executive action president biden just signed to tighten the border. any moment the president will explain his big, new plan. we're live at the white house and at the u.s./mexico border, to dig into how this could be an immediate game-changer for people crossing into this country. the seasoned fbi agent who has been investigating hunter biden for months, will resume her testimony at the trial of the president's son. the text messages included in the indictment that have not come up in court. and, quote, i will not be intimidated. right now, attorney general merrick garland going toe-to-toe with members of congress, from everything from donald trump's criminal trial to a reality check to crime in america. our nbc news reporters are following all of the developments. we start with aaron gilchrest. this aclu challenge is something the administration had to be challenges. how do we know about how they've been preparing for the legal challenge to this order? >> you're right, chris. the white house knew this would be something that would be challenged. the department of justice is ready for it, to face any challenges that may come up in court. the aclu saying we intend to sue. a ban on asylum is illegal, just as it was when trump unsuccessfully tried it. senior administration official earlier today asked about the potential for lawsuits and did say that the department of justice routinely has to defend actions taken by this administration, in court. and that it was prepared to do so in this case, as well. of course, we know, chris, that president biden signed this executive action earlier today. we expect to hear from him in just a few minutes about how exactly he envisions this new rule being -- being executed at the southern border, at the border with mexico. we understand that this order effectively blocks migrants who would cross the border illegally, from seeking asylum. when the number of daily encounters at the border reaches 2,500. from homeland security, that number has surpassed 4,000. this order is effectively now usable at the southern border. it is a temporary course of action. the administration saying that, when the number gets back down below 1,500 encounters, daily for a sustained period of seven days, that this order would effectively go away at that point, but could come back again when the number would reach 2,500 again. at the same time right now, the white house is saying this is immigration policy issue that is the responsibility of congress. and that the senate, the bipartisan senate bill, that was blocked at the urging of former president trump earlier this year, is something that congress needs to take seriously and needs to take up, to give the president more authority and more funding and more personnel to protect the southern border, chris. >> aaron gilchrest, thank you. let's go to david noriega, from the san diego border. you heard how this is executed at the border. are you seeing any changes there? >> so far, there's no indication this is a practical matter on the ground in effect. this is a big question i'm asking myself right now. what is it going to look like? will it be allowed in the courts? if it is, what is it going to look like? there are a ton of questions, more questions than answers how this would look on the ground. one of the main ones is that the u.s. cannot summarily deport every asylum seeker back to mexico. that requires active participation from mexico, from mexican authorities. i've spoken to two mexico officials on the state and local level on the other side of the fence in baja, california, where says they're not aware of plans to implement the significant increase in summary expulsions that we would see if this order goes into effect. it's possible this will filter down to the officials that will be implementing it. those officials, do not know, what that's going to look like. that's one of many questions. there's going to be a huge gap between what this executive order looks like on paper and how it gets talked about in washington, d.c. and what it actually looks like here on the ground. how it affects migrants that are actually crossing the border. and how it involves people acting in mexico on the other side of the border. not just officials, but also cartels, smuggling networks responding to this. i heard from sources into the border. it's possible that's an indication that smuggling networks are pushing people to cross quickly before this executive order goes into effect. will that continue to happen during this interim when the order is on paper in effect, but not implemented on the ground? it's quite possible we could see the numbers go up. either way, the one thing i want to make clear to our viewers, is that the talk of sealing or shutting down the border, that's never going to happen, fully on the ground. it's not possible. there's no way that mexico is going to accept tens of thousands of asylum seekers from all over the world. not just mexico and central america, but all over the western hemisphere, africa, asia. that's not really in the cards. whatever this is on the ground, it's going to be something much more partial. it's significant. a deep, significant change to the way the u.s. enacted its asylum laws on the border. consequential for people on the border. it will not be a total shutdown. what i will pay attention in the next few days, if it's partial, how much of a shutdown is it. who does it apply to? to what extent is mexico cooperating. those are up in the air. >> david noriega, thank you. just now, the first witness in hunter biden's drug charges trial is, came back on the stand. ken dilanian is outside for us. we talked about the drama in the opening statements. talk about the first witness for the prosecution. what we've heard so far. >> prosecutors like to put on the investigating fbi agent to provide jurors the meat and the potatoes of the case. the context, the key facts and dates and times. she is taking the jury through, for example, hunter biden's atm withdrawals, to show where he was during the time of this gun purchase. and subsequently, they started playing excerpts of hunter biden's book, the audio version, that he himself narrated. beautiful things, in which he talked about pursuing crack-cocaine. his whole existence was dictated, as he put it, by the demands of the crack pipe. and he talked about his superpyre, finding crack-cocaine in any town in the country. this trial is going to be about the prosecution and having to prove that there was no way that hunter biden could have sent in a form he wasn't using drugs at this time. that's what the defense is saying. he may have been using drugs around the time he was filling the form. but in his mind, he wasn't a drug user. that's what the case is going to hinge on, hunter biden's state of mind. and the prosecution is putting on a lot of evidence about hunter biden's drug use. >> thank you. let's go to capitol hill, where merrick garland forcefully defended the justice department work against what he called a long line of attacks from house republicans. nbc's alli vitale, is on the hill. what did he have to say. >> the attorney general knew he was standing before committee that already voted to hold him in contempt, not but weeks ago. the full house has not voted on that referral yet. but garland's testimony was layered with ccusations from republicans he sought to rebut the accusations about wrongdoing related to everything from january 6th insurrectionists to the current prosecution. and the recent criminal trial of former president donald trump, defiant is one of the best ways to put the way that garland acted not just in his opening statement, but throughout the hours of testimony. listen to just a piece of that, chris. >> these repeated attacks on the justice department are unprecedented and unfounded. these attacks have not and they will not influence our decisionmaking. i will not be intimidated. and the justice department will not be intimidated. we will continue to do our jobs, free from political influence and we will not back down from defending democracy. >> the republicans line to be intense. the head of this committee has been clear about his desire to get the justice department to turn over audio of president biden's interview with special counsel robert hurr. they have the transcript. they're exhibiting executive privilege over that. it could have a chilling effect they say of future cooperation with prosecutors in investigations such as these. the committee will continue pressing for that audio. democrats for their part during this hearing, chris, allowed garland to explain himself and gave him opportunities to clarify, effectively helping him play defense, as some of them did offer criticisms of policies including on the border. >> ali, thank you. in 90 seconds, the mayor of one of the cities along the southern border affected by the president's executive action, joins me on the difference it could make on the ground. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. ♪ [suspenseful music] trains. [whoosh] ♪ trains that use the power of dell ai and intel. clearing the way, [rumble] [whoosh] so you arrive exactly where you belong. with powerful, easy-to-use tools, power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley feeling sluggish or weighed down? so you won't miss an opportunity. could be a sign that your digestive system isn't at its best. but a little metamucil everyday can help. metamucil's psyllium fiber gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down... so you can lighten every day the metamucil way. any minute, mayors on the front line of the border crisis will join president biden as he announcess action on the border. it could be restricted if daily crossings exceed a daily average of 2,500. it comes months after a bipartisan senate bill advances which would tighten the border. if daily encounters reached a seven-day average of 5,000. joining me now, doug nichols, mayor of yuma, arizona, invited to the white house today, but had a scheduling issue. we appreciate you being here, mr. mayor. i know you supported the border bill that failed in the senate. for the biden administration that offered major concessions to get that bill, this is where they landed. so, let me just ask you, bottom line. will this make the difference or be a start for cities like yours? >> the border, bipartisan border bill, was a good start. that's what i was supportive of. the discussion nationally. and a lot of great elements. but as far as this action today, i think there will be an impact. the threshold is half of what the bill had. what this really says, is what the mayors and the community leaders along the border have been saying, there are things that the administration can do, that the president can do, without a congressional change, to have a positive impact. we'll see what that actually ends up looking like on the ground. policies on paper, versus how they are enacted in the field, can vary and they vary by different border control sector. going to see how that ultimately plays out. >> let me ask, for you, looking at what this is, is the best-case for what this could establish. and if there's other executive actions you want to see president biden take. >> best case it does reduce the demand and the key provision here is that those that cross above the 2,500 are turned. some to mexico, some to their home countries. when you start doing that, that's when other people decide not to make the trip, because they could be returned. that's the best case that could happen. probably some of them have been mediocre level, what will happen. it will fluctuate day-to-day. it will cause confusion and raise the price of the cartel's charge because of the law of supply and demand. those are what the positives and the negatives there. the president should take elements like the process element that was in the border bill and look for a way to implement that. you put more judges on the border. people are no longer waiting years to get their asylum procedures done. they have a higher level of criteria. those things are elements that would push back on the wave of people coming through. >> there's people that criticized president biden. they criticize past presidents to go. they don't think immigration reform and what has been needed for decades under republican and democratic presidents, democratic and republican-controlled members of congress, has been comprehensive border reform. i noted that back in february, when kyrsten sinema was putting forward a bill, you and others, business leaders and members of local political parties, bipartisan, got together and said, yes. we support this. what were you able to do that congress doesn't get? do you have hope for comprehensive border reform? or do you think that congress is just broken? >> at this point, it's not going to happen this year. >> for sure. >> it's too much of a controversial, very detailed topic. this, by far, isn't really border -- immigration reform. this is border security from an element. immigration reform, we need to look at our h2a provisions. looking at the visitor worker visas. we need to look at our process. you have ten years for someone to come into the country, who is married to an american citizen, there's a lot of broken things in the process. we need to start taking that apart as a country. that's going to be a multisession type of discussion. these elements, as you mentioned, every administration has done policy changes and executive orders to criminal what's happening at the border. and that's what we've been calling for along the border, for the last three years. glad to see it's starting to come and years with thissed a administration. regardless of party, previous administrations found ways to manage the border in a strong way. >> douglas nicholls, mr. mayor, thank you for coming on the program. jen palmieri, former communications director for hilary for america and msnbc analyst. there's lots of different opinions. you've lived through them on the border. complicated, as the mayor said. a complicated traffic. pull back the curtain. take us to the white house and the communications team when they are rolling out a big announcement like this. and how does the president maximize the impact? >> i think the timing of -- let's look at the timing of this first, right? mexico presidential elections are over. they were weight for that to happen. and i think the other -- we had the senate vote, maybe a week or ten days ago, to show and demonstrate that congress was not able to pass a bipartisan bill that would have better addressed the border. they are trying to establish they did everything they could to pass a bipartisan border bill. they did everything they could administratively. and it's not just the action that the president is taking today. there are more -- there's more agents on the border than there has been on other presidents. president's asking for money for border enforcement, that congress has not delivered to him. and you're setting the stage for the debate where he said, i did everything i could to address this and they stood in the way. donald trump told the congress not to pass the bill on that fight. didn't happen. and you're making an argument that you have done what you can. i see everyone is waiting for the president to speak. done what you can with the border. and donald trump is the reason he did not want to pass it because it's bad politics for him. everything is about him. i think what they want to do is eventually, neutralize the issue. show they have done what they can. and make a part that trump stood in the way of an actual solution because everything is about him, which is the overall biden message. >> we're seeing people start to line up for the beginning of this, these remarks by president biden in the east room of the white house. there's kathy hochul, the homeland security secretary, alejandro mayorkas. and michelle griffin there from new mexico, all attending there. they know what the problems are for this president. it's headlines across the country, in their states. in "the new york times," new york city hotels going up because one in five is a shelter. baltimore, releasing mi grants illegally. colorado schools an influx of immigrant students. whether true or untrue exaggerations. what trump and republicans are saying, what they see is the negative impact is embedding in voters' brains. does this help fight that? everything going on in the border is bad. here comes the president. i have to ask you to answer that. but again, president biden in the east room of the white house, on his executive order. >> i've come here today to do what the republicans in congress refuse to do, take the necessary steps to secure our border. four months ago, after weeks of intense negotiations, between my staff and democrats and republicans, we came to a clear, clear bipartisan deal. the strongest agreement in decades. then, the republicans walked away from it. why? because donald trump told them to. he told the republicans, that has been published by many of you, he didn't want to fix the issue. he wanted to attack me. that's what he wanted to do. an extremely cynical and political move. a complete disservice to the american people who are looking for us, not to weaponize the border but to fix it. today, i'm joined by governors, members of congress, most of them live and work along the southern border. they know the boarder is not to be weaponized. a responsibility to share and do something about it. they don't have time for the games played in washington. and neither do the american people. today, i'm moving past the structure made as president, to do what i can on my own, to address the border. frankly, i would have preferred to address this issue through bipartisan legislation. that's the only way to actually get the kind of system we have now. to hire more border patrol agents and more asylum and judges. the republicans left no choice. today, i'm announcing actions to bar migrants who cross the southern border unlawfully, from receiving asylum. migrants will be restricted at the southern border unless they seek it after entering through an established process. and those that come to the united states legally, by making an appointment and to a port of entry, asylum will be available. if an individual chooses not to use our legal pathways, they come without permission and against the law, they will be restricted from receiving asylum and staying in the united states. this will gain control of the border. this remains in place from the number of people trying to enter illegally, and reduced to a level that our system with manage. we will carry out the order consistent with all of the responsibilities. every one of them. in addition to this action, we recently made important reforms in our asylum system, more efficient and more secure reforms. the goal to deliver decisions on asylum as quickly as possible. the quicker decision means that a migrant is less likely to pay a smuggler thousands of dollars to take him on a dangerous journey, knowing that if in fact, they move in a wrong direction, they are turned around quickly. two weeks ago, the department of justice started a new docket in the immigration courts to address cases where people have crossed the border and make a decision within six months, rather than six years. that's what happens now. the department of homeland security has allowed new laws. they have criminal convictions an