"washington post" did analysis of the mccallister family trip and found out it would cost $28,000 in today's money. your reaction to that? >> maybe if mr. callister was working for the chicago mafia or some other side gig going on, because i don't know how you afford that many kids, you know -- there was a rich brother or something in paris, if i remember that was the story, but, still, you know, in some ways air travel has been deflationary since then. you've seen gains, i think, in certain luxuries and other things and you're paying maybe a little less per unit. but, still could an upper middle class family have afforded a trip for 15, 16 kids to paris and a house like that. who could buy a house like that on a middle class income? >> in our dreams. so nice to see you. early christmas and happy new year. that will do it for us today. we're back tomorrow, same time, same place. hope you have a wonderful

afternoon. until tomorrow, i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. and good morning, it is 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific, i'm jose diaz-balart. a stunning decision that could end up the 2024 presidential race. colorado's highest court rules former president donald trump should be taken off the state's primary ballot. how trump is responding this morning. at the southern border, record-breaking numbers of newly arrived migrants. we're live on the ground in eagle pass, texas, where an open field is now being used to process what could be as many as 2,000 migrants. and an nbc news exclusive, the blunt warning chinese leader xi jinping gave to president biden just weeks ago. we're also keeping an eye on the state department now where secretary antony blinken is about to give his year end news conference.

we begin this hour with a historic court decision that could have a major impact on the 2024 race for the white house. the colorado state supreme court ruled donald trump is disqualified from holding the presidency and barred him from the state's primary ballot. the court cited the 14th amendment, which prohibits anyone who takes an oath of office from engaging in insurrection or rebellion. the justices pointed to donald trump's own words from his speech at the capitol on january 6th. >> we fight. we fight like hell. and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. >> trump did not mention the issue at a rally last night, but slammed the decision on social media this morning. his campaign says he will appeal to the supreme court. we also heard from colorado secretary of state jena griswold. >> i agree with the colorado supreme court's decision. but with that said, i will

follow the law in the united states constitution, because unlike donald trump, i believe that's what elected officials should be doing. and if a court decides he is on the ballot, i, of course, will follow that. >> joining us now, vaughn hillyard, ashley sparker, from "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst, joyce vance, former u.s. attorney, professor at the university of alabama law school, and msnbc legal analyst and former democratic congresswoman jane harman, chair of the commission on the national defense strategy. so, vaughn, this decision is on hold until the 4th of january. what comes next for former president trump and what has been the reaction inside his world? >> his campaign indicated that they are going to swiftly appeal this here to have the supreme court take this up. there was a stay that it was part of this order from the colorado supreme court that keeps donald trump on the ballot with the expectation that the

u.s. supreme court, by january 4th, by january 5th, will make the determination whether they will hear this appeal or not. with the expectation that they will hear the appeal, it is then a matter of what this timeline here looks like because for donald trump and frankly the rest of this republican field, jose, it is in their interest to have the supreme court make this ruling sooner rather than later, because march 5th is the day of the colorado primary. and let's just take the scenario in which the u.s. supreme court were to rule that donald trump were to be removed from the ballot and disqualified on these grounds, the decision would impact all 50 states. and at that point, on march 5th, you will already have had one third of the republican delegates already apportioned because a good number of the states will have already voted in the republican nominating contest here. and so for the u.s. supreme court and the concern potentially of nullifying or negating votes, of republican electorate around the country,

that is why it is imperative and potentially in their interest to have an expedited process to hear this appeal. >> yeah, joyce, based on what vaughn said, could the supreme court fast track this? what are the options it has or could have? >> sure, the supreme court has total control over the timeline here. and we know that the court can move quickly when it feels a need to, and often that's imperative in presidential elections. when the court decided bush v. gore, in 2000, the florida election challenge, they issued an opinion the same day they heard oral argument. that same sort of urgency exists here, because colorado's secretary of state not only is required by law to go ahead and sign off on candidates on january 5th, there are issues involving printing of ballots and sufficient time for that march 5th super tuesday primary that vaughn is talking about. so, the court should feel urgency, could act quickly and

will have to watch and see if they in fact follow through and do that. >> and, joyce, in looking at one of the -- all of the specifics of this case in colorado, one of the dissenting justices said, quote, our government cannot deprive someone of the right to hold public office without due process of law. now, other states have taken up this issue and reached a different result. how did the colorado state supreme court come to its decision? >> the colorado justices, in their opinions, say we took this very seriously and we didn't look at it as a matter of politics. we looked at it as a matter of law. a strict reading of the 14th amendment, section 3, which is the provision under review here, says that if someone who has previously taken an oath of office as a public official commits insurrection, then they're disqualified from holding office in the future. there is no requirement that they be prosecuted or convicted.

and importantly here, there is no mechanism established for making that finding, so typically that would mean under the structure that our laws work with that it would be up to the courts to make these decisions. other states, where they have rejected this same argument, they wanted more of a process to be involved, and that's the off ramp for the supreme court, if they don't want to affirm the colorado court, then what they'll say is most likely something along these due process objections. >> jane, just wondering what your reaction is to this bombshell decision? >> it is a bombshell decision and it is bush v. gore on steroids. this affects all 50 states. that was late in the process, what votes should be counted in one state. this is whether states, which under the constitution regulate, the time and manner of elections, have the right to determine eligibility, based on

this somewhat vague language in section 3 of the 14th amendment. colorado supreme court says yes, missouri supreme court says no. u.s. supreme court will have to come down somehow quickly on this thing. the implications is that everyone is saying are incredibly broad because it -- if the colorado decision stands, then supreme courts in other states or election officials ratified by their supreme courts will have the right to decide whether or not this -- president trump is eligible based on the fact that he, i think admits he engaged in insurrection. is he covered or isn't he covered by this third part of the 14th amendment? last comment i make is that in a kind of strange way, here we have this supreme court making the dobbs decision, throwing the abortion decision, throwing everything back on state supreme courts, and now they're trying

to act on another issue and all of a sudden, a bunch of folks are saying, oops, they have no right to act on another issue. >> this comes at such a polarized time in our country's politics. how do both parties handle this? ashley, go ahead. >> on the one hand, just it furthers the polarization. you have democrats who already believe trump is unfit for office, should not be allowed to run again for a variety of reasons, including the various criminal cases he's facing against him. this is just another data point to buttress that belief and for republicans and particularly trump supporters, they believe that this is another sign of what the former president has been telling them for years now, which is that he is being unfairly persecuted, it is a

witch-hunt, things are being stolen from him, and i am struck by in talking to even before this decision, operatives, strategists, and party officials on both sides that the pragmatic ones believe that the way trump disappears, if that is possible from the political scene and the extremist maga fever breaks is that former president trump has to lose this election, fair and square. and cannot be through the courts, it cannot be through the criminal process, it has to be through voters going to the polls and him getting less electoral college votes than president biden. and, you know, in looking at the comments that his republican rivals made, even people like chris christie, who stated reason of running is simply to stop donald trump from being president, he says this should not be decided by the courts.

nikki haley says this needs to be decided in the polls. at the end of the day, that will be the thing that matters to voters. >> the chairman of the colorado republican party responded to this decision last night. listen to what he had to say. >> if need be, we're going to withdraw from the primary and go to a strict caucus process that would allow our voters to choose donald trump if they want. >> vaughn, no one covered more primary contests than you probably, but is this something that colorado could pull off? >> to answer the question, jose, in 2012, the gop in colorado, they did hold caucuses, so they have done it before. in 2016, they held conventions to make their selection. at the same time, if the supreme court were to affirm the colorado supreme court's decision, this would not only impact the state of colorado, but all 50 states, but also more imperatively this would prevent donald trump from holding office. so, they could have a caucus if

they so like, but ultimately this would prohibit donald trump from holding the position of president of the united states, so even at this point, in the ruling last night from the colorado supreme court, they were also made sure to write in there that even if there was a write-in campaign effort on behalf of donald trump from colorado, for instance, those votes would also be nullified and would not count for the former president. >> and, joyce, the texas lieutenant governor floated removing joe biden from the ballot in texas after the colorado ruling. what does this decision mean for primary contests across the country? is this something we'll be seeing throughout our country, different states coming up with different statements about removing joe biden from the ballot? >> so that's the fear that some people are spreading, and to ashley's really excellent point, there is a real tension here between politically what folks would like to see and the need

for the electorate to have the final say. and the fact that we have laws that set minimum qualifications for candidates. just like you have to be 35 to hold the office of president. you have to be a natural born citizen. so, that's the tension that is inherent here in having these sorts of laws. but when it comes to something like texas removing joe biden from the ballot, that's an idle threat because it, too, would go to courts, and the question would be what is the qualification basis for keeping joe biden off the ballot? there is none. he's 35. he's a natural born citizen who has not participated in insurrection. so this is just more of our toxic politics taking place in an effort really to divert voters from the real issues in this election. >> you say -- the toxicity of our politics is no doubt a fact. i'm thinking, jane, the

president of el salvador tweeted in response to this decision, quote, the united states has lost its ability to lecture any other country about democracy. how do you think, jane, much of the world is seeing this? >> i think the world is concerned about our democracy. i'm concerned about our democracy. and i also think there is sliding in other countries. the freedom is on the decline. and having a fair election where every vote counts is something i hope we aspire to. i just wanted to point out one more irony, though, as i recall, there has been an effort to elect people as secretaries of state and other electoral offices in the states in order to give states flexibility to maneuver around the electoral college. if, you know, the same people say, oh, my god, no, the colorado decision is wrong think

they have a right to tinker with which electoral college votes will count in 2024, that seems quite ironic and kind of cynical and so there are a lot of valid issues. i think this group on your program right now has identified them. and i'm betting the supreme court will take this case. it is going to be a very difficult decision for them to make and it is going to have huge consequences, not only for our country, but for the world. >> vaughn hillyard, ashley parker, joyce vance, jane harman, thank you all so much for being with us this morning. up next, we're live at a border crossing in eagle pass, texas, where at least 2,000 migrants are waiting to make asylum claims. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. we'll be back in 60 seconds. diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. we'll be back in 60 seconds.

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slowing down, it is the opposite. senators say it will take more time to find a way to deal with it. alejandro mayorkas is back on capitol hill this morning for more talks on border policy changes. republicans have been demanding in exchange for more funding for ukraine, israel and taiwan. the senate will not vote on such a plan before christmas, but senate leaders say they hope to take action on a bill when lawmakers return to washington in january. this comes as thousands of migrants continue to show up at the border every day. customs and border protection tells nbc news more than 12,000 migrants were detained on monday. that's the most ever recorded in a single day. in eagle pass, texas, men, women and children huddled in a field waiting to be processed. and the federal bureau of prisons is sending personnel to the border to assist with transportation.

with us now to talk more about this, nbc news capitol hill correspondent ali vitali and nbc news correspondent guad venegas in eagle pass, texas. this is a story you've been covering forever. what are you seeing today and give us a context of what is happening today versus what your experience shows you. >> reporter: jose, well, for a lot of us who are in eagle pass right now reporting, we can say this is the largest group of migrants we have ever seen in eagle pass, in the years that we have been reporting in this area. now, for context, i think we need to understand that a lot of migrants who are in mexico for the last few months or years and in late october, we saw large caravans move through mexico, so many of us expected this new surge at some point either in november or at some point in december and we're now seeing this. we're seeing large groups of migrants that are arriving not just here, it is happening in arizona, it is happening in

parts of california, it is happening in different parts of the border. again, these are migrants that had been in mexico for a long time. there is issues in mexico as you know, and the president is reaching the end of his presidency, the federal immigration agency there going through so many issues that they have essentially stopped policing many of the areas in the country. i have spoken to my contacts in south mexico who say many migrants are telling each other now is the time to go to the u.s. mexico border. so you look at this field, we have 2,000 or more migrants over on the right-hand side. we still see lines of migrants that are still arriving, everything down this -- there is lines going down the river of migrants that just crossed, and are being brought into the field. and then you have the people that slept here, overnight, by the way, this was like this on monday, it was like this on tuesday. it is still a large number of migrants because as they're being processed, more are coming in. you see them holding those

aluminum mylar blankets to try to stay warm in the cold weather. and then over on the right-hand side, jose, we have cvp officers trying to process them as fast as possible. what you see here are the groups are getting ready to be loaded on to buses. you mentioned that the federal bureau of detention is now helping, here we go this is one of the buses that is being used to transport the migrants. you have an entire system being created here in this holding area, jose, where essentially it is too big for them to do it anywhere else, so they chose this field and this is what is happening. authorities, of course, overwhelmed. now, we also know that the bridge that is used for the railroads has been shut down here. and in el paso. we're told that the agents that normally police the railroads crossing into the u.s. are now focusing on processing migrants. so that's happening here in texas. again, as i mentioned, we have situations like this and other

parts of the border, arizona is also overwhelmed with a number of migrants. important to keep in mind that tens of thousands of migrants are in mexico. they had been waiting for months to make their way north. something changed in mexico with the immigration system, with a lack of enforcement. the government there, federal authorities, focusing right now on other issues that are happening in the country, and many migrants are now arriving and we don't know when this search might stop. we know some of these trains have stopped crossing into the u.s. and usually a lot of them come on the trains, so that might slow down the flow of migrants. there is still many more in mexico attempting to make it to the u.s./mexico border. >> and a lot of questions. there is also the very real possibility that the cartels that are in very real ways essentially deciding how many people come through, where they come through, and when they come through, maybe they're looking for their, i don't know, year

end budget and they're telling people to come through now. talk us to, it seems as though those people with the blankets, men, women and children, guad, and what is the process that you're describing, so they're crossing the river, first of all, how cold is it right now, but crossing the river and then go through this area right behind you, and then they're put on buses immediately and sent into where? >> reporter: well, they're not put on the buses immediately. a lot of the people that you see behind me must have crossed at some point yesterday or overnight and they spent the night there. it was about 50 degrees right before the sun came up today. it is probably 54, 55 degrees right now. but with the windchill, it feels a lot colder. so, you mentioned the cartels and the smugglers. it is difficult to understand exactly what happens in mexico. but from conversations that i had with authorities across from texas, i specifically had a conversation with one of the local authorities on the mexican

side who said to me that the way it works, organized crime controls different parts of the border. for example, on the south side of eagle pass, on the mexican side, you have one group control that area, and somehow they either charge migrants to come through or they organize the movement. and what we see is, for example, here in eagle pass, a lot of migrants that come from venezuela and ecuador. you go to arizona, in arizona, you see a lot of migrants from africa. many from asia. you go to san diego, and in san diego, there is a lot of migrants from china. this might indicate a lot of them are using different smuggling organizations to get to that part of the border. there is a lot of information, a lot to try to understand that happens south of us. all authorities can do here is try to process them as fast as possible. these are migrants that are arriving, turning themselves in, seeking asylum in the u.s., jose. >> and, ali, is what's going on

right now at the border with monday having a 12,000 plus number, the biggest number on record, is this having any impact or could have any impact on negotiations there where you are on capitol hill? >> reporter: nothing here happens in a vacuum. of course lawmakers are paying attention to the reporting that is happening down at the border. and guad does such a good job of painting a picture of just how dire this situation has become. urgency, though, on capitol hill has never really been the thing that was lacking. i think there has been a real push, especially before the end of the year, to try to cobble together some kind of framework that could work in bipartisan fashion. the problem is, it has been a decade plus since congress has even tried to touch this issue of immigration. certainly it is not one that can be solved in days, it is one that needs weeks. and frankly, when you look at one of the things, the top republican negotiator said as they sort of decided to l town without a vote, but still talking, senator lankford put it

this way. it is clear there are multiple unresolved issues that will take weeks to resolve rather than hours. it is better to get this done right, rather than fast, and frankly, my question for senator chuck schumer yesterday, before they left town, was given all of the things on your plate in january, government funding specifically, is there enough time to get this done? this is what he told me. >> this is just a difficult issue, both in coming up with an agreement and then drafting it because we haven't drafted things like this before. but i'm optimistic that we can get things done when we get back. our goal is as soon as we get back to get something done. >> reporter: the past goal before that, jose, was doing it bit end of this year. so we'll see the kind of progress they make. when guad is talking about things like people coming into declare asylum or try to take asylum in this country, that's one of the things on the table. capping that possible number or dealing with the ways that that system is adjudicated, all of that is on the table right now

in these immigration negotiations. >> and, you know, it seems as though when there is the pressure of politics on politicians, many times what comes out of that is not maybe thinking of the men, women and children or the impact of that, and more a political discussion and a political solution to a very human crisis. ali vitali and guad venegas, thank you both so much, really appreciate it. coming up an nbc news exclusive. new reporting on chinese leader xi jinping's stark warning to president biden. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc.

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30 past the hour. riowhe u.n. security council is meeting and later today they're expected to vote on calling for a pause in the fighting in the israel hamas war. now, earlier today, hamas said its political leader traveled to cairo, egypt, for talks about hostages and the conflict. as israel's president said, his country was ready for another pause in an attempt to free more of the 129 hostages still being held. joining us now from tel aviv is nbc's jay gray. jay, you spoke with some of the families of some of the hostages. what did they have to say? these are such difficult times. >> reporter: yeah, very difficult, jose. and especially today, many of

them returning to the kibbutz where their loved ones were taken hostage, others whose loved ones, parents were killed during the october 7th attack. today, back there, with these families, including a 22-year-old woman whose mother and father were both kidnapped by hamas. her mother released after 54 days in captivity. her father still being held in gaza right now. >> i'm standing here now, in these clothes, barefoot, because my dad was kidnapped from our home when he was in boxers and barefoot in his underwear because as you see here, it is normal houses. we are in our kibbutz, our place, and he was in bed at the morning. and they just came into my home and took him.

>> reporter: yeah, look, it is so emotional for these families and, of course, their fear grows every day their loved ones do not come home. we should say that it appears negotiations have intensified, jose, as you talked about, with the qataris acting as intermediaries and israel reportedly offering a full week of a pause in the fighting in exchange for the release of all of the women, all of the children, and all of the men being held right now that are 60 or older. there has been no agreement to this point. the back and forth does continue. when you ask the families about all of that, they're very anxious, obviously, pleased that the talks are continuing. but continuing to say that they want their loved ones home right now. >> in tel aviv, jay gray, thank you very much. really appreciate it. turning now to an nbc news exclusive, in their meeting last month, china's xi jinping warned president biden beijing would reunify taiwan with china, but

gave no concrete timing, according to three current and former u.s. officials. joining us now is one of the reporters who broke the story, the moderator of "meet the press," nbc's kristen welker. always great seeing you. what was president biden's reaction to what xi told him there? >> well, jose, it is always great to see you as well. look, let me tell you a little bit more about what president xi had to say. he said that china plans to reunify taiwan. he said the timing was of his choosing. and he also complained about the elections that are being held in taiwan and, of course, all of this comes against that backdrop. so it is our understanding based on our conversations with these current and former officials that president biden asked president xi to respect the elections in taiwan. let me read you what president biden said after the summit. he said, the u.s. policy reiterating we maintain an agreement that there is a one china policy.

i'm not going to change that. that's not going to change. that is significant, big picture here, just taking a step back. let's remember the circumstances, the backdrop to this meeting, this meeting was held after the two leaders had not met for a year. tensions were at an all time high in the wake of the chinese spy balloon incident which happened last year. this meeting was really aimed at lowering tensions between the two leaders and between the two countries, so that is part of why those who were in the room certainly took note of the language that president xi has used, and, of course, united states has been very focused on china saber rattling as it relates to taiwan. president biden has said the united states would defend taiwan if china were to invade and those are statements that the administration has had to walk back. it is worth noting that john kirby was just asked about this, and he said this, jose. i'm not going to get to the specifics of the discussion between the two leaders, you can

understand i'm not going to read that private conversation out. president xi has been publicly clear about his desires for reunification. that's not something that is different or new. we have been clear and the president was clear with you guys and with president xi that we still adhere to the one china policy. so, again, the context here, jose, is that this is certainly consistent with the language that we have heard publicly from president xi, but, of course, it takes on a whole new meaning when you are talking about him delivering this message directly to president biden against the backdrop of these mounting tensions and against the backdrop of the taiwan election, which is coming up soon. jose? >> indeed it is in january. kristen welker, thank you very much. appreciate it. >> thank you, jose. up next, we'll play for you what donald trump's republican rift s rivals are saying about the colorado supreme court ruling, kicking trump off the state

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40 past the hour. today, former president trump's republican rivals are reacting to the colorado supreme court's decision to bar trump from the primary ballot there. nikki haley, vivek ramaswamy, and ron desantis slammed the court's ruling and chris christie is speaking out against the decision. >> i do not believe donald trump

should be prevented from being president of the united states by any court. i think he should be prevented from being president of the united states by the voters of this country. >> joining us now, nbc's garrett haake. good morning. do you think this could be having an impact one way or another on the gop primary? it seems like everything that is happening right now has only been to the benefit of the former president, but could this politically play a big part? >> reporter: i think it could, jose, in part because of the timing, so close to the iowa caucuses. i think there is a widespread belief in republican circles, both close to the former president, and even from folks who are supporting his opponents, that this is the kind of thing that actually helps the former president because it, again, makes him look like a victim. he can play up his victimhood as though he's being attacked by a liberal judicial machine that is desperate to keep him off the ballot. s that that's the way you're hearing

this discussed by trump allies and you hear the frustration from his opponents on the campaign trail, like ron desantis, discussing this a little while ago. here's what he said. >> could we just say biden can't be on the ballot because he let in 8 million illegals into the country and violated the constitution, which he has. >> reporter: he went on to say he sees this as an effort to boost trump in a primary, but hobble him in a general election. it is a lot of chess here. the basic idea here for trump is to say i'm so strong as a candidate, this is the only way democrats can beat me. we saw him start to do it after the first indictment in new york earlier last year. and you hear a continuation of that theme as we approach the first caucuses. >> yeah, you know, independent presidential candidate robert f. kennedy jr. warned, quote, if trump is kept out of office through judicial fiat rather than being defeated in a fair election, his supporters will never accept the results. the country will become

ungovernable. what is the larger impact of this decision? >> i think that's a reasonable analysis from rfk jr. there. you heard similar from some of the republican candidates who argued they want to beat trump too. they want to make sure it is voters who decide it. we have not heard anything from the biden campaign or white house on this. they have judiciously avoided comment on it, which i think plays to that. i'm watching the supreme court here. they're going to have to wade into this. it is going to be ugly and that institution can get dragged down into this story as well, which i think will be the thing to be watching for in the early spring. >> garrett haake, thank you so very much. secretary of state antony blinken is giving his year end news conference, being asked about venezuela. let's listen in. >> what will it take -- what does the united states need to see in such a resolution for it not to veto it? and if that can't be done, and you end up vetoing it, are you not concerned that the number three priority that you mentioned in your opening, the coalition building, will be

dama damaged, very badly damaged? the u.s. already is isolated internationally on this issue and another veto -- are you not concerned that another veto will further isolate you? >> thanks, matt. so, on venezuela, let me say first this, and you heard me say this before, we have no higher priority than doing everything we possibly can to bring our fellow citizens out of harm's way, to make sure they're safe and secure. if they get into trouble one way or another overseas, including if they're arbitrarily detained. we have secured the release over the past couple of years of nearly three dozen americans who are arbitrarily detained, that is work that continues every single day in any place around the world. where americans are being wrongfully imprisoned or detained. so, this has been a priority for

us broadly. it also is a priority when it comes to venezuela. and we want to make sure that our fellow americans are released. we also focused on political prisoners in venezuela. and trying to ensure their release. so, what i can say in this moment is this. we have a lot of work going on both of those fronts. right now. and we hope to have some good news to share probably later today. but for now, that's all i can share with you. on the u.n. security council vote, you're right, this is going on as we gather here. we continue to engage extensively and constructively with a number of countries to try to resolve some of the outstanding issues in this security council resolution. the purpose of the resolution as stated by the countries that put it forward is to facilitate and help expand humanitarian

assistance that is getting into gaza and we fully support that. the united states from day one has, i would argue, done more than any other country to make sure that could happen. my first trip to israel and to the region after october 7th, we focused on getting an agreement to start getting humanitarian assistance into gaza and a few days later that started with the opening of rafah. that was necessary, but very much insufficient. we have been working every since to expand that. just in the last couple of days you've seen, again, as a result of work that many of us have done over the last several weeks, kerem shalom opening so not only are goods inspected, which increases the capacity of the ability of -- to get goods into gaza, but now goods are going directly from and through kerem shalom into gaza. we have commercial products going in, not just humanitarian assistance. we made sure that we have the sustained delivery of fuel at

levels that the humanitarian community tells us are necessary to make sure desalination plants, sewage systems, telecoms, trucks, hospitals, can be powered and function. and, of course, we continue to work on this every day, for example, making sure that once assistance gets into gaza, it can actually move around and be distributed safely and securely with predictable routes, times, access. so, we have been at the forefront of all of these efforts, and we want to make sure that the resolution in its -- in what it calls for, and requires actually advances that effort and doesn't do anything that could actually hurt the delivery of the humanitarian assistance, make it more complicated. that's what we're focused on. we're engaged as i said in very good faith with other countries, we have been working this intensely, i've been on the phones about this for the last couple of days. linda thomas-greenfield in new

york has been leading our efforts. so i hope we can get to a good place. to the last part of your question, let me say this, look, what i have seen from day one is that countries throughout the region, as well as countries around the world, want to work with us and are looking for american leadership in this crisis. even countries that may disagree with us on certain issues that have come to the fore. that's been a common refrain. i've been not only in the region multiple times, and traveled to not just israel, but to virtually all of our part naernz and others including turkey, we have been on the phone including this week with all of our arab partners and the common refrain is they're looking for american leadership and we're working to provide that. >> all the way in the back.

>> hey, michelle. >> just real quickly on the gaza, how would you characterize the talks on a new hostage deal for a pause? is that imminent? are you making progress on that? and more broadly, you know, we end this year with much of the world blaming the u.s. and israel for -- or seeing it as america's war also. it is hurting america's image in the world. there is a stalemate in ukraine. and no new aid package. the fighting goes on in sudan. i wonder if there is anywhere that you're rethinking strategy or have or have some ideas on how to change the dynamics on any of those conflicts. thank you. >> on the question of hostages and a pause, this is something we very much would like to see happen. as you know, we were

instrumental many getting the first humanitarian pause. israel would welcome returning to a pause and the further release of hostages. the problem and has been and remains hamas. they reneged. the question is whether they are willing to resume this effort. certainly, it's something that we would welcome. i know israel would welcome. i think the world would welcome. we will see what they choose to do. we remain actively engaged in seeing if we can get a pause back on and hostages moving out again of gaza. that's something we're on every single day. more broadly, i think what's

important to always remember is that virtually none of the challenges we are dealing with are like flipping a light switch and you get sudden success in a day, a week, a month, even a year. it is almost always a process and a constant effort to get to a better place. we were talking about ukraine a short while ago. very important to put this in context. as i said at the outset, if you look at where we were in february of 2022 and where we are now, well, february 2022, when the russians went in, most people were predicting they would make quick work of ukraine and putin would erase it from the map and subsuming it into russia. that failed. it has failed, first and foremost, because of the courage of the ukrainian people, but also because of the leadership we provided in making sure, with dozens of countries around the world, that ukraine had what it

needed to succeed in repelling the russian aggression. now we are engaged in an effort to help ukraine stand on its own two feet democratically, militarily, economically, not only dealing with the current challenge that russia continues to pose, but setting it up for the long-term. a lot of very important and good work has been done and continues to be done on that. militarily, we have 30 countries around the world now that are helping, including the united states, that are helping ukraine build a future force to deter aggression and defend if it comes in the future. we are extensively engaged on trying to bring more private sector investment and activity into ukraine so that it can thrive economically. we are having some real success there. that creates a cycle where investment comes in, the tax base goes up, and increasingly ukraine can pay for itself. of course, we are working to

deepen democratic reforms and help ukraine combat corruption, which is necessary for getting that investment to flow and also for ukraine to be a strong democratic state going forward. as i mentioned, we just had the eu open talks. all of that takes time, takes effort. but we're in a place where not only have we helped ukraine repel the russian aggression, but we're putting it in a place where it can stand strongly on its own and succeed and thrive in the future. when it comes to -- you mentioned sudan. >> secretary of state an tlon -- antony blinken about the state of the world and the department of state. up next, henry cuellar is with us. thank you for being with us. we will chat in a minute.

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knowing we have a broken system that needs to be fixed. first bill. do you think they have taken it up? no. >> with us now to talk more about this is texas congressman henry cuellar who represents a border district. he is the top democrat on the house appropriations homeland security subcommittee. thank you for being with us today. we have seen a huge number of people coming into the united states just this week alone. what's the situation like in your district? >> my district is a little different. we're the second lowest crossing in the country. if you go to the valley, eagle pass, el paso, there's a lot of people coming. just yesterday, we had a little bit of our 10,500 individuals, the day before that 12,600 individuals. those type of numbers, we just cannot sustain that at all. as you know, jose, it's

affects -- every train has millions of dollars of trade. it's having an impact on our u.s. economy. >> what's the solution? there's the right of people to be able to request asylum, not be given it, but request asylum. what do you see as the solution? >> at the very beginning, we gotta make sure that we do a better job with more asylum officers and give them that quick hearing as soon as possible, because, look, once they come in, they wait four, five, six years. 90% of them are going to be rejected by an immigration judge. can we have a calibration at the beginning. i understand what the law is. but keep in mind, jose, that it's persecution based on five

reasons. nationality, race, religion, political belief, and social class. if it doesn't fit in that, then i think we need to do a better job at the very, very, very beginning. keep in mind, that president obama, secretary jeh johnson did not use title 42. they used title 8. they held people, detained people. they gave them due process, and they deported people. we need to put more money for detention and deportation. >> what do you think of the negotiations that are currently on capitol hill? seems like nothing is going forward until at least january. have you or your -- any of your house colleagues been consulted on these conversations? >> you know, i have talked to some of the negotiators. i have talked to some -- of course secretary mayorkas is involved. i have a good idea what they're doing. i have some ideas, because i think maybe besides senator

sinema, everybody is not from the border. they need to kind in mind for us that live on the border, i think we have some insights that they might not understand. we have to find that balance where you have law and order but at the same time you respect the immigrants' rights to asylum as you mentioned. >> congressman henry cuellar, thank you very much for being with us. it's a pleasure to see you. thank you. >> merry christmas and happy new year to you, jose. >> to you and yours as well. thank you so much. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," in an explosive ruling, the colorado supreme court rules donald trump is disqualified from running for president under a provision of the 14th amendment because it said he tried to overturn the 2020 election. with donald trump set to appeal, that puts the u.s. supreme court

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