. i'm margaret brennan in washington. this week on "face the nation," political bickering over the border takes on a more dire tone and our new poll contains some worrisome signs for president biden. former president trump swept up more delegates saturday winning gop caucuses in three states as he continued his efforts to tap into voters' fear as a reason to support him.

>> biden's conduct on our border is by any definition a conspiracy to overthrow the united states of america. you know he talks about democracy. he is a danger to democracy. >> both trump and mr. biden made trips to the southern border on thursday. >> now things are being overrun by the biden migrant crime. a form of vicious violation to our country. it's migrant crime. >> president biden made his case for a bipartisan bill that would make significant changes to existing immigration policies. and blamed his rival for killing it. >> someone came along and said don't do that, it will benefit the incumbent. that's a lhell of a way to do business in america for such a problem. >> we'll ask alejandro mayorkas what the president can do to secure the border without the help of congress. plus the latest on the israel-hamas war and the growing u.s. sentiment for israel to curb their military actions.

we'll talk to biden surrogate and california congressman ro khanna. the head of the house intelligence committee mike turner will also be here along with alaska republican senator dan sullivan. they're pushing congress for foreign aid for ukraine and israel. finally a conversation with atf director steven dettelbach about guns in america and why new technology might require new solutions. it's all just ahead on "face the nation." ♪ good morning. welcome to "face the nation." we begin an important week in the 2024 election in which both president biden and former president trump are expected to win hundreds of delegates in super tuesday contests in more

than 15 states. on thursday, mr. biden will make his state of the union address. our cbs news poll out this morning shows the former president with a 4-point edge over the current president among likely voters nationwide. that is trump's largest general election lead yet in our surveys this cycle. joining us now is our executive director of elections and surveys anthony salvanto. anthony, good to have you here. >> good morning. >> so our polling has shown perception of the economy have been improving, so why isn't that helping joe biden? >> because it's the comparison people are making between how they rate the economy today and what they remember it being during the trump years, and it's the remembering is the key word there. i specifically asked how do you remember it, and two-thirds of voters say they remember it being good, which is also interesting because if you go back and look at the polling from that time people did, in fact, rate it good in 2018,

2019, but then the economy cratered after the pandemic and the shutdowns and doesn't seem like they're remembering that part of it here. but that's the reality today, so it's that comparison that isn't holding up for the white house, number one. then number two you push that forward and ask, whose policies might make prices go down, and there's a lot of republicans who think that prices will go down if donald trump gets elected, but what's troubli for joe biden is you still get him associated with price increases because a lot of people think the prices will continue to go up under his policies. that's why. >> memory is an interesting thing, isn't it? >> indeed. >> the campaign is leaning heavily into issues of democracy, access to voting, even calling donald trump a threat to democracy itself. why isn't that helping the biden campaign? >> well that's in the

electorate's mind but it's kind of priced in at this point in % this sense. you get -- a majority of americans that do think that the former president tried to stay in office past his constitutional term. the ones who think his approach to that was illegal, which is just under half r voting for joe biden. but everybody else, the ones who think he was following constitutional processes or wasn't planning to stay, they're all ready to return donald trump to office. that split in many ways defines not just the race, but also where we are as a country right now. maybe it moves a little bit as the trials go forward. maybe if there's a conviction, certainly somethig to watch. but net-net you get about an even split between biden and trump right now on who would do best at keeping democracy safe. >> democrats are putting reproductive rights front and center in this campaign betting that it will drive turnout among voters across party lines who

are just concerned about this issue. is that a safe bet? >> so, there is a majority that feels that the overturn of roe v. wade was bad for the country. but what's interesting to me is this difference between then who blames donald trump for that, which is what the biden campaign is trying to do. and that's a smaller number. but then coming even more immediately, the recent ivf ruling we asked about that and a large majority thinks that ivf should be legal so this issue is going to stay top of mind and certainly is going to be a factor. >> it's interesting because in alabama where that ruling happened two weeks ago, they are working very swiftly to protect it within the state legislature and the governor expected to look at some of those bills this week. it show how resonate that one issue is. there is going to be a key week. we have super tuesday upon us. has biden been able to

consolidate the base of his party, the really -- the people who are committed to coming out as democrats? >> well, in many ways no, not yet. that's important for two things. one is that a lot of measures that i've been describing here for joe biden are driven in part by the fact that democrats are more critical of him and more critical of their president than republicans are of donald trump. >> was that always the case? >> some ways that's typical for democrats. it's a more transactional approach, more criticism in there, where republicans they've told us they value loyalty to donald trump. so some of that is baked in. but having said that, it comes out in the politicl story right now that democrats being less likely to say that they'll definitely vote and a lot of joe biden's numbers are in part lower because of that. his campaign has work to do to drive up that motivation and he's not doing as well as he did

in 2020 with some key democrtic groups. i would add this and i think it's important, joe biden is trailing donald trump when we ask who has a vision for the country and that speaks across party lines in many ways, and what i think is important there, is that these are uncertain times in the minds of many voters when people see uncertainty, even if they don't rate things right now as good, and they don't, they want a road map and they want to know where things are going, and that's a key gap that i'm going to watch over the next few months. >> fascinating. anthony salvanto, thank you for your insights. >> thank you. we turn to america's immigration challenges. a u.s. official tells cbs news that border agents -- 140,000 migrant apprehensions in the month of february an increase from 124,000 in january. that doesn't include asylum seekers or those processed at a port of entry. joining us now is the homeland

security secretary alejandro mayorkas. it's good to have you here in person, sir. >> good morning, margaret. thanks for having me. >> we know that immigration is a key issue for voters across the country and according to our polling, by more than 5 to 1, voters believe president biden's policies will leave more migrants to try crossing the border compared to president trump's policies. only 22% think your policies will decrease migrant crossings. president biden himself has said the border hasn't been secure in ten years. is there anything he can do without congress to act now? >> margaret, we as an administration have taken executive actions, those executive actions are being litigated. we need congress to act. for more than three decades our system has been broken. a bipartisan group of senators put forth a real solution that would provide the department of homeland security and other departments and agencies

involved in the immigration system with resources that we need as well as policy changes that will fix this system. we need congress to act. that is the enduring solution. >> but congress won't act, as you saw. that proposal which we covered extensively on this program isn't moving forward in the senate and no future at this point in the house. and it has been reported that immigration and -- that i.c.e. is drafting plans to release migrants and slash capacity to hold detainees because that senate bill and the funding that was in it failed. >> that's inaccurate. >> that's inaccurate. that was in "the washington post" and that is not true. >> will you have to reprogram funds? >> we have done -- we have reprogrammed funds in the past because we have not been adequately resourced. again, emphasizing the importance of the legislation that would provide not only more personnel and more resources for

immigration and customs enforcement, but 1,500 personnel for u.s. customs and border protection. 4,300 asylum officers. this is vitally important. but in terms of enforcing our law, with the resources we have, since may of last year, we have removed or returned more people than in any entire year since 2015. over the last three years, we've removed, returned or expelled more people than in the four years of the prior administration. we are doing more with less, but we need more and we need the system fixed. president biden said it very frankly and very powerfully from brownsville, texas, just a few days ago. we need congress to have a spine, do its job, which is work for the american people, and rather than allow a problem to fester for political reasons, to

actually deliver the solution that everyone agrees is needed. >> short of this massive change of heart in congress, and productivity, cbs is reportng that president is considering executive action and invoking executive authority to 12-f i believe it's called to suspend the entry of foreigners when it's determined their arrival is not in the best interest of the country. if your agency is so strapped in terms of resources, could you implement that? >> margaret, we've contain executive actions. former president trump invoked 212-f, a statutory provision and that was enjoined by the courts. so when administrative actions are taken, they are often litigated and they do not endure. the american people deserve and expect enduring solutions and congress needs to deliver on the american public's expectations.

>> do i understand you saying there then that you would have reservations about trying to use the same authority that the trump administration had tried to use. >> that's not what i'm saying. we have an obligation to consider all options as we do day in and day out. but those options are not going to deliver what legislation would. we cannot administratively provide nearly $20 billion to the department of homeland security and the departments of state and justice to make our immigration system work better and to stop the ever-increasing immigration case court backlog that has been building year after year after year. we can't -- we can't administratively give the resources that we need. we need congress to appropriate. >> congress controls the purse strings. i want to ask you about a criminal case that has become a political rallying point. you heard donald trump use this phrase migrant crime. a 22-year-old nursing student, i

know you've been following this, laken riley, in the state of georgia was murdered allegedly by an undocumented venezuelan migrant. the suspect had been detained by border patrol upon crossing, leased with temporary permission to stay in the country. he then went on allegedly to commit crimes twice, once in new york for driving a scooter without a license and once in connection with a shoplifting case in georgia. did those states and their law enforcement communicate to the federal government that this had happened? should this man have been deported? >> a few thoughts. first, margaret, first and foremost, an absolute tragedy and our hearts break for and our prayers are with the family. number one. number two, and importantly, as a prosecutor, having prosecuted violent crime and other crimes for 12 years, one individual is responsible for the murder and that is the murderer. and we work very closely with

state and local law enforcement to ensure that individuals who pose a threat to public safety are indeed our highest priority for detention and removal. >> but are you saying there that the federal government had been informed about this individual and the alleged crimes he had committed in those states? because he could have been deported if that was the case. was there a breakdown in the system? >> so margaret, there are a number of cities around the country that have varying degreeses of cooperation with the immigration authorities. we firmly believe that -- >> new york did not? >> we firmly believe if a city is aware of an individual who poses a threat to public safety, then we would request that they provide us with that information so that we can ensure that that individual is detained if the facts so warrant. >> it sounds like they were not

coordinated? >> well, different cities have different levels of cooperation. we were not notified in this instance. >> mr. secretary, so much more to talk to you about. we hope you'll come back in the future. >> thank you so much, margaret. >> "face the nation" will be back in a minute. stay with us. r money managers,'e different. (other money manager) you can't be that different. (fisher investments) we are. we have a team of specialists not only in investing, but also also in financial and estate planning and more. (other money manager) your clients rely on you for all that? (fisher investments) yes. and as a fiduciary, we always put their interests first. (other money manager) but you still sell commission -based products, right? (fisher investments) no. we have a simple management fee structured so we do better when our clients do better. (other money manager) huh, we're more different than i thought! (fisher investments) at fisher investments, we're clearly different. feeling sluggish or weighed down? could be a sign that your digestive system isn't at its best. but a little metamucil everyday can help. metamucil's psyllium fiber gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down and also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption

to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic. lighten everyday the metamucil way. feel less sluggish & weighed down after just 14 days. sign up for the 2 week challenge at metamucil.com we're back with the chair of the house intelligence committee republican mike turner. good to have you here in person. a lot to get to, but i want to button up on the border because you've been warning and you have on this program of your concern of the national security emergency and the risk of terrorism. >> absolutely. >> because of the porous border. mr. trump has described the border as a biden conspiracy to overthrow the united states of america. do you think that's the case, and if so, doesn't that argue for congress taking up the bipartisan bill in the senate? >> this is what i think. so the fbi director, director wray, has himself personally stated that we are at the highest threat since 9/11 for a

terrorist attack within the united states, and he cites the open border for that. now, we know that the biden administration, this didn't just happen to them. president biden took a number of executive actions over 50 that resulted in the current situation that we have. it represents a national security threat and needs to be fixed. >> but congress writes laws. >> the law that came out of the senate -- >> you have the funding. >> the law would not have fixed this. it would have allowed a -- thousands of people to come across the border illegally. that's probably where most members in congress fell, you know, away from this bipartisan deal is that we would, in fact, be sanctioning what the administration was doing and allowing people to come across the border. the border needs to be closed. we need to get back to legal immigration and reform our legal immigration processes, and it represents a national security threat as you said. >> it would have given more authorities to a future president as well. i want to move on to a number of

different topics because there are a lot of crises right now. in the middle east, do you support the administration's decision to carry out these food drops of aid into gaza and potentially create a maritime corridor? >> well, i think it's essential that aid get into gaza. i was just briefed by the cia director burns friday personally. he is the one who is conducting the cease-fire negotiations, and he believes that we're close and important to accomplish. one, because there are hostages that are still being held as a result of hamas and the murderous onslaught of october 7th, but also because of the desperate need for aid to get into gaza. what's unfortunate is the palestinians are held hostage by hamas. they're down in bunkers, cowardly not responding to the conflict that they began while their people are starving and

shows exactly that hamas is really all about iran and not about the palestinians. >> on friday, president biden twice mistake beenly referred to gaza as ukraine but in his remarks what stood out to me was this >> we're going to insist israel facilitate more trucks and routes to get more and more people the help they need. no excuses because the truth is aid flowing to gaza is nowhere nearly enough. >> the most direct i've ever heard him say israel's responsible for a large part of this hold up. should there be consequences for israel standing in the way of that aid? >> i think as director burns is negotiating we're really close to a cease-fire. that is going to resolve this issue. it's going to open up the aid corridors and certainly i think in any conflict, both sides need to be held accountable and there are going to be questions as to what israel has done and the manner in which it has operated but it doesn't take away from

the issue that the palestinians are in a crisis because of hamas. and the fact that hamas in attacking israel and the manner which they have hidden during this conflict have allowed the condition of the palestinians to be in this state says a lot about hamas and this -- i have to give director burns tremendous amount of credit doing an excellent job and he will be successful. >> we'll watch those developments as we get closer to the beginning of ramadan. you raised public concern that got a lot of attention last month that led to the white house declassifying intelligence that russia is pursuing an anti-are satellite capability that would violate a treaty that bans weapons of mass destruction in space. did your disclosure make a difference in this case? >> i did not do this well. my committee, 23-1 voted to disclose this information to

congress because that's kind of our responsibilities when we have something that's critical and oversight of the administration when we believ they're not taking action to notify congress of this. i do think they were sleep walking into an international crisis. and i do think that as a result of the fact that we notified the rest of congress we did hold the administration accountable and they're taking action. from what i understand there was conflict at the administration what to do. jack sullivan needs credit for moving on this and recognizing its importance. i can't confirm or deny what this is because they haven't declassified at all, but, you know, assuming if you take the news reports to be, you know, hypothetically accurate, jim hines has said, if this is true, this would be the equivalent to a cuban missile crisis in space. unfortunately, we don't have john f. kennedy as president and we need an administration that acts and that understand that this is a huge national security, international security threat. >> wouldn't it argue for the

republican-controlled congress to green light this aid to ukraine that speaker has still not set a date for voting on? i know you support this. >> i absolutely do. we have to support ukraine. the speaker does support ukraine. i think that probably the most important development that occurred last week was the minority leader hakeem jeffries came forward and said the democrats will not join with the small number of republicans, you know, frequently refer to as the chaos caucus, who say to the speaker that we will remove the speaker if he moves forward on ukraine, moves forward on spending bills. they cannot do that without democrat support and democrats will not support that. as long as we're moving forward with bipartisan bills that includes funding the government, ukraine, israel, i believe as a result of that step, speaker johnson now has the leeway and the flexibility to work through congress and the appropriations committee, i think it's going to be moving quickly. we're going to get our appropriations -- >> in april. >> a they're not out of

ammunitions. i was in kyiv last month and met with zelenskyy and certainly spoke to our military and they are rationing but they are not out. this is critical. we have to support them now or they will lose, and i think the speaker sees that emergency, hakeem jeffries sees that emergency and we're going to see bills hit the floor. >> we'll stay tuned for when that happens. mike turner, thank you for joining us. we'll be right back with a lot more "face the nation" so stay with us. ey good, bad, meh? what's the average household income? is there a mall? i don't know. a hair salon? where do you get your hair done? (opponent) you gonna move, or what? (marci) oh, i'm sorry. it's a lovely neighborhood. (luke) marci, we've gotta go. (marci) i'm coming! (luke) we've got seventeen thousand more parks to visit. (marci) you wanna give me a hand? (luke) we bring you the best neighborhood info. (vo) ding dong! homes-dot-com. (bobby) my store and my design business?

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- lift the clouds off of... - virtual weather, only on kpix and pix+. . welcome back to "face the nation." we turn now to the latest on the war in the middle east where urgency grows to get aid into gaza. our imtiaz tyab reports from tel aviv and we want to warn you some images are disturbing. >> reporter: high above gaza, three c-130 aircrafts air drop 38,000 meals in coordination