Children in Limbo as Border Crisis Rages
WHITFIELD: This year, tens of thousands of children are expected to cross the border into the U.S. without their parents. The Obama administration says they are desperate to escape the poverty and violence plaguing their home countries specifically the Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. CNN's Rosa Flores takes us inside one Texas shelter where those children, some unaccompanied, and others with their families, where they're living.</s>ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After traveling hundreds of miles, these Central American families find a glimmer of hope at a temporary shelter at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, Texas. Most are fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries, arriving exhausted with nothing but the clothing on their backs, laceless shoes and a manila folder handed to them by immigration officials with documents in English they say they don't understand. Daisy Villanueva says she traveled with her two-year-old son Stanley by foot and by bus from her home country of Honduras, nearly 1,500 miles until she made it to America then turned herself in to immigration authorities. Few meals along the way, the fear and trauma still clear on this family's face. She didn't leave anyone behind but hopes to reunite with her husband in North Carolina. Not the case for Sergio Bolanos (ph). He left a wife and two children in Guatemala, making the dangerous journey with his nine-year-old son, Vidal, who was anxious to change his dirty clothing and sit down to eat a meal. Sergio says he crossed the border and turned himself in to immigration, spent three days with his son in a detention center, was assigned a court date to face an immigration judge, and was set free at a bus station. That's how thousands of people end up in temporary shelters like this one. (on camera): This facility sees between 150 and 180 people a day. Take a look around, it's a quick stop. They get some fresh clothing, a blanket for the road, some shoes, and also some snacks for their bus ride. And if there's time, they get a quick shower. (voice over): Sister Norma Pimentel established this temporary shelter a month ago and has already served more than 3,000 people.</s>SISTER NORMA PIMENTEL, CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE RIO GRANDE: They may be stripped of everything but one thing they do have is their faith. And so I think this is a beautiful encounter of faith alive amongst our people.</s>FLORES: It's the common story here. Daisy says she wants to protect her son from the constant sound of gunshots in her neighborhood and the dead bodies on the streets. For Sergio, he says he's escaping the extreme poverty in Guatemala where he had trouble putting food on the table working in agriculture. As he and his son boarded a bus to reunite with family in California it was left up to them to honor the immigration court date in that paperwork in the manila folder. Sergio wouldn't say if they plan to show up for the court hearing. Rosa Flores, CNN, McAllen, Texas.</s>WHITFIELD: So the political fight over the border crisis is raging, and the battle lines between President Obama and the Republicans have been drawn.</s>REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: On the southern border, we've got a true humanitarian crisis under way with children caught in the middle. Unfortunately, it's a crisis of the President's own making. His actions gave false hope to children and their families, if they enter the country illegally, they would be allowed to stay. Our priorities are clear. Take care of these children, return them safely home to their home countries, to their families, and secure the border.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I sponsored a bill declaring apple pie American, it might fall victim to partisan politics. I get that. On the other hand, this is an issue in which my Republican friends have said, it's urgent, we need to fix it. And -- if that's the case, then let's go ahead and fix it.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about this. I want to bring in Maria Cardona, she's a CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist -- good to see you. And Ben Ferguson, he's a CNN political commentator and a conservative radio talk show host. Good to see you as well. Ok, so we saw John Boehner there, saying this is a policy issue and a humanitarian issue and the Republicans have criticized the President for not taking enough action on border security. And now the criticism is because the President wants to take some action. Like the President said there, it seems like he can't win. Or Ben, you know, who really wins here? Does Boehner's caucus really believe that this argument, or you know, it's really about the President not doing enough? Or overextending his powers or is it really about teeing up midterm elections?</s>BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean it's certainly a lot about the elections, and Barack Obama when he was running for re-election, 2012 in El Paso -- he declared that we had a secure border. So obviously, that is a failure. We do not have a secure border. And many Republicans are saying, you told us it was secured. Janet Napolitano at the time said the same exact thing that the border was secure. It is not secure and the big victim here is not Barack Obama. It's these children. We are not doing enough to let them know in these countries, that if you get to America, you are not going to stay. And if Barack Obama was serious about this, he would have gone to the border this week. He says I'm not interested in a photo op. I mean, you look at this president. He had no problem playing pool in a photo op the other night. He also had --</s>WHITFIELD: Why would it make a difference?</s>FERGUSON: -- no problem using doctors. Hold on.</s>WHITFIELD: Why does it make a difference in this argument as to whether the President went to the border or not when it's being acknowledged on all sides that there's a problem?</s>FERGUSON: Well, I don't think he's taking the problem seriously, because he's not willing to go look at it and see, wow, we really don't have a secure border. He said in 2012 in El Paso, we have a secure border. That's not true. And so right now, the President of the United States of America should be doing one thing. He should be spending time getting on Air Force One going to Guatemala, going to Honduras and let the people know there with his big microphone, do not send your kids to America. They're going to be sent home.</s>WHITFIELD: Didn't he already do that without going there, though? Didn't the President already do that without --</s>MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, he did.</s>FERGUSON: He did it in America. That doesn't reach the people in Honduras. It doesn't reach the people in Guatemala. If you want to reach the people that are coming, you don't talk about it from the White House. You don't talk about it in Colorado. You talk about it in Honduras and Guatemala. He can do this in an afternoon. Those are the people that are the victims, and we should talk directly to them.</s>WHITFIELD: So, Maria, how is this of the President's doing and making? How is he responsible for what's taking place here -- what some are calling a humanitarian crisis, a refugee crisis even, you know, in the terminology of some people. How is it the President is responsible for this and what can he do to fix it?</s>CARDONA: First of all, He's not. And this is where Republicans are just so incredibly misguided and really don't understand what having a secure border means. These children are not a national security threat. So unless Republicans -- and I know this is something they want. If they want an impenetrable iron fence across all of our southern border that goes up 100 miles, these children would continue to arrive and turn themselves in to border patrol agents. That is what they are doing. This president has done more to secure the border than any other president before him. The growth of the undocumented population --</s>FERGUSON: Not true.</s>WHITFIELD: Meaning?</s>CARDONA: -- under this president, the growth of the undocumented population under this president which is a big measure in border security, has been net negative. This president has put --</s>FERGUSON: Maria, then --</s>CARDONA: Hang on, Ben. Hang on. I did not interrupt you. So this president has put more border enforcement resources than any other president before him. There is a bill in Congress right now that if Republicans were serious about continuing to secure the border, they would have passed. It's called the Comprehensive Immigration Bill that would have doubled border patrol agents and put $40 billion more into border security.</s>FERGUSON: While giving amnesty --</s>CARDONA: This president has now -- and that's another problem, Ben. This president has never said the word "amnesty". Republicans screamed "amnesty".</s>FERGUSON: He didn't have to. He's already offering it.</s>CARDONA: So when Republicans scream "amnesty".</s>FERGUSON: Maria --</s>CARDONA: When Republicans scream amnesty at the top of their lungs, what kind of message does that send? This president has been very clear about who can stay here and who cannot. He's done it on Spanish language media which is what the people listen to in all of these border countries.</s>FERGUSON: Maria, if he was --</s>CARDONA: He's done everything that he can.</s>FERGUSON: If he was serious --</s>WHITFIELD: Ok.</s>CARDONA: He needs help from Republicans to solve this.</s>WHITFIELD: Ok. All right.</s>CARDONA: Republicans have --</s>WHITFIELD: So Ben, respond real quick.</s>FERGUSON: Yes. If the President was serious about securing the border, then the $3.7 billion he just requested, more than seven percent of it would be for border security. The other issue is, you say he's done more to secure the border. Every illegal immigrant that's crossed would say, "You're wrong". And the humanitarian crisis has proved that yet again, you're wrong. If you want to secure the border he should be going down --</s>CARDONA: That's not national security threat.</s>FERGUSON: -- let me finish. I didn't say it's a national security threat. It's a threat to the people. Maria, it's a threat to the people coming across the border who are putting their lives at risk, paying these people to come across the border, thousands of dollars at a time, and many of these kids are falling victim to them. That is a security issue to them as individuals which is why you secure the border. And you say --</s>WHITFIELD: So Ben and Maria -- Ben and Maria -- time out for a second. If all of this can be disputed, you know, ad nauseam because, you know, everyone is going to continue to see things differently in terms of how the existing laws are either porous, how they're working, how they're not working, but this point forward, if it means that Congress is pledging, that some act needs to take place, the President is pledging, some act needs to take place, at this juncture now, it's an issue, how do these two executive, legislative branch work together? And I'd love to hear from either one of you or both if you feel hopeful that this is the juncture that we are in right now in which Congress will see eye to eye with the President. The President can see eye to eye with the congress in order to come about with some solution to address the problem? Ben, you first on this.</s>FERGUSON: Well, first, I do think the President has to just flat out show leadership, go to these countries and make it clear, that if you come here you'll be sent home. Don't waste your money paying these coyotes.</s>WHITFIELD: But in terms of Congress and the President working together.</s>FERGUSON: And I'm going to say that. The second issue is don't put a $3.7 billion bill that only 10 percent of it or less goes to border security. And the last thing is make sure when you're requesting money from Congress it goes to take care of these kids, and send them home quickly. Not have a big spending bill for a whole bunch of other stuff that does not deal with securing the border.</s>WHITFIELD: Ok. Maria, where's the hope? Do you see it?</s>CARDONA: Well, I hope so because Republicans need to understand that they need to work with this president to actually solve this problem. Again, this president has put the solution on the table. There's more border security enforcement in the senate immigration bill, which could have mitigated a lot of this in the first place. These families are not coming here because they think the border is open. These families are coming here because --</s>FERGUSON: Sure they are.</s>CARDONA: -- they are suffering from violence in their own countries. Ben, have you talked to any of these families? I talk to them every single day.</s>FERGUSON: Maria -- yes, I have. And in fact --</s>CARDONA: None of them have said --</s>FERGUSON: No, no, no. Time-out. Being in Dallas, Maria --</s>CARDONA: I think the border is open.</s>FERGUSON: Maria.</s>CARDONA: They are coming here because they are, there are threats, by the violence.</s>FERGUSON: I'm in Dallas Texas. Time out.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Ben, go ahead.</s>FERGUSON: I am in Dallas --</s>CARDONA: This bill is focusing on trying to fix that violence in Central America.</s>WHITFIELD: Ok. Maria, stop there. Ben, make your point.</s>FERGUSON: I'm in Dallas, Texas. I've talked to these families. And they are coming across the border because they know it's open and they're turning themselves in to immigration enforcement. That's how easy it is to get across the border.</s>CARDONA: They want help.</s>FERGUSON: And the reason why they're doing it is because they've been told that America's border is open and you better hurry up and get in and you will get to stay. That's what they believe. That's why they're paying the coyotes.</s>WHITFIELD: We're going to leave it right there. Clearly, this is really just the beginning and this is exactly why discussions are getting so heated over this very topic.</s>CARDONA: And it's why Republicans need to finally help this president solve this. Do their job.</s>WHITFIELD: We appreciate the passion from both of you on all sides. Maria Cardona, Ben Ferguson -- thanks so much to both of you. All right. A call girl may be tied to two deaths in different states. Laurie Segall is here with more on this.</s>LAURIE SEGALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He, Fredricka. Well, coming up, I've got the latest details on the bizarre death of a Google executive. Plus it gets even weirder -- an exclusive look at the booming sex trade in Silicon Valley.