julia ainsley will discuss the failures that contributed to the humanitarian disaster. we begin this hour with breaking news that pfizer is asking the fda to authorize its covid-19 vaccine for use in children ages 5 to 11. last month the company announced that based on trial data, their vaccine was safe and showed a robust response among children in that age bracket. joining me dr. kavita patel, a physician and nbc news medical contributor. doctor, it's always good to see you. thank you for being with me. pfizer's vaccine has already been given an emergency use authorization for children ages 12 to 15. how significant would it be for the updated grant authorization for the younger age group? >> jose,' incredibly significant. we've had almost 6 million children in the united states infected with covid. 520 deaths with thousands, tens of thousands of hospitalizations but i would argue we can avoid all of those with the vaccine that's effective and safe and that's what we're going to find out. key date is october 26 when the fda announced an advisory committee meeting to t

joining me is justice correspondent julia ainsley. closely. what's sparking this? >> it's desperation. we have immigrants coming from cuba, haiti, venezuela, nicaragua. mexican officials are being told to keep those people within their borders and keep them from coming to our borders. that leads to intense clashes. desperation overflowing in mexico between mexican officials and migrants held at the mexico/guatemala border, many of whom have been waiting there for weeks or months. the mexican government says those who attempt to leave the city will be met with legal punishments. some migrants taking that as a threat. the clashes foreshadowing further tensions across latin america as tens of thousands are on their journey north. in mexico, officials have reported over 140,000 migrants in the country in the first eight months of 2021, three times the number seen last year. over the weekend, migrants from countries all across latin america held a vigil in mexico. there are thousands there, praying for a safe journey, as they prepare to jo

joining me now on all of this is nbc news correspondent, julia ainsley. julia, great seeing you.pments shaping the biden administration's stance on immigration? >> you know, i'm glad you asked that. let's take a 30,000-foot view here. it's really hard to see what exactly the biden administration's strategy is on immigration. you have title 42, which they won last night, in an appeals court decision, to allow them to keep expelling asylum seekers at the border who were here, trying to claim asylum. it's how they were able to deport 70 people back to haiti. they at first were told they had to end that. they appealed it, won it. so now those expulsions will continue. and then you have remain in mexico, something that they're trying to end, which is the trump-era policy that allowed the administration to keep asylum seekers in mexico, until their u.s. court dates. they want to end that part. then you have, at the same time, they're letting these green cards expire. but you also have these deportation priorities, where they say they don't want to prioritize people who might be very yo

julia ainsley broke the story for nbc news julia, how exactly would this cell work?hort term it would bring together people from inside dhs, cvp, ice and the office of intelligence and analysis to one building in washington where they could start watching the movements of migrants also a big part of this is watching social media, building grip s -- building algorithms to see where smugglers would meet with the migrants oftentimes it's disrupting information, information that tells immigrants now is the time to come. if you come now, you can stay. they think that if they can get to those groups and interrupt those messages faster, they will be able to interdict and keep people from making the trip to the united states, and in the case where they do make the trip, they think they will be able to better allocate resource thoz those parts of the border so they are not caught by surprise like they were in september when those haitians that you mentioned arrived. >> you know, these large care advance, we've been reporting on them for years there's nothing new here why this

nbc's julia ainsley is following this for us. julia, why now?, hallie, it's because of covid vaccine numbers going up in canada and mexico, that now the u.s. government feels comfortable being able to put these restrictions or in some places easing of restrictions in place. basically it's now easier for people who are coming in to see their family or go on a tour of the united states, for tourists, those people were considered nonessential travelers previously and hadn't been allowed into the united states since the pandemic began. but in january, things will get harder for people like truckers, people who are doing essential work. they will now have to show their vaccination status to get into the united states. so we'll see across the board, customs and border protection officers at both those land borders looking at vaccination cards. we're still waiting on details of exactly what kind of proof people will have to show and when in november and january these rules will go into effect. we understand it will affect a lot of people, including peo

joining us now are nbc's pete williams, julia ainsley, and former state prosecutor and new england boston law professor wendy murphy. welcome to the three of you. pete, what does this judge's ruling mean for women in texas today? pete, you can't hear me, so i'm going to turn to julia and toss the same question to you. effectively what does this ruling do for people across the state? >> it's a good question because it could be so temporary. we just heard from judge robert pitman last night in the western district of texas. he lifted this, he had addressed an effort for a temporary stay, but it was immediately appealed to the fifth circuit, arguably the most conservative in the country, so they very well could reverse that. in fact they've already had the chance to weigh in on this before and they have said that they've allowed it to go forward. so what this means for women in texas is, yes, for now they may have their rights back, but maybe for a very short glimmer of time, which is hard for women who were maybe trying to make such an important decision. >> and wendy murphy, if you can hea

nbc's julia ainsley is following this.ot immersed in this, feels a little like a ping-pong ball. why is the doj going straight to the supreme court instead of the full fifth circuit and when might we see movement by the justices? >> reporter: hallie, i'm immersened-of-ed in it and still feels like a ping bong ball to me. you're absolutely right. right now the justice department will ask the supreme court to stay that latest injunction from the fifth circuit. we know it came from just three judges on that circuit, but the most conservative in the country. there wasn't a lot of hope that if they got all of the judges, what you call on bond to weigh in, they would reverse that decision. they're going to the supreme court already. they say they intend to do this. this follows ar the justice department did ask the court to reverse its decision. now they intend to go up to the supreme court. it's up to the justices when they will decide, but what's different now, hallie, from when the justice department weighed in before. rememb

joining me now is julia ainsley. it's great seeing you.hen relations with central america are tense, to put it mildly and countries are frustrated with the u.s.' mixed messaging on immigration, what are the united states priorities going into these meetings? >> there's a lot at stake here, jose. we've had the united states coming after there's been a surge of haitians coming through mexico to the u.s. border that we just saw in the last few weeks. we have many migrants, many of them central americans, living in northern mexico, because they been expelled under the u.s. policy of title 42, put in place during the covid pandemic. right now these countries are coming together with a lot at stake and it's hard to see how immigration won't be the forefront of these conversations, jose. what they are trying to accomplish is try to see how they can work with mexico to address the root causes of immigration and mexico, of course, will want to hear more from the united states about what they're doing to address the migrant crisis that is so often s

vin gupta, ron allen, thank you both so much, julia ainsley as well.i mentioned just moments ago, we are currently in a hold on that blue origin space flight. still working on more details as to why that hold has been put in place. right now we are about 15 minutes behind. i want to bring in former nasa astronaut to discuss, leroy chow, the former commander of the international space station. leroy, i know you don't have any intimate details, but what could this hold be? >> i don't know of any rocket launch count down sequence that doesn't have built-in holds. i imagine blue origin does as well. this could be one of those, but since launch is scheduled for top of the hour. it's probably not that. built-in holds are usually for the launch team to come together, take a poll to make sure everyone's in sync, so this particular hold, it's hard to say what it could be. the team could be working a technical issue or they could just be holding for, you know, something as mundane as maybe the car got a flat tire bringing them to the pad. we don't know. >> i kno

julia ainsley has more. >> reporter: just a month after these stunning scenes from a texas border bridgeanother reminder of the record shattering migrant surge. new data obtained by nbc news shows over 1.7 million undocumented immigrants were apprehended at the border over the last year, the highest total in american history. and tonight u.s. officials monitoring tens of thousands more who may soon be making their way north. i want to leave in any way i can, this man says migrants amassing in columbia, panama, ecuador and southern mexico some met with violence from law enforcement along the way. the republicans blame president biden for encouraging the surge by releasing many migrants into the u.s. this week pressing his choice to head customs and borders protection. >> is there a crisis, or is there not a crisis at the border >> senator, i would say that my highest priority is going -- >> i didn't ask your priority is there a crisis at the border >> senator, what i'm certainly trying to convey is how serious i take what's happening at the border. >> reporter: the biden administration bl

julia ainsley has more on this. >> reporter: after those dramatic scenes at that crowded migrant camp under a border bridge in biden administration is preparing for a more massive surge in october up to 400,000 migrants crossing the border, which could be a record nearly doubling the stunning numbers we have seen the last two months, which were a 21-year high the new surge likely officials say because of a court order due to start tomorrow listing a covid restriction known as title 42, which had allowed officials to quickly deport most asylum seekers during the pandemic homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas saying he thinks it is critical. >> that is an authority that the centers for dez control determined to still be necessary given where we are in the ark of the pandemic >> reporter: in del rio, border authorities were taken by surprise by a surge of mostly haitian migrants who came from south america. 5,000 were deported back to haiti. but the administration released most into the u.s., around 13,000, asking them to report to an immigration center to start asylum hearings.

here's julia ainsley. >> reporter: a month after these stunning scenes from a texas border bridge, another reminder of the record shattering migrant search new data obtained by nbc news shows over 1.7 million undocumented immigrants were apprehended at the border over the last year, the highest total in american history and u.s. officials monitoring tens of thousands more who may soon be making their way north "i want to lead in waanyway i can. migrants, some met with violence from law enforce along the way. republicans blame president biden for encouraging the surge by releasing many migrants into the u.s., this week pressing his choice to head customs and border protection. >> is there a crisis or is there not a crisis at the boarder? >> senator, i would say that my highest priority is going to -- >> i didn't ask your priority s. there a crisis at the boarder? >> senator, what i'm certainly trying to convey is how serious i take what's happening at the border. >> reporter: the biden administration blames much of the recent surge on misinformation that gives migrants false hope. nbc is tr

julia ainsley from new york is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to distinguished gentlelady from texas, again, from texas, ms. jackson lee. >> the chair recognizes distinguished gentlelady from texas. >> mr. speaker, i thank you, and i thank the distinguished chairman of the judiciary committee for yielding and with the distinguished gentleman from rhode island, judge gohmert, we know that texas knows how to lead. so thank you so very much for bringing that to our attention. let me take just a moment to turn and say thank you to chairman jeffries for leading us on and providing the energy and the engine for doing something that is both and will be life-saving. it is and will continue to be life-saving. it is my life's work to use the criminal justice system as a reform mechanism to save lives and to ensure that it is not a system that unequally prides itself in supporting the rights sometimes of the offender without acknowledging the rights of the victim. in many instances an addiction, you will find persons who go a

joining me now is julia ainsley and joyce vance. of the ban, women in texas were forced to go to neighboring states and because of the way the law is written in that 48 hours or so between when the federal judge ruled that ban was unconstitutional and then the 5th circuit ruled that it could be reinstated people could still be retro actively sued by the vigilantes. >> yes, they really did everything they could to try to make this challenge proof and to make sure it would stand even during temporary injunctions. so if women were able to get the procedures last week then now those people that provided those procedures, even if it was an uber driver that took them to a clinic, those suits could come up and it could trigger this coming in. the courts have only weighed in on the procedural notion of the law. they have not ruled on the constitutionality. so if someone does sue for an abortion, you could get an argument based on the merits of the law. >> and the move by the doj comes days after the very conservative fifth circuit court of a

but i want to start with julia ainsley, who's got some brand-new reporting about the biden administration'st were separated at the border under the previous administration. julia, how much are we talking about here? >> it could be millions that goes out in the end, stephanie. right now, they're in negotiations. this would consolidate a number of tort claims brought by lawyers representing these families, talking about the unprecedented, unfathomable, emotional and psychological damage that they went through when they were separated at the u.s. border by the trump administration in 2017 and 2018. this would be the negotiation that they're trying to come to a deal with, with the justice department. right now, they're looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars. "wall street journal" reported around $450,000 per individual. that means if there was a parent and child separated, they would walk away with about $900,000, regardless of whether they are still separated or they've been reunited. some lawyers are concerned, though, about getting this number out, that if they publish the number when i

. >>> with me now are nbc news expandant julia ainsley and co-director of the national day labor organizinguse one of the things that was a bit surprising was the walkout. this administration had started talking to immigration advocates long before they even actually put officially into the white house. can you talk about where that friction is and what you expect to be the fallout, if anything, from this? >> yes, it's a fascinating area and one that we don't always get to talk about because it seems like we're just jumping from one thing to another when it comes to the immigration policy and what's going on at the border with this administration. but what we're understanding now is a lot of advocacy groups that had a lot of high hopes for this administration, a lot of people even came over from the administration from advocacy groups and joined government, they're starting to have a friction now because they have not seen daca passed as a permanent fix to daca, they're still seeing title 42 in place. in fact, it's a lot of advocacy groups suing the administration to lift title 42 as you me

officials are watching this very closely, as my colleague, julia ainsley has reported. up to 400,000 migrants could eventually make it to the u.s. this month. and jose, most of these migrants are haitian, but there have been, as well as also some cubans, venezuelans here as well. but the ones we have spoken to in the last few minutes, they're haitian. they actually came here after the recent earthquake. jose? >> gabe gutierrez in colombia, thank you very much for that extraordinary report. >>> now to the latest political fallout surrounding the situation at our southern border. a senior state department official has resigned from the biden administration over what he calls the illegal and inhumane use of restrictions first enacted under the trump administration, known as title xlii. that's according to a new report out from politico. joining us now with more on this and what's going on with thousands of migrants were trying to get to the united states, nbc news correspondent, morgan radford. morgan, good morning. what's the latest? >> i'm so excited to be with you -- >>

joining me now are nbc's julia ainsley, an immigration attorney and telemundo legal analyst, am rows there were lessons learned from those 30,000 haitians that ho showed under a bridge. you can tell on social media when there's a movement of people amassing in a certain city like they are now in northern colombia on their way to the united states. you would think that the united states would be on top of that. but as we learned recently, a lot of times these groups can take dhs by surprise. so i'm told that this will help them do two things. one, help them allocate resources to particular areas of the border when there may be a surge. when those haitians showed up, there were about 6,000 one day and 22 portable toilets. they want to be able to get better resources to those areas. but also, they want to be able to interdict what they would call disinformation campaigns that are spread on social media. you'll see on facebook sometimes, people posting though these groups, look, if you pay me today, i can get you into the united states. this is the last day they'll take you in. spreading

discussed what would have been, or what would have happened had the restrictions been lifted nbc's julia ainsleyorting that secretary alejandro mayorkas asked whether the department was prepared forever a worst case scenario. 350,000 to 400,000 migrants crossing the border next month that would have been double the 21-year record set just back in july, when more than 200,000 migrants crossed the ruling in place while a lawsuit challenging the process goes forward international aid agency oxfam reports that if title 42 does stay in place it could do serious harm to the global refugee system >>> another blow to haitian migrants trying to escape the social, political and economic turmoil in their country they now have very few places to turn mexico is now turning haitian refugees away as well. officials sent 70 migrants back to haiti yesterday on what they called an assisted voluntary return flight. they say it's the first group being sent back, part of an agreement between mexico and haiti's governments. just days ago the u.s. government cleared a border camp in del rio, texas of thousands of hait

joining us now is julia ai ainsley covering justice and homeland security departments and deputy directormmigrants rights project. julia, just why were officials so unprepared? >> it's interesting. i mean, they knew as far back as july that there were thousands who were amassing, haitians who had gone to south america and central america with plans to move north. and some of that was picked up in intelligence but talks to wasn't shared between i.c.e. and cvp, the intelligence community. they weren't putting it together in a way you might expect, especially predicting how rapidly we would see it get to 28,000 people under that one bridge in del rio. there was an internal debate going on at the time over whether or not to ramp up deportations of haitians inside the united states to haiti. some argued it could deteriorate future migration, deteriorate those people from coming here. others thought it would be inhumane given the assassination of the president there and then very quickly they did decide to halt the deportations after that august 14th earthquake. some now are looking back thinki

julia ainsley is reporting on the foreign actors also in the company of anyone on the right spreading of asian descent. so that is the braid of messengers and vectors, proud boys, adversaries and right wing disinformation. >> no, absolutely. and the thing is outside of iran and all of these foreign actors, that is happening right here, all of those people that you are talking about. and what is really interesting and to connect some things for folks here, because we were just talking about before the break january 6 and all this covid disinformation, those aren't disconnected. the groups that talk about these things are groups that feel like, you know, the election was stolen which it wasn't and that feel like if you put a vaccine that keeps you from dying, that kept me from being out of the hospital when i got covid-19 weeks ago, then you are bowing down to some kind of leftist government. those connections are there. the people who believe and who are likely to believe those kinds of things. and one of the questions that i continue to hear even from medical health professionals is w