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Isa Soares Tonight
U.K. Delivers Multiple Long-Range Missiles To Ukraine; Death Toll Rising In Conflict Between Israel And Gaza Militants; U.S. Title 42 Immigration Policy Set To Expire In Hours; Migrants Line Up At Border As Title 42 Expires Tonight; Trump Repeats Election Lies, Dodges On Ukraine And Abortion Ban, The Rise Of AI And The 2024 U.S. Elections. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired May 11, 2023 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, Ukraine finally gets its wish for long-
rage cruise missiles with a shipment from the U.K. Could this be a game- changer on the battlefield? Then no sign yet of a ceasefire between Israel and militants in Gaza as the death toll rises after days of violence. We
are live for you in Jerusalem.
Plus, just hours to go until the end of America's Title 42 border policy. We'll explore what this means for those seeking asylum in the U.S. But
first tonight, Ukraine's president says it's not quite the time to begin the long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces. Mr. Zelenskyy
telling the "BBC", Ukraine is still waiting on deliveries of western weapons, armored vehicles and air defense systems from its western allies.
And he says timing is key. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (through translator): Yes, we're still expecting some things. They will reinforce our counteroffensive. And
most importantly, they will protect our people. We're expecting armored vehicles. They arrive in batches. We can advance with what we've got, and I
think we can be successful. But we will lose a lot of people. I think that is unacceptable. We need to wait. We need a bit more time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: But support is coming. The United Kingdom has just delivered multiple long-range cruise missiles called Storm Shadows. The Kremlin is
condemning the delivery, saying its military will provide, quote, "an adequate response". Our Sam Kiley joins me now from Kyiv. And Sam, Ukraine
then has these new weapons from U.K., it's making gains in Bakhmut. But Zelenskyy says he wants more time for this counteroffensive. Put it all
into context for us here.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the Storm Shadow development is very significant indeed. The Ukrainians had been
asking for some time for the capability to reach deep into the Russian lines and try to break the back of the logistics chain in Russia. This
weapon can do that.
It's long-range, no doubt, but the Brits would have demanded from Ukraine an undertaking that it would never be used against Russian territory. That
would be seen as a significant escalation. But there are plenty of targets it can hit at range inside Russian-held Ukraine. So, that is a step forward
from the Ukrainian perspective.
The sort of step-forward, once that becomes operational, that would be very significant in prosecuting this offensive that Mr. Zelenskyy is saying is
not yet quite ready to be launched. But that is not necessarily meaning that the Russians aren't making their own precautions. That includes plans,
perhaps, to evacuate even the nuclear experts that they've imported into the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station when they captured it last March.
This is what the head of the Ukrainian nuclear industry said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETRO KOTIN, HEAD, ENERGOATOM: They're probably right now are trying to be prepared for quick, and getting out of there. And also, personnel of
Rosatom recently may -- this is the real -- owns a very quick packing of everything and just getting into the cars and get out of the plant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: Now, clearly, that kind of rehearsal for a sudden evacuation, even of the nuclear engineers working there from Russia, is a sign that
reinforces what we've heard from Russian officials and Ukrainians, saying that Russians are evacuating a lot of frontline villages in the south of
the country in anticipation of a future offensive.
They are also conducting -- this is the Russians, a counteroffensive operations, particularly with artillery hitting a large number of Ukrainian
villages on the other side of that frontline. And as you rightly point out there in Bakhmut, recently, in the last 48 hours, the Ukrainians seem to
have exploited poor communications at the very least between different elements within the Russian Armed Forces and the Wagner Mercenary Group,
Isa, to make some significant gains there.
SOARES: And speaking of Bakhmut, the Wagner leader Prigozhin who as you and I have discussed in the last couple of days, has been lambasting now
the Kremlin for a lack of hardware for his soldiers in Bakhmut. He says Sam, that this counteroffensive is already underway.
[14:05:00]
So talk to us about the elements of shadow boxing, misdirection, bluff here are being used potentially right now.
KILEY: Well, I think, he's the leader of a murderous mercenary organization that has been identified by numerous countries, lately by
France as a terrorist organization. So let's not give any credence to anything he might say, unless it's coincident with what his enemies agree
is happening on the ground. Now, what they both agree on is that, there have been some significant gains made by Ukraine on the western and
southern flanks of Bakhmut.
Now, his reasons for explaining that away can be discounted, because he is a notorious figure. But what we are seeing though, agreement from him that
these gains made by Ukraine have occurred. Who's to blame for them? He blames the Russian military machinery for failing to provide his men with
enough artillery, and indeed, accuses various Russian units of cowardice.
As far as the Ukrainians concerned and their own report is on the ground, agree on this, there doesn't seem to be any reduction in the amount of
artillery being fired by the Russians against Ukrainian targets. If anything, the Ukrainians are reporting an uptick in artillery use along
that area of the frontline in the east. So, I think that Prigozhin frankly is getting too much publicity.
He's a big player in all of this, and may well now be one that is being effectively, militarily, if not, sidelined and potentially crushed. Isa?
SOARES: Such important context and analysis there from our Sam Kiley. Thanks very much, Sam. Well, let's talk then more about the Storm Shadow
Cruise Missiles that have just arrived in Ukraine. Neil Melvin is director of International Security Studies for the British think-tank, RUSI, he
joins me here in London. Neil, great to have you back on the show. Let's talk then about exactly where -- about these new missiles that have come
in.
Until now of course, we've been used to the U.S. HIMARS, now we've got these Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles. Talk to us about what -- you know, how
strong they are, how they are in terms of operation, how they're used, and what's so important about these right now.
NEIL MELVIN, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES, RUSI: Yes, I mean, your correspondent, I think said that these could be a game-changer.
SOARES: Yes --
MELVIN: Certainly, they're going to be very significant. I think there are three real reasons. One is that they're high precision. So you can fire
them from a long way away, but they hit with pinpoint accuracy. So they'll be taking out targets like headquarters, they can take out logistical hubs,
railway hubs, places where the Russians are stockpiling equipment.
Secondly, they also are ground-penetrating. So they have a double warhead. The first warhead punches a hole through and the second one follows
through. So, actually, if you're in a bunker underground, this missile can penetrate underground and actually hit targets there. So, again, that
combination of precision and deep penetration makes them unique. And the third one is they're air-launched. So it doesn't --
SOARES: Yes --
MELVIN: Have to just be launched over land, you'll see when you look at the map --
SOARES: I'll bring it up, yes --
MELVIN: Of Ukraine, you know, all of these sea spaces, you can potentially launch missiles from anywhere around here. Which means that they could come
in from behind Russian lines --
SOARES: Yes --
MELVIN: They don't have to come in from the front as the artillery is being --
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: By jets, and how do we know? How many jets the Ukrainians have for this?
MELVIN: Well, they have Soviet jets still --
SOARES: Yes --
MELVIN: But some countries have just provided them more, Poland has just given them ten more, Slovakia has given them more, so don't know the exact
numbers, but the U.K. has given a significant number of these, and these have been adapted to the Soviet jets, this is why it's taken a little bit
of time to get them into the field, it's because these are designed for western jets, they'd have to re-engineer them to fit on their Soviet ones -
-
SOARES: And one of the reasons, of course, in terms of specs that it is a game-changer perhaps, is the missile range --
MELVIN: Yes --
SOARES: Up to now, we've seen HIMARS going at 80 kilometers. Of course, these two lines can shift, like you said, if it's taken from down here.
Talk to us about the difference this will make, the Storm Shadow missile.
MELVIN: Well, because they're air-launched, so these lines can go -- they can cover the whole of Ukraine now.
SOARES: Yes --
MELVIN: So Russian forces anywhere in Ukraine will not be safe from this. So, the battle space in one-go has expanded to the whole of Ukraine. And
that's what Ukrainians have been wanting. As I mentioned, you can also come in behind the frontlines, which artillery has not been able to do.
SOARES: So, I'll bring the map up so you can see. So, in terms of space, it can move anywhere, really, within --
MELVIN: Exactly --
SOARES: Within the lines -- the Bakhmut, even coming all the way down even to Crimea.
MELVIN: So, all of the Russian logistical headquarters facilities in this area are now within range with these missiles. And why is that important?
Well, the counteroffensive everyone has been talking about, one of the key aspects for the Russians is going to be, can they coordinate their
response? Get the reserve forces to counter the Ukrainians when they come in with this new range? It means that the Russians have to move their
headquarters back further away from the frontline?
SOARES: How further back then? So, you need to -- you're talking about the Russian strategy. Now, Russia knows they have these. How is Russia going to
respond --
MELVIN: Well, potentially --
SOARES: To back of your movement --
MELVIN: Potentially, even into Russia itself, but certainly, they're going to have to disperse it.
SOARES: Yes --
[14:10:00]
MELVIN: And that means it's going to be much harder for the Russians to coordinate, because they're going to be further away from the frontline,
their headquarters maybe being hit -- and we saw this already when the HIMARS came in. That was one of the big impacts. The Russians have now
adapted. They've moved their office corps, back beyond the 80-kilometer range of HIMARS. Now, they've got something like 250 to maybe 300
kilometers away.
So by the time that they get the information that the Ukrainians attacking, it takes longer, they have to coordinate, and we saw this in thinking,
Bakhmut, again, as your correspondent saw --
SOARES: Let's bring in Bakhmut, yes --
MELVIN: This is exactly what the Ukrainians are going to be trying to do is break down the communications so that Russian units don't know what the
neighboring unit is doing. If the officer corps is a long way away, they're not hearing about it, and then you get disorder. And so, the Ukrainians
will be trying to find gaps in the Russian lines, to pull the Russians in different directions to catch them out. And then that's where we might see
sort of shock on all counterattacks which we're all waiting for.
SOARES: For the last couple of weeks I've been asking Sam and many of our correspondents here, Neil, you know, signs of this counteroffensive has
started. You heard from Zelenskyy today saying, you know, they need more time. Do you believe from what you have seen that it's already underway?
MELVIN: I think it is underway. But -- and we're seeing different phases. This is what's called the Shaping Phase now, which is, we have a very long
frontline going all the way from here up to here. The Russians have a lot of troops, maybe 300,000, but it's still a lot enough to protect that whole
frontline. So what the Ukrainians are trying to do is pull the Russians in different directions to open up gaps, you know, somewhere along this line,
because perhaps the Russians think the Ukrainians are attacking here, but really, that's a faint, so their main force can come here.
So Bakhmut is where we're seeing this already, we're seeing this more and more along the frontline where the Ukrainians are probing. They're looking
for gaps. They're trying to mis-communicate, and I think even what Zelenskyy is saying, they need a bit more time, that's also a little bit of
uncertainty, and the Russians, they don't know whether they're coming now or they're going to come in a couple of weeks --
SOARES: Right, that element of shadow-boxing --
MELVIN: Exactly --
SOARES: That I was speaking to Sam about. And of course, there's so much pressure on Zelenskyy to get this right with so many weapons being sent to
Ukraine. Neil Melvin, as always, great to have you here on the show --
MELVIN: Thank you --
SOARES: Appreciate it --
MELVIN: Yes --
SOARES: Thank you. Now, the death toll is only rising from days of violence between Israel and militants in Gaza. Israel is now reporting its
first fatality. It says a rocket fired from Gaza hit an apartment building in a city near Tel Aviv just a few hours ago, killing one person and
wounding five others. The IDF says militants have fired more than 500 rockets at Israel this week.
In Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry says at least six people were killed in an Israeli airstrikes today. The commander of Islamic Jihad's
rocket -- we know his deputy are among the dead. Palestinians say 28 people in all have been killed since Tuesday strikes began including women and
children. Let's get the latest from CNN's Ben Wedeman, he is live for us in Jerusalem.
And Ben, things are definitely ratcheting up, just bring us up to date with the very latest if you could.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, about two and a half hours ago, Isa, a rocket fired from Gaza hit an apartment building in
the town of Rehovot, which is just south of Tel Aviv, in that instance, wounding seven people, killing one civilian. Now, this is the first Israeli
fatalities since this outbreak of violence began just after midnight on Tuesday.
And this certainly does order for the possibility of an escalation by the Israelis. Now, what we saw that this was -- this barrage of rockets that
happened, that killed that one civilian and injured seven was in retaliation to an Israeli strike that -- actually, two strikes, one of
which killed the head of Islamic Jihad Rocket Unit Ali Hassan Ghali, and later in the day, killed his deputy.
And so Islamic Jihad put out a statement, saying that this was in retaliation. Now, we understand that there are efforts ongoing, led by
Egypt, to try to bring about some sort of ceasefire. But certainly, politically, in Israel, when an Israeli is killed, it often means that the
Israelis are going to ratchet up their operations, not the opposite. Isa?
SOARES: Yes, and we have some video, Ben, just coming in to us in the last few minutes, of outgoing rocket fire over the skies of Gaza. I want to show
this to our viewers. And you know, we heard from the IDF, that Islamic Jihad is the target, though, Hamas, Ben, as you can see there, has been
saying all Palestinian factions are participating in the resistance. Does this change then at all anything from Israel in terms of how it reacts?
WEDEMAN: Well, until now, Israel has been very specific, saying that Hamas has not been engaged in any of the missile strikes upon Israel.
[14:15:00]
And certainly, even though, there is a joint operations room, and Hamas has said this is a joint action against Israel, all evidence points to the fact
that Hamas, in fact, is on the sidelines in this latest round. Keeping in mind of course, that Hamas is the de facto government in Gaza.
It's responsible for the lives of more than 2 million people there. They can't necessarily afford to drag Gaza into yet another bout of bloodshed
and destruction along the lines of what we saw, for instance, back in 2021 when Hamas was involved or that long war back in the Summer of 2014. Isa?
SOARES: Ben Wedeman for us there, thanks very much, Ben. And it's been exactly one year since a bullet ended the life of Shireen Abu Akleh, and
her friends and family are still waiting for justice. The Palestinian- American journalist was shot in the head while covering an Israeli military operation in the West Bank. She was wearing a bulletproof vest clearly
marked press.
No one has ever been charged. A CNN investigation found evidence suggesting Abu Akleh was targeted by Israeli forces. Israel denies that, but says
there is quote, "a high possibility she was, quote, 'accidentally killed by Israeli fire.'" It says it won't prosecute anyone involved because quote,
"there was no suspicion of a criminal offense." From California to the Gulf of Mexico, the clock is ticking down on America's Title 42 border policy.
The controversial COVID-era rules are set to expire in just under 10 hours or so. Some are downplaying concerns about a surge in migration, but video
from earlier today shows people being loaded onto vehicles by officials in Texas, and many communities are bracing for a wave of new arrivals. That's
on top of course, of those already camped out on both sides of the border.
Title 42 was launched, if you remember, back in 2020 as the U.S. struggle to stop COVID-19. It lets authorities expel migrants on the border in the
name of public health, often, depriving them of their chance to claim asylum. But Title 42 carried few legal consequences. So if migrants were
pushed back, they could try to cross again. Once Title 42 ends, the U.S. returns to Title 8.
The U.S. Homeland Security Secretary has warned that Title 8 will carry more severe consequences. CNN's Nick Valencia is live at the U.S.-Mexican
border in Brownsville in Texas. And Nick, just give us a sense of what is happening behind you. It looks very busy.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been very busy throughout the entire week, but this perhaps, right now is the busiest that we've seen in
just in the last hour or so. There is bus after bus after bus. This is from immigration officials. The border patrol agents, after they detain migrants
across illegally in the open fields across the Rio Grande, they're processed and then they're released in some cases on humanitarian parole.
So what you're looking at here are family members that are waiting for their loved ones that they have no idea where they are right now, Isa.
These are mostly Venezuelan nationals, people that are fleeing the crisis, the dictatorship, they say, of President Maduro there, and they're showing
up on the streets of Brownsville. And this morning, when we got here, there were dozens and dozens of migrants sleeping on the streets.
That's because this respite center, this respite center run by team Brownsville, which is the main nonprofit here that helps out migrants, is
just completely overwhelmed. For the last two weeks, they've been taking in 800 to a 1,000 migrants. Yesterday, they took in 902, that included more
than 50 children. And we've seen children on the streets here with their parents in some cases, waiting for their fathers or their mothers that
they've been separated from.
And this is sort of the epicenter of the action, because I want to show you, as we walk over here, just off in the distance is the bus station. So
migrants stay here, sleeping on the streets in some cases to collect enough money to move on to their next destinations. We also know though that the
city of Brownsville is working with these NGOs to help get migrants to six main destinations, include Chicago, Brooklyn, Houston, Dallas, among
others, Miami.
All those cities are being requested by migrants to get help to get to. And the city is going to chip in with the work of buses and airlines in
cooperation with them. Speaking to the mayor last night, he says they are as prepared as they can be here in Brownsville, reminding us that they've
been dealing with this immigration issue really for decades. It's been on the frontline of this.
The mayor saying this is -- in some cases, business as usual, that Title 42 may bring an influx of migrants, but that's yet to be seen. And really, the
big question that we've been asking all week is yes, do you have a plan in place? But time will tell whether that plan will be effective --
SOARES: Yes --
VALENCIA: After Title 42 ends. Isa?
SOARES: Absolutely. Nick Valencia there for us in Brownsville, Texas. Great to see you, my friend, thank you very much. And we'll have more on
the U.S. border crisis later in the show where we'll speak with an asylum policy director on what a new ban really means for people seeking safety.
And still to come tonight, Pakistan's Supreme Court orders the release of Imran Khan, but the former prime minister won't be allowed to return to his
home.
[14:20:00]
We find out why? Plus, support is building behind a main opposition candidate in Sunday's Turkish elections. We look at President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan's chief rival, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Now, Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the immediate release of Imran Khan after ruling his arrest on corruption charges on Tuesday was
illegal. But the former prime minister won't be allowed to return to his residence. Our Sophia Saifi has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): It's been a tumultuous couple of days here in Pakistan, and on Thursday night, we're seeing that Imran Khan
has been released by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court announced this afternoon that Imran Khan's arrest was illegal, but the release is a bit
complicated. He hasn't been allowed to go back to his residence.
He is still staying at the police compound where he was being kept yesterday and the day before. The Pakistan Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court has come out and said that this is for security reasons. Imran Khan is going to appear before Islamabad high court on Friday, which is a lower
court here in this country. Pakistan's information minister, even before that ruling by the Supreme Court had come out and said that the court is
favoring Imran Khan, and that by allowing Khan to be released, they will be allowing Pakistan to burn.
There's been many days of protests, of violent protests in the country. The Pakistan government had called in the military, provincial government have
also called in the military, there are troops all over the capital as well as other major cities of the country. We're waiting to see whether there'll
be any further protests, when Khan was in court, Khan's party, the PTI had called for calm and peace and for no gathering, but we're hoping that, that
happens and that stays over the night, and stays also on Friday because Friday, as you know, is a day of afternoon prayers where people gather.
It's a half day. People have a holiday afternoon. So, there is fear of potential protest, potential clashes not with the police, but with the
military. And we're just going to have to wait and see how this plays out in an incredibly fraught time here in the country. Sophia Saifi, CNN,
Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:25:00]
SOARES: Well, Turkey's President and former Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set for what could be the toughest election fight of his career
this weekend. Supporters building behind his main opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. And we learned today another candidate, Muharrem Ince has
pulled out ahead of Sunday's vote, potentially helping Mr. Erdogan's chief rival. Our Jomana Karadsheh looks at the major challenge facing Turkey's
long-time leader.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sea of supporters rallying around their leader, and never has Recep Tayyip Erdogan
needed the more. It's a razor-thin race. The toughest he's ever faced.
And this is the man who may end Erdogan's 20-year grip on power. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, often addressing people in these videos from his modest
kitchen. The soft-spoken, calm, former civil servant is everything Erdogan isn't.
ASLI AYDINTASBAS, VISITING FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: I can't imagine two men who would be as opposed, as different as these two. The campaigns
are different too. Erdogan is promising to make Turkey great again, and really ruling out these, you know, baked weapon systems, Turkey's home-
grown defense industry and all of that. And Kilicdaroglu is pledging to be a uniter, and with a real focus on diversity.
KARADSHEH: Kilicdaroglu's CHP is Turkey's main opposition party. It's never won a presidential election against Erdogan, but this time, he's the
candidate of a united opposition, a diverse six-party coalition of seculars, conservatives, defectors from the ruling AK Party and
nationalists backed by Kurds.
ZIYA MERAL, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, RUSI: This is an exceptional moment where finally we have a Turkish opposition that is able to move beyond the
limitations of identity politics, which always works to the benefits of President Erdogan because you could count on the largest bloc of votes in
the Turkish cultural war sensitivities. And now they're fragmenting it with a much more inclusive agenda and a vision for the future.
KARADSHEH: With campaign videos promising quote, "Spring will come again", Kilicdaroglu and his coalition are promising to reverse years of one man
rule with a return to a parliamentary system from a presidential one, they say has eroded freedoms, hollowed out government institutions, and plunged
Turkey into deep economic trouble.
(on camera): For many, this goes beyond campaign promises. It's about moving away from divisive rhetoric. It's about softening positions and a
call for unity in this bitterly-polarized country.
(voice-over): The 74-year-old stunned Turks with this video that's been viewed more than a 100 million times. A call for setting differences aside,
and for the first time, speaking openly about his Alevi identity, a long- persecuted minority sect.
KEMAL KILICDAROGLU, TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): We will no longer talk about identities. We will talk about achievements.
We will no longer talk about divisions and differences, we will speak of our commonality and our common dreams. Will you join this campaign for this
change?
AYDINTASBAS: He's not asking Turks to pick him as the leader. He's asking Turkish citizens to pick a team that will lead Turkey into democracy and
economic transition. I think there is an overwhelming desire for change in society. That you can see with young people, women. What we don't know is
whether they think this is the time, and Kilicdaroglu is the guy.
KARADSHEH: And on Sunday, Turks will decide if they're ready for change, if they're ready to end the era of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Jomana Karadsheh,
CNN, Adana, Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And one quick programming note for you. Be sure to watch CNN special live coverage of the 2023 Turkey elections, that will be hosted by
my colleague, Becky Anderson, that is this Sunday, 7:00 p.m. in London, 9:00 p.m. if you're watching in Istanbul, right here, on CNN. And still to
come tonight, the clock is ticking towards a major change in how the U.S. handles migrants crossing the border. It is a change that has some migrants
hopeful, and some others worried. That story, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone.
We return now to one of our top stories. At midnight in the U.S., less than 10 hours from now, Title 42 will expire. It is expected to bring a flood of
people across the U.S.-Mexico border. Many hope the change will make it easier to get asylum.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): That's why we did it. To arrive on the state, because we're going to see if they're going to give us an
opportunity in this country because, in our countries, we cannot be safe with the people that are there. Unfortunately, our countries are very
beautiful but very unsafe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: In terms of context here, Title 42 is the pandemic-era rule that allowed the U.S. to quickly expel migrants due to the fear of COVID. Once
that ends, the U.S. will return to older laws known as Title 8. The U.S. Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, had this warning for those
thinking of making the journey just a short time ago. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I want to be very clear. Our borders are not open. People who cross our border unlawfully and
without a legal basis to remain will be promptly processed and removed.
Smugglers have been long hard at work, spreading false information that the border will be open. They are lying. To people who are thinking of making
the journey to our southern border, know this: smugglers care only about profits, not people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's go to the White House with the latest from CNN correspondent, Jeremy Diamond.
Jeremy, how is the administration then preparing for the end of Title 42?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just heard from the Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, here in the White
House Briefing Room. He came out with two key messages.
One, he wanted to convey to the migrants, the estimated 155,000 who are currently waiting in northern Mexico, potentially to cross the border, once
Title 42 expires, he wanted to make clear to them that the border is not open.
He laid out the consequences for those migrants who try to cross unlawfully, noting that this new asylum rule, which would essentially
presume that migrants are ineligible for asylum if they cross the border illegally and also, if they do not first seek asylum in other countries on
their way to the United States.
Meaning if they're coming from Central America, they have to first seek asylum in Mexico, for example.
The second message he came out with was arguing that, look, he understands that there are going to be challenges going forward with the expiration of
this law. But he said the administration has been preparing for two years now for the end of this policy. He laid out both the deterrence --
[14:35:00]
DIAMOND: -- aspect I was just talking about, they have worked on. And also, the efforts to surge resources there. I asked the secretary look, the
president just a couple days ago said the situation at the border is going to be chaotic when 42 expires.
How can that be, given those preparations?
And the secretary told me he is working with a broken immigration system, limited resources. So he called for Congress to take action.
And I asked him, have you done all you can to prepare for this?
He says he believes they have. Nonetheless, there are some of these measures, including those regional processing centers, for example, that
they cited the deterrence aspect, those aren't yet in place, despite the fact that they were announced a couple of weeks ago.
So there's certainly some issues here. It's going to be a major political test for the administration. We know already Republicans are crying foul in
terms of the administration's handling of this.
SOARES: That was definitely the standout, when I heard from him, when he said Homeland Security, Secretary Mayorkas said they are working with a
fundamentally broken immigration system. Jeremy Diamond, I appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Well, I'm joined now by Kennji Kizuka, the director for asylum policy at the International Rescue Committee, for more on what the new asylum ban
means.
Kennji, great to have you on the show. We have about 10 hours or so until the Title 42 will expire. Give us a sense of what this will mean, you fear,
for migrants, of course,, escaping conflict, escaping violence.
KENNJI KIZUKA, ASYLUM POLICY DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: Thank you so much. You know, it's still a little bit unclear what the
system will look like tomorrow. I think that has been part of what's contributed to some of the confusion at the border, that, for many asylum
seekers, some of whom have been waiting months for an opportunity to seek asylum, they just don't know what comes next.
So they are afraid. They're concerned for their families. And some of them are choosing to cross the border now in hopes of seeking asylum. Others are
waiting to see what comes next and, frankly, many of us are doing the same.
SOARES: And Kennji, just for our international viewers here, the new title, this new title, Title 8, from what I understand it allows migrants
to seek asylum.
But this is a long process, right?
From what I was reading, there's already a backlog of over 2 million cases. Talk to us about the challenges that this poses for migrants in terms of
finding work, shelter and so forth.
KIZUKA: That's right. Title 8 is the immigration section of the U.S. Code. Under that section, individuals who cross the border or who come to a port
of entry who are already inside the United States have a right to seek asylum.
Unfortunately, over the past few years, the asylum system has had an increasingly long backlog and wait for decisions in those cases. And in our
system, there are no supports for asylum seekers federally who are going through the asylum process.
And they also are not able to work until six months after filing their asylum application. This creates considerable difficulties for asylum
seekers, who are just trying to survive while waiting for their case to be decided. And those delays are really devastating for refugees who have been
separated from their family members.
They can't petition to reunite with them in the United States until their case is finished. So having a timely process is really crucial for asylum
seekers as well. And for the system here, so that people have confidence in that, so the public knows those decisions are being made in a correct way
and in a timely way.
SOARES: Yes. So I want to get your thoughts, then. I wonder what you make of this new program from the White House. It's called family expedite
removal management. Basically, it traps migrants through deportation or asylum process. It means that they will have to wear a GPS ankle monitor.
What do you make of this?
KIZUKA: So one of the things the Biden administration did when they came into office was based off the use of family detention. That was a really
welcome step. It marked a real shift from the prior administration.
There are alternatives to detention that are humane. One of them is something we call case management. That provides people with referrals,
with services, it's run by community based NGOs. It helps people understand the process.
And it doesn't require them to use the kinds of, frankly, very inhumane and intrusive security apparatus, like these ankle monitors, which some people
refer to as ankle shackles. They are frankly just not necessary.
There was a case management program under the Obama administration that was very successful. It solved 99 percent of people who participated in it,
attended their court hearings and go to their ICE check-ins.
[14:40:00]
KIZUKA: These kinds of invasive survivors technologies are just unnecessary and totally inhumane and much more costly in the end.
SOARES: I do wonder, for our viewers watching around the world, if there is a country that you believe, Kennji, has got it right when it comes to
how they manage, of course, the influx of migrants in terms of migration policy?
KIZUKA: You know, we're at the moment when displacement is at a high as we have not seen since World War II. And within the Americas, millions of
people are on the move from Venezuela, from Nicaragua, from El Salvador, Guatemala.
And many are hosted in neighboring countries. So I think we could look to Colombia as an example of a country that has provided temporary protected
status to Venezuelans who are in need of protection.
That provided them an opportunity to remain in the country, to have a path toward permanent residence, to be able to work, to enroll their children in
school, to get health care. And it was a process that's been much more efficient and much faster than putting people through what has proved to
be, in the U.S., a much slower asylum process.
So I think there are programs like that, that the U.S. should look to in order to provide protection and a humane way for people to remain while
they are unable to return to their countries.
SOARES: Kennji Kizuka, thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us, from El Paso, Texas. Thank you.
KIZUKA: Thank you.
SOARES: And still to come tonight, the first town hall of the U.S. presidential race. Donald Trump for now is the Republican front-runner. We
will fact check some of his shocking claims.
And then a little later, we'll look at a potential game-changer for children with peanut allergies, a skin patch with promising results. That's
next.
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SOARES: German police have arrested a man suspected of setting off an explosion at a residential building. The blast took place in the western
town of Ratingen. Special forces found a woman's dead body after storming the 57 year old man's apartment.
Now officials say a dozen police officers and firefighters were injured in the explosion. No word yet on a possible motive. We'll stay on top of that
story for you, of course.
The first town hall of the U.S. presidential race featured Republican front-runner Donald Trump. But it seems like his third bid for the White
House will be a lot like the first two. The former U.S. president repeated his claims --
[14:45:00]
SOARES: -- that a 2020 presidential election, which he undeniably lost, was, quote, "rigged." Jeff Zeleny has the night's takeaways for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former president Donald Trump picked up where he left off, lying about the 2020
election.
DONALD TRUMP, 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT: That was a rigged election. And it's a shame that we had to go through it.
ZELENY (voice-over): Trump made clear his 2024 Presidential bid would follow the same script of his two previous campaigns, presenting himself as
a defiant messenger, unburdened by facts and unwilling to move on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you suspend polarizing talk of election fraud during your run for President.
TRUMP: Yes, unless I see election fraud. If I see election fraud, I think I have an obligation to say it.
[08:15:00]
ZELENY (voice-over): He falsely said Vice President Mike Pence could have acted to overturn the election results as the vote was certified on January
6. Trump said he did not owe Pence an apology for failing to call off supporters who threatened his life as they stormed the building.
TRUMP: No, because he did something wrong. He should have put the votes back to the state legislatures and I think we would have had a different
outcome.
WAYNE BEYER, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: But my question to you is, will you pardon the January 6, rioters who were convicted of federal offenses.
TRUMP: I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can say for every single one because a couple of them probably they got out of control.
ZELENY (voice-over): The audience of Republican voters at St. Anselm College applauded for much of the night. Even as Trump belittled and
demeaned Former Magazine Columnist E. Jean Carroll, a day after a New York jury found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming her.
TRUMP: --I have no idea who to hell, she's a--
ZELENY (voice-over): Press by Kaitlan Collins about whether the verdict would deter women from voting for him. He said this?
TRUMP: No, I don't think so.
ZELENY (voice-over): Yet some Republicans believe otherwise. Like New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu who is considering a Presidential bid of
his own.
CHRIS SUNUNU, NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR: If you're a suburban mom, all these voters that Republicans are trying to bring back into the mix. I don't see
any of them being convinced by anything because it was just kind of a same old regurgitation.
ZELENY (voice-over): Seven months before voting begins in the Republican Presidential primary. Trump is leading the field, even as he faces multiple
legal challenges over interfering in the 2020 election and more.
TRUMP: I just want to find--
ZELENY (voice-over): Once again, he struck a defensive tone about that now infamous call to the Georgia Secretary of State searching for votes to put
him over the top against Joe Biden, who narrowly won the state.
TRUMP: That election was rigged. And if this call was bad, why didn't he and his lawyers hang up?
How dare you saying that?
This was a--
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were clearly concerned enough, they recorded the call--
ZELENY (voice-over): He brushed aside questions about another probe involving classified documents taken to Mar-a-Lago.
COLLINS: When it comes to your documents, did you ever show those classified documents to anyone?
TRUMP: Not really, I would have the right to by the way, they were declassified after--
COLLINS: What do you mean by not really?
TRUMP: Not that I can think of, let me just tell you, I have the absolute right to do whatever I want with them. I have the right.
ZELENY (voice-over): That,, of course, remains an open question and a key part of a federal investigation. Trump took personal credit for the Supreme
Court decision overturning Roe versus Wade, citing his three appointments to the High Court.
TRUMP: That was, very honored to do it.
ZELENY (voice-over): But he repeatedly dodged questions about whether he would sign a federal abortion ban.
TRUMP: I'm looking at a solution that's going to work very complex issue for the country. You have people on both sides of an issue.
ZELENY (voice-over): On foreign policy, Trump once again showed his affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin declining to call for his
punishment for leading the invasion of Ukraine.
TRUMP: If you say he's a war criminal, it's going to be a lot tougher to make a deal to get this thing set up.
TRUMP: He also declined to say who he wants to prevail in the war, despite the U.S. and allies investing billions to help Ukraine defeat Russia.
COLLINS: Do you want Ukraine to win this war?
TRUMP: I don't think in terms of winning and losing, I think in terms of getting it settled. So we stopped killing all these people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And that was chief U.S. national affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny.
Still to come tonight, a potential treatment for toddlers for one of the most common and dangerous food allergies. What we know about this new
study, that is next.
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[14:50:00]
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SOARES: Welcome back, everyone.
Well, we've heard all about commercial space trips. Now a race is heating up to develop the first commercial space station.
A California company called Vast says it aims to launch one as early as 2025. The station, dubbed Haven One, would go up in a rocket developed by
SpaceX. Vast is still looking for the full paying crew members on its maiden mission. Other private companies are developing their space
stations.
One thing is still unclear, how much, of course, it will cost to go up there. That, of course, is the big question.
Now the 2024 U.S. presidential election season is ushering in the use of artificial intelligence in campaigns. Republicans were first out of the
gate with this AI ad depicting President Joe Biden as a leader of a dystopian society.
So will voters be able to know what's real and what's fake?
Our Brian Todd has a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: Hey, it's Tucker Carlson.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just days after being fired from Fox News, right wing provocateur Tucker Carlson announced a new show
on Twitter with a conspiratorial take on the news we consume.
CARLSON: At the most basic level, the news you consume is a lie. You are being manipulated.
TODD (voice-over): This from the man who repeatedly laid out baseless theories on his Fox show.
CARLSON: FBI operatives were organizing the attack on the Capitol.
TODD (voice-over): The man whose platform Carlson could soon be joining, Twitter CEO Elon Musk, tweeted that they haven't signed a deal yet after
earlier tweeting, quote, trust nothing, not even nothing.
Seemingly reflective of what "Axios" in a new article calls the new "trust- nothing" era of American politics.
DARRELL WEST, TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS ANALYST, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: There's going to be a tsunami of disinformation in this election. It's
going to be hard to know what to trust. Viewers are not going to be able to distinguish the real from the fake.
TODD (voice-over): Take a recent ad produced by the Republican National Committee in response to President Biden's announcement that he's running
for reelection. Images in the ad were generated by artificial intelligence, AI and tick through a series of imagined dystopian scenarios if Biden wins.
RNC AD: This morning, an emboldened China invades Taiwan.
RNC AD: Financial markets are in freefall as 500 regional banks have shuttered their doors.
TIA MITCHELL, "THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION": TIA MITCHELL, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Right now, it's the wild, wild west, which
we saw in the RNC ad. Now if the RNC was transparent that it was AI but again the concern is other people won't be as transparent.
TODD (voice-over): AI and the potential that it will spread misinformation is such a concern that the White House recently hosted the CEOs of top AI
companies and warned them of the perils AI poses to the public.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What you're doing has enormous potential and enormous danger.
TODD (voice-over): These days, there are deep fakes all over social media, from a computer-generated Mark Zuckerberg, to fake news anchors from China.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy supposedly surrendering and counterfeit clips of Trump and Biden.
DARRELL WEST, AUTHOR, "POLICYMAKING IN THE ERA OF AI": The sophisticated AI tools for creating fake videos is available to everybody. You don't need
to be a coder or a technical person in order to use these types of techniques. Anybody can engage in disinformation and a lot of people will
be engaging in disinformation.
[14:55:00]
TODD (voice-over): What can the average voter do in this election cycle to avoid falling for campaign misinformation?
MITCHELL: Going into the 2024 election, people are going to have to be really judicious about their news sources.
TODD: And if the Russia probe stemming from the 2016 election taught us anything, it is how easily bad actors, like nation states or others who
want to undermine American elections, can use social media to spread misinformation and put their thumb on the scale to manipulate American
voters -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And we have some promising news for children with peanut allergies. French researchers studied a peanut patch in children with
allergies from ages 1 to 3. The children wore the patches between their shoulder blades daily for a year before undergoing screening for peanut
challenges.
After 12 months, scientists saw changes in two thirds of the trial participants.
That is great news.
And finally tonight, talk about upper arm strength. This Penny Mordaunt, the British conservative minister, who carried a ceremonial sword during
the king's coronation. The sword of state weighs about 3.6 kilograms or about eight pounds.
Praised for her stamina, Mordaunt held the sword for an hour. But Mordaunt said she didn't train for it. She tells BBC, "I was not in the gym six
months prior to this. I did take a couple of painkillers beforehand, just to make sure I was going to be all right."
And that does it for me tonight. Thanks very much for your -- do stay right here, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next. Have a wonderful day, goodbye.
END
