CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Schultz
Interview
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BALDWIN: Thank you for running through all of that for us, Jessica Schneider in Washington.
And here is more from the White House on sending migrants to sanctuary cities, quoting them: "Tens of thousands of illegal families from Central America have been released to San Diego, El Paso, Phoenix, San Diego, and San Antonio in just the last few months. This is the stark reality of our broken immigration system. The simple question that was informally asked is whether, in order to relieve burdens on these receiving communities, illegal aliens already being released on a daily basis could be sent to and cared for by sanctuary jurisdictions, whose stated policy is to welcome and embrace illegal aliens."
So let's get some perspective and some analysis and opinion.
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is with me. She was one of three congresswoman denied entry at a child detention center in South Florida this week.
So, Congresswoman, a pleasure to have you on. Welcome.
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL): Thanks. Great to be with you, Brooke.
Thank you.
BALDWIN: So I just read the White House response. But, again, the president himself, in a tweet -- and you heard him a second ago -- admitting that he wants detainees in sanctuary cities, specifically as retribution.
To that, you say what?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: To that, I say that it really feels more like we have a comic book villain in the White House than a president.
This is a president who flouts the law and has been repeatedly rejected in his outrageous, horrendous policies like these over and over. When he first became president, he tried to ban mostly immigrants from Muslim certain Muslim countries and was rejected by a court.
Recently, he was just rejected by a court from requiring people seeking asylum to be held in Mexico while their asylum applications will be in process. That was rejected. He was rejected from being able to forcibly separate children from their families at the border.
He has been rejected in -- repeatedly in trying to end temporary protective status for immigrants from countries that it's dangerous for them to return to. Over and over and over again, this president's policies, which are outrageous and inhumane, have been rejected by courts.
And then Monday, Brooke, after myself and Congresswomen Donna Shalala and Mucarsel-Powell attempted to conduct oversight by visiting the Homestead detention center, which just announced its second expansion of more than 1,000 children -- we're going to go over 3,000 unaccompanied minors that are housed there -- we were denied access, despite the fact that last year I passed a law requiring the Office of Refugee Resettlement to allow members of Congress in, no questions asked, without any time limits, to conduct proper oversight to make sure children are being well-cared-for.
So they continually flout the law. And the judicial branch continues to reject them.
BALDWIN: I hear you. And we talked to Congresswoman Shalala about exactly what happened to you ladies this week as well.
But on the point of the president and releasing these detainees in these sanctuary cities, if you take the political piece out of this, if you take the retribution against Democrats out of it, could the plan actually help overcrowding at the border? Is that possible?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: No.
What the president's intent on doing is using immigrants who are simply coming to this country, attempting to come to this country to make a better way of life for themselves and their families as political weapons. I don't even want to use the mild term pawns.
He is attempting to use them as political weapons to fan the flames and intensify anger. It is just outrageous, when what we need to do is sit down at the table, which I know we could do, if we could just get Republicans and Democrats in Congress to sit down and come together and adopt some sane, humane immigration policy.
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WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: But, unfortunately, our Republican colleagues are petrified of Donald Trump.
BALDWIN: But what about the Democrats?
Because you look at this issue of the border, and it's like Trump and the border, it's inextricably linked. And, as a result, is your party at risk of overlooking it, not wanting to touch it because it's so totally associated with this president?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: No, Brooke, on the contrary.
We absolutely want to, to use your term, touch the issue of border security and comprehensive immigration reform, or even partial immigration reform.
But what this president now is doing, declaring a fake national emergency to try to build a border wall, to erect a seventh century solution to what is -- what could be solved with 21st century technology.
[15:10:08]
There's bipartisan support for 21st century technology. He's been rejected in a bipartisan way multiple times by Congress, and yet he is still trying to force the funding to build that wall and take away vital funds from our troops and their families from funds that Congress already appropriated to erect critical military infrastructure.
This president is -- has run amuck. And he is going to create dangerous situations, not because immigrants would go to any particular city, but because he refuses to simply sit down and try to continue to adopt and craft balanced immigration policy, border security, and making sure that we can have a humane policy that allows people who are fleeing for their lives from other countries to be able to make sure that they can make a way of life for themselves according to our laws.
It's just outrageously irresponsible. We need a president, not a comic book villain.
BALDWIN: Let me ask you about Julian Assange, just WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Sure. BALDWIN: He's arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy yesterday in London on this U.S. extradition warrant. And he publicly released those hacked e-mails from the Democratic National Committee. And you resigned as DNC chairwoman and your e-mail was hacked.
So this is personal for you. Do you commend Trump's Justice Department for its actions on Julian Assange?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I think it's about time that Julian Assange was arrested and is brought -- being brought up on charges for the obvious crimes that he committed.
He is purporting to be a journalist. I don't know any journalist -- I'm not sure, Brooke. If you look back on your really storied career so far, I doubt that you have among your credits working with a presidential campaign to help them get elected, aiding and abetting a foreign -- a dangerous foreign adversary in trafficking in stolen information, stolen data to benefit a particular candidate.
BALDWIN: Yes, no.
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Those are all things that Julian Assange through WikiLeaks has done.
So, yes, he should be brought to justice, go through our justice process and be prosecuted, and let our judicial process bring him -- bring him to account.
BALDWIN: Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You're welcome. My pleasure. Thank you.
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