- Welcome to The 700 Club.

I know we've all been waiting

for yet another electioncycle, and we're at it again.

Democratic presidentialcontenders took on President Trump

and each other last night ina round two of their debates,

with Kamala Harris coming out the winner,

directly challengingfront runner Joe Biden.

- Well the candidateslaid out their positions

on everything from universalhealthcare to immigration

as they tried to position themselves

as the best candidateto win the White House.

Jennifer Wishon has the story.

- Senator Kamala Harrisproved she's capable

of hanging with the front of the pack

while Mayor Pete Buttigieg

lectured Republicans on Christianity.

And front runners, formerVice President Joe Biden

and Senator Bernie Sanders got the chance

to fire the first shots.

Sanders used his time to try and clarify

how his policies would require tax hikes

on the middle class.

- People who havehealthcare under Medicare

will have no premiums, nodeductibles, no co-payments,

no out-of-pocket expenses, yes,they will pay more in taxes,

but less in healthcare for what they get.

- [Jennifer] Biden worked tomaintain his blue collar appeal

and made clear who he seesas his chief opponent.

- Donald Trump thinksWall Street built America,

ordinary middle-classAmericans build America.

- [Jennifer] But it wasSenator Kamala Harris

who distinguished herself,

using her skills as aprosecutor to draw blood

on Biden's talk thisweek about his history

of working across the aisle.

- And it is personal and it was hurtful

to hear you talk about the reputations

of two United States Senatorswho built their reputations

and career on the segregationof race in this country.

And it was not onlythat but you also worked

with them to oppose bussing.

And there was a little girl in California

who was part of the second class

to integrate her public schools

and she was bussed to school every day

and that little girl was me.(crowd cheering)

- It's a mischaracterization

of my position across the board.

I did not praise racists,that is not true.

- Vice President Biden,(crowd cheering)

do you agree today, do you agree today,

that you were wrong to opposebusing in America then?

- No,- Do you agree?

- I did not oppose bussing in America.

What I opposed is bussing ordered

by the Department of Education!

That's what I opposed.

- Well there was a failure- I did not oppose,

- of states to integrate- no, but,

- public schools in America.

I was part of the second class

to integrate BerkeleyCalifornia Public Schools

almost two decades afterBrown v. Board of Education.

- Because your citycouncil made that decision.

It was a local decision.- So that's where the federal

government must step in.

That's why we have- The federal government

- the Voting Rights Actmust step,

- and the Civil Rights Act.(crowd cheering)

- [Jennifer] In the onereal mention of faith,

South Bend Mayor PeteButtigieg lectured Republicans.

- We should call outhypocrisy when we see it

and for a party that associates itself

with Christianity to say that it is okay

to suggest that God wouldsmile on the division

of families at thehands of federal agents,

that God would condoneputting children in cages,

has lost all claim to everuse religious language again.

- [Jennifer] While nearlyall the candidates stretched

their time as far asmoderators would allow,

Biden was all too willing to comply

and stop talking.

- And my time's up.

- [Jennifer] There's noquestion this wasn't the kind

of first debate and his supporters wanted,

time will tell if he isindeed running out of time

or this is just an earlystumble in a long race.

Jennifer Wishon, CBN News, Washington.

- Well I think one of the big questions

coming out of the debate is,

is it time to pass thetorch to another generation?

For both Bernie Sanders and for Joe Biden

if they are electedthey will be the oldest

to ever be elected to be president

and that's an interesting stat,

but you get into the issues

of not only could youserve the full four term

but could you be ready for two terms?

And that's something theDemocrats are going to have

to wrestle with.

Well President Trump, asusual, had his own response

to the Democratic debate.

Mark martin has that storyfrom the CBN Newsroom.

Mark?

- That's right Gordon,President Trump tweeted

that he heard it was quote, not a good day

for Democratic leaders JoeBiden and Bernie Sanders.

At the G20 Summit in Japan,

the president also criticized Democrats

after they all agreedtheir healthcare plans

would provide coverage forpeople in the country illegally.

The president tweeted, allDemocrats just raised their hands

for giving millions of illegalaliens unlimited healthcare.

How about taking care ofAmerican citizens first?

That's the end of that race.

And immigration was a majorissue in Washington Thursday

as the Democraticallycontrolled House passed

a $4.6 billion dollarhumanitarian aid package

for migrants that theSenate had already approved

on a strongly bipartisan vote.

The vote was widely seenas a major political defeat

for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

who wanted stronger protections

for children supported by Progressives,

but moderate Democratssided with Republicans.

Evangelical leaders traveled to El Pass

this past week to findout more about the plight

of immigrants at the border.

They saw a dramatic decline in the number

of migrants coming over and an increase

in the number kept in Mexico.

Heather Sells brings us that story.

- For months churches in ElPaso have received hundreds

of immigrants daily, butnow all that is changing

and their numbers havedropped drastically.

Since October border patrol officers here

have apprehended more than120,000 adults and children,

a more than 1,000% increaseover the past year.

Upon their release,

churches here have tried to fill the gap.

Tiny El Elyon, aneighborhood congregation,

has cared for 70 people a night.

We used to do this everysingle day, seven days a week.

- [Heather] PastorMaribel showed us pictures

of families as theyarrived, received food,

clothing, shelter, and prayer.

Most usually stayed justone night then caught a bus

or flew out of the city toconnect with family elsewhere.

- I never realized how far this would go

but I was always depending on the Lord

and saying, "Lord, whatdo you want me to do?"

It's a multitude of people that need us.

- [Heather] Church leaders in El Paso

believe President Trump'snew Remain in Mexico policy

is behind the drop in numbers.

Not only do asylum seekers go back

to wait on court dates,

Mexican police also deter immigrants

from crossing into Mexico orseeking to enter the U.S..

- It's uncertain yet exactly why that is,

maybe they're beingreleased somewhere else.

Certainly more are beingreleased back into Mexico

which is really gonna be probablya lot more of a challenge.

- [Heater] This past week leaders

from the EvangelicalImmigration Table came to hear

from border patrol officers and tour one

of the last church sheltersstill open in El Paso.

What we know about thissituation is that it's fluid.

It is changing all the time.

Could shift back, we'll see what happens.

- [Heather] Sami Dipasquale who leads

a Christian community center here,

says, "Churches are pivoting to support

their counterparts in thecity of Juarez, Mexico."

Evangelical leaders also visited

a Methodist shelter in Juarez.

While there's a growing coalition

of Evangelical churches here,

it's not enough to care for the thousands

of asylum seekers waitingon a U.S. hearing.

- So they're waiting inMexico, the shelters are full,

they don't have authorization

to work while they're in Mexico.

- [Heather] World Relief's Matt Soerens,

says legal help like hisorganization provides

is also difficult to find in Mexico.

That could mean greaternumbers will face deportation.

- They have a well-foundedfear of persecution.

Under the Refugee Act of 1980,

they should be allowed to stay,

but the burden is on them to prove that.

And that can be adifficult thing to prove.

- [Heather] Pastor Maribel says,

"El Elyon is ready toreceive migrants again,

should it be needed."

And she won't forget thestories, courage, and faith

of those she helped.

- They're very humblepeople, hard working people,

they're people very loyal.

Once you have the chanceto sit down with one of 'em

and listen, it will break your heart.

It will break your heart,it will change your mind

the way that we think of them.

- [Heather] Experts sayasylum courts in El Paso

reject most cases, but forthese desperate people living

in the U.S. remains adream worth fighting for.

Reporting in El Paso,Heather Sells, CBN News.

- All right Heather,thank you of that report.

Gordon, back to you.

- Well the bottom line on all of this

is there's a hugehumanitarian crisis happening

on our own border.

This isn't something you can ignore

and when you look at the what's going on

in the detention centers,they're calling them camps

and you have border patrolagents literally providing

from their own household,clothes for children,

diapers, food, these kinds of things.

Hopefully the bill that wasjust passed by the Congress

and the Senate will help that situation,

but then you have this sort of limbo

that ends up as they'rewaiting some kind of hearing.

They get released and where do they go?

It's great that churchesthere are stepping up

to say we can help fill this gap

but there needs to be more

and whether it's on theMexico side of the border

or the U.S. side of the border,

how do we help these people?

And then more importantly,

how do we help the overallsituation in Central America?

This is more than just

the horrendous tragedyhappening in Venezuela.

The largest migration in the history

of the Western Hemisphere,

millions of people leaving that country

because they can't get enough food.

But you have continual problemsin Honduras, Guatemala,

the other countries in LatinAmerica, Central America,

where there's no opportunity.

There's no jobs andthey're looking for help

and they're looking for aid.

What can we do to help them in Honduras

and in Guatemala so they'renot forced to migrate?

This is a huge problem.

When you start talking abouthundreds of thousands of people

facing the same situation,

what can we as a country,

what can we as Christians do

to stand in the gap to say,

"These are our neighbors,these are our brothers,

"these are our sisters,how can we help them?"