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Melissa Has Top Winds Of 185 Mph, One Of Strongest Storms Ever; Monster Cat 5 Hurricane Melissa Barrels Into Jamaica; Major Shakeup Planned At ICE As Admin. Demands More Arrests; Border Patrol Commander Defends Himself To Chicago Judge. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired October 28, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

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DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Welcome to Inside Politics. I'm Dana Bash in Washington. And the breaking news that we are following is Hurricane Melissa about to make landfall in Jamaica as a category five storm, packing winds of 185 miles an hour. It's already one of the most powerful storms on record.

Officials have been pleading with Jamaicans to evacuate the National Hurricane Center bluntly called this morning the, "last chance to protect your life." With an expected 13-foot storm surge, 40 inches of rain and widespread flash flooding, Melissa is expected to obliterate everything in its path.

Let's get straight to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, who is live in Kingston, Jamaica. Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Dana, getting this advisory and new information in from the National Hurricane Center, it is just unfathomable to think what is occurring on the western side of this country right now. We're in Kingston, the nation's capital.

We are about 100 miles to the east of where the core, the strongest part of this high end, category five hurricane is coming ashore as we speak. Conditions here are tough. They're brutal, but it's nowhere near what they're experiencing on the western side of this country, this great, great country of Jamaica.

Let me just put it into context for you. 185 miles per hour. And I want to get this correct because this information is coming to me as we speak. And a central pressure of 892 millibars, remember that is a measure of strength, more or less, but this is going to make this in terms of the wind speed, the second strongest storm in the Atlantic Basin's history, trailing only Hurricane Allen, which was 190 miles per hour.

It's tied for four other storms, for the strongest storm to ever form in history. And my problem with this is, besides the obvious, this storm is strengthening on its final approach into the country. I've covered a lot of hurricanes, and believe me, when it's -- when it's strengthening on this approach, as it's coming into the coastline, that is when it is most dangerous. So, the threats that are posed across this country are basically endless, but when we talk about the core of the storm, the eye wall moving ashore in the St. Elizabeth parish, that's where we believe some of the worst impacts could be. This area will be struck by catastrophic winds that will isolate communities for days.

The wind will strip the foliage off the trees, rip bark off of trees. If it doesn't topple it over completely, it will make roads impassable because of the heavy rain and flash flood, and mudslides that will occur in this area that will also be met with storm surge along the coast. I've been kind of using this analogy through the course of my reporting.

But with the rain that comes down the mountainside reaches the coastline, because it's got to go downhill, right? It reaches the storm surge, the highest impact on that right quadrant of the hurricane. Those two opposing forces are going to force the water up into those vulnerable low lying coastal communities on the south coast of Jamaica, where this is making landfall as we speak. So, I'm particularly concerned about that area.

The implications go beyond the obvious destruction and the potential loss of life. What about the economic impacts, Dana. This is hitting the breadbasket of Jamaica. If it knocks out the agriculture over the western portions of the country, that will have implications going on down the road once this country tries to recover from this devastating storm.

BASH: And Derek, before I let you go, it's obviously very quiet where you're standing now. Is it your experience that people have been able to evacuate. Obviously, it's very difficult. It is an island.

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VAN DAM: I spoke to the prime minister yesterday of Jamaica, and he told me about the over 800 shelters, evacuation shelters that they were activated across the country. They were bussing people, using school busses to get them from the vulnerable communities into the shelters. Can they get everybody? Likely not. Will everybody leave? Probably not.

So, there are just this huge vulnerable population, many Jamaicans live across coastal areas of this country. And so, with the incoming cat five storm, you can only imagine what they're going through right now.

BASH: No, I can't imagine. Obviously, you are the expert. You have certainly been through hurricanes before, but as your colleague and friend, I just want to say, please be safe. Thank you so much, Derek. Appreciate that reporting.

VAN DAM: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: And now I want to turn to the CNN weather center, that's where CNN meteorologist Chris Warren is. Chris, our understanding is that landfall is imminent. CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we can say that landfall is actually happening right now. Landfall is technically when the center of the eye, that kind of pinhole here on the pinwheel, once the center of it gets over land that's technically landfall. But right now, where this little circle is within the big circle, this is where the most dangerous catastrophic part of the storm is right now, and it is moving on shore, and right in here, you can see it.

Now, a few miles will make a huge difference. Now, here's Derek over here, with wind sustained at 25 miles an hour, but in here, winds could be gusting stronger than 200 miles an hour. That would be right here on the eye wall, right on the edge, right in that the bright color there, the yellow, the green and the orange.

And then it gets not quite as strong, but still damaging, if not devastating, and the farther away from you get, the damage will be less. Still significant, still power outages and possibly communities cut off because of this storm.

Let's take a closer look at what this hurricane is doing to which particular areas. Here is the forecast for the color -- the track of it, the center of it, is going a little bit more to the left. But some of these low lying areas and these communities susceptible, not just to the wind, but also, Dana, the surge of ocean water, excuse me, of the Gulf water, the sea water, I should say the Caribbean Sea coming in while. Dana, the rain is coming out of the mountain, so flooding across the island is a huge concern.

BASH: All right. Thank you so much, Chris. Appreciate that. And joining me now is Desmond McKenzie, the Jamaican minister for local government. Thank you so much for joining us. Obviously, this is a very, very tense time for you and people in Jamaica. We just saw our colleague Derek Van Dam in Kingston. That's the eastern side of the island. What are you hearing about conditions on the western side because that is where the hurricane's eye is coming ashore?

DESMOND MCKENZIE, JAMAICA MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: Good afternoon, and thanks for having me. Let me say that the event is actually taking place, as your meteorologist just said. The western part of the island have already started to experience severe weather conditions, and as the eye get closer, we are expecting that to intensify. As predicted, there will be extensive damage beyond our imagination in that section of the island, and it is something that we would never plan for.

We have been working on evacuation some close to some 60,000 Jamaicans have been evacuated from various designated areas, all our 80 -- all our 881 shelters are up and running. The numbers have been increasing in our shelters over the last couple of days.

What is left for us now is to wish for the best, hope for the best in terms of the outcome, because the government has done all that it can up to this point, and we are still moving persons in sections where the windows allow us the opportunity to do so. But as I said before, we are anticipating the worst, but we are a strong country of resilience, and we can only hope for the best. BASH: Yeah, that is for sure. So, as you are speaking, and the hurricane is -- has made landfall, and you said you've done what you can do. What is your biggest concern right now? I'm sure there are a lot of them, but what is top of the list?

MCKENZIE: The biggest concern is that the St. Elizabeth is, what is the breadbasket of the country. That is where our main strength in agriculture comes from. The area also has some level of tourism activity. So that section of the island was -- will greatly affect the Jamaican economy in terms of its productivity, in terms of revenues, especially that we gain from tourists in the country.

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So, in general, the entire country, we are going to experience something that you have never experienced before. But I am firm believer in the strength of the Jamaican people and our ability to rise out of adverse positions. But the concerns I have is for the many communities that will be affected, and the possibility of loss of life and extensive damage to household and other infrastructure across sections of the country.

BASH: Well, on that note, you said 60,000 people in shelters. Last night you said, many Jamaicans are not evacuating. What is the situation like with -- I'm not sure if you even have the numbers or even the idea of people who have gone to shelters versus not.

MCKENZIE: Right. We do have some numbers as to the persons that are in our shelters. But I did say that close to 60,000 Jamaicans would have been evacuated out of areas, not necessarily in our shelters, but could have gone to see a higher ground with family and friends and those who are in the shelters.

We do have challenges in convincing persons, but we have seen an upturn in the numbers of Jamaicans who have listened to the call and have moved out of communities. We have provided transport right across the country to take persons out of these areas. And we have also issued a mandatory vacation order that allows us to, you know, to go in and to assist persons in getting out.

But as I said before, we are at the stage now, where the windows are most closed. Not every section is feeling the effects yet, because here in Kingston, it is not as bad as it can -- as it is in other parts of the country. But for me, I am hoping and praying that, you know, we are not that badly affected, although the signs are there, but you're still trusting and hoping.

The government, yes--

BASH: Everybody is hoping -- everybody is hoping and praying. I just wanted to ask you before I let you go because I know how busy you are. Given the fact that this is something you've said over and over that Jamaica has not seen ever. What kind of help are you anticipating needing from your neighbors and friends like the United States?

MCKENZIE: Well, the United States have been very close with us. They are part of our disaster response mechanism. We have gotten good assistance. The question of building materials, food supplies, generators, bedding, roofing materials. There's a long list that have been provided of our needs that has been sent out to our partners right across the world through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign trade, that you know will becomes necessary.

The getting up our electricity service back is also going to be an area of priority. So, the calls are -- have already been made. The contacts have been made in terms of what our needs are, because based on the experience coming out of peril, we do have an idea of what our needs are. Because as I said before, and we need sincerely, a whole lot of prayers at this time.

BASH: All right. Desmond McKenzie, Jamaican Minister of Local Government and Community Development, we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. And just like you have said, we are hoping and praying that things don't end up as bad as everybody fears.

MCKENZIE: Thank you so much.

BASH: And we're going to bring you all the latest updates and forecasts as Hurricane Melissa batters Jamaica. Up next. We have new reporting on a planned shakeup at ICE, as President Trump pushes to ramp up immigration arrests.

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BASH: The battle over immigration enforcement. Is it too aggressive or not enough? Well, that depends entirely on whom you ask. Right now, in Chicago, a federal judge is questioning the top border patrol official over concerns about agents' aggressive tactics. The Trump administration is demanding more arrests as it plans a major shakeup at ICE.

My great panel of reporters is here, including Priscilla Alvarez, and you have some great new reporting. You can read it on cnn.com about this shakeup because there's a lot of frustration inside the White House about the fact that there haven't been enough arrests.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. It has been pretty consistent over the last several weeks and months that the White House and immigration and customs enforcement are tense. The situation is tense between them because the White House set very lofty goals at the beginning of the year of 3000 arrests a day.

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Now that is a high bar for an agency that had not been operating at those levels, and they have been just under that on most days. And so, the administration has pushed out federal agents to try to bolster their efforts, and that includes U.S. Border Patrol. Here's why that matters, because now the administration and the White House in particular, as well as leadership at the Department of Homeland Security has seen what U.S. Border Patrol does when they're on the streets. We've seen the roving patrols, for example, and home depots and car washes.

So, this has ignited a conversation within the administration to now reassign half of the field directors for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, so the head of each of these offices with potentially Border Patrol officials. Now, my sources can't recall a time that that's ever been done before, but it gives us--

BASH: Forgive me.

ALVAREZ: Yeah.

BASH: So, they're moving officials who were at the border to the interior.

ALVAREZ: And they have been in the interior, but they are moving ICE folks out so that Border Patrol officials go in. So, two separate agencies, even if their missions are similar. What this tells us is that they want a more aggressive crackdown. The way that ICE has been working and has historically worked is not enough for this administration. They want to turn the page now, seemingly with these changes.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security has said that they have nothing to announce at this time. My sources say, plans are not being finalized, but what we are getting indications of is a new phase here, a more aggressive one that is similar to what we see in Chicago and Los Angeles, which is why today's hearing with Vivino is so important.

BASH: And I want to get back to that in one second, but let's just talk about the politics of this David. Just to kind of go back to a poll last month by the New York Times, asking the question about deportation of immigrants living illegally in the United States, a majority, 54 percent, more than majority say that they support that. But the question of how it is done, it's a different story. The actions that they are taking gone too far, 51 percent about right, 35 not far enough, 12 percent.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yeah. I mean, that has been the story of this issue during this administration, which is there is clear support for deporting illegal immigrants out of this country, broadly, but the how matters. And so, when you say Priscilla that this signals a more aggressive approach. My immediate from a political perspective, my immediate question is, well, I see two things here about how this may play broadly politically as we approach the 2026 midterm year.

One, it's a fulfillment on Donald Trump's mission to make the election about immigration and crime, not about the economy, not about prices, not about healthcare. So, it's issue-directional where he has said he wants to move the conversation. But two, if the how matters, and the public is skeptical of it, and it gets more aggressive, is there a potential backlash here? Obviously, I'm not talking about his core supporters, but with independents and moderates who are going to be critical to Republicans trying to maintain their majorities.

BASH: Asma?

ASMA KHALID, CO-HOST, THE GLOBAL STORY PODCAST, BBC: The how, I think is really interesting, and I think of this on two fronts. One is, I just recently did an interview with Mohsen Mahdawi. He's one of these people who was picked up because of free speech concerns around, you know, Palestinian protests on campus.

His case is now back in the courts, because the argument is essentially overdue process. And whether immigrants who are in this country legally or not have any sort of due process in free speech rights. This is a court case that is ongoing in terms of litigation, and it's one I think, that gets at this question of how. Whether or not, the American public, majority of them say it seems want to see folks deported. I think there is some belief in the United States historically around due process and how this is carried out.

ALVAREZ: And not to belabor this point, but the how is also important to the president. The president has struggled when there are farm workers that are caught up in these actions. Just this week, he said that he didn't agree with the way that ICE did their reign in the plan in Georgia, now affecting his relationship with South Korea. So, this does go beyond the domestic--

BASH: I just want to give some news about the hearing that is going on as we speak. The judge there, the Judge Sara Ellis, just said that the Border Patrol official who is, you know, running things there in Chicago has to appear in court every single day.

ALVAREZ: Yeah. She actually started this hearing saying she wasn't going to micromanage, but she certainly just made clear that she has a microscope on Bovino and the federal agents in that city. She asked him to come every day at 6 pm to give a rundown of what happened that day, because there have been so many controversial confrontations between the federal agents and protesters, which was really a genesis of this lawsuit.

The hearing so far has not necessarily been tense, but certainly she is concerned that her temporary restraining order on the way that the federal agents respond to protesters has been violated in some form, for example, the use of tear gas and other tactics.

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And the reason that everyone is paying attention to this is because Gregory Bovino is not going away. He was in Los Angeles. He was in Chicago. He's the guy the administration wants to lead the federal crackdown. So, this hearing is important for Chicago and the way that the situation is handled there, but it could go beyond that.

BASH: And just -- I'm sure a lot of people who are watching this are aware he also was recorded throwing tear gas himself. ALVAREZ: Which is why he was asked to testify, and that has been part of the exchange going on today, and how they can try to avoid those situations in the future. While, again, she wants to give some discretion to the federal agents themselves.

CHALIAN: By the way, just to add to these confrontations, the political counterweight to this, J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois, who's clearly thinking about a presidential one has urged everyone in Chicago. Take out your cameras, record everything that he's engaging on the more confrontational battlefield that the administration is creating by urging everyone to document--

BASH: Well, everybody standby, coming up. We have more breaking news. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ordering immediate strikes in Gaza. We're going to have the latest details after the break.

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