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The Situation Room

Frustrated Fliers Brace For Massive Security Lines; Atty: Judge Denies Asylum Claim Of 5-Yr-Old Liam Ramos, Family; Inside The Enormous Human Toll Of The War With Iran. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired March 20, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

BLITZER: And we begin with the breaking news. Massive, hours-long wait times at airports all across the country. The effects of the partial government shutdown, Pamela, taking their toll on travelers.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And unpaid TSA agents, Wolf. Today, as security lines continue to grow even longer, you see it in the video. I want to bring in CNN's Ryan Young and Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International, who's been tracking all of this for days. All right, bring us up to speed. What are lines like right now, Ryan?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know Houston and Atlanta have been hit really hard. This is the pre-check line right now. This is the shortest that we've seen in the last two hours or so. Normally that rush hour is over by about 8:30. That hasn't been the case so far as we've seen these lines stretch on. Sometimes when you see these checkpoint numbers, they've been pretty accurate.

Once you make it to the front of the line, you can expect about 30 minutes to get through security. What we've seen today is that even though those signs might be this way, it's taken an hour for people to reach just this point. And as we walk down this way, this airport has been impacted so greatly this morning.

We saw lines stretching outside the area here. We know the Delta agents have been really busy trying to get folks through, but this had a cascading effect through all the airlines. And as we talked to passengers, as you can understand, they were more than frustrated about what's going on here at this airport. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been in this wheelchair. They going to tell me to go stand up in line. I have MS. How you going to expect me to stand up and push my own self in a wheelchair? Atlanta got to do better. I had to pay a stranger $100 to push me and get me through the TSA line. Do better. Trump fix it. YOUNG: Even though you have three hours before your flight, are you sure you're going to make it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I am. I was here two days ago. I made it. Yes, I estimate it's about an hour and 15 minutes from this point.

YOUNG: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think I'll make it.

YOUNG: Have you ever seen anything like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never. Never.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: So we wanted to show you this. You can see the TSA agents working on the other side here. This is one of the lanes that is open right now. This is being repeated at about four or five different stations. What we're being told, the airport is actually surging people to this side. This is, of course, the domestic side.

The international side did not get as busy as it has in the past. That is good news so far. But what we've seen really is the impact here at the main checkpoint. We've been doing this nonstop. We've talked to TSA agents who are clamoring to get paid. It's been more than 30 days.

Yesterday they were actually feeding those workers. Delta CEO coming out and saying enough is enough. I want to tell you, if you look through here, you can see how many of the lanes are not open here at this airport. So there's only three checkpoints here at the main checkpoint that are currently being staffed up front. So you see that line right there? It's about a 50-minute wait from this point. So many people missing their flights. So many people angry.

And the big question a lot of people are asking, especially with you guys in D.C., is why does Congress get paid when folks here who are working don't get paid? They feel like they're feeling that pain. They're feeling the pinch. You heard the woman in the wheelchair. She's like, hey, somebody needs to fix this.

BROWN: It's a fair question, Ryan Young. Thanks so much. Appreciate you bringing us the latest there from Atlanta.

BLITZER: Yes, it's so heartbreaking to see what's going on at these airports.

Also, there's other breaking news we're following right now, and that includes the price of gas up nearly $1 from just a month ago. According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of gas this morning is $3.91. One analysis says that's due to the price spike. Drivers have spent an extra $4.5 billion on gas since February 28th.

Let's go live right now to CNN Business Senior Reporter David Goldman. David, Goldman Sachs now warning that higher oil prices could last all the way through 2027. What more are you learning? DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, I mean, we're seeing gas prices edge closer to $4, and if this keeps up, we could hit it this weekend, maybe Monday or Tuesday, and that's going to create a lot of pain for people not just at the pump, but also across the entire economy.

Remember, when you put stuff on trucks, that is going to be reflected in the diesel prices that those truckers are paying, and I'm talking to small businesses, too, that are saying, you know, this is a really untenable situation. We went through the inflation crisis. We went through tariffs.

Now we're dealing with this. Our customers just don't want higher prices. They won't let us raise our prices, and so they're going to have to eat a lot of that cost. One small business owner that I spoke to said she's got to lay people off instead of raising prices, so there are vast economic consequences to this that go beyond just what you're paying at the gas station.

[11:05:15]

BLITZER: All right, I take it, David, that Goldman Sachs and David Goldman, no relation, right?

GOLDMAN: You know, if I were related, I would be a much richer person, I think.

BLITZER: Too bad. All right.

GOLDMAN: Too bad.

BLITZER: I just got to be precise here and let our viewers know, no connection at all.

GOLDMAN: No relation.

BROWN: Good clarification there, Wolf.

All right, still ahead here in The Situation Room, a judge is now ordering the deportation of little Liam Conejo Ramos and his family. You remember this five-year-old little boy who was detained by ICE during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Images of that moment sparked a national outcry. We're going to talk with his family's attorney up next in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:10:40]

BROWN: Happening now, the family of a Minneapolis five-year-old who became a symbol of the Trump administration's crackdown is being fast- tracked for deportation. An immigration judge has denied the asylum claim of little Liam Conejo Ramos and his parents. That's according to one of the family's attorneys. You'll recall this photo of Liam wearing that blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack that went viral after he and his father were taken into custody earlier this year and sent to a Texas detention center where they were later released.

So let's discuss more now with one of the family's attorneys, Danielle Molliver. Danielle, thanks for being here. You've said Liam is back in school in Minnesota. First of all, how are he and his parents doing during all of this?

DANIELLE MOLLIVER, ATTORNEY FOR LIAM CONEJO RAMOS: Well, good morning, and thank you, Pam. I would have to say that the decision was heartbreaking for everyone. I think most obviously it was for the parents the most. They are doing very well as a unit. They are together, and of course that's complete happiness. However, they were profoundly impacted by the situation, by the detention of both Adrian and Liam.

Both Adrian and Liam suffer, you know, post-traumatic stress. They have trouble sleeping. You know, Liam's having a hard time regulating his temper. Both of them, you know, are frightful about police or any other encounter with law enforcement. And now, of course, they have the uncertainty of if they will have to leave and when that would be.

BROWN: And you're fighting this ruling by the judge, calling it misguided. Tell us why.

MOLLIVER: Yes, thank you. It is misguided because it is contrary to established laws, especially asylum law and due process as well. Law has established that asylum seekers like the Conejo Ramos family would have an opportunity to present their asylum application in front of a judge with evidentiary items, testimony, country conditions, anything that would be in support of their asylum. And at this point, they decided to pre-terminate that and strip them of this right that they have. And they were just misguided by the existing law.

BROWN: And to be clear, Liam was born in Ecuador, right? And then his father brought him over through a process that was legal at the time during the Biden administration. Correct me if I'm wrong. And then there's an official at Oakland Security who told the British newspaper, "The Guardian," that Liam and his dad received full due process, adding there was nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nation's immigration laws. How do you respond to that?

MOLLIVER: I would say that that's hard to reconcile with the speed at which this is moving forward. As you mentioned, the family came in on the CBP-1 app. They waited in Mexico. They suffered extreme and harsh conditions on their way here. They came in. They lodged their asylum application within a year.

And because of that, they were to be awarded a full evidentiary hearing, and that was stripped from them. The government tried to pre- term it. They actually made a motion to pre-term it to Honduras. They did not make a motion to remove the family to Ecuador. However, the judge, Sue Esponte (ph), decided to go ahead and order them removed to Ecuador, the country from which they are seeking asylum, and the country from which they have not had their chance again to represent that case.

BROWN: Do you believe the national attention surrounding Liam's case could be playing any role here?

MOLLIVER: You know, it's hard to say definitively, but I would definitely say that it feels as if the enormity of the case and the policies that are now being enacted by the Trump administration, it would feel as if the government is trying to say that despite notoriety, despite overwhelming support, despite a public interest, that they are not going to waver on this new policy and these new tactics that they're taking.

[11:15:12]

BROWN: OK, just as we wrap up, I want to just learn a little bit more about Liam and how he's doing. You said he has some post-traumatic stress. Are you showing signs of that since leaving that detention center? Tell us a little bit more about him, and does he understand what's going on right now with the potential deportation to Ecuador?

MOLLIVER: Again, Liam is a very bright child. He definitely understands that this case is still continuing. As I said, he has a fear of law enforcement. He has a fear and a constant curiosity about what is next. He certainly doesn't comprehend that there's an appeal or, I think, how impending a deportation order could be. However, he understands that he's in flux. He understands that things are not certain.

He asks about his friends in Dili. He asks about the other children that have experienced what he has. He would like to know why he's not able to hear from them or where they've went and, of course, where he will be going.

BROWN: All right, Danielle Molliver, thank you so much for coming on. We appreciate it.

MOLLIVER: Thank you for having me.

BROWN: Wolf?

BLITZER: And up next, children of war, CNN's Isobel Yeung takes us inside Lebanon, where families are being forced to flee Israeli airstrikes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Our special report from the second front in this Middle East war when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:21:19]

BLITZER: We're back with a Situation Room special report about the enormous human toll of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, and especially among the children. We're seeing it on all sides in Iran and Israel and in Lebanon, where some displaced families are now living in tents. In Beirut, the capital, a Norwegian refugee group says one in six people in Lebanon right now, some 1 million people, have been displaced.

Lebanon says over 1,000 people have been killed, including more than 100 children, since March 2nd. That's when Israel resumed its military campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants who were launching rockets and missiles at central Israel and northern Israel, for that matter, as well. Today, the IDF warned more people in southern Lebanon to leave the area as it continues its strikes.

But for some, the warnings come too late. CNN's Isobel Yeung met with one Lebanese family caught in this war and the suffering and the devastating consequences. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through audio translation): May they be the last four that are sacrificed.

ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This mother is carrying the body of her six-year-old daughter, Yasmina. Israeli bombs pierce her grief.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through audio translation): May God destroy you Israel.

YEUNG (voice-over): She's also burying her three other daughters, nine-year-old Malika, Zara, 12 and Zaynab, 13, along with their cousin, 11-year-old Sadiq.

YEUNG: Just absolutely heartbreaking scene. Just body after body after body. Just tiny little bodies. These ones having to be carried on the bed because there's just only parts and remnants and pieces of them left.

YEUNG (voiceover): These are just five of over 110 children killed this month. Since war began anew in Lebanon on March 2nd. The site of the strike was the children's grandparents' house where they were playing when the bomb hit. It came without warning and wiped out almost the entire family.

YEUNG: You can see bits of blood across this rubble here. Pieces of books, some shoes.

YEUNG (voiceover): Mohammed is the father of the girls who he's just buried.

GIRL (through audio translation): We've reached home. This is her.

YEUNG (voiceover): They were a tight-knit family.

YEUNG: I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what you're going through today and what went through your mind when that airstrike hit.

MOHAMMED RIDA TAQI, FATHER OF STRIKE VICTIMS (through audio translation): I started running. I was barefoot on the stones and I was hit here, blood pouring down. I started searching, pulling my kids, my dad.

YEUNG: The Israelis say that Hezbollah is using children and using civilians as human shields. Do you think there's any truth to that? TAQI VICTIMS (through audio translation): Were there any Hezbollah martyrs? We're a family. The people of the South do not bow down. Not to Israel and not to America which is supporting them with weapons.

YEUNG (voiceover): Across the country, the Israeli military is rapidly ramping up its bombing campaign and expanding its ground invasion. CNN obtained permission from Hezbollah to report in one of their strongholds, the southern city of Tyre. At a civil defense center, outgoing rocket fire breaks the temporary calm.

Soon after, the Israeli military called to warn nearby residents to leave their homes immediately.

[11:25:04]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through audio translation): I'm calling to warn you about Chabriha.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through audio translation): No, you have to give us time so people can pack their things and leave the town.

YEUNG (voiceover): But not everyone has somewhere to go.

YEUNG: It is just apocalyptic around here. And to think that, I mean, just a couple of weeks ago, this was a buzzing, lively neighborhood with shops and these were people's houses, and now it's just all been turned to rubble. It must be so eerie staying here, and yet you still do see people, you see people in their homes.

What are you still doing here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stay here.

YEUNG: Why are you staying?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I go where? This is my house.

YEUNG: Are you the only person who stayed or is there other families who stayed as well?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I no get family. I no marry. You want to marry me?

YEUNG (voiceover): Whole families still remain, pitching up tents wherever they can, largely because they lack the means or strength to find a new home.

GIRL (through audio translation): We have nowhere to go. We have no money.

YEUNG: Do you guys get scared? Yes? What are you scared about?

GIRL (through audio translation): The plane, the strikes.

YEUNG: And what do you guys do when you hear these loud noises?

GIRL (through audio translation): I tell mommy to sleep next to me. YEUNG (voiceover): Soon after we leave, Israel pounds this area. We asked the Israeli military what they're doing to protect children in this war.

YEUNG: I went to the area of Sidon where there was a strike, nine people were killed, five of them were children, one of them was just a six-year-old girl. Why?

NADAV SHOSHANI, IDF INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON: We have a terror organization that their strategy is to put our civilians in the line of fire and their civilians in the line of fire. We're doing everything we can to avoid that.

YEUNG: Right, but children are not terrorists.

SHOSHANI: They are not terrorists, and to say that we are targeting them or that's something that we are happy about is just not true, unacceptable, and even kind of disgusting.

YEUNG (voiceover): These words will be little comfort to the hundreds of thousands of families forced to leave their homes, their lives suddenly upended.

YEUNG: These kids obviously have been out of school for the last two weeks since the beginning of the war, and this group now is trying to do some activities with them, try to have some semblance of normalcy.

GIRL (through audio translation): I feel like we are scared and terrified and displaced.

YEUNG: What are you scared could happen?

GIRL (through audio translation): I'm scared one of us will be killed.

YEUNG: What would you say to the people who have power over this war right now?

GIRL (through audio translation): What do you want from us? Children can't continue their education or do anything. You've ruined our lives.

YEUNG (voiceover): It's a pain no child should know, a generation who should have their entire lives ahead of them now pulled into a war they never chose and crushed beneath the violence that engulfs them.

Isobel Yeung, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, say they will look into the incident CNN documented, and our special thanks to Isobel Yeung for that really, really important report.

And this note, once again, later tonight here on CNN, a town hall on the war with Iran. Our Dana Bash is moderating a panel that includes the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, taking questions from a live studio audience. That's tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN and streaming on the CNN app. Pamela?

BROWN: That is still -- I'm just thinking about that piece.

BLITZER: I know. These kids are so cute.

BROWN: Isobel Yeung did some great journalism there.

[11:28:55]

Well, just ahead, a clear theme is emerging in how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks about the war with Iran, with numerous references to a Christian god being on America's side. We're going to explore how that coincides with my new documentary airing on CNN this Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

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