CNN "CNN Newsroom" - TRANSCRIPT Pro-Bolsonaro Supporters Break Into Brazilian Government Buildings; Buffalo Bills Kick Off Two Returns In Their First Game Since Hamlin's Collapse; Interview With Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown About The Buffalo Bills And Damar Hamlin; President Biden Visits Southern Border Today Amid Influx Of Migrants; Interview With Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX). Aired 4-5p ET

Interview

[BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT]

Joining me now Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas.

Congressman, thanks so much for being with us. You put out a tough statement after the Biden administration extended some of these Trump- era border restrictions. What do you think about the president making this trip now? I know you were with us a few weeks ago and you said that he needed to make this trip.

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): Well, first of all, Jim, I'm glad that he's come to Texas to see the situation, the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. And I give him a lot of credit for doing it. It takes a lot of political courage for any president, Republican or Democrat, to go engage on an issue that is the number one boogieman for the other side.

In the runup to the 2022 elections, the border is what Republicans hit Democrats most. And here you have Joe Biden going right there to the border to see what's going on. So I give him a lot of credit for that.

I did take issue with the proposal that the administration put out, the proposed new rule because it expands the use of Title 42, which was put in place by Stephen Miller and the Trump administration really because they wanted to get everybody out, didn't want any asylum seekers in the United States. The Biden administration is not going that far, but it is the recurring use of Title 42. But there's also what's called a transit ban or a kind of modified transit ban that they're using.

And the way that works is if these migrants along the way, if they go through Mexico, for example, and don't apply for asylum in Mexico, then they suffer consequence when they come to the United States. They're barred from being considered for asylum. And so there's -- you're essentially setting a new precedent --

ACOSTA: Are you still with us?

CASTRO: Yes.

ACOSTA: Keep going. I'm sorry.

CASTRO: I'm here. Sure. No. So it sets a new precedent both for Democratic presidents and Republican presidents about how they're going to treat asylum seekers.

ACOSTA: Let me ask you this, because right now we're showing some live pictures of what's taking place in Brazil right now. As you know, and we've been reporting all afternoon here on CNN, pro-Bolsonaro supporters, supporters of the former President Jair Bolsonaro have stormed into various government buildings in that country's capital. It looks like a replay of January 6th. This time in Brazil, as you know, Congressman, you just have to look at the scenes on our screens right now, and we've been playing some of these screens earlier -- some of these images earlier today, one of these pro-Bolsonaro supporters was sitting at a desk inside the capitol in Brasilia, in Brazil, and it looked like a scene right out of January 6th.

What are your thoughts as this is taking place today?

CASTRO: Well, Bolsonaro was an authoritarian leader. And I stand with the democratically elected leadership in Brazil. And he basically used the Trump playbook to inspire domestic terrorists to try to take over the government. And you're right. It looks a lot like January 6th in the United States. And right now Bolsonaro is in Florida. And he's actually very close to Donald Trump. He should be extradited to Brazil.

In fact, it was reported that he was under investigation for corruption and fled Brazil to the United States. So we were talking about asylum seekers and immigration earlier, Republicans make a big deal and try to scare people about bad people in those groups, coming to the United States. Well, they know where one of them is. Jair Bolsonaro is in Florida hanging out with Donald Trump. He's a dangerous man. They should send him back to his home country of Brazil.

ACOSTA: And so if I'm gathering what you're saying, Congressman, are you calling on the Biden administration or authorities in Florida to return Bolsonaro, put him on a plane and send him to Brazil as soon as possible?

CASTRO: Yes, absolutely. Bolsonaro should not be in Florida. The United States should not be a refuge for this authoritarian who has inspired domestic terrorism in Brazil. He should be sent back to Brazil.

[16:25:08]

ACOSTA: And what do you think of -- I mean in recent weeks, we've seen people like Steve Bannon, close to the former President Donald Trump, sort of whipping up some of these same sentiments in Brazil as Bolsonaro was claiming that the election was stolen from him down there, that the new President Lula was a criminal and so on. Very eerily similar to a lot of the rhetoric that you heard before January 6th in this country. What do you make of these parallels?

CASTRO: Well, what's interesting is that you hear a lot of these guys like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller and others criticize what they call globalists. Well, in fact, they're trying to spread their -- what is really an authoritarian fascist movement and inspire domestic terrorism in other countries around the world. And Brazil is one example of that. And so it doesn't surprise me that Steve Bannon has made those comments. And it doesn't surprise me that Bolsonaro, who just inspired terrorism in his own country, is close to Donald Trump.

ACOSTA: All right. Congressman Joaquin Castro, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

[BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT]

Source