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Inspectors Capture Images of Overcrowded Migrant Centers; Children's Drawings Depict Grim Detention Center Conditions; Census Currently Printing Without Citizenship Question; Nike Recalls "Betsy Ross" Flag Sneakers. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired July 03, 2019 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:30:22] DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: A new watchdog report is warning of dangerous conditions at border holding facilities for migrants calling them a, quote, ticking time bomb. The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security released photos and data with the results of several unannounced inspections earlier last month.

The photos show extreme overcrowding, standing room only in some places. And the internal watchdog report found multiple violations of U.S. detention policy like lack of hot meals and adequate access to showers and limited access to a change of clothes. Now all this could be resonating more with the American people.

A new CNN poll shows that three-quarters of Americans now say the situation at the border is a crisis. Compare that to six months ago when only 45 percent would use that word. Now break it down by party lines and the same finding stands. More Republicans, Independents, and Democrats are now willing to call it a crisis compared it to January. The biggest jump among Democrats, 23 percent in January, up 70 percent in June.

It's hard to imagine anybody would look at what's going on down there and not call it a crisis. Obviously, it has been so steeped in politics that it is been hard to kind of see the reality through the politics. But the reality is, absolutely horrible.

You have a book coming out on immigration and the problems with the policy that have been ongoing for decades. When you see the report, when you hear these members of Congress who are coming back, talk about it.

MICHAEL SHEAR, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: I mean, look, what Donald Trump tried to convince the public of for the first year and a half of his administration was that there was a crisis on the border of a different kind, right? He warned about a national security crisis and an economic crisis where migrants were coming to both threaten people who are -- who already live in the United States and take away their jobs. That was the crisis that he focused on and people were rightly skeptical because there was a lack of evidence. In fact, if you went and looked the sort people who are experts in those areas would say that -- would dispute what the president was saying. What happened was a crisis did form. It's just not the one that the president was talking about. It's a humanitarian crisis, and one of the things that's made it worse is that the policies that the administration pursued actually exacerbated the kinds of difficulties that they are in now. They wanted to detain people but they didn't create more safe spaces to detain them. They wanted to, you know, not catch and release as the president talks about and they didn't put a lot of effort and money and time into sort of the humanitarian aspects because they wanted money for the wall.

And so, all of that has sort of combined to create this, like the horrible, horrible situation at the border where people are really suffering.

BASH: It's very well said. Explained very well. You must be working on a book about this. No, but it is important because there's so much politics that has been infused in this issue that it's almost a knee- jerk to think that the other side is wanting something or doing something for political reasons. Sometimes they're right but other times they -- like we saw with the debate last week before the Congress went back home for July 4th recess, it's because there's an actual problem.

Part of the issue, also, is that you are seeing things like this inspector general report where they just surprised some of these holding areas and found really horrible conditions. And part of the reason is because you're hearing more and more from people who are involved in the border patrol talking about what goes on behind the scenes.

Our colleague Nick Valencia talked to a border agent who wanted to speak to him anonymously. Listen to what he said.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cells, they are what I will say filthy. We have maintenance and cleaning crew that cleans the general area like the hallways but I have never seen them cleaning counters or cleaning toilets in the cells or sinks in the cell. Sometimes you go in a cell and there's trash everywhere.

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BASH: Now, to be clear, there are lots of border patrol agents who are working very hard to do very, very difficult jobs. This one was explaining a systemic problem.

[12:35:02] SAHIL KAPUR, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, BLOOMBERG: Right. I mean, I think more people are calling it a crisis for different reasons. Immigration skeptics call it a crisis because they believe too many people are coming across. The system can't handle them. They want the laws to change, pro-immigration voters look at reports like that, testimonials like that and say it's a crisis because of the conditions that these people face. So I think the system is kind of overwhelmed right now. There is a mismatch between what the federal government is required to do under the law. People come here, they have to have their right to be heard in court to make their case that they deserve asylum. They can't simply be turned away.

There are tens of thousands of people backlogged. There's not enough money to handle it which is why Congress has tried to appropriate supplemental coverage. This hasn't been overhauled in a long time and this is -- now we're seeing the consequences of it.

BASH: And we cannot forget that there are human beings involved, there are children involved and this picture just broke my heart, I'm sure broke everybody's heart. They were drawn by kids at the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, you see the photo there. Kids were asked to draw pictures and these are the photos of the world that they know which anybody who has kids or has ever met a kid or ever was a kid look at this and sees it is absolutely heartbreaking because they are absolutely not in control of the situation.

SHEAR: And look, I mean, Paul can talk about this better even better than I can but like it's putting the Democrats -- these images like that are putting the Democrats in a really tough spot because they are knee-jerk opposed to just about every single thing that this administration wants to do on immigration for reasons that are both good for their politics but also substantive. But at the same time, it's hard not to respond by saying you need to give the administration more money, more resources, you know, which is what the fight was last --

BASH: And which is why the House speaker defied a lot on her caucus.

All right, everybody standby. Before we go to break, we want to look at the funeral today for 9/11 first responder Luis Alvarez. He died Saturday from cancer linked to his service of those painful days in 2001. Among those who spoke today was Alvarez's son.

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DAVID ALVAREZ, SON OF LUIS ALVAREZ: In his last moments before taking his last breath, I told him I love him. I love you, dad. I promise to keep walking on the brave side of the line. I promise to be the man you inspired me to be. Thank you.

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[12:42:02] BASH: Topping our political radar today, at this hour, a jury in San Diego is deliberating the sentence of Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher. He was found guilty of posing for a photo with a dead ISIS fighter. An offense that carries a maximum sentence of four months. He was cleared of all the serious charges against him including premeditated murder. Gallagher says he's grateful to those who supported him including President Trump who considered giving him a pardon.

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EDDIE GALLAGHER, NAVY SEAL ACQUITTED OF MURDER: I feel completely grateful and blessed to have the support that I've had this whole time. Also to President Trump for intervening when he did.

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BASH: The president tweeted his congratulations to Gallagher and his family, saying you have been through much together. Glad I could help.

Now earlier this hour, we reported the news about Joe Biden's second quarter fundraising numbers. He raised $21.5 million. Now we're also getting fundraising figures rather from other candidates like Colorado Senator Michael Bennet. His presidential campaign pulled in $2.8 million. Bennet edged out his fellow Colorado Democrat and rival John Hickenlooper who raised more than $1 million according to a source.

Now Pete Buttigieg is in Iowa today, unveiling a plan to push national service. The plan would target high school and college students and expand current programs like AmeriCorps. National service has been a recurring theme for the Democratic presidential candidate who served in Afghanistan.

And Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the -- only the second woman in history added to the Supreme Court, she is praising her new colleague, Brett Kavanaugh for also making history. The 86- year-old justice who famously fought for women's rights spoke in Washington on Tuesday.

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RUTH BADER GINSBURG, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: There is a very important first on the Supreme Court this term, and it's thanks to our new justice, Justice Kavanaugh, whose entire staff of all women, it's the first time in the history of the United States that there have been more women working at the court than men.

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BASH: And up next, getting hammered by conservatives for caving on his administration's quest to put a citizenship question in the 2020 census. The president is saying on Twitter that the fight isn't over but Democrats are celebrating. And the lawyer who argued against the administration at the Supreme Court tweeted a barb at Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross with a short, "no soup for you."

We'll be right back.

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[12:49:23] BASH: President Trump is still fighting for a citizenship question to be on the 2020 census despite the fact it's already being printed. Here is what the president tweeted today. "Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the citizenship question on the census is incorrect. We are absolutely moving forward as we must."

Yesterday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that while he disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling, quote, my focus and that of the bureau and the entire department is to conduct a complete and accurate census.

A government official told CNN that after looking at time constraints, lower court opinions, and possible new injunctions, quote, officials just thought it wasn't realistic.

[12:50:06] CNN's Jessica Schneider has been reporting on this. She joins me now. Jessica, if you look at the president's tweets it's unclear exactly what the administration is doing. But what is actually happening at the Department of Commerce with regard to the census moving forward? Is it or is it not?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: It is moving forward, Dana. We got that indication yesterday. It is going to print without that citizenship question. And it's only the president that really continues to spark this uncertainty. He's continued to tweet that this fight isn't over, that he will still push to get the citizenship question on the census. But all other indications are that this battle is over, that the DOJ has backed down and, in fact, the census, without that citizenship question, has started the printing process.

That's what a DOJ lawyer told the judge last night, saying essentially that this fight is over. Now that was yesterday. There's also another hearing in the Maryland case that could provide a little more clarity later today. They're calling the challengers in the DOJ together to find out that in fact, this is final and that the DOJ has made its final decision. In fact, especially in light of the president's constant tweet this morning and then this afternoon.

And then in addition to that, we've also just gotten word that the director of the Census Bureau, Dr. Steven Dillingham, he will testify three weeks from today before a Subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee. Democrats, they want the Census Bureau director to come to Capitol Hill to really find out how ready the agency is to properly roll out this census and get people counted.

Specifically, Democrats are saying that the Census Bureau is in danger of not meeting security and I.T. standards, and also there's concerns that officials aren't really properly educating the public about what is expected here. So, Dana, this census is moving forward. The printing, according to the DOJ, has already begun. It's been sent to the printer and the citizenship question will not appear on it despite the president's insistent tweets otherwise.

Dana?

BASH: That's an important fact check. The president obviously heard from conservatives like Hugh Hewitt that was saying his callers were flooding the phone lines to his radio show today, saying that the president threw in the towel. So it sounds as though the president was using his Twitter feed to try to say that it's not going to happen, to try to calm his supporters even though that's just not factually correct.

Thank you so much, Jessica, for that report.

Up next, the latest culture war debate over sneakers.

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[12:57:14] BASH: Nike is still sparking outrage and debate today after its decision to cancel the release of these special Fourth of July sneakers, the Air Max 1 USA featuring the Betsy Ross flag. Now the shoes had already been shipped nationwide but were recalled by the company after former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick complained saying he and others found the use of the colonial era flag offensive, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Arizona's Republican Governor Doug Ducey is retaliating against Nike, ordering the state to pull tax incentives for the company's upcoming multimillion-dollar manufacturing plant. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also is encouraging Nike to reverse course.

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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I think we got a problem. I hope Nike either releases these shoes or some other shoemaker picks up the flag, puts it on a pair of shoes and starts selling it. I'll make the first order.

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BASH: He'll make the first order. OK. So, we're going to get to the culture war and politics of this in a second. But just the economics of it, I mean, Doug Ducey saying, no, we don't want to have jobs here is a little risky business, one that Democratic governors are jumping on. Gavin Newsom of California, hey, Nike, just a quick jaunt over the border, you know, saying come here. Governor Lujan Grisham saying, hey Nike, let's talk.

You know -- so there is -- the economics of it is quite -- again, risky even though the culture and political decision is obvious for these Republicans.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: But the city where that Nike facility was supposed to go is not saying what Ducey is saying. Instead, they're saying it is a difficult situation but they're not saying they're going to withdraw the incentives that they want to offer for them to come. So I think that's important, too.

PAUL KANE, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, THE WASHINGTON POST: Everything has become political. We started talking about July 4th and parades and that's political related to 2020. Nike which, you know, for years was just symbolized by Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan is now viewed as a Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the anthem type of company. I mean, this is where we are right now. BASH: And the Wall Street Journal which has been, you know, quick to criticize the president on this is, I think stating the obvious political analysis of this, and saying Donald Trump has reaped enormous political benefits from the ill-judged fashion among NFL players to kneel during the national anthem. If the president wins re-election, perhaps he should write a thank you note to Colin Kaepernick and Nike.

KAPUR: Culture wars are the currency of this presidency and this political moment. And that clip we saw with McConnell, he knows how to read a political moment, he has a base to galvanize, he's up for re-election. And this is the fight that he's very comfortable with, that President Trump is very comfortable with. And I think many of his party members are following suit.

BASH: All right, everybody, thank you so much, thank you for watching INSIDE POLITICS. We'll be right here tomorrow on the fourth. Brianna Keilar starting.

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