[Ivan Cabrera, Cnn International Meteorologist:] a threat will continue to move further to the east.
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Anchor:] Ivan Cabrera, thank you so much.
[Cabrera:] You bet.
[Donald Trump, President Of The United States:] They want more people in their sanctuary cities well, we'll give them more people. We can give them a lot. We can give them an unlimited supply.
[Mike Pompeo, U.s. Secretary Of State:] When we see those nations engage in activities that reduce the outflow of migration from nation, the American people will continue to be incredibly generous.
[Unidentified Female:] There are women and children being held in cages. I held a 2-month-old baby. This is just as un-American as you get.
[Rep. Ilhan Omar:] Cain was founded after 911 because they recognize that some people did something.
[Unidentified Male:] She just called it "something." It wasn't even something terrible. It's obscene for the president to try to take that pain and make a political gain from it. You'd think that the world would be different if it were led by women?
[Hillary Clinton, Former Democratic Presidential Candidate:] Of course! I don't just say that, I believe it.
[Announcer:] This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.
[Blackwell:] Good Saturday morning to you. Top Democratic presidential candidates are calling a video shameful, Islamophobic and dangerous in their defense of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar against the president's latest tweet.
[Christi Paul, Cnn Anchor:] So, President Trump tweeted a video of Omar that was intercut with images from 911. The Minnesota Democrat is one of the first of two Muslim women elected to Congress, remember.
[Blackwell:] There's also a reversal for the White House, another one a day after an official told CNN the idea was quickly rejected. The president confirms that he is considering moving migrants to sanctuary cities. Critics call that playing cool and unworthy of the presidency possibly illegal.
[Paul:] And 100 million people under the threat of severe weather this weekend. We're talking about strong tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds could sweep across several states. The president confirming, he is considering moving detained migrants to sanctuary cities. The acting Secretary of Defense says, he expects to send more troops to the southern border as well.
[Blackwell:] All right, let's go now to CNN's White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins, she has the latest on the president's plan.
[Trump:] We can give them an unlimited supply.
[Kaitlan Collins, Cnn White House Correspondent:] President Trump is touting a proposal to place undocumented migrants in sanctuary cities to retaliate against Democrats shattering his own administration's denials of the policy.
[Trump:] So, we'll give them to the sanctuary cities, maybe, to take care of if that's what they want.
[Collins:] Trump, making the threat in person, after tweeting earlier that because Democrats are unwilling to change our dangerous immigrations laws, we are indeed giving strong considerations to placing illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities only. Those remarks, coming just hours after a White House official said the idea was briefly and informally raised and quickly rejected. No one at ICE was pressured by anyone at any time. But sources tell CNN, the president pushed former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Neilsen to carry out the proposal. She resisted and the plan was scrapped for legal reasons.
[Unidentified Female:] This is an outrageous abuse of power and public resources.
[Collins:] the president's warning coming as CNN has learned that during his trip to the border last week, Trump told Kevin McAleenan, now the Acting DHS Secretary, that if he were jailed or faced legal issues because he blocked migrants from entering the U.S., he would pardon him. It's unclear if Trump meant it as a joke. But the episode revealed the boundaries the president is willing to push to stop a recent rise in immigration numbers, making his frustration clear today.
[Trump:] If they don't agree, we might as well do what they always say they want.
[Collins:] News of the attempted sanctuary city proposal infuriated Democrats.
[Rep. Nancy Pelosi:] thinking about it. But again, it's just another notion that is unworthy of the presidency of the United States and disrespectful of the challenges that we face, as a country, as a people, to address who we are a nation of immigrants.
[Collins:] A spokesman for House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who is from one of the highest profile sanctuary cities in California saying in a statement that the extent of this administration's cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated, using human beings, including little children as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable and, in some cases, criminal. But Trump seemed to relish the outrage from Democrats.
[Trump:] Let's see if they are so happy. They say, we have open arms. They're always saying they have open arms. Let's see if they have open arms.
[Collins:] The drama coming amid an upheaval at DHS, which is now being run by an acting secretary, acting deputy secretary, acting customs and border protection commissioner and an acting ICE director. A border official announcing that starting today, they'll release immigrants in El Paso to local organizations because ICE is at capacity. And six of the major border check points are currently understaffed because agents are being sent to parts of the border that are facing a surge in migrants. Now, the president made clear that he believes the sanctuary city proposal would be a punishment for Democrats. But Jim Kenney, the Mayor of Philadelphia, which is considered a sanctuary city said they would welcome all immigrants with open arms. He said, he believes this latest proposal just shows "the utter contempt for human dignity that the Trump administration has, and he added, and I'm quoting him now, that it's just "Trump's desire to flout the rule of law to appease his political base. Kaitlin Collins, CNN, the White House.
[Paul:] And thanks to you, Kaitlan Collins. So, critics are calling the plan cruel and unworthy of the president. The question is, is it legal? John Bresnahan, Capitol Bureau Chief for Politico with us now, as well as Page Pate, Federal and Constitutional Attorney. And Page, I want come to you about, first, General Counsel at DHS, John Mitnik, as we understand it, quoting to CNN reporting, our Jake Tapper, sent legal guidance to the White House back in February saying: look, you cannot do this. What authority, Page, does the president have to make this happen?
[Page Pate, Federal And Constitutional Attorney:] Well, Christi, there's no clear authority for the president to take this type of action. I mean, aside from the political and logistical challenges of trying to do what he's suggesting, there is nothing in the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows the White House, the executive, Department of Homeland Security to take people who have pending asylum applications and disperse them in cities across the country. Now, having said that, because there's nothing specific in the law that says you can do it or not do it, the president here is clearly trying to push the envelope, saying look: I have some discretion here under this law that Congress passed a deal with asylum seekers, how I want to deal with them. So, since there's nothing saying I can do it and there's nothing saying I can't do it, I'm going to try and I'm going to leave it up to the courts. Of course, that makes it very difficult to enforce the law and that is clearly not what Congress intended when they passed this statute.
[Paul:] And you know, John, the interesting thing is, there's an argument that this, actually, if he would do this, it makes it more difficult for them to attend deportation hearings, which means you cannot monitor where they are. They may not show up. And doesn't that counteract what the president keeps saying he wants to do is deport immigrants?
[John Bresnahan, Capitol Bureau Chief, Politico:] I mean, this would be a disastrous policy. I mean, you are talking about sending detainees, hundreds and many thousands of miles from where they've been picked up, and where their hearings would be for asylum. So, I just think this is just something that just, you know
[Paul:] But it's counter of the president's promises, right?
[Bresnahan:] Exactly! I mean, this would be go exactly against what the president has said he wants to reduce immigration, he wants to make sure the people here legally are forced out deported. And this would work exactly the wrong the opposite way which is why you're seeing members of Congress, especially Democrats freaking out about this. And the Republicans, you can tell how unpopular this is on Capitol Hill, by the fact that Republicans are saying nothing. I can't even get a response out of the Republican leadership about. This is how unpopular this move is.
[Paul:] All right. Let's listen to Mazie Hirono, a member of the Judiciary and Armed Services Committee. This is what she said last night about it.
[Sen. Mazie Hirono:] He doesn't think immigrants are human beings. And two, he doesn't have to apply the law with regard to his treatment of them. There's a level of uncaring cruelty to the president that is off the charts.
[Paul:] John, do you get the sense that some Republicans somewhere is going to have to speak up about this?
[Bresnahan:] I think, at some point there will be. And some of the hardline Republican Conservatives will defend the president on this. But I think you look at the Republican leadership on both sides of the House and Senate, they have nothing to say about this. Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, is from California. The idea that the federal government would be sending detainees, immigrant detainees to California, Kevin McCarthy's own state has got to be offensive to him except, they don't want to talk about it right now. What they're saying is they support President Trump on the border, on strong enforcement. You know, they're just trying to make very general answers and trying to stay as far away from this as they can.
[Paul:] So, Page, as I understand it, the DHS money can only be spent to transport migrants if the criteria meets their purpose, saying if there's overcrowding which we know that there is. If there's medical care that is needed by some of these people. Is this, however, if you send them far away from where they have been apprehended, is it a violation of due process?
[Pate:] It could be, Christi. I mean, understand, though, that people entering the country who have not received the proper documentation ahead of time, they come in under a certain different status. And the Immigration and Nationality Act, sets forth very clear circumstances under which they can apply for asylum, under which they can be removed either expedited removal or regular removal. A whole complex set of laws and regulations to deal with this issue, but it all depends on everyone acting in good faith. And in this case, instead of acting in good faith and following the intent of Congress, the president said, I'm going to do it my way, I'm going to ignore all of the protections, all of the procedures that we've put in place over the past several decades, and I'm going to do this for political reasons, not because I think it's the best way to handle immigration policy and certainly not because I think it's giving due process to people who are legitimately seeking asylum.
[Paul:] So, John, the San Francisco mayor said that he believes this is just another scare tactic from the president. Does this point the finger, now, to some degree, back at Congress? They've had years to come up with a plan that is sufficient, that is workable. Why can't that happen?
[Bresnahan:] I mean, there have been numerous attempts in Congress to revise immigration laws in 2013, the Senate passed a bill that, of course, eventually stalled in the house. There is talk about putting the 2013 bill, the Senate bill up for a vote again in the House. The Democrats have talked about House Democrats have talked about that. I mean, immigration is a hugely complex issue that has, you know, cultural, social, economic impacts. And the idea that Congress is going to rush into this, even both sides say they want to do something is hard to see. But I do think there is, you know, you've seen the president really move over the last four or five months and put immigration is in the middle of his re-election campaign. Now, every Republican is going to have to run on this in 2020. And they saw in 2018 that they this is not a winning issue for them. So, I think this is a really tough place the president is putting his party in.
[Paul:] John Bresnahan and Page Pate, appreciate both of you being here, gentlemen. Thank you.
[Pate:] Thank you.
[Blackwell:] North Korean Leader, Kim Jong-un, says he is open to a third summit with the U.S., but with some conditions. Speaking before the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, he said the U.S. must stop "its current way of calculation to continue talks." He added that if the U.S. does not change their approach, the prospects for problem solving will be dark and very dangerous. Kim Jong-un sorry will give the U.S. until the end of the year to decide how they want to proceed.
[Paul:] President Trump attacking Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with images of the Twin Towers crashing down. There are several Democrats now coming to her defense overnight.
[Blackwell:] Plus, the fisher-price rock 'n play sleeper on the recall list. Consumer advocate say, the product is linked to the deaths of more than two dozen children over a ten-year period. What parents need to know if they have one of these sleepers in their home.
[Paul:] And do stay with us; the survivors and families who lost the people that they love in the Parkland Shooting Massacre are suing Broward County school district now. One of the fathers of the victims is with us next. Stay close.