation in Venezuela today than it was before. I agree with you completely. Nothing would make me be happier -- feel happier than to see people like Diosdado Cabello and Vladimir Padrino be brought to justice. And I suspect they will.
CORNISH: Yes, like multiple members of the government still there.
DE LA TORRE: Oh, yes, yes, Yes, it's a long -- it's a long list of people -- correct. Correct.
CORNISH: Yes.
DE LA TORRE: It's a long list of people. And I think -- I think their -- you know, I think their time with justice will come. Sooner or later, but it will come.
CORNISH: OK. We'll see what -- we'll see what regime management means going forward. This is going to be the new term for me. I'm interested in a post-neo-con era, what this looks like as part of the Donroe Doctrine.
DUBKE: Forty-five -- 45 years of oppression in Iran.
CORNISH: Yes.
DUBKE: Makes you make choices that put your life in danger. And I think we need to remember that.
CORNISH: Yes.
DUBKE: These aren't necessarily rational choices.
HAYS: That's right.
DUBKE: Looking on the nightly news to see who's saying what to whom. So, there is -- there's movement here because there's been movement over the last several years.
CORNISH: All right, you guys, thank you.
Rick, thank you so much for being here, per the usual.
DE LA TORRE: Thanks.
CORNISH: If you missed any part of that conversation and you want to share it, it's something you're talking about yourself, you heard some viewpoint you enjoyed, we are a podcast. So, you can scan the QR code now. Here's where you find it. And, by the way, CNN THIS MORNING, it's actually available anywhere you get your podcasts.
Now, in the meantime, we are continuing to follow the breaking news. Several hundred protesters facing tear gas and flash bangs after an ICE officer shoots and injures a man. We're going to get live reaction from a Republican in Congress.
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[06:52:13]
CORNISH: We're tracking the breaking news out of Minneapolis, where protests erupted last night after another shooting involving a federal officer. Federal law enforcement was seen firing tear gas and flash bangs into the crowds of protesters. The Department of Homeland Security says the shooting, which triggered the protesters, was justified. In a statement, DHS claims the agent was attacked by a suspect, along with two bystanders. The suspect was then shot in the leg, is now being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The officer also in the hospital being treated. Protesters say it is the federal officers and their actions making the city feel unsafe.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From my house, like and where I live in my apartment, they come in without warrants, without official anything. They just come in and barge into people's houses. Gun -- armed up with no one being spoke to or anything. Masked up. This is kidnaping and everything above. That is not OK.
I am very scared. I'm worried that I'm not even able to go to school and feel safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, joining us now to talk about this, Republican Congressman Mike Haridopolos of Florida.
Thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate it.
REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS (R-FL): My pleasure.
CORNISH: So, one of the things that's interesting to me is hearing a person, a protester on the street, because what they say echoes something we see on social media, the perception that the way ICE is operating feels unusual, feels sort of scary to them. I don't know what your feed is like, so I'd love to get your point of view.
HARIDOPOLOS: Well, first of all, it's a tragic situation what's happened in general in Minnesota. And the genesis of my opinion is the fact that you have a criminal element that was let out of jail back into the community. It's incredibly frustrating.
CORNISH: Meaning who?
HARIDOPOLOS: Meaning that persons who are here illegally, also broke the law, in many cases not just violent crimes, sometimes sexual battery against children, et cetera. These ICE agents are there to remove them from the community because the leadership there won't. These are called sanctuary cities. CORNISH: But where -- the protests, in fact, are -- seem to be
spreading because of the shooting of Renee Good.
HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I -- well, again, let's just -- I can -- I say, what's the genesis of the issue? We have sanctuary cities right now that allow these criminals to run in the streets. And the goal should be to extract them. This is the same thing done under Republican and Democrat prior administrations. But you have these issues where you have a mayor who is so politically, let's just say, involved, that he thinks it's a good idea to put these folks in the middle of all this.
Were just talking with our -- your panelists. My father's a former FBI agent. I always respect law enforcement in general. But the other part of this is, if there's a situation where a law enforcement officer is in the process of arresting a violent criminal, the last thing you want to be is in the middle of that action.
[06:55:03]
And so --
CORNISH: Would your father have used a chokehold on people or shot at a window at 90 degrees?
HARIDOPOLOS: I think, I -- well, I think -- well, first of all, let's focus on why they're there. They're there because the law enforcement in that community will not keep a person in jail who's committed a violent act or a sexual act against a child. These are -- look at the arrest records in Lincoln (ph).
GRAF: That's not who -- that's not who ICE is actually arresting these days. The -- the challenge --
CORNISH: Oh, this is Garrett Graff. Sorry. Yes.
GRAFF: Yes. We --
CORNISH: OK.
GRAFF: You know, I think one of the things that is important is, ICE is a 20-year-old agency at this point. It was able to do this work under Republican and Democratic administrations, even the first Trump administration, while maintaining the moral legitimacy with the public. There is something that has changed in this last year in the way that ICE is sort of randomly grabbing people off the street, seeing people randomly grabbing people off the street.
CORNISH: Well, let's let him answer that. Do you see a difference, given, as he said, the experience the agency does have doing this work without this chaos?
HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think what we're seeing a lot of is, you're seeing a lot of paid protesters who are creating a lot of this chaos. Again, with the -- with the tragic situation. I think it is tragic what happened to that young lady who was killed in -- recently in Minneapolis. But she put herself right in the middle of the action. I think that is the general, general thing.
The other thing that I also think about is ICE agents who were, quote, doing their job. They have husbands and wives who are worried about them when they go to work, and they're seeing that people are doing all types of things towards them. They're creating this chaotic situation.
CORNISH: Yes.
HARIDOPOLOS: And I would hope that now the mayor would -- might take a different stance where staying out of the way.
CORNISH: Well, the mayor has said repeatedly, telling people to go home. We can play you a quote of that, of him of saying that. He's been --
HARIDOPOLOS: Oh, now he's -- now he's -- I'm glad he's saying that now. But remember last week he used the big -- the big four-letter words, talking about to gin people up in the situation.
CORNISH: What was the four-letter word?
HARIDOPOLOS: Oh, I think we all have probably said it at some point.
CORNISH: Oh, right. Right, right, right.
OK, I want to show you some polling because I think the argument you're making is the argument that other lawmakers are going to have to make over the next year heading into midterms. So, if you guys can put up the data here of how many people believe that the effect of ICE enforcement on U.S. cities is making it more safe or less safe. Fifty- one percent, less safe.
We also have some numbers about how people feel about ICE tactics on the street. And I think it's important to talk about that because every -- people who voted for immigration enforcement may not agree with the tactics they are seeing with their own eyes. And what is your response to the independent voters, the voters we are seeing in the polling who are saying, the way this looks is bad?
HARIDOPOLOS: Well, you can't help but feel (ph) terrible about what's happening. You're seeing the flash bangs going off. You're seeing this chaos in the street. I'm not surprised by that number at all.
But we also have, again, as I'm trying to point out, is that the genesis of this is the failure of local government, law enforcement, mayors, you name it, who won't enforce the law and keep criminals behind bars because of the political agenda that they happen to have.
What we're seeing here is it's tragic.
CORNISH: Yes.
HARIDOPOLOS: And I hope the mayor does take a different tact so we don't have this type of chaos in the streets. But where I want to see the focus, and I know that we've talked about it as a caucus, we want to focus it on, let's get rid of the violent criminals who come to this country. I think that that's where the focus should be. It's kind of like anything else, you're triaging a situation when you had 10 million people come to this country illegally over four years. We should focus on that criminal element. And I think that's what I want (ph) to see.
CORNISH: All right, let me let the other folks come in.
DUBKE: Well, no, I -- to the congressman's point, you know, we do need to lower the temperature in Minneapolis. We've been talking about this for a week. To wake up this morning to another incident where people are interfering in law enforcement. Whether or not it's justified, I don't know that that's even the point here.
CORNISH: Yes.
DUBKE: We now have a situation in Minneapolis where we have these flash bombs. We have people throwing projectiles at the police. We have the police using tear gas. This is out of control.
CORNISH: I'm going to say something that will feel random and unlikely, but I'm just going to put it out there. What if they left? What if ICE pulled out?
HAYS: Well, I think that --
DUBKE: Then you'd be left --
CORNISH: What if they said -- what if they said, we have 87 percent of the Somalis in the region who are naturalized citizen. The mass scandal and fraud was dealt with, with a criminal investigation. And that the sheer number of people they're actually picking up is not worth this.
HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I would say this. If -- what if you left? That means the violent offenders they've not picked up will continue to ravage that community. I don't think that's fair. I mean the number one responsibility of an elected official is to protect life and property. And that's the foundation of government. And if you allow these people to continue to run free in your own community and wreak havoc, that's not a good thing.
CORNISH: What's your metric for success? Is there a moment where ICE has done its job?
HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think the first metric would be the -- is our violent criminals finally removed from the streets and our sex offenders removed? Once those are done, the immigration issue is going to, I think, calm down a lot. But that's been the frustration for people --
CORNISH: Yes.
HARIDOPOLOS: Is that, in your own community you see that they're -- they're OK with --
[07:00:02]
CORNISH: And also the frustration that they are seeing a lot of people without criminal records being arrested. And that -- that's going to setback your plan, as you're saying?
HARIDOPOLOS: And that's why -- and I think you're -- I want to -- I want to see the focus on the violent offenders and the sexual offenders. That should be ROI, our number, one first thing done.
CORNISH: We'll see if that happens.
Congressman, thank you so much for being here. Appreciate your time.
HARIDOPOLOS: Have a great week. Thank you.
CORNISH: Thank you.
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