The following is an interview with the Democratic Sen Mark Kelly of Arizona to be aired on August 10, 2025 on “Face the Nation With Margaret Brain”.
Margaret Brainon: We now go to Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, who connects us to Tuxon this morning. Senator, President Trump Russia, could not ban Russia, but unless the Congress agreed to do so. Is there any hunger to lift them?
Sen Mark Kelly: I am not hungry to lift them. Putin continues to execute an illegal war where he is deliberately killing women, children, old people. I visited Ukraine several months ago, went to a Veterans Hospital, where the nurses there saw only terrible atrocities. Therefore, I think, if anything, Margaret, we need to continue pressure on Putin on Russia. Attacking our NATO colleague, pay them for this illegal war. And I have to say, I know you had earlier talked to Mark Rute, and Ambassador about the journey on Friday in Alaska. And, Margaret, I hope we got something from it. Putin is a war criminal. This is not a demonstration of strength to fly here, flying in the United States to interact with our President. I definitely don’t know- I don’t know what the ground rules prescribed for this conversation were, but I hope that this administration should have taken out something for this journey.
Margaret Brainan: And we are trying to find those details. Several intelligence officials have told my CBS colleague Jim Laporta that in recent weeks there was an American instruction that all the Russian-Ukraine peace talks should not be shared with our colleagues who are part of the five eyes. Countries like Australia and UK share information with us. You sit on the intelligence committee. Are you aware of that instruction, and what it indicates?
Sen Kelly: I did not know about it. We have a special relationship with those five eye partners, and I think the relationship makes us all collectively safe. Therefore, if it was above me, we will continue sharing that information with those colleagues. Talking about the situation in Iran, what is happening in Gaza or Western Pacific, restricting information about Russia-Ukraine, you know, China simply makes us all less safe. Therefore, I did not know about it, but it does not seem to have a suitable task.
Margaret Brainon: Senator, I have more to talk to you in relation to immigration and other domestic matters. We are going to take a break and come back to do so. stay with us.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Margaret Brainan: Welcome to face the nation. We now return to our conversation with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Senator, I know that you were in an immigration and customs enforcement facility last week, and you also posted about it, including a meeting, including a detained woman, who understands me that there is a son who is the United States of America, and she had been in America for two decades, when she was in custody, when she was in custody, she was producing a child of her son on the base of her son. Are you managing to get an exception to the rule to allow him to live in the United States or somehow?
Sen Kelly: Margaret, I spent about three hours or more at the alloy detention center and met with two women. There was a Maria, which you just mentioned, whose son was an American Marine, in whose daughter the daughter was a US Marine, and the daughter needed to do an operation. So she came from New Jersey. She lives in the country for 20 years, and then she blows CBP in custody. I asked him when his son graduated from the boot camp, and how he felt it. She started crying and said that it is very proud. He was proud that his son was an American sea. He is going to list again. This woman is not a threat to the society. I also met the owner of a business, which has been in the United States for more than 20 years. He has got 70 employees. He found three restaurants. She is one and one opening. Then, it is a mother. Her daughter has an American citizen, her mother is an American citizen. Sisters, an American citizen. The husband is an American citizen. None of these women is a threat to society. And what I saw in alloys were a lot of mothers and grandmothers who could be out with their families, who could go to work because whatever the immigration process is in, and for Maria, for Maria’s mother, for the mother of Marine, for someone, for someone on active duty, their parents have the process of becoming a permanent residence and eventually an American citizen. And this is not the place where we should be, and I don’t think it is what American people wanted. The Border Security issue under President Biden was not working, and I pushed the administration on it. But we have become too much in another direction now, and I don’t think it is what American people either want.
Margaret Brainon: Okay, on your point, however, President Trump won your kingdom by nearly six points in November. And you know, immigration was one of his top promises of proceeding with this rift. And you said that you want to do more. Is there any benefit to Arizona that came into large -scale exile from this massive infusion from the taxpayer dollar, or you are saying here, these personal matters show that the whole process is flawed?
Sen Kelly: I think it’s ok- now, I think, I think you think you are doing on the border, and to implement border security and to ensure that our southern border is not coming through, but also migrants are not smuggled. It was not working, but showing people in its communities and large -scale exile and ICE agents masked in schools. I am trying to help a child who is in custody. He was 14 years old. He lives in Chandler, Arizona, and was raised to school. I had another position with a child who was on my short league trip in the baseball tournament. The border draws on the petrol vehicle, identifies brown baby. He now locks for a week, we were able to take him out. He was 13 years old on a baseball trip. This is not what American people wanted, and I do not think it conforms to our values.
Margaret Brainon: Okay, Senator, it is really an important and emotional issue, and we are going to leave it there for today.
