CNN "State of the Union with Candy Crowley" - Transcript: Immigration Crisis

Interview

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First to Texas and Congressman Cuellar.

Let me ask you first for conditions. Your office was kind enough to send us some pictures of one of the processing centers that you visited. So describe the situation to me now, both in terms of the numbers of children coming across on a daily basis. Where are they? Who is taking care of them?

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D), TEXAS: Well, first of all, just this month of may, we had just on the Texas border, Border Patrol detained 48,000 individuals; 9,700 of them were kids coming in with no parents, so you can see that the Border Patrol is having a challenging time.

There's just not enough facilities that can hold that many individuals, as those pictures have shown, and the other thing is not enough detention spaces, so, therefore, adults are being held and then there's about 20 to 25 flights a week that ICE will send back to Central America, some from Laredo, El Paso and, of course, Brownsville.

But if you're a woman, a mother with a child, then they're being dropped off. In fact, every week in this area, down here in South Texas, about 500 individuals are being released at the bus station. And, of course, if you're a kid with no parent, you're being sent off to Lackland Air Force Base or some other places.

So, therefore, we're seeing large numbers of individuals coming in. But let me remind you, Candy, this is the not the first time we have seen this. We have seen this in the 1980s with people from Cuba and of course from El Salvador. But we had a civil war in El Salvador.

And, of course, about 10 years ago, the Brazilians were coming in because Mexico didn't call for a visa, so they were coming in through into the U.S. So, we have seen these type of surges before in the past, except this is a little different, a little different, because you got so many kids with no parents coming in with them at that time.

CROWLEY: And tell me -- first of all, let me just make sure I have this figure correct. In the last month, so I'm assuming that means in June, 9,000 unaccompanied kids presented at the border, 9,000 in a month?

CUELLAR: That was the month -- that was the month of May. We're waiting for the numbers for June, but they should be almost the same.

Just the month of May this year, 9,700 kids with no parents at all. I have seen them. I have talked to them. In fact, I was here with the first lady of Honduras. We got to see some of the young kids there at the Border Patrol station in McAllen. Then we went over to the Lackland Air Force and we got to see them where HHS, the Health and Human Services, was taking care of them.

So, we have seen them when -- right when they are detained.

CROWLEY: Right.

CUELLAR: And, of course, we have seen them when they are held at one of the facilities like Lackland before they're turned over to a family member or a foster home.

CROWLEY: Right, and the reason that I'm -- I stopped at that 9,000 figure here is, I want to show our audience some yearly figures that we have.

The source here is "The Los Angeles Times." It printed an article this morning. And this is unaccompanied children appointed -- apprehended from El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras.

In the fiscal year 2012, 10,000 for the entire year -- then it doubled the next year to 20,000, and it had from last year to date 39,000. So, you know, putting that on top of you're saying 9,000 are coming a month, why now? Why are they coming?

CUELLAR: Well, first of all, this just didn't happen.

You're right. I have seen those numbers. They have increased. In 2009, we had a little bit close to 6,000 kids. Last year, we had over 25,000. Of course, now we're seeing a larger number at this time. When we were with Border Patrol, they tell us that a lot of those kids are coming in from the border of Guatemala and Mexico because there's really not a lot of security down there.

And they're -- a lot of them primarily are coming in buses. I emphasize in buses. This is what Border Patrol intelligence is telling us. So, they're resent over by..

CROWLEY: But why, Congressman? Why are -- why are they coming in such numbers? What do you think prompts these numbers right now?

CUELLAR: Well, this is my opinion.

One, of course, we do have the poverty and the violence down there in those three Central American countries. At the same time, I think the organizations, drug organizations, smuggling organizations, many times the same people, are making a lot of money.

Look at this. If we had 48,000 that came in, in the month of May into Texas, just Texas, multiply that by an average of $5,000 -- they charge from $4,000 to $6,000, maybe a little bit more, maybe a little bit less, $5,000 -- 48,000 times five, that would tell you just the month of May, the organizations made $240 million.

And that doesn't even include the drugs they're trying to -- that they have trying to smuggle into the U.S., so it's a big-money situation, because think about it. Why are they all coming in through South Texas? A lot of it is because the organizations are trying to flood the zones and come in.

They know there is a law that says that if you are an adult, you're going to be sent back. You're going to be flown back if you're a Central American, but if you're a mother with kids or a child with no kids under the 2008 Human Trafficking Act, people are treated differently.

CROWLEY: Right.

CUELLAR: As you know, if you're a Mexican, you get sent back. Mother, kids, adults, you're sent back, but if you're a noncontiguous country like the Central American countries...

CROWLEY: Right.

CUELLAR: ... then the law says that you are going to be held, Health and Human Services, and they're going to place you. And that's the law that we need to change right now.

CROWLEY: Congressman, last question before I turn to the mayor, and that is, when you saw the video of protesters blocking the buses of the moms and the children or the unaccompanied minors that was trying to reach a processing center near Murrieta, California, what was your reaction to that demonstration?

CUELLAR: Well, you know, certainly, you know, I understand that anti-immigrant individuals have the right to protest and pro- immigrants have to -- have the right to protest.

The only thing is, we got to keep this civil. When I -- when we hear that some of the anti-immigrants were spitting on Lupillo Rivera, the Mexican-American singer, that type of aggression should be calmed, should not be taking place. We -- people have the right to do this, but, again, the American public is frustrated. And, again, we can work on this, and we can get the detention spaces, we can remove them, take care of the kids, but remove them and put them in the right day -- caregivers in those countries.

CROWLEY: OK. Right.

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