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NEW DAY

No Deal on Asylum Seekers; Biggest Online Shopping Day; Packers Could Miss Playoffs; Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 26, 2018 - 08:30   ET

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


[08:30:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Really appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You too.

CAMEROTA: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, focus all the time, not just the holidays. I like that message.

President Trump keeps threatening to close the southern border as tensions with migrants escalate. We'll have the very latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: "The Washington Post" reports that a new Trump administration policy would have asylum seekers remain in Mexico while their applications are being processed. But Mexican's incoming government says there is no deal.

Joining us now is Lee Gelernt, the ACLU's deputy director for Immigrants' Rights Project.

Lee, thanks so much for being with us.

LEE GELERNT, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ACLU IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS PROJECT: Thanks for having me.

BERMAN: So we don't know if there's a deal or not --

GELERNT: Right.

BERMAN: Or if they're close to a deal or not. But it's an intriguing idea. Not saying good or bad, but it's intriguing. The idea that migrants could apply for asylum and stay in Mexico. Would that be something you could support?

GELERNT: Well, we would have to see the details before we say anything definitive. But one absolute requirement is that if they're going to remain in Mexico, they be safe. And not just from the Mexican government, but from non-state actors like cartels. That's an absolute requirement. They cannot leave them stranded in Mexico and be in danger.

[08:35:01] And what we know about what's going on, on the ground, we think that there's no way they can keep people safe. So we don't think we would be able to support this by any means. I mean there's a -- there's other reasons why it might not be legal and we'd have to see the precise proposal. But if the migrants aren't going to be safe, there's no way they could do it legally and there's no way they should be doing it as a humanitarian effort. They should be focusing on providing fair and full asylum here in the U.S.

BERMAN: Their safety, it's no small thing, period.

GELERNT: Right.

BERMAN: Very real concerns. That is not an aside.

GELERNT: Exactly.

BERMAN: A side part of the deal is what you're saying?

GELERNT: That's exactly right. It's not sort of some side thing. Just sort of, oh, it would be nice if they were safe. It's built into the legal test. So you cannot leave people in another country stranded if they're not going to be safe. And you have women and children right now who are being preyed upon every day. There's no way we think the United States or Mexico can guarantee their safety. So, for that reason, it's a non-starter legally. It's exactly the way you put it, it's not an aside, it's part and parcel of the legal requirement.

BERMAN: There are organized crime, drug cartels, the like.

GELERNT: Exactly.

BERMAN: Where there's serious reason for concern.

Also the legal process. Due process. Would it be possible to provide the legal counseling that these migrants seeking asylum would need if they were on the Mexican side of the border?

GELERNT: Well, I'm glad you asked that because I think people are forgetting that. The other half of it is, they're saying they're going to provide full asylum hearings in the U.S., but we don't actually know how that could possibly happen because when are they going to talk to lawyers, when are they going to be able to prepare. If they get a continuance in their case, are they going to keep bringing them back? So that's an absolutely essential point you're raising is, they would need to get this same exact hearings they would have gotten had they been in the U.S. We have seen nothing to remotely suggest the U.S. has a plan to do that.

BERMAN: I just spoke to Chief Rodney Scott (ph) from the Border Patrol a few minutes ago. He was talking about the conflict at the border.

GELERNT: Right.

BERMAN: Some -- he says several thousand, others say 500, migrants rushed the border. Some got over. Forty-two were arrested on the U.S. side. Some 39 arrested on the Mexican side.

GELERNT: Right.

BERMAN: He said they did not present for asylum there. They did not ask for it there. He said if they really were asylum seekers, they would have walked up with their hands up instead of, he says, throwing rocks.

GELERNT: Yes, well, look, no one wants any border officer to be in danger. But from what we know, this was an overuse of force. I mean there are women and children out there. Using tear gas in this situation does not seem justified. We are investigating the facts on the ground.

But the Border Patrol has a history of using unnecessary force. We have a case now that's pending potentially in the Supreme Court about the fatal shooting of a young man across the border. In that case, we've documented numerous instances of what we believe was unnecessary force. So this would not be the first time that there was excessive force by Border Patrol. I think there's no reason to overreact when you have women and children out there.

BERMAN: He says at least three of his agents were hit by rocks. He says that they tried to target the men and that more men were apprehended.

GELERNT: Well, one thing that's unfortunate is the president is saying if anybody throws a rock at you, treat it as if they're shooting at you. That's not a message that should be sent. I mean very rarely are they in mortal danger of the rocks. I mean we're going to investigate exactly what's happening on the ground. But tear gassing families seems unnecessary to us.

BERMAN: There are anywhere between 5,000 and 9,000 migrants in Tijuana, Mexicali, depending on what (INAUDIBLE) you look at.

GELERNT: Right.

BERMAN: What percentage, roughly, of those people, human beings, mind you --

GELERNT: Right.

BERMAN: Do you feel have a credible case for asylum?

GELERNT: Yes, I mean, it's very difficult to -- I mean I think that's an important question you're asking. It's very difficult for us to know but a significant number, based on past year --

BERMAN: Half?

GELERNT: No, I don't think half will. But a -- I think half will have a -- potentially a credible claim to move on in the process. How many will ultimately get it, we don't know. But I think the critical point is, you can never prejudge who's going to have an asylum claim because there will be those people who are escaping real danger. And if you just say globally, well, none of these people deserve a fair process, you're going to leave people in real danger. So I think that's the problem. And as the countries in those regions get increasingly dangerous, you'll see more and more people get asylum. And it's not because the standard is so easy, it's just because the danger is getting so bad in those countries that more and more people have a legitimate asylum claim.

BERMAN: Let me just read you what the president wrote this morning on this. He said, Mexico should move the flag waving migrants, many of whom are stone cold criminals, back to their countries. Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it any way you want, but they are not coming to the USA. We will close the border permanently if need be. Congress fund the wall.

GELERNT: Yes, that's illegal. I mean they need to be given an asylum hearing. And everything we know on the ground, this is not a caravan of stone-cold criminals. These are families coming. Many of them will get asylum, have legitimate asylum claims. Some won't. But the obligation under our law, and international law, is to provide a fair process to weed out those legitimate asylum seekers from those who are not. We're seen no evidence that this is overwhelmingly some kind of criminal gang, this caravan. These are a lot of families and kids. And I'm sure you and CNN has done a good job of showing who's in that caravan. And it's not just full of stone-cold criminals.

[08:40:23] BERMAN: The latest estimate is that there are some 14,000 children who came across, almost all of whom came across as unaccompanied minors --

GELERNT: Right.

BERMAN: In U.S. custody right now. Are they receiving due process?

GELERNT: Not completely. I mean one of the things that's happening is they're lingering in detention centers far longer. And the reason is it used to be that sponsors would come forward and take them. But now the administration is going after those sponsors saying, well, if you're not here legally, we're going to go after you. So it used to be prior administrations, Democratic or Republican, would allow the kids to be taken and not go after someone who was willing to house the children. And so they're lingering in detention centers far longer than they should. And that's a real problem.

BERMAN: Lee Gelernt, thanks for being with us this morning.

GELERNT: Thanks for having me.

BERMAN: Appreciate having the discussion.

GELERNT: Thank you.

BERMAN: Alisyn.

BERMAN: All right, John, today is Cyber Monday and the shopping levels are expected to make history. We are live in the heart of the action. We're diving into the Internet, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [08:45:14] CAMEROTA: Jury selection begins today in the murder trial for the man charged with running down Heather Heyer at that white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year. Prosecutors say 21-year-old James Fields drove his car into a crowd of people, killing Heyer and injuring dozens of other people. Fields faces life in prison and federal hate crime charges that could bring the death penalty.

BERMAN: Students at Rufus King International High School in Milwaukee hope this message of love goes viral and shows a different side of Wisconsin students. The group made heart and peace signs and said "I love you" in sign language. This counters the image of the students elsewhere in Wisconsin, Baraboo, who appeared to make a Nazi salute. We talked about this photo the other week. Those students, we just learned, will not be punished. The superintendent says she is not in a position to punish the students for their actions because of their First Amendment rights.

CAMEROTA: OK, bargain hunters, today is your day. This Cyber Monday is expected to be the biggest online shopping day in history, John.

BERMAN: Ever?

CAMEROTA: Ever.

BERMAN: Ever.

CAMEROTA: Alison Kosik is live at Amazon fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New Jersey.

Tell us about the chaos there, Al.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'll tell you what, Amazon is saying that millions of products are expected to leave its fulfillment centers just today on Cyber Monday. I bet you're wondering, how is it that you get those product so quickly after you click that send that you're going to go ahead and buy that product? Let me give you a behind the curtains look very quickly.

Once you order that product, it comes off of these shelves robotically. It's put into one of these yellow bins on the conveyer belt. It winds its way down here to the floor I'm on where it's put in one of those boxes and shipped out.

At this particular fulfillment center, it is same day shipping. So you know it happens instantaneously.

This place is massive. Did you know it's more than 1 million square feet? That's almost equivalent to 28 football fields. There's more than 14 miles of conveyor belts that snake through this property. Tens of millions of products line these shelves. It's really, truly amazing. Consumerism at its best.

So it's Cyber Monday. What's Amazon doing besides, obviously, having those specials on its website, it's gearing up to break history -- to make history yet once again. Last year is our best comparison, 83 million products were ordered last year. That's 961 products ordered every second. This year, Amazon says it's expected to break that record. We shall see.

Alisyn and John, back to you.

CAMEROTA: That is really peeling back the curtain for us. Oh, my gosh. I mean that looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, right, where things going --

KOSIK: Yes.

BERMAN: Well, I was --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" --

CAMEROTA: Is that "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" or Dr. Seuss where things are like, you know, ding dong, ding dong, and like just keep going through all sorts of passageways and --

BERMAN: I was looking for the elves. You know, I thought it was sort of like Santa's workshop.

CAMEROTA: That's also fun.

BERMAN: But they weren't there.

CAMEROTA: That's good.

BERMAN: Or they were hiding. They were camera shy.

All right, the Green Bay Packers in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight season. Lindsey Czarniak has more in the "Bleacher Report."

But I'm with you, that didn't look real.

LINDSAY CZARNIAK, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It's like a little warehouse of happiness, right?

BERMAN: Yes.

CZARNIAK: Awesome.

Anyway, part of the reason I enjoy Aaron Rodgers so much is his sarcasm because he knows now that winning every game from here on out may not even be enough to get them into the playoffs. But there's only one way to find out. The problem is, the Packers, they simply have to play better. It was Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins who did that last night. He was coming off his worst game of the season, but he was able to carve his way into that Packers defense. His first touchdown pass led to what I think is the best celebration of the day. And I was trying to figure out what they were planning. Oh, yes, it's the limbo, right? Because, why not? So creative.

BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) a miss. All I can say is the way they were there, you don't want someone to come up short. CZARNIAK: Amen. Cousin threw three touchdowns in Minnesota's win. The

Packers have now lost six straight on the road. But Rodgers has a clear road map to keep those playoff hopes alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON ROGERS, PACKERS QUARTERBACK: So we've just got to go back home, get some rest, beat Arizona and then come back and beat Atlanta. Then go to Chicago, a place we've won a number of times, beat them. Go to New York around Christmas, beat them. And come home against Detroit, and beat them. Get a little help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CZARNIAK: Now there's a guy that likes to plan, right? That's what it sounds like to me. It could happen, though. Green Bay is tied with the Rams for the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL.

As for the Vikings, they're in position for the top wildcard spot, but their next opponent, the New England Patriots, which leads me to this, the Patriots earning their seventh win of the season, but the buzz about Tom Brady setting another NFL record. The quarterback now the league's all-time leader in combined regular season and playoff passing yards. So he's --

[08:50:02] CAMEROTA: Could he get any better?

CZARNIAK: Not really. He's thrown for almost 80,000 yards.

BERMAN: I can't --

CZARNIAK: That's the equivalent of 45 miles. Anyway.

BERMAN: Which would fit into the Amazon warehouse, just to bring it all together.

CZARNIAK: That's what I was just thinking.

No, I walked in here and all these guys are like, oh, Brady looked old. He looked old. I'm like, no, he looked great.

CZARNIAK: I told you that, though, he does -- when you see him in person, he does. But that's what's making him do what he does, right? It's bizarre.

BERMAN: I just heard the, when you see him in person part and I -- my mind went blank for a second.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I know.

CZARNIAK: Sorry.

CAMEROTA: I know. He scrambles his brain just talking about it.

Lindsay, thank you.

CZARNIAK: You're welcome, guys.

CAMEROTA: Great to see you.

OK, "The Good Stuff," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:03] CAMEROTA: OK, time now for "The Good Stuff." And this is a really good one.

A South Dakota man has a little extra to be thankful for this year. Hunter Shamet (ph) lost his wallet on a flight to Las Vegas. He was going there for his sister's wedding. He says it had $60 in cash and a $400 check inside.

All right, well, a complete stranger with the initials "TB" not only returned it, he rounded up the cash.

BERMAN: What? What?

CAMEROTA: To $100.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It goes to show that there's more good out there than there is evil because this is just a random guy on the street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, Hunter and his family tracked the mystery man down using his return address. Hunter says he was able to thank the man named Todd directly. He added money. He didn't just return the wallet with the money in it, he added money.

BERMAN: So Todd goes around and finds wallets and then adds money to it and gives it to people?

CAMEROTA: I don't know, but I'm going to leave my wallet around somewhere in public and hope that somebody adds to it.

BERMAN: Yes.

Where does Todd normally hang out?

CAMEROTA: I'm going to find out.

BERMAN: We're going to find Todd. That was awesome. You were right about that.

All right, dozens of migrants arrested on the U.S. side of the border. We just learned that that happened after the tear gas incident. We're going to have much more right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)