♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the newshour tonight -- in his first cabinet meeting of this administration, president trump previews further slashes to the federal workforce. geoff: the house narrowly passes a major budget plan including large cuts to taxes and spending. we speak with the house budget committee chairman. amna: and the trump administration deports migrants to a latin america stopover,

regardless of their country of origin. >> they may be violations of u.s. law. especially with respect to people who have expressed fear of being returned. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ >> on un-american cruise lines -- an american cruise lines journey, travelers experience the maritime heritage and culture of the maine coast and new england islands. our fleet of small cruiseships explore seaside villages, and historic harbors, where you can experience local customs and cuisine. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs newshour. >> in 1995, two friends set out to make wireless coverage

accessible to all with no long-term contract, nationwide coverage, and 100% u.s.-based customer support. consumer cellular. freedom calls. ♪ >> the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change, so people and nature can drive together. supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by

contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the newshour. at the white house today, president donald trump convened the very first cabinet meeting of his second administration. geoff: in an hour-plus long q&a with reporters, mr. trump did most of the talking. and there was one figure there who didn't have a seat at the table, but whose influence there was undeniable. lisa desjardins begins our coverage. reporter: at the table, some two dozen members of president trump's cabinet meeting for the first time. >> thank you being here. reporter: and on the side, bill enyart elon musk, whose work impacts them all. musk was effusive about trump. >> he has put together i think the best cabinet ever. reporter: and pointed about

government employees, defending an e-mail directing them to list their actions on the job. >> i think that emails was best interpreted as a performance review. actually it was a pulse check review. do you have a pulse? do you have a pulse and two neurons? if you have a pulse and two neurons, you can reply to an e-mail. reporter: some agencies told workers not to respond, and even so donald trump gave this warning. >> i would like to add those one million people that have not responded, they are on the bubble. i would say that we are thrilled about it. reporter: this, as a new memo indicates the trump administration is getting ready to greatly riff up layoffs, directing federal agencies to develop large-scale reductions in force by mid-march. donald trump but scope into perspective. >> he thinks he's going to be

cutting 65 or so percent of the people from environmental. we will speed up the process at the same time. reporter: as he slices government, donald trump, who ran on fighting inflation, addressed a spike. >> we have to get the prices and inflation down, eggs every disaster. we will be showing it which are that's actually mind-boggling was happening. how low they were with us and how high they are now. i think we can do something about it. reporter: from there, a grab bag of questions from reporters. they about immigration policy. donald trump pitched his so-called gold card idea. >> instead of a green card plus. reporter: a path to citizenship with a $5 million investment price tag per person that would replace the current eb5 immigrant investor visa. >> if we sell a million, right, a million, that is $5 trillion. reporter: the current program

sees 100 times fewer visas than that per year and this offer to sell one million potential citizenships comes as donald trump has virtually shut down other legal paths, including asylum, is broken and corrupt. on ukraine, he said president volodymyr zelenskyy is headed to washington this friday to sign an agreement over ukraine's natural resources. and on the war, he pushed the idea of tough concessions for the country. >> nato, you can forget about. reporter: but said a peace deal between kyiv and moscow is still on the table. trump also said he thinks vladimir putin's goal is to take over ukraine. >> he had no intention in my opinion of settling this war. i think he wanted the whole thing. reporter: another hot topic. house republicans sweeping budget outline past last night on a dramatic boat by the thinnest of margins. donald trump said the $2 million in cuts will not affect medicaid or social security, with a caveat. >> we are not going to touch it.

we are going to look for fraud. reporter: he set up his cabinet relatively quickly with just three members out of two dozen left to confirm. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. geoff: billionaire elon musk says his campaign to fire tens of thousands of federal workers and cancel government contracts is in the name of rooting out fraud and waste. his doge group has posted what it calls a wall of receipts on its website that claims it has saved billions by cutting certain federal contracts. but reports and government documents prove that many of these so-called savings are either misleading or incorrect. our white house correspondent, laura barron lopez, has been looking into these errors and joins me now. laura, what kinds of savings are elon musk and his team claiming and is that math add up? >> elon musk and his team say the total cuts equal $65 billion in savings. on contract cancellations, firing workers, and "fraud detection," but as the new york times first reported, five of doge's the biggest contracts

that they say resulted in savings ended up being deleted from the wall of receipts after it was pointed out there were errors. some of the biggest errors in savings are scb experts reported a usaid contract that was listed three times for $650 million, in social security contract listed as $232 million, instead of 565,000, and a ice contract that doge listed at $8 billion when in reality it was $8 million. that was a credit line. that means ice may have never ended up paying out that total $8 million. some of these contracts were on the wall of receipts, they were either already paid or canceled under the biden administration. so doge is essentially taking a lot of credit for some of these contracts that do not appear to be actually the savings they say they are. geoff: and know you were working the phones and talking to

vendors who appear on the so-called wall of receipts, what did they tell you? reporter: kyle midura spoke to taylor jones, his country -- -- company does leadership and management training. in company was listed on doge's while the receipts on having a contract for almost $10 million. but taylor jones told news hour not only was the amount of money wrong, it was actually $100,000, but it was not a guaranteed payment it was a credit line, and the agreement with the government was never signed. >> we never had a contract and we've actually never had a contract with the government that was, you know, a $10 million contract, or even a $1 million contract. so, not that we're opposed to it, but we -- it's never happened. so we were a little surprised to start getting calls from reporters about a non-contract that was never executed. reporter: so essentially, there wasn't even a contract to

delete, and when you look at all of this across-the-board, the mass is really not adding up to $65 billion. geoff: there will be people who will say what elon musk's trying to do is to -- -- is still a worthy effort. how much have they saved so far? reporter: the actual savings is $2 million according to experts we spoke to. elon musk says these cuts are meant to help reduce the deficit and pay for republicans' tax cuts. we spoke to jessica riedl, the chief economist for senator rob portman, a republican. she put those savings in context and corrected the record. >> at this point, the $2 billion in savings identified by elon musk would pay for 1/75 of 1% of the entire national debt. i haven't found any legitimate evidence of fraud in the spending that elon musk has highlighted.

i have found expenditures that a lot of people wish the government would wouldn't engage in, such as dei contracts and politico subscriptions. but that doesn't make them fraudulent. it just makes them policies that certain people would not like us to be spending money on. reporter: jessica noted there so far there appears to be no evidence of front despite elon musk's claims of it and she also added a few you did distribute some of the $2 billion or so in savings across taxpayers in america which is what elon musk has said he would like to do, it would basically come to $2.42 per person, so potentially not enough for a cup of coffee in some cities. geoff: there are new concerns of veterans affairs because doge is set to cancel a number of contracts there, stands to be affected? >> v.a. secretary doug collins posted $2 billion worth of cuts that would be across 875

contracts that would be canceled. multiple sources told me two of those cancel contractor with organizations that helped implement the pact act that expanded health care and disability benefits for veterans that had illnesses caused by toxic exposures, and so cutting those contracts would put the onus back on veterans to deal with their benefits and trying to essentially communicate between the health care side and the benefits side so it can be incredibly detrimental to them. . we don't know the status of many of these 875 contracts. we have not gotten clear answers from veterans affairs. and it appears as though the ones that affect the pact act could very well still be canceled. geoff: laura baran lopez, thanks to you and the team for working through all of this. we appreciate it. reporter: thank you. ♪ amna: we start the day's other

headlines in texas, where officials announced the first death from a recent measles outbreak. they say the victim was an unvaccinated school aged child who was hospitalized in west texas last week. there are at least 124 confirmed cases of the highly contagious respiratory illness across nine texas counties. they have been mostly reported among children, many of them unvaccinated. there are also nine cases in eastern new mexico. today's fatality is the nation's first reported death from measles since 2015. at today's cabinet meeting, hhs secretary robert f. kennedy jr. said there were actually two deaths from the recent outbreak, though the second fatality has not been confirmed. at the supreme court today, justices seemed to side with an ohio woman who brought a lawsuit claiming workplace discrimination because she is straight. marlean ames says she was passed over for a promotion at the ohio department of youth services in favor of a gay woman and then demoted in favor of a gay man.

justice brett kavanaugh said today that workplace discrimination, "whether you are gay or straight, is prohibited. the rules are the same whichever way it goes." if the high court rules in her favor, it could make it easier for people to pursue such so-called reverse discrimination claims. a baltimore judge is considering whether to reduce the life sentence for adnan syed to time served. it's just the latest twist in a case that rose to national prominence as the subject of the serial podcast more than a decade ago. syed was released from prison in 2022 after prosecutors found problems with the case. they asked a judge to overturn his murder conviction for the death of his high school ex-girlfriend back in 1999. today, both prosecutors and his attorney said the 43-year-old doesn't pose a risk to public safety. last night, prosecutors withdrew an attempt to vacate his murder conviction outright, meaning that it remains on the books.

in the middle east, an israeli security official has hamas handed over the bodies of four dead israeli hostages tonight. the first phase is due to expire in just days. the men hamas named ranged in age between 50 and 85, and were being swapped for roughly 600 palestinian prisoners. israel had delayed the prisoner release since saturday, citing hamas' treatment of hostages during previous exchanges. in the meantime -- [singing] thousands of israelis lined the streets during a funeral procession for deceased hostages shiri, ariel, and kfir bibas. the bodies of the mother and her two young sons were handed over by hamas last week. at the funeral, yarden bibas, who survived hamas captivity, said goodbye to his wife and children. >> shiri, i'm sorry i couldn't

protect you all. i think about everything we went through together -- there are so many beautiful memories. i can't kiss or hug you, and it's breaking me and killing me. shiri, please watch over me. amna: hamas says shiri and her children were killed in an israeli airstrike, but israeli forensic teams say there is evidence they were killed by hamas. new data suggests that a years-long decline in the nation's christian population has levelled off. results of a pew research center survey out today found that 62% of u.s. adults identify as christian. that number has held steady since 2019 after falling from 78% in 2007. and whether christian or not, a vast majority of americans consider themselves spiritual, with 83% saying they believe in god or some kind of universal spirit. washington post owner jeff bezos announced today that the paper's opinion pages will focus on

defending "personal liberties and free markets." in a social media post, bezos says he told employees that “viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.” critics say it's the latest rightward shift at the post under bezos, aimed at pleasing president trump. bezos insists that newspapers these days should not offer a broad based opinion section, saying that the internet does that job. following today's announcement, the post's opinion editor, david shipley, announced he's stepping down. on wall street today, stocks ended mixed after a recent run of losses. the dow jones industrial average slipped nealry 200 points on the day. the nasdaq added nearly 50 points, or about a quarter of 1%. the s&p 500 ended virtually flat. and actor michelle trachtenberg has died. she got her start as a child actor, most notably on nickelodeon's "the adventures of pete & pete." trachtenberg was just 10 years old when she shot to fame in the

1996 film "harriet the spy." she later co-starred on hit tv shows like "buffy the vampire slayer" and "gossip girl." new york city police say they responded to a 911 call early today and found trachtenberg unconscious and unresponsive. no criminal involvement is suspected. an investigation is ongoing. michelle trachtenberg was just 39-years-old. still to come on the newshour -- advocacy groups react to a court order blocking president trump's ban on refugees. panama's deputy foreign minister discusses his country's role in the u.s. immigration crackdown. and the upcoming met gala shines a spotlight on the the cultural impact of black men's fashion. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from the david m. rubinstein studio at weta in washington and from the west from the walter -- and in the west from the walter cronkite school of

journalism at arizona state university. amna: when the house passed the republican budget framework last night, it was an important step towards implementing president trump's agenda. the house gop plan includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, spending cuts totaling $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion, and will add an estimated $3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. congressman jodey arrington of texas chairs the budget committee and he joins me now. chairman, welcome to the newshour. thanks for joining us. >> good to be with you. amna: the bill passed on a 217-215 vote, is it fair to say that the real work begins of trying to figure out exactly where you are going to get those $2 trillion in cuts? >> i think you are right. we had to lay out a framework that i think was fiscally responsible, progrowth. it makes adjustments for supporting the tax cuts, while

reining in the wasteful spending to offset those cuts, along with growth -- or revenue rather from growth, which is a conservative 2.6% annual average growth rate, which is lower than we had in the trump and biden administrations, but that will bring in another $2.6 trillion in, so altogether it is a balanced budget resolution but as you mentioned the real work happens as the policies are developed at the committee level. and it is designed that way to be a them-up approach and then of course we will have a conference with the senate. amna: as you know there's been a lot of concerns about cuts to medicaid, the mandate you set for the energy and commerce committee that oversees medicaid is for them to cut $880 billion, the largest pot of money they oversee is medicare which you said you will not touch -- so how do you see heading that $880 billion figure without touching

medicaid? >> we are going to make sure that we actually eliminate the waste that exists in the federal government, not just in the medicaid program but across the federal government. the government accountability office estimates, just within 70 programs in the federal government, a $2.7 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse. on the higher end, $5 trillion. we have to put the program integrity measures in place to make sure those that are legally eligible are those receiving the benefits that the taxpayers and lawmakers intended. for example, if you just review for eligibility not once but twice a year -- -- going back to the trump administration policies -- you will actually not only prevent the fraudulent spending of tax dollars, but you will say $160 billion -- saved

160 berlin dollars you can put towards reducing the deficit and making not just medicaid but all of these programs sustainable today. they are not sustainable. so program integrity and state accountability, personal responsibility. snap has requirements for able-bodied adults who were able to work, to work, to receive the benefit. we think it is responsible to do that across the government. medicaid doesn't have that. these are some of the things that will be needed at the committee level. amna: just to double check the math, that $3 trillion, that is the cumulative of estimated overpayments in fraud dating back to 2003, so that is not quite apples to apples here -- you mentioned the $160 billion that would come from reversing some biden era policies, but the national and proverb pay rate only totals about $31 billion. pointing this out to show that no where are you near $880

billion. again, where using meth that says you can get to that number without touching medicaid? >> let me correct that statement, the government accountability office, $2.7 trillion in improper payments is a 10 year number, not since 2003, that is going forward, in fact, there's $50 billion in medicaid, over $500 billion over the 10 year window. when we want to save 1.5 to 2 trillion dollars, that is within the window, that is apples to apples. there are outside groups that have measured this. when that comes to mind his numbers usa. they say we are spending 100 50 -- $150 billion for social services that are in this country illegally. but is more than we spend on u.s. citizens who are the most vulnerable among us and eligible for medicaid. it is also more than we spend

for our veterans and military benefits. there is a lot of cleaning up, a lot of waste and fraud. amna: if i may, chairman, is it possible for you to guarantee that none of the 70 million people that rely on medicaid are going to have their benefits cut? can you make that guarantee? >> i can tell you this, these programs are not sustainable for the most vulnerable people. i can also tell you the obamacare expansion population, they get a 90% federal match and the blind, disabled, the sickest and poorest among us got 65% on average. so the entire health system is oriented around giving better care and better access to able-bodied obamacare expansion population. there's a lot of ways to make it work better. amna: i think our conversation on this will continue. i do want to ask you about some of the federal worker firings we have seen from elon musk's doge

team, the latest figures show some 130,000 federal employees who live in the state of texas in your district, 8000 or so, do you know of any of those federal workers have lost their jobs as a result of this team's cuts? >> i don't know any personally who have. amna: do you know of any in your district? >> do i know of any who have been cut? amna: yes, any federal employees in your district who have lost their jobs as a result of the doge's team cuts. >> there may have been people who have had their jobs terminated. i don't know of any. i can tell you after having worked in the administration of president bush, being in the administration, there is a lot of unnecessary jobs, there a lot of ways, we had about half the workforce not even going to work the last four or five years, so look -- where there is value added, where there are people who are being productive and advancing the federal government's mission and serving the american people, i don't

think there's a problem but we have a lot of bloat and a lot of waste. so i support the efforts that are being taken under president trump and elon musk and his cabinet officials. amna: among the doge team's listings of cuts, they listed dhs closures in abilene, texas which is in your district with an estimate of savings of $340,000. i don't how many people were cut there. are you concerned that if hundreds of people in your district lose their jobs, it will impact your community? >> i am concerned that our federal budget went from four point federal and others before covid to $7 trillion. i'm concerned that during the biden administration, $8 trillion was added to the national debt. amna: are you concerned about people losing their jobs in your district? >> i am concerned about bankrupting the country, and i am also trusting this president to make sure that where we need the human resources, where they are productive and can justify the value added to advancing the

federal government's mission, that will happen. we are long overdue for an audit from top to bottom and we need to make sure the taxpayers are getting a return on their investment and we are returning their money and that does not happen in this town enough. i support what the president and elon musk are doing 100%. amna: that is the house budget chairman, jodey arrington, joining us in it. thank you for your time. >> you, too, bye-bye. ♪ geoff: a federal judge in seattle has blocked president trump's executive order halting the admission of refugees into the u.s. the judge said the administration had likely exceeded its authority by freezing the u.s. refugee admissions program, which was established by congress in 1980. it remains to be seen whether the administration will comply, while a lawsuit challenging the

ban -- filed by some of the country's largest resettlement organizations -- works its way through the courts. we're joined now by mark hetfield. he is the president of hias, that's the country's oldest refugee resettlement agency and the organization is also a plaintiff in that lawsuit. help us understand what the u.s. refugee admissions program is. how does the program work and who does it aimed to assist? >> the program was started in 1980 by the refugee act of 1980 to provide a safe and legal pathway for people fleeing persecution or war or conflict to come to the u.s. to either join with family or to meet humanitarian policy priorities of the u.s. government. geoff: what was a material impact of the suspension, how were the refugees affected and your employees as well? >> it was devastating. this was not just a mere suspension like it was in the

first trump term. this was a complete dismantlement of the refugee program. not only did all refugees -- were all refugees stopped from arriving but also all the processing offices were shut down, everything was defunded. it's going to be almost impossible to start it back up. in terms of the impact, for example my agency had 621 refugees who worked vetted by homeland security, approved by homeland security, had plane tickets in hand and were supposed to arrive in february but they are not coming, the plane tickets were snatched out of the hands. geoff: when you say it is nearly impossible to restart the work, tell me more about that. >> to resettle refugees, you need to have people that prepare their applications, that a them overseas, that give them an orientation and book their plane tickets, that perceive them here in the u.s. which is what my agency hias does along with

other resettlement agencies. those were refunded -- were defunded. geoff: many of the resettlement organizations are a faith -- of faith organizations. that is faith enforce what you do? >> the torah says to love strangers as ourselves, it is really a fundamental part of our history and of our values, not just going back to the holy books but also our more recent experience in the 20th and 21st century, the jewish people are a people who know displacement and we are naturally empathetic. geoff: i'm sure as you know vice president jd vance recently accused the u.s. conference of catholic bishops of profiting of its workers resettling refugees. do you or any of the organizations profit off this work? is that even a motive of years? >> no, this is a labor of love.

. this is something we have to raise money for because we can't possibly do it on the funding the federal government gives us. it is/a public private partnership. -- it is a public-private partnership. now none of them are coming. including refugees who were fleeing religious persecution like iranian religiousmen, they cannot come. afghan people who supported us in afghanistan. people who supported u.s. veterans and the risk their lives or works for the u.s. embassy in kabul, they can't come. people whose families were separated by conflict or war. those parents and children will remain separated and definitely. essentially they are being orphaned by this trump administration policy. geoff: the executive order argued the united states lack the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, in particular refugees into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for americans, this is an argument the administration makes fairly often.

that resources are finite. what is your reaction to that? >> my reaction is that is an argument the trump administration maiden -- made in 2017 and was proved fallacious. president trump commissioned a study to demonstrate how much resettle refugees cost the american taxpayer. they looked at both sides of the ledger when they did that study and they found that over a 10 year period, resettled refugees contributed 60 $3 billion more in federal, state, and local taxes and they took in services and assistance. fortunately for us, while we welcome refugees because it's the right thing to do, it also happens to be to the benefit of the economy and the country. refugees are a blessing. they are not a burden. geoff: i understand you were in seattle yesterday when the judge issued that ruling, what comes next? >> on my way to the studio tonight, i got 10 termination

notices that the state department was terminating a number of our programs including refugee resettlement, in spite of the fact that yesterday the judge issued a preliminary injunction saying refugee resettlement was authorized by congress and could not be dismantled. geoff: mark hetfield of hias, thanks for coming in, we appreciate it. ♪ amna: president trump made carrying out the largest mass deportation in u.s. history a cornerstone of his 2024 campaign. but there are reports he's unhappy with the pace of that effort so far. geoff: william brangham reports on a new controversial tactic to carry out the administration's crackdown on illegal migration. reporter: this plane landed in san jose, costa rica last week, descending through a cloud of

uncertainty. onboard were 135 people deported from the u.s. on a journey back to their home countries. or somewhere else. none are costa rican citizens. >> there are 65 children and 70 adults. they are families. costa rica is committed to voluntarily returning deportees to their country of origin in up to 30 days. reporter: the group, hailing from as far away as china, vietnam, and ghana, were then bussed to a rural holding facility paid for by the u.s. costa rica became the second central american country after panama to serve as a stopover for unauthorized migrants being removed from the u.s. by the trump administration. panama accepted almost 300 deportees who were initially held under armed guard in this panama city hotel. images of that group stuck inside, unable to leave, made headlines last week.

>> we are providing them with all the necessary medical, food and comfort services, and we will continue to do so until the last one has left our country, which is what was agreed with the united states government. reporter: more than half agreed to be returned to their home countries, and 97 were sent to a facility in the darien gap, a treacherous point of passage at panama's southern border with colombia which is used by many migrants. susana sabalza is a panamanian migration lawyer representing a taiwanese family, including a child under five, who were sent to the darien facility. do you have any understanding as to what the conditions are like in that facility? >> no, i haven't seen the conditions with my own eyes, but i've spoken to reporters who have, and they said the conditions weren't pleasant. we have to keep in mind the children, who are the future of humanity. if they're experiencing this type of trauma in a tropical refugee camp, i want to know

that they are doing well and that they have good care. >> if we could get them out of our country, we have other countries that would take them. reporter: this new process, using latin american countries as a temporary bridge for deportees, partly helps the administration because the u.s. doesn't always have diplomatic relationships with some of these migrants' countries of origin. so by transferring them to other nations, it transfers the diplomatic labor of repatriation to them, as well. >> this is a significant or even a mammoth departure from the practices of the past. reporter: muzaffar chishti is a senior fellow at the migration policy institute. >> the president has made no secret of the fact that he believes that he won this election, using immigration as a calling card. and that message has not been lost on every single agency head and cabinet member of this administration. they have decided that

deportation machinery is now the number one paragraph of your job description. what we have now seen is that we are enlisting nation states in that enterprise. reporter: earlier this month, on his first international trip, secretary of state marco rubio visited central america, including stops in both panama and costa rica. amid threats of u.s. tariffs, sanctions, and even retaking control of the panama canal, the countries agreed to serve as a stopover for deportees. >> we do a lot of other things with panama that go beyond just the canal. i mean, they've been a great partner on slowing down the rate of migration coming across the darien gap and the like. so, i think it was a good visit. reporter: the department of homeland security, which is central to the administration's deportation policy, did not respond to news hour's request for comment. but muzaffar chishti says the process raises many questions, as does the administration's overall approach to migrants so far. >> there may be violations of

u.s. law, especially with respect to people who have expressed fear of being returned. the fact that they were not given access to counsel, the fact that they were not provided due process. the second most important consideration is that this is being done with militaristic imagery. i mean, it's not just optics, it's optics with sound. it is sort of an orchestra of military machinery at work that we have never seen in our country before, and i think is deeply un-american. reporter: in the meantime, lawyer susana sabalza is trying to figure out what comes next. and she has a plea. >> we are asking our president of panama and his counterpart in the united states to have a little compassion. and that they give each case the opportunity to be reviewed before sending these families to the brink of death. because at some point, this is going to be scrutinized by some international body. and that's where we're going to see the consequences. reporter: for the pbs newshour,

i'm william brangham. amna: for more on panama's role in receiving hundreds of migrants the trump administration has deported, we now turn to carlos ruiz hernandez, panama's vice minister for foreign affairs. welcome to the news hour. >> thank you for having me. amna: i want to ask it to respond to the report from my colleague, specifically the conditions under which some of those reported migrants say they were being held in panama reportedly in hotel rooms but they say they had their cell phones and passports taken away, there were armed guards at the doors, explained to us why that was necessary. >> thank you so much. i think it is the right question to ask, but i think there's a mischaracterization of how these migrants are being treated that's very unfortunate. the reporting that these migrants are not being treated in the best conditions, with respect to human rights and due process is absolutely inaccurate.

because they have access to absolutely everything they need. iom is there, we are there, they are being provided with food and water, this is a four-star hotel. they are not being detained. they are being protected. while we are processing and helping them going through this transition to head back home. we are absolutely giving them everything that they need in terms of getting back home. amna: i hear you are saying that they are free to leave, but they do not seem to be saying that at all, we saw those images of people holding up signs in the window saying "please, help us," they said they had their passports and cell phones taken away, where is the mischaracterization here? >> that they are being held. amna: are they free to leave? >> they are illegal migrants, irregular migrants going through the process of repatriation. which is something we have been working with the united states government in previous administrations and we have done it for years. the name of the policy is

deterrence. repatriation works for us. this is a policy that our government is pursuing in terms of deterring migrants and other countries facilitating migration, we are trying to protect them and we are receiving them and facilitating and providing them with all the assistance that they need to just go back home because they are not imperative because they want to be in panama, they want to be somewhere else. and if that someone else is a close ally of panama, secretary rubio was mentioning this. amna: they were held there in hotel rooms, there's also a camp we understand in the jungle in the darian, why is that necessary and how many migrants are there right now? >> it's not a, this is how we handle illegal migrants come to our country. we had half a million illegal irregular migrants going to

panama. we have set up shelters and facilities to help them and give them water and provide them access to information and biometrics, we help them just continued their voyage. amna: continue their voyage not to the u.s. from these camps, you are working to deport them back to their countries of origin, correct? >> that is an important question, the south to north migration is exactly what we have been receiving for all these years. now we are seeing a different pattern. it is brand-new. is brand-new. it's this reverse migration because of the new policies in the u.s. i am assuming. amna: this is not reverse migration, these are people who were deported from the u.s. to panama, correct? >> was going on here in the u.s., i've heard the word due process, it is not my position to opine on what's happening here in the u.s., but we are providing precisely that, due process, 299 migrants is exactly the operation which is dated, 200 of them are voluntary

and wanting to go home, there are a number of migrants who are paying for their own cost to go back home. amna: as a u.s. covering the additional cost of hotels and repatriation flights? >> absolutely through iom and international organizations that we have been working with three years, they are covering the costs and everything they need. including if they want refuge and asylum in our country, they have to go through our due process and that's exactly what we are doing. amna: big picture, why is this something that panama would agree to? why is this beneficial for panama to accept people deported from the u.s. as essentially a layover and work to repatriate them to their countries of origin? >> because it is deterrence, we came into power about six or seven months ago. the first day the president came, the migration policy center around deterrence. we were getting 1000 migrants and our at some point at the height of the crisis and know we have reduced that, 93% of those migrants coming in, we attribute

that to the cooperation we have in the u.s. and other partners to let the migrants and nonstate actors helping them to start that voyage, don't come because it is dangerous, we have young girls being sexually abused in these jungles and people that have died. amna: you are saying it sends a message. >> it sends a message that, that's the deterrence we are trying to share. it has a lot of benefits for us because we are seeing the numbers going down. therefore the numbers of catastrophe and human disasters is reduced. amna: what about the people that can't be repatriated? are you deporting people to iran, back to china? are you worried about human rights abuses? >> we are very much worried. amna: what happens to them? >> that's what we are talking to them and their families and providing everything they need, the international standards are being very, very clear, iom is there and the united nations is

there. amna: but there is no answer for them right now. >> they have to go through a process. february 12 or 13th, we received three flights with a specific number, it is not meant to be institutionalized at this point. in terms of receiving migrants. we have been receiving regular illegal migrants for a long time. at this stage, we want to continue working with the united states, there has been no pressure from the united states government to receive them or process them, this is something we have been trying to do. the mischaracterization, it's unfortunate this picture with the sign of "help us," have not interviewed them myself but they want the one thing we cannot give them, a green card, that's the help we cannot give. amna: if i may, i know our time here is limited, you mentioned there is no pressure, i'm sure you are well aware we heard from president trump many times

before he came back into office about this plan to retake control of the panama canal. he's posted about it and has spoken about it. he mentioned it in his inauguration speech. i know you have said -- the president has said there is no quid pro quo here. but he has stopped talking about it since panama began accepting deported migrants. you can see how it looks like there was a deal cut here, right? >> there was no deal. i think two or three days ago on friday, he mentioned it again. i think he said something with the republican governors dinner. amna: reclaiming the panama canal. >> the point is there was no deal. this is a policy we have been pursuing way before the new president in the u.s. was even elected. we have been collaborating with the united states in absolutely everything we can because this is about deterrence and treating these poor people with humanity, reducing the risk of death in a lot of cases,

providing them with psychological help, medical help, absolutely everything they need. this is a four-star hotel for example in which they have everything they need in terms of assistance. our government is providing them the opportunity to get asylum. 99.99% of the people that come to panama illegally or irregularly do not stay in panama, they don't want to stay in my country, always somewhere else. that's where the president is determined to reduce the number of risk for them. amna: carlos ruiz-hernandez, vice minister of foreign affairs for panama, thank you for being here. ♪ geoff: this spring, the annual met gala in new york city, one of the bigger fashion events of the year, will highlight the indelible style of black men. the met's 2025 exhibition, titled "superfine: tailoring black style," opens in may and

explores the emergence and significance of the black dandy. we looked into the rich and complicated historical style and its relevance today. it's part of our ongoing series, "race matters." >> as you may have noticed, i have not one but two wardrobe setups in this office. reporter: dente wellington said he started paying special attention to his appearance at an early age, his style inspired by the harlem renaissance. and the name fits his persona. he is a dandy. pristine and attitude-refined. >> it's a worldwide community. i will be inspired by people in paris or los angeles, people in the congo. there's such a connection to style and also a connection to culture. you know, the history of dandyism is complicated, wrapped

up in migration and civil rights. reporter: dandyism was first introduced to black culture during the trans atlantic slave trade, they were seen as pictures of wealth for the enslavers, but tailored attire and wit also offered a path for black men to imagine possibility and power. from 18th century england, to today, it is a way of being that has evolved with the times. >> the black dandy is a complicated figure throughout history. geoff: we spoke with washington post senior critic at large robin govan, who has long covered the fashion industry. >> there was sort of this early idea of enslaved black men who were often sort of dressed in fine clothing in order to reflect the status of the enslavers. and he also had black dandies who played with the idea of gender and really sort of tapped into sort of feminine tropes,

taking ownership of their body and their presence, but embellishing it in a way that signifies as a value and strength. geoff: tell me more about the idea that the black dandy aesthetic is in some way a form of resistance and that it challenges stereotypes about black identity and black masculinity. >> for a lot of dandies, part of their way of dressing is quite emotive and sensual. that breaks definitely some of the cultural expectations of blackman. -- of black men. at the same time during the civil rights movement, the way that activists dressed was to reflect the degree of sort of respect that they not only had for themselves, but also the respect that they were demanding from society at large.

geoff: for some leaders in the fight for civil rights, how they dressed was a critical part of achieving their agenda. >> frederick douglass was the most photographed man amongst his contemporaries. any time you saw douglas, he was dressed up. reporter: she has the author of "dandelion: the black dandy and street style." >> ewb the boys were fixated on fighting oppression and racism through aesthetic. post trayvon martin, post many different incidents of police violence in the u.s., there was a large mass movement of young black people in urban areas whether in the u.s. or the u.k., south africa that began really dressing up for themselves and for their own sense of cultural pride and dignity. geoff: throughout history, black style movements have been closely linked to individual identity, and with a style that's moved across the globe,

every dandy is unique, each with a swagger of his own. >> you can have someone like me who is very much connected to the jazz/swing era as the inspiration, but of course there are also black dandies that uses streetwear as their mode of expression. geoff: there's a generation of black men as you all know -- well know who take such pride of dressing to the nines, a perfectly coordinated suit with alligator shoes, they would describe themselves as having swagger, they would not describe themselves probably as being a dandy, how do you draw that line between sort of exuding old school cool and being a black dandy? >> i grew up in detroit. i think about some of the men who firmly believed that if your shoes were not matching your suit, you were sort of not properly dressed. and for some black men, just

being seen in sort of full technicolor is an incredible victory. geoff: in the u.s., the bold fashion is seen coast-to-coast, from hollywood red carpet's to the nba. and the metropolitan museum of art. this year's met gala theme, "superfine: tailoring black style" will explore the history of the black dandy. the movement has grown. >> one way to get a lot of attention, janelle monae was known for one of her black-and-white suits, it was a nod to her grandmother who cleans for a living. geoff: for younger generations, coming into their own, lincoln carlton, known as the ethical stylus, advises her clients not to break the bank. >> you go to the thrift store in the menswear section there's always so many suits and

blazers, slacks and things like that. that's where you start. geoff: and every outing brings any opportunity to add to the wardrobe. >> this is a straw boater that i found in england. vintage shopping is how i find some of the things. there are modern designers that make incredible things but there's something about the craftsmanship of these items. geoff: now center stage at the super bowl of the fashion industry. how does it strike you that the met gala has taken this on as the theme for this year's gala? >> there's a little bit of courageousness in it. it has the benefit of coming at a time when questions about diversity and identity and gender are very much at the center of cultural and political conversations so i think it is quite timely. geoff: and for dente wellington -- >> at the end of the day, it is just me, it is what brings me

joy. whether i'm going to the supermarket or the metropolitan museum of art, the style is always with me. geoff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> qnod is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with qnod, a world awaits, a world of labor, -- a world of flavor, diverse destinations and immersive experiences. a world of leisure and british style. all with qnod's white star service. ♪ >> i love seeing interns

succeed. in love seeing them come back and join engagement teams. i got to watch their personal growth. it makes my heart happy. ♪ >> friends of the newshour, including jim and nancy buildner and the robin virginia schiller foundation. -- robert and virginia schiller foundation. the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible

by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >>

>> hello everyone and welcome to amanpour and company. here is w■hat's oming p. the fbi undergoes one of its most radical transformations in its 115 year history. former deputy director of the fbi, andrew mccabe, joins the show. as israeli tanks roll into