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Pentagon Approves Request To Extend National Guard At U.S. Capitol; CNN: Migrant Children Being Held 4 Plus Days In Border Patrol Activities; Biden COVID Plan Promises To Help Struggling American Families. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired March 10, 2021 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: When you look at the video, the person is wearing a hoodie. They're wearing gloves. You can't see their face, of course, they're wearing a face mask. So there are a lot of issues we're trying to identify this person. You see them walking around. There's really a lot of video of this person and to think, given all the video that the FBI can't identify this individual is really fascinating.

The other thing here is the movement of this person. You know, we get to see this person moving around a lot. And the reason why we can only identify this person as a person, and we don't even know the gender of this individual, that is something that the FBI is trying to figure out. They've released stock photos of the sneakers that this person was wearing. I talked to a law enforcement official who said, they're not even sure that the shoes that this individual is wearing is the right size that perhaps they are bigger, because they've been looking at the way that this person was walking, and at times it does appear that they are having some difficulty in walking. So they're thinking that maybe the sneakers, the shoes are not even the right size.

Also, John, think about the placement of this. Some officials believe that perhaps this was some kind of a political statement maybe, that where these devices were placed and the time at the time that they were placed. We're not necessarily indicative of wanting them to harm someone, but more of to make some kind of a statement or some kind of destruction.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: That's fascinating to watch the video. We'll see how the investigation plays out. The FBI clearly looking for help. There it is. It's amazing to watch.

Shimon Prokupecz, grateful for this reporting and your reporting over the past several weeks on this very important subject.

Up next for us, the President fact-finding team is back from the border and about to share some lessons learned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:07] KING: Some new reporting this hour that underscores the depth of the Biden immigration challenge on the U.S.-Mexico border. Internal documents show that just over the last week, migrant children spent more than four days on average in facilities that are not equipped to handle minors, that is a day longer than allowed by law.

Our Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins joins us now to put this into context. Kaitlan, the administration has a briefing today where one of the top point people on immigration is to speak. These numbers continue to tell you that they have a major problem on their hands.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They have a major problem, John, and it just seems to be growing bigger and bigger by the second. This is exclusive CNN reporting from my colleague Priscilla Alvarez. And these documents and this data that is dated from just yesterday is showing just how much these numbers are changing and surging just by the day. Because if you're looking at this average of how much time these unaccompanied kids are spending in these Border Patrol facilities, which are really jail like facilities, you're not supposed to have kids spending a lot of time there. That's why the law is only 72 hours.

So basically, they can be brought in there, processed and then sent to a facility run by the Health and Human Services Department. But now these documents are showing they're spending an average of 107 hours in these facilities, that's about four days that these kids are spending in these facilities. On average, this isn't just a one off, this is becoming more of a pattern.

And what's so striking about this is just how different it is compared to just recent weeks alone where last week, we saw -- they were spending just around 100 or about 77 hours. So that does surpass that limit of 72 hours, but now it is spiked to 107 hours. So if we can show this graph again, it's about an average of 435 unaccompanied children coming across the border every day. They're going into these facilities, this is up from where it was just a few days ago at 340 children. So, the problem is, is not only that these kids are spending a longer time in these facilities, it's more and more kids that are coming through. So it's really bottlenecking the system.

And so what this is going to look like and how they're going to respond going forward is something that is increasingly facing this White House because you saw the Secretary, the DHS Secretary at a briefing last week saying he does not consider this a crisis but a challenge. And yesterday, again, when the White House Press Secretary was asked about this, she said she did not want to put labels on it. But the reality of what we're seeing and just these numbers alone is that the crisis is growing at the border.

And one thing that you've seen before, remember, in 2019, when there was a massive crisis happening at the border, these are more children than it was at the peak of the crisis in 2019. Just to really give you a sense of what that's looking like. And the Biden administration is pointed to a change in policy because they're not turning children away at the border they say for that reason and that surge, but of course, the question is how are they going to be prepared to handle it? Because in 2019, they let cameras and reporters went to some of these facilities. You saw overcrowding. You saw children sleeping on the floor.

And so that has not happened yet. They have not let cameras into these facilities lately recently citing the coronavirus pandemic, but the White House has said that they are committed to doing so. They just haven't provided a timeframe. So that's going to be another question facing the White House. Really what that's going to look like given just how shocking these numbers are, and what's really happening and how long these unaccompanied children are hanging out in and being processed and spending time in these Border Patrol facilities.

KING: Be interesting to see if we get any new details on new actions out of the briefing that's just a few moments away. Kaitlan Collins, appreciate the reporting here.

Let's continue the conversation with me to share their reporting and their insights, CNN's Rosa Flores. She's live from Donna, Texas right along the border. And Michael Shear, White House Correspondent for The New York Times.

Rosa, let me start with you because you're down at the border. The Biden administration keeps trying to communicate including south of the border in advertisements, please don't come now. They're essentially making the case, we need time for a new administration. We need to get new policies in place. Please don't come now but clearly these numbers, especially these rising numbers with unaccompanied children tell you the migrants feel that this is a good time to come.

[12:40:05]

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, you're absolutely right and we have pictures to show you that shows exactly that. Now, these are pictures that were tweeted out the last week of February by the Chief of Patrol here in the Rio Grande Valley, you can see that there are a lot of migrants under a bridge. Now, this is an area that during prior surges, we've seen this before, where the number of migrants that stormed the border at one particular time is so great that it takes them a while for Border Patrol to get transportation from that area of the border to facilities like the one that you see behind me here in Donna, Texas.

Now, the facility that you see behind me is temporary. This is a temporary facility, it was recently set up to increase capacity. And that is because the McAllen Processing Center, which you probably don't know by name, but I can guarantee you've probably seen pictures of the inside of that facility, because the facility holding cells look like cages. Well, that is under renovation. And because of that, as you might imagine, as the main processing facility here in the Rio Grande Valley, you need more processing facility especially during a surge. That's why you see the facility that you see behind me set up specifically to increase capacity because of the increased number of not just unaccompanied minors, but families and single adults as well.

And John, you were just talking about transparency. And I can tell you, I've been here in the Rio Grande Valley before during other surges. We've gotten ride-alongs, tours, sometimes even if it's just pen and paper because of the privacy of these migrants to respect their privacy. This time we've requested that's why we're here, we are asking for access, we are asking for transparency. And we're hoping to take our cameras or a pen and paper wherever -- we're allowed to, to be able to see exactly what's happening here on the ground. John?

KING: Michael Shear, bringing it to -- Rosa, thank you standby for more or less. Michael, let me bring you into the conversation. Look, this is an incredibly complex issue. There are so many different pieces of the policy the new administration has to decide now. It says it's going to change just about everything, but particularly on this issue of the unaccompanied children and the extra humanitarian focus it puts on it. The administration keeps saying, you know, give us time. Do they have any more time it's time to act, is it not?

MICHAEL SHEAR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No, they don't have time. The -- I think they had hoped that they would -- that there wouldn't be a surge this early in the year normally, the surges in migrant travel come later in the spring, in the early summer, when the weather turns even a little bit better. They're -- you know, they're confronted with a situation that they can't solve in the short term, all of their solutions are longer -- medium and longer term solutions including the increase in facilities run by Health and Human Services, which takes time. And flatly they just don't have anywhere to put these kids.

Our reporting the other day suggested that there were something like 3,000 kids at border facilities and with only a fraction of that number of beds in a more permanent, more appropriate facility that they could go to. And, you know, the administration officials that I talked to, they recognize this, they are avoiding calling it a crisis because they understand that's what Donald Trump did during four years to sort of gin up the idea of a crisis, to sort of ratchet up the idea that there needed to be more enforcement. They don't want to follow that model. But, you know, just simply not saying it's a crisis doesn't mean that that one doesn't exist and that's where they find themselves.

KING: Well, you raise an interesting point there, Michael, and let me go back to Rosa Flores on the border with that. The Democrats don't want to use the term crisis, Rosa. Your Republican Governor of Texas was at the border yesterday. He says this is a crisis of Joe Biden's making. It is a giant challenge. You can pick your term for it, call it a crisis, call it a problem, call it a challenge. How much of a complication is it that you have the polarization of the politics that Republican border state Governor say this is Biden's fault, and there's not any help if you will, coordination and communication?

FLORES: You know, John, the politics always gets in the way. I've been talking to sources here on the ground, and people were on the front lines and they will tell you that they have worked for multiple administrations, under Democrats, under Republicans and the men and women of the Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection. They work day in and day out, regardless of who's in the White House or regardless of the administration. They've told me over the years that they are here to serve the people of the United States of America, Americans to protect the United States.

And so, while politicians go back and forth, calling it a crisis, calling it a challenge, downplaying it or upplaying (ph) it for the people, the men and women that I'm hoping to talk to you more here on the ground, that does not matter.

[12:45:02]

What they hope for is for the truth and the transparency to be forthright so that they can get the resources necessary here on the ground to deal with the situation regardless of what politicians call it. John?

KING: It would be nice to at least have the time and race was focused on the people, not the politics, we shall see. That's always a difficult issue. Rosa Flores in the border Michael Shear, appreciate your reporting and your insights.

Up next for us, what the big Biden COVID relief plan means for you and for your family finances.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:14]

KING: The COVID relief plan that will clear the House of Representatives and head to the White House in just a few minutes is a big political win for the new President. But it's also a giant boon to struggling families that includes potentially life altering money. Distribution of $1,400 stimulus checks is the big headline, grabbing larger child's care tax credits in the bill and a $300 jobless benefit extended now through September dramatically grows the federal safety net. And for millions of pandemic where the Americans it means they can worry a little less about affording food and rent.

Let's discuss the details now with Michelle Singletary, she's a personal finance columnist for The Washington Post. Michelle, grateful for your time today. It's very important that people understand what's coming and it's clearly very popular. We have a new poll out today. 76 percent of Americans favor the new stimulus checks. 85 percent favor these new tax credits. Help me from your understanding of the bill and your interaction with your readers and your followers on Twitter, what does somebody out there need to do to make sure that they get what they are eligible for?

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, WASH. POST SYNDICATED PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, "THE COLOR OF MONEY": So for the most part, you won't have to do anything if you've already filed your 2019 return, and hopefully, your 2020 return. Especially if you had a disruption in your income or you lost your job in 2020, maybe you had a child, you want to get that return as soon as possible to 2020 return because their Iris (ph) is going to pull that information to make those payments. And you don't want to get caught in this backlog, so that's one thing. If you haven't already filed, you want to go ahead and do that.

KING: And help me understand from your perspective, if you listen to Democrats pushing the bill and I've watched a bunch of social scientists, people think-tanks who've studied this, they use terms like transformative. They think in terms of child hunger, which we've seen dreadfully rise during the pandemic, it will make a big difference. They talked about the child tax credit as being potentially transformative for women in the workplace. When you look at the details, what jumps out as you as most significant?

SINGLETARY: I think the two things you just mentioned that $1,400. And here's what's new in this third round, and the first two it was for children, that is that it went to children 16 or younger. And now, any dependent that you have, regardless of age. So that's college students, that there are many people taking care the disabled adult child, there are people taking care of their elderly parents, they will get a payment if they are dependent on a tax credit (ph), that's just game changing for so many families.

I mean, you've got a 17-year-old, 18-year-old, they are still living in the house, maybe your teenagers in college or at the house, now you've got more expenses, they may have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. And so, I understand that there are a lot of deficit hawks, it's like this is horrible, this is horrible. I bet you, not a single one of them have actually sat down with someone who has had a financial disaster because of this COVID. I have, I run a ministry at my church and meet with hundreds of people and I know that they need this money.

And I think I need to also say that this is a one-time thing. These people are not sitting around waiting for government to hand them a check. They just need a hand up. You don't want to hand out, give me a hand up. And this will do that for them.

KING: As you say that, reminded one of the Republican criticisms is that this is somehow going to disincentivize work, that people are going to be getting checks or getting tax credits even if they don't even come so they won't work. Do you believe it-- is it enough money to disincentivize work or does it actually make work in some cases easier because, you know, you got a little help?

SINGLETARY: That is just such an idiotic point of view. And again, they actually work with people who are out of work, they want a job. People who are unemployment know that those benefits in. And in fact, if you are unemployed, and your employer calls you back, you can say no, I'm getting this check from the government, you have to go back to work. Even by law that it doesn't make any sense. Listen, people want a way to get through this pandemic, they lost their job so no fault of their own. And this will help (INAUDIBLE) people roof over their head, food on a table and it'll give them a little breathing room so they don't have to panic about being evicted or making their mortgage payment or feeding their children.

Right now, we need to be focusing on helping these people lifted them out of poverty so that that when things go back to normal they won't be so far behind. Let's think about that. If you haven't had this money, now you're far behind. It's going to take once longer to catch up when things go back together, when things go back to normal. KING: Michelle Singletary, grateful for your insights and expertise. And I recommend to anybody out there watching read the columns. We'd be look at Michelle's twitter feed right now if you have questions about this, she's answered some great questions from followers last night about. Thank you for your time. Appreciate it.

SINGLETARY: And online chat tomorrow at noon in Washington Post background (ph), so if people have questions about the details, please come on in and I'll be available for about an hour at noon to take all your questions.

[12:55:10]

KING: There you go. I appreciate it very much.

Up next for us, President Biden gets another Cabinet pick confirmed by the Senate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: And before we go this hour, the Senate just moments ago voting to confirm the Ohio Democratic Congresswoman Marcia Fudge as the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. She was confirmed 66 to 34, adding another African American woman to President Joe Biden's Cabinet.

The Senate expected later this afternoon to vote also to confirm Biden's pick for attorney general, Merrick Garland.

I'm grateful for your time today. See you tomorrow. Brianna Keilar starts right now.

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