'This Week' Transcript 12-18-22: Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. Alex Padilla, Dr. Ashish Jha and Amb. Oksana Markarova
A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, December18, 2022 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.
RADDATZ: We joined Governor Greg Abbott of Texas as he surveyed the border this week. One of the Republican governors fighting to keep Title 42 in place, that Trump policy implemented at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic which allows the U.S. Government to immediately expel most migrants as a public Health risk. Since March of 2020, it's been used nearly 2.5 million times.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RADDATZ : What do you think happens next week when Title 42 comes to an end?
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): If the courts don't intervene and put a halt of removal to the Title 42 it’s going to be total chaos. RADDATZ: But how do you -- how do you keep that in place? That is about COVID, that is about public Health risk.
ABBOTT: Whether it's COVID or some other issue, when you have people coming across the globe without knowing at all what their Health status is, that almost by definition is a public Health risk. There’s every reason to keep that in place.
RADDATZ: You’re talking about the flu, you’re talking about RSV. In fact, you’ve seen that people coming across, they were saying maybe one person a day with COVID. So how does a judge look at that and go, oh, it's still a public Health risk?
ABBOTT: But some do come across with COVID and no one knows exactly who comes across with COVID. These people are not tested when they come across the border and so who knows how many people have COVID, who knows what other type of disease they may have. The answer is nobody knows because nobody is testing them.
RADDATZ (voiceover): Critics call that hypocrisy.
LEE GELERNT, ACLU LAWYER: They have been fighting to end COVID restrictions everywhere since the beginning and now all of the sudden they want a public health restriction solely when it comes to asylum seekers, I think the real gain here is they're trying to close the border.
RADDATZ: Whatever the motivation closing the border is not working. Despite fences, walls, and thousands of armed National Guard they keep coming.
RADDATZ (on camera): There's miles of fence, miles of border wall and the National Guard along the border but you just walk down any of these paths and you can see the river right there, that’s Mexico over there, pretty easy to get across.
RADDATZ (voiceover): This group of about 50 migrants had just waded through the Rio Grande when they were apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol.
RADDATZ (on camera): Where are you from?
GROUP: Cuba.
RADDATZ: You’re all from Cuba?
GROUP: Cuba. Yes.
RADDATZ (voiceover): The migrants come from everywhere. Some from countries with no way to repatriate. meanwhile waiting in the U.S. --
RADDATZ (on camera): Do you know what Title 42 is?
UNKNOWN MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).
RADDATZ (voiceover): I spoke with two migrants who had just made the harrowing journey from Colombia and Peru.
UNKNOWN MALE: Well, he says he knew that, you know, that right now there's a little bit of transition where Biden had some Trump policies still in place but that Title 42 was about to change so he wanted to kind of take advantage of that moment.
RADDATZ: These men told us they came for more economic opportunity but there are many seeking asylum who fear for their lives.
RADDATZ (on camera): There are people in terrible shape outside of this country who want to come into this country for very good reasons, they're persecuted, relatives have been killed. Do you look at them and think some of those people really do deserve to be here, how can I help them in?
ABBOTT: Martha, this is very important, because there are people across the globe who have a valid, a solid reason to come to the United States, but they can do so legally right now. The people who have the ability to come to the United States illegally get pushed further and further and further back the line every single day with the thousands of illegal immigrants coming across the border.
RADDATZ (voiceover): Abbott has spent more than $4 billion on Operation Lone Star his border security initiative with surveillance, Border Patrols and the National Guard, who are armed and aim to intimidate when they confront migrants crossing into Texas.
RADDATZ (on camera): So you can arrest them?
MAJ. GEN. TOM SUELZER, NATIONAL GUARD: Yes, so under state law the governor has called forth the militia to protect the Texas citizens and in that he has given us arrest authority.
RADDATZ (voiceover): When that show of force fails and they cross anyway, Abbott has been sending many of the migrants north, busing more than 14,000 to so-called sanctuary cities, like New York, D.C., Chicago and Philadelphia. A strategy that's drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle.
RADDATZ (on camera): You have used your taxpayer dollars here in Texas to bus migrants out of here. You know people have looked at that and said that's just a political ploy to bring attention on the backs of these migrants and some families and some very young children.
ABBOTT: The real reason behind it is because communities like Del Rio and Eagle Pass and others, they are having thousands of people dumped off into their communities, thousands of migrants, dumped off in their communities. They don't have the capability of dealing with that vast number of migrants and I removed them to locations that self-identified as sanctuary cities that have the capability and the desire to help out these migrants and so that's exactly what's taken place.
RADDAT: You talk about the border wall, you talk about open borders, I don't think I’ve ever heard President Biden say, we have an open border, come on over. But people I have heard say it are you, are former president Trump, Ron DeSantis, that message reverberates in Mexico and beyond. So they do get the message that it's an open border and smugglers use all those kind of statements.
ABBOTT: It was known from the time that Joe Biden got elected that Joe Biden supported open borders. It is known by the cartels who have sophisticated information whether or not the Biden administration is going to enforce the immigration laws or not is known across the world but most importantly, known among the cartels.
RADDATZ: And how do you play into that? What can you do better?
ABBOTT: So we have every level of government doing everything we can to prevent people from coming into the country illegally or repelling them or arresting them and putting them behind bars.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RADDATZ: And joining me now is Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, and chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
Senator, you heard Governor Abbott say it will be absolute chaos on the border if Title 42 is lifted. I know you have wanted it lifted since last April.
What do you think will happen when it is lifted?
SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): So, good morning, Martha. Happy to be here for this obviously timely and important conversation.
Well, look, the Biden administration has been preparing for months now for Title 42 to be lifted, not just because the courts have dictated that but as you mentioned in a prior segment, Title 42 is not immigration policy. Title 42 is put in place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as health policy. Even then I disagreed, but that's what brought Title 42 to bear.
We're in a much different place when it comes to COVID today than we were two, almost three years ago. So it's past time for Title 42 to be gone.
The administration has made it clear that while Title 42 is technically lifted, they're ready to put in place a system at the border that keeps them fairer but also more orderly and more safe.
RADDATZ: So you expect order and safety --
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: Senator, you expect order and safety at the border on Wednesday?
Your own Governor Gavin Newsom told ABC News that the immigration system will break when Title 42 is lifted. He said your state is not prepared, that sites are already at capacity.
So, what do you really expect? And what are the preparations that you --
PADILLA: I’m not --
RADDATZ: go ahead.
PADILLA: Go ahead. So, I’m not suggesting that it's not going to be a challenge. But let’s understand why it is such a challenge, because the prior administration starved the very departments and agencies of the resources they need, not just to patrol the border but to process these lawful asylum claims. And the case, that’s -- that's the reason individuals, or even families are coming across the border.
Again, most Americans understand and appreciate there are people who want to come to the United States for a number of reasons. That's why we have student visa programs. That’s why we have work visa programs.
And yes, it is lawful for someone seeking violence -- fleeing violence, excuse me, fleeing violence, fleeing poverty, fleeing for their lives to come to the United States seeking asylum, and it's our obligation to consider that and make a determination.
I appreciate Governor Newsom’s frustration. He and I spoke just a couple of days ago. The state of California I think is a prime example. More than a billion dollars of state funds going into humanitarian assistance for asylum seekers. When they come to the United States while they wait for their hearing, do they deserve some basic food and shelter and health screening? Absolutely.
And, frankly, the federal government should be investing more in that humane treatment of asylum seekers. That's what we're talking about.
RADDATZ: Senator, I just want to go back again because you said the Biden administration is preparing for this on Wednesday. So do you expect everything to just go smoothly on Wednesday?
Give us a sense of what will happen in your state given what Gavin Newsom has said for these first couple of weeks when they do expect 18,000 people a day crossing the southern border?
PADILLA: Yeah. Again, we will -- I’m sure -- see the departments and to make every effort to maintain the safety, the orderliness, the fairness of people seeking asylum or having other determinations that they're coming for other reasons or in other places.
But here's the biggest frustration -- you know, for all the Republican rhetoric about chaos at the border, open borders, et cetera, number one, they have yet to come forward with a plan of how to better handle the scenario. Number two, they have not willing to commit the additional resources that departments and agencies say that they need to handle this big influx.
They go to border, have these political stunts, whether it’s a press conference at the border, flying over in a Black Hawk, but offer no meaningful solutions is totally irresponsible.
RADDATZ: The Republicans blame the Democrats. You just said it was the prior administration, the Trump administration.
Is there really a plan? Could anybody come together on some sort of plan?
PADILLA: Yes. God, I hope so because the ideas are already there. The solutions are already there. We can go back to the – 2013, when the Senate, yes, the United States Senate passed, on a bipartisan basis, a comprehensive modernization of our immigration law. Sadly, didn’t make it out of the House that day, but, you know, the political climate being what it is, I'm not sure that the very -- same Republicans who voted for it then would vote for even that same proposal now. So, it’s – it’s a matter of --
RADDATZ: Would you vote for – would you vote to secure the border first? I know that's something Republicans want to do. Is that something you would go along with, secure the border first before anything else?
PADILLA: I look -- look, that – look, as you know, immigration policy is complex. And there's no state that has more stake in it than the state of California. So, yes, we do need to invest more in border safety and security, but we’re going to have to do it in a smart way. The build – the years we lost to the build the wall debate was foolish. We know that whether it's migrants, whether it’s, you know, whatever the Republicans are afraid of, contraband, et cetera comes primarily through ports of entry. And so that’s got to be the first and foremost focus on border safety dollars.
But I'll give you another dimension to this. An individual, a family, coming to the border seeking asylum today is very different than the millions of immigrants who are in the United States already and have been here for years. Yes, in many cases undocumented, but working, paying taxes, raising families, contributing to the success of our economy, working in essential jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic, they deserve better than to live in fear of deportation. Can we separate, you know, the – the need to do right by them from addressing somebody coming to the southern border next week. Republicans, are they willing to do that as well?
RADDATZ: And we'll see how both sides handle this in the coming weeks.
Thanks very much for joining us this morning, Senator.
RADDATZ: The triple-demic of Covid, flu and RSV is hitting Americans and filling hospitals as millions are expected to Travel this holiday season. Infections are on the rise in many parts of the country.
White House Covid response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha joins me now to discuss the latest.
Good to see you, as always, Dr. Jha.
DR. ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: Good morning, Martha.
RADDATZ: More than 40 percent increase since Thanksgiving in Covid cases and hospitalizations. That is a very big spike.
JHA: It's a – it’s a clear increase. It’s a substantial increase. We're seeing it across 90 percent of the country. So, yes, Covid cases are rising across the country right now.
RADDATZ: And – and there was a statistic that really stood out to me from – from your White House briefing, less than half of nursing home residents have gotten their updated Covid – Covid vaccine, even though deaths are occurring mostly concentrated in people over 65. You say you're talking to leadership, trying to get them vaccinated.
Why hasn't this been happening?
JHA: Yes, so, you know, there’s -- people are still, I think, learning about the new Covid vaccine, the updated booster. There are still a lot of people that are confused about whether they need one or not. We’re being very clear about this. If you’ve not gotten a vaccine in the last six months, it is essential to go out and get the new, updated bivalent.
This is an ongoing – this is ongoing work. But I actually think we’re seeing real increases in the last couple of weeks, and my hope is that that momentum continues.
RADDATZ: And why this 40 percent increase? Is it no masks? Is it no vaccines? What -- what do you say about that?
JHA: Well, so we're not totally surprised by this, right, because we've seen increases each of the last two winters. And then what else is happening, in colder, drier air, the virus spreads more efficiently. People are gathering, as they should, because it's really important to gather with family and friends.
And so that combination is what is driving the increase. The -- the good news here is that we can prevent those infections from turning into serious illness if people go out and get that updated bivalent vaccine. The updated vaccine is essential for keeping people out of the hospital. So we're making the case that we're at a point where it's safe to gather, but you still have things to do. If we don't do those things, obviously things can get much worse.
RADDATZ: OK, Dr. Jha, we've talked to you many times. You say the White House strategy is to get boosted, get tested, wear masks. You and I have both talked about the lack of masks across the country. You're just not seeing them. That's the strategy, but only 14 percent of people who can get that booster have done it. So how can you say that is really working?
JHA: Well, what I would say it is a -- it is a comprehensive strategy, testing, treatment, vaccines. Our job is to make sure those things are widely available, easily accessible, they remain free for Americans. We're going to continue making that case.
And then, obviously, a lot of our efforts are focused on older Americans. Those are the ones who really tend to get sick, end up in the hospital. This is ongoing work. It's shared collective responsibilities. It's not just the White House. We're asking governors to step up, mayors to step up, religious leaders to set up. Because, if we're going to get a country as big and diverse as ours through this difficult period, we're all going to have to pull on this together.
RADDATZ: Well, according to a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the top two reasons people are not getting vaccinated are, number one, they don't think they need it, or they don't think the benefit is worth it.
JHA: Yeah, so first of all, from a benefit point of view -- and these are incredibly safe vaccines -- they clearly work; they clearly reduce infections to some degree, hospitalizations and deaths to a very, very large degree.
You know, the thing I remind people -- people often say, "Well, I got my booster last year; do I really need it?" And I say, "Well, I got my flu shot last year. I don't expect that to protect me this winter. I go out and get my flu shot every winter, and the same way, people have to go out and get their COVID shot every winter."
RADDATZ: And I want to talk about some anecdotal evidence about the lack of medicines, like Children's Tylenol, Amoxicillin. You say the supply is out there. Manufacturing is out there. And you're going to work to get that supply into pharmacies. How do you do that? Are people hoarding?
JHA: No, see, here's what's happening. We constantly, FDA, the Health Department, constantly track supply, making sure that manufacturing is going well, that the distribution is going well. Right now, manufacturing is going 24/7. Supply is good. Demand is unprecedented, for all the reasons you laid out. We have more RSV, flu, COVID, out there, So that demand, that increased demand, is what is causing, at moments, spot outages in certain places.
Our job is to make sure that supply continues, in fact ramps up further, and that we get it into stores. That, I am confident will continue to happen. The supply is really good. And the -- and the thing is that we've seen RSV peak and come down. My hope is, with that, demand will ease up a little bit. And that will also make a difference.
RADDATZ: And we're almost out of time, Dr. Jha, but I want to talk about China. There are some very dire predictions that there could be 1 million to 2 million deaths. Do you believe that will happen?
JHA: Yeah, look, we're obviously tracking what's happening in China very, very closely. We've been very publicly clear, the president's been publicly clear that we are ready to help any country in the world that needs it, with vaccines, treatments, whatever else is necessary. So that offer stands generally for every country in the world. We're going to watch what happens in China closely.
RADDATZ: OK< thanks very much for joining us today. Always good to see you.
JHA: Thank you.
MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC "THIS WEEK" ANCHOR: Thanks, Tom.
Joining me now is the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova.
Madame Ambassador, thank you for joining us this morning.
And let’s start where Tom (INAUDIBLE) left off.
President Zelenskyy has bee asking for U.S. patriot missile batteries. If he doesn’t get them, what happens?
OKSANA MARKAROVA, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: We have been asking for all air defense. And we see what happens when we don’t have enough air defense for 299 days not only there were – there is a full-fledged war and atrocities. But during the last two months, and you’ve seen it also personally, there is a massive attack on civilian infrastructure. Fifty percent of the energy is destroyed of the energy grid. We have to stop it. And the only way to do it is with increased number od air defense everywhere in Ukraine.
RADDATZ: And these increased air defenses, if the patriot missiles defense system goes in particular, the Russians have warned of unpredictable consequences, said they’ll target the missile batteries.
What do you think Putin means by unpredictable consequences, and does that concern you?
MARKAROVA: This is very cynical of them. I mean they have attacked a peaceful country. They’re doing all atrocities and all war – war crimes in Ukraine and they’re trying to scare someone that we cannot even defend ourselves. I mean I – I think it’s the moment where we stop listening and analyzing what he says and focus on, a, winning, and, b, taking him into accountability and actually working on a tribunal and all their criminal cases that w already have against not only all the Russians that are on the ground in Ukraine doing the war crimes, but everyone starting from Putin and the leadership who’s responsible for it.
RADDATZ: The Ukrainians, when I was there, saw many successes the Ukrainians are having, but the Russians are pushing back. This is – this is a long, long way from over.
Are you concerned about a new winter offensive, or a new, big offensive next year, which we’ve heard about possibly?
MARKAROVA: Of course, we have to be prepared for everything. And we just have to push back and liberate more. As you said, we have already a number of victories on the battlefield, that’s why they have resorted to this terror. But we just have to be proactive and together, with all of our friends and partners, and we have – we are thankful for all the support that we are getting to continue to stay the course, liberate the territories and defend Ukraine.
RADDATZ: And – and what about Crimea? President Zelenskyy says you will take back Crimea. That seems like a clear red line for Vladimir Putin. How do you take back crime?
MARKAROVA: Crimea is Ukraine. He illegally attacked us in 2014. He illegally took Crimea. Crimea is no different from any other Ukrainian –
RADDATZ: But taking it back would be very, very difficult.
MARKAROVA: Well, taking everything back is very, very difficult. Russia is a very large aggressor, is a nuclear terrorist state. They have nothing to do to be on our land since 2014. So, everything is very difficult. And, ultimately, we are paying a higher price for liberating our land and our people. But there is no other option because we know what happens under Russian occupation. They are killing and torturing and destroying Ukrainians.
RADDATZ: On Tuesday, Belarus announced an unscheduled so-called emergency check of their army’s readiness. What does that really mean? Are you – are you concerned that there might be a buildup that they might join the war up on the border.
MARKAROVA: Well, since –
RADDATZ: They’re Russia’s ally.
MARKAROVA: Since – since February 24, they’re not just Russian ally. They – the Russian troops that attacked Kyiv or tried to take Kyiv actually entered from Belarus. The rockets always from Belarus. They’re training the soldiers, which are engaged in war crimes in Ukraine. So, in an sense, they already are on the Russian side are taking Ukraine.
We have been warning and I know the – the people in Belarus do not want to be part of this war. So, you know, we are concerned. That’s why you see us preparing to defend Ukraine everywhere. That’s why our readiness is pretty high, not only on the east and south, but every way in Ukraine. And, hopefully, you know, they will be able to stay away, at least from the direct involvement in this war, and stop what they’re doing already.
RADDATZ: And just finally, Congress approved $800 million for Ukraine assistance, security assistance over the next year, but as you know, many Republicans have signaled the U.S. aide for Ukraine will be under much bigger scrutiny.
Are you concerned about that scrutiny?
MARKAROVA: No. We actually welcome all the transparency and accountability and we are working with Congress on a very strong bipartisan basis, not only about report of what we already have received.
And there is a number of systems already in place. The NATO system on the – on the security systems, but also the full reporting on the budget support. So, we look forward to continuing doing that. And, actually, we really count on Congress continued support, especially for 2023.
RADDATZ: All right, thank you so much for joining us this morning, Madame Ambassador. Good to see you.
MARKAROVA: Thank you.
RADDATZ: The roundtable is coming up next.
We’ll be right back.
Comments
Post a Comment