CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Rep. Susan DelBene Interviewed

Interview

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SANCHEZ: Well, those two leaders already have a plethora of items on the agenda. The war in Syria, Russia's annexation of Crimea, Russia election meddling. This would add another part of the conversation with President Trump potentially asking Vladimir Putin for Russia to reinstall certain crippling economic sanctions that the administration has argued brought North Korea to the table. Again, it is a possibility, but not something that we know may happen just yet, Joe.

[14:05:03] JOHNS: Thanks so much for that, Boris Sanchez.

Now, let's talk about these developments with North Korea and more. Joining me is Congresswoman Susan DelBene, Democratic representative from Washington state. Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining me. Let's start by getting your reaction to the news of the day, the developments out of North Korea, the North Koreans calling the U.S. attitude regrettable, gangster-like. Does this signal worries to you that a denuclearization deal is in doubt?

REP. SUSAN DELBENE, (D) WASHINGTON: Well, I think this shouldn't be a surprise. This is consistent with North Korea's behavior in the past. I support diplomatic efforts. I think that's so important. It really should be an international effort so that we are bringing other parties in to play, to continue to put pressure on North Korea. I am concerned the administration was willing -- the president was willing to make concessions on military exercises with nothing in return from North Korea, so we need to continue to push forward and take a strong stand.

JOHNS: North Korea talks are coming at a time when the Trump administration is also essentially launching what appears to be a trade war with China. Do you have any concerns about the tariffs impacting jobs, businesses, the agricultural industry in the United States?

DELBENE: I have great concerns. I am hear in Washington state. We are the most trade dependent state in the country. This was critically important for us to make sure that we have sound trade policy. If you look at our agriculture producers, they've been hit very hard. Cherries, pears, apples, they had a 10 percent tariff from China to begin with, and then with -- in April, 15 percent was added because of the tariffs, a retaliation to steel and aluminum. And now as of Friday we've seen 25 percent added to that, so that's a 50 percent tariff on important agriculture products in our community like cherries and apples.

And we have no sense of where this is going forward. We don't have a sense of what the administration is trying to achieve here. We have issues we need to address in trade. This should be a multilateral, we should be working with international community in a multilateral approach to address these trade issues.

JOHNS: Now, jumping around a little bit, but I have to mention that you traveled to Texas recently to tour a detention facility housing migrant children separated from their parents. Give me an idea of your reaction to what you saw. And also, by the way, the Trump administration has been claiming that members of Congress going to these facilities is slowing the ability to reunite the children with their families. How do you respond to that?

DELBENE: Well, first, I was in Texas, in McAllen, Texas, to see what was happening directly at the border in terms of immigrants being processed as they came through the border as well as going to a detention facility down there. I think the only reason we're seeing the response to the terrible behavior that the administration took in terms of separating families is because members of Congress have really shined a light on this issue.

So it's very unfortunate that the administration is trying to make it harder for members of Congress to go and to see what's happening. We are the oversight body. We are holding the administration accountable, and we need to see what's happening.

But I talked to parents who had had their children removed, who were in detention facilities, who didn't know where their children are, they were told if they just asked that they would be connected to their children. They asked and asked and asked and were not provided any information on where their children were.

I have continued to ask Department of Homeland Security for how they keep those records, do they connect a child to an adult when they come across the border so we know who came together. It's not clear that there's been good recordkeeping, that they know how to connect parents and children back together, and that's why it's so critically important that we continue to understand all the efforts being taken by Homeland Security and Health and Human Services who are right now caring for those children, to understand what they're doing to reunite these families. We have to make sure every single family is reunited.

JOHNS: Now, is it intentional, do you think, these delays, or is it more just an issue of bureaucrat bumbling?

DELBENE: Well, I think there's clearly this zero-tolerance policy has been immoral and cruel, and there's also just been incompetence in terms of making sure that we have the records and the information that's needed to make sure we're tracking families and we can reunite them.

[14:10:00] That lack of information means we're not getting straight answers from the Department of Homeland Security. It's why we can't always get a straight answer in terms of number of children who have been separated where they are, how they're going to be reunited. We should have been able -- it wouldn't have been hard to make sure that we kept track of children and their parents and had information of where they were being sent so we could put those -- reunite those families right away.

JOHNS: Boy, it sure seems hard right now. Thanks so much, Congresswoman Susan DelBene.

DELBENE: It's heartbreaking.

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