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Judge Halts Trump's Plan To Put USAID Workers On Leave; Trump Moving Rapidly To Reshape And Downsize Federal Government; Israelis Express Shock At Frail State Of Newly Released Hostages; Source: Some 30-Second Spots Going For More Than $8 Million; Hellman's Ad Features "When Harry Met Sally" Reunion; Meet The Legal Migrants Keeping America's Farms Running; Work Visas Still Pose Challenges For Migrants, Employers; Arab Americans React To Gaza Takeover Proposal; Fallout Over Offensive Tweets By Best Actress Nominee. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 08, 2025 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[18:00:48]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And we are following new developments tonight in several legal setbacks for the Trump administration. A court ruling has halted the president's plans to eliminate most of the workforce of a major US humanitarian agency.

Hours earlier, crews were seen removing signage from USAID, from its headquarters there in Washington, DC. The judge's ruling preventing more than 2,200 people from being placed on administrative leave. He also ordered the government to reinstate 500 workers who had already been placed on leave.

It is an agency Trump's daughter, Ivanka once championed when she served as a White House adviser.

CNN's Betsy Klein joins us now.

Betsy, walk us through these details.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Jessica, President Trump and his team are fundamentally changing the role of the US in the world on humanitarian aid. And if this feels a little bit jarring, it is because President Trump himself was once a vocal proponent of USAID, and I think no one tells that story better than his daughter and former senior adviser, Ivanka Trump.

Now, this was such a priority for President Trump back in 2019 that it was a key piece of his State of the Union Address unveiling plans to sign an executive order launching the Women's Global Development and Prosperity, GDP Initiative, which he signed in the Oval Office just a few short days later.

Now it was a priority for Ivanka. She spearheaded it. It fell under the umbrella of USAID, and therefore it was a priority for President Trump. Now, sources that we spoke to who worked closely with her, as well as beneficiaries of this program, talk about the real impact it had on millions of women around the world.

One woman, who was a farmer from the country of Georgia, told CNN, "When I saw President Trump was elected again, I thought it was going to bring more support for women's economic empowerment because he loved this program."

Now, this program was aimed at helping empower women economically abroad. It helped close the digital divide, combat food insecurity. It did things like provide capital for women entrepreneurs looking to launch small businesses, and it was actually rebranded and continued to be successful during the Biden administration.

But after five years of its existence, it was shut down just last week during a stop order applying to many USAID programs.

But really, all of this underscores a major pivot for President Trump on the topic of foreign aid, as he looks to slash federal spending and some real concerns from sources we have talked to on programs like this that are tools for soft power and who might fill that vacuum in the absence of US leadership abroad -- Jessica.

DEAN: And Betsy, the president also announcing this plan to gut the existing Board of Trustees at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts there in Washington, and to have him take over as Chairman. What can you tell us about that?

KLEIN: Yes, a really dramatic and unexpected move from President Trump last night announcing his plans to gut members of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees and also to oust its existing chairman, that's David Rubenstein, the billionaire philanthropist who obviously has been a very close ally of former President Joe Biden. Trump saying that he would be the new chairman.

Now, the Kennedy Center has a very long and storied tradition of bipartisanship. Presidents of both parties appoint members that serve long terms, and they work together to select the Kennedy Center Honorees, among other issues. But really, all of this an unprecedented move.

The Kennedy Center, for its part, said in a statement, there is nothing in the center's statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Betsy Klein in West Palm Beach for us. Thank you so much.

Also, earlier today, a federal judge blocking Elon Musk's DOGE agency from continuing to access the Treasury Department's Central Payment System and now just in to CNN, the White House is responding. This is what they are saying to that ruling: "These frivolous lawsuits are akin to children throwing pasta at the wall to see if it will stick. Grandstanding government efficiency speaks volumes about those who would rather delay much needed change with legal shenanigans than work with the Trump administration of ridding waste, fraud and abuse."

[18:05:13]

The judge in that case has ordered the administration to appear in court on Friday, where they will argue against over a dozen state attorneys general that will decide whether the temporary restraining order continues or if it is lifted.

AXIOS senior contributor, Margaret Talev is here to talk more about all of this.

Margaret, good to see you on a Saturday evening. Thanks so much for being here. we are getting our first response --

Jamie Turner, AXIOS SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: That I -- yes -- that I just read there from the White House responding to this ruling about those Treasury Department payments.

Look, the fact of the matter is people elected President Trump knowing full and well he had big plans to dismantle and disrupt major parts of the federal government. He promised it and this is what he is doing.

What is interesting is we are seeing the court system, not Democrats who are acting and not even Congress, really, as the check here. What do you make of how this is being responded to?

TALEV: Well, Jessica, I think you are seeing some Democrats respond, many of the attorneys general who brought the litigation are Democratic attorneys general. But the reality in Washington is that the balance of power depends on who controls each of those bodies.

And right now, the Democrats are not in control of the US House and not in control of the US Senate. So they can slow the wheels of government a lot, but they cannot block in the same way they could if they were in the majority. And I think what you're also seeing is President Trump really taking unprecedented steps, absolutely testing the boundaries, both of the law and of the system's ability to slow him down.

And so under both of those scenarios, it is completely inevitable and predictable that this would all end up in court. But I think what you're seeing in the case of DOGE and the Treasury, is even a little bit more complex for two reasons. One, Americans didn't elect Elon Musk. And so you're even starting to see in early polling, it is very early. I don't want to overinterpret it that Americans are not completely comfortable with Elon Musk being empowered in these ways, right?

And the other is that what we are talking about here, in the case of the Treasury systems, is people's personal financial data and data that may relate to their benefits, future benefits such as Social Security.

And so I think one of the elements I am very interested to see, but we are also hearing just even anecdotally as well as I think we will see this in polling also from voters, from older voters across party lines, is that they're very, very concerned that their access to money and benefits and entitlements and things like Social Security not be altered in any way as a result of what is going on.

So we've talked about a number of things, the Kennedy Center and what's going on with USAID and all of these things are meant not only to be extremely disruptive and test the boundaries of power, but to move very quickly before anyone can stop them, to be able to go to the base after the first hundred days and say, we said we were going to do this and we did it, and now we are beginning to see the machinery respond to that.

And in the Judicial System, this already involves, and is going to continue to include many Republican-nominated judges, district court judges also, who are saying, hang on a second, we need to understand what the law actually allows you to do.

DEAN: Yes, and kind of slow it down just a little bit in some cases.

You mentioned this a little bit, but, you know, Republicans we've talked to, we just had Tim Burchett on last hour say they are very confident in Musk and his allies, many of whom are in their 20s, early 20s, that this is a secure process, that they don't need any more -- they don't need any background checks, they don't need to know more. We feel fine that they have access to these incredibly, you know, all of this private data and these incredibly important systems that are responsible as you know for distributing these payments to Americans.

But, you also note that Americans are starting to get nervous about that. Do you think that that explanation is going to continue to hold when you're talking to, like you're saying, senior citizens that are worried about payments or people who rely on some of these programs that are just nervous about what this might mean?

TALEV: Yes, and I saw that interview earlier this afternoon. To some extent, I think it is going to depend on how the public reacts and I think the other reality is that Republican members understand that President Trump is more popular than they are in their party, and more powerful than they are in their party.

And even though he comes in now, this being this second term as a lame duck president who cannot run again under the laws of the United States, it doesn't mean he can't wreak a lot of havoc for them.

[18:10:07]

So at this moment, even Republicans who have got some heartburn about this are incentivized to choose their words carefully or just, you know, keep it on a slow burn for a while. And were going to see a lot of Republicans say, no, this is great. This is exactly what we want. I think it is going to take some time for the public opinion to sort of catch up for people to understand.

And then I think you're absolutely right. Look, if a wide array of Americans are very comfortable with Elon Musk and like, six guys you've never heard of getting in and touching on their personal data, then this will truly be only up to the courts to decide if Americans are uncomfortable when it becomes a political issue in the midterms, that could change. It is very early. I don't think most of the public, I think the public is hearing bits and pieces here, but I don't think most Americans pay attention with the same granularity that we do in covering these issues.

It is going to take a few weeks for people to catch up to the reality on the ground.

DEAN: Yes, and then you're exactly right, Margaret, then it is up to them to decide what they think about it and if they want to change the direction or keep the direction.

Margaret Talev, thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it.

TALEV: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, celebrations after three Israeli hostages are freed, but their frail appearance, look at this difference, also causing a lot of alarm. How their families reacted to seeing them.

And we look at the lives of South Florida's H-2A visa workers, migrants legally recruited from Mexico to take part in the grueling labor needed to keep Americas farms running.

You're in the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:21]

DEAN: The parents of slain Israeli American hostage, Hersh Goldberg- Polin have a clear message for President Trump, bring every hostage home this week.

For now, though, the gradual approach continues, going through several phases. We are in phase one.

Today, Israel welcoming the release of three additional hostages who were held captive by Hamas for 491 days, but there was a lot of concern as people around the world and in Israel saw the frail condition of those Israeli captives.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us from Tel Aviv with more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are in Hostage Square, where earlier today, we witnessed very emotional scenes as hundreds of Israelis gathered here to watch as those three Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity after 491 days.

But it was really a roller coaster of emotions. Initially, yes, there was the wave of relief as those three hostages emerged in live pictures for the first time after more than 15 months. But then there was also some pained looks on the faces of many here, as they realized the state in which those three Israeli hostages were emerging. All three of them looking quite frail and emaciated after their time in captivity.

It was particularly striking to see the image of Eli Sharabi, a 52- year-old who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7th. The difference between how he looked before he was taken hostage and how he looks now really striking. Clearly, he has lost a lot of weight.

And really, these images are driving the Israeli public to focus on the remaining hostages in Gaza and these images driving a public debate here in Israel over the fate of this ceasefire agreement, with many saying that it is a reason to push to extend this agreement and to ensure that all of the remaining hostages in Gaza come home now.

Earlier this week, it is important to note that the Israeli Defense Minister -- the former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, noted that the agreement that is bringing these hostages home now is identical to the one that Hamas agreed to in July.

And his point being that all of that has happened since then are wasted months during which many of these hostages have faced dire conditions.

But in addition to that sense of urgency, we did see the emotional reunions between these three newly freed hostages and their families, many of them meeting initially at the Re'im Military Base in Southern Israel, and then others also meeting with them at hospitals in Central Israel.

In addition to that, we've seen as 183 Palestinian prisoners have been released from Israeli prisons in exchange for those three hostages, they include 18 who were serving life sentences, several of those will be deported to third party countries, 111 of them were detained in Gaza over the course of this war since October 7th.

We know, of course, that some of those who have been detained in Gaza were rounded up as part of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip. Many of them held without charge or without trial, and now indeed being released as part of this agreement.

And on the Palestinian side as well, both in Gaza as well as in the West Bank, we have seen images of people reuniting with family members and also, of course, several individuals who were taken to hospitals after their time in Israeli prisons.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Jeremy, thank you.

And after last month's deadly terror attack, city officials are on alert in New Orleans. They are ready for anything they say, but aware that football fans are just looking forward to the Super Bowl. We are going to have the latest on those preparations and with the party in the streets, that's next here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:24:32]

DEAN: Super Bowl LIX kicks off in a little over 24 hours, and as Eagles and Chiefs fans descend on New Orleans ahead of the Big Game, tighter security measures are on full display there in New Orleans.

The Super Bowl coming just about a month after a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street, killed 14 people.

CNN' senior national correspondent Ryan Young has more on the preparations underway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC DELAUNE, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS' NEW ORLEANS OFFICE: You're going to see drones. You're going to see helicopters. You're going to see boats in the river. You're going to see people on rooftops, sniper teams.

[18:25:05 ]

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the man spearheading Super Bowl security for the federal government.

DELAUNE: You will see more bollards in place. You'll see more temporary barricades in place. You'll see blast shields in some locations.

YOUNG: Homeland Security investigators, the division that's leading coordination this year, granted CNN access as they prepare for at least 700 federal officers to descend on the Big Easy.

YOUNG (on camera): So you guys have been training nonstop. What do you use a building like this one for?

DELAUNE: The entries are never the same. They learn how to navigate corners and they learn how to navigate different pieces of furniture. These things test them in this environment where they can make mistakes and learn so they can apply that to real-world scenarios.

YOUNG (voice over): Security around the Super Bowl is always high, but this year there is an additional layer of concern after a lone attacker drove his truck down the city's beloved Bourbon Street in the early morning hours of New Year's Day, killing 14 people and injuring 35 others.

DELAUNE: But lone wolf is hard to defend against, so what do we do? We harden the places we can as best we can. We stay vigilant.

YOUNG (on camera): We know there were IEDs put in coolers in that last attack. Luckily they didn't go off. DELAUNE: There will be checkpoints set up all over areas, so we'll be on the lookout for those things. Our plans are very comprehensive. And all of our agents and law enforcement personnel, our K-9 handlers, they're all ready for this event.

YOUNG: Fourteen crosses now marked the spot where so much tragedy happened here in New Orleans and people have been showing up to pay their respects.

While this has been going on, they've been getting ready for the Super Bowl. So you see, the access points have been choked, they've added more bollards to the system here.

This is a triple layer of security. They have the sanitation truck, they have the two layers of security here, and these extra heavy gates that would stop anyone from getting on a sidewalk.

YOUNG (voice over): The agency has designated the game as a SEAR 1 event in its Special Event Assessment Rating System, meaning it has the highest security tier assigned by federal authorities.

Still, back on Bourbon Street and across the city, the pride and excitement is palpable.

BARRY KERN, CEO, KERN STUDIOS MARDI GRAD WORLD: There's a reason why they've been here 11 times, because this is the best place to do it. Everybody knows that the one thing that we do better than anything else is entertain people. Mardi Gras, for us, is like having two Super Bowls every year.

YOUNG: What stands out to you with the level of security that's here in New Orleans?

HELENA MORENO, NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL: Not in my 15 years of public service in the city of New Orleans have I ever seen the level of security in the city like it is right now. Unprecedented, not only from, you know, boots on the ground who are here in New Orleans, but also on the intelligence side.

We know that things are different because of what's happened here. But our culture and our city, the way that we feel about our city and the love that we have for our city, that still remains.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG (on camera): Jessica and it is almost hard to hear at this point in terms of the city. It is so loud. More than a hundred thousand extra people are expected to come to the city to celebrate the Super Bowl.

You look behind me, this is one of the things they brought to bear, this bearcat that they wanted to have to stop. This is the street where, of course, Bourbon Street, where that terror attack happened.

There are several different blockades here. In talking to federal agents, a lot of them are saying they've never seen a security footprint like this in their entire career. They are also surprised by how much security is here. You're talking about federal, local and state all coming together to make sure this is safe.

Talking to people who traveled here from out of town, they say they actually feel extremely safe, but at the same time, they're concerned about anyone trying to be a lone wolf, also, the president is coming here tomorrow as well -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Ryan Young there in New Orleans for us. Thank you so much for that.

And the Super Bowl isn't just about football. Of course, it is about the commercials that always have people talking. From the hilarious to heartwarming, dozens of companies paying more than $7 million for a 30-second spot this year, with one source telling CNN some are going for more than $8 million.

And here to discuss that with us, Jamie Turner, a marketing professor at Emory University, the author of "An Audience of One."

Jamie, good to have you on. Thanks for being here.

What exactly --

JAMIE TURNER, MARKETING PROFESSOR AT EMORY UNIVERSITY AND AUTHOR OF "AN AUDIENCE OF ONE:" Great to be here.

DEAN: Yes, it is an exciting time for anybody that that watches all of this and pays attention to the marketing and what goes into it.

What makes a good Super Bowl ad?

TURNER: Yes, you know, there are three things that you look for in a great Super Bowl ad. One is clarity. The second is impact, and the third is memorability.

Clarity is just, are you getting your message across? Impact is, did you grab peoples' attention so that they turn away from the conversation they are having to say, oh, let's watch this. And the last one is memorability. Is it the kind of thing that you're going to talk about the next day in the office at the water cooler? Just say. hey, wasn't that a funny commercial or a sad commercial that we saw on the Super Bowl last night?

So clarity, impact and memorability are the big three.

DEAN: Yes, and I know we talked actually on a different show yesterday, and i loved what you said about when it makes an impression. I think it was you said it either makes you laugh or it makes you cry, that you'll remember it more.

TURNER: Yes. Basically what marketers do like me is we study the brain and how memories are made in the brain.

[18:30:16]

And how memories are made in the brain. And what we found is that memories are made when you have an emotion around something.

And so, you're always trying to make people laugh or cry because that's an emotion. When you just do something that's pure logic it's less memorable. It's not impossible to have something memorable that's purely logical, but if you can get people to cry or laugh then you're creating an emotion.

And when emotions are created, a memory is created. And that means that when you're in the grocery store aisles or down at the at the store you're looking at things and you're going, oh, I remember that product from the Super Bowl commercial and you grab it.

DEAN: So, a lot of these companies put out ads earlier before they actually air. So, we've been able to see a few of them. Is there any that you would say that's a great ad?

TURNER: I absolutely love Post Malone and Shane Gillis for Bud Light, great. But the best one I think so far is actually Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan for Hellmann's mayonnaise. It's a ...

DEAN: We're playing that.

TURNER: ... recast of a - yes, yes, it's just a funny thing. That'll be very memorable and it's also something that is tied into the product. It's not just a joke. It's actually something that is tied into the product because it's about food and all that sort of good stuff. So, that's going to be one of the more memorable ones and one of the better more effective spots tomorrow.

DEAN: Yes. And how do brands measure the effectiveness of their ads after this game.

TURNER: Yes. You know with digital advertising, you can click through on something and we can follow that click to the website and see if you bought something. With Super Bowl advertising or TV advertising. It's a little harder to measure and a little less accurate. But you can still monitor it.

You either do surveys to find out if awareness of your brand increased after the Super Bowl. You can also watch for sales increases. If you get a little bump right after the Super Bowl, that's a pretty good indicator that hey Super Bowl commercial was memorable. It had clarity impact and memorability and that made people buy the stuff at the store. And that was an $8 million investment that actually paid for itself and then more.

DEAN: It is all so fascinating. We will all be watching. Jamie Turner thanks so much. We appreciate it.

TURNER: Great to see you.

DEAN: You, too.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:37:03]

DEAN: The Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration could send prices higher in the produce section of the supermarket and that's because it could hurt the farm workers who are keeping America's farms running who come to the U.S. legally with work visas. CNN's David Culver has the latest on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Calling out to us from the back of the bus, Juan Manuel Cisneros (ph) shows us what he describes as his American dream come true.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN MANUEL CISNEROS: (Foreign language) ...

CULVER (on camera): I said, "Do you always carry that document with you?" And he goes, "Yes, because if anything happens, he can pull it out and say I'm here legally in this country."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): Everyone on this bus can say the same. They're farmworkers here on H-2A visas, which allow foreign workers to fill temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (on camera): They come here for about eight months. All the folks on this bus, are on their lunch break, are from Mexico.

He says they're able to work the field. And, as he sees it, it's a good solution to be able to make money and yet, at the same time, be here legally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): But with that visa comes grueling work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK ROTH, PRESIDENT, ROTH FARMS: Nobody local wants to work in agriculture harvesting crops. Nobody. These are hardworking, able- bodied men and that's what they're doing. They're doing manual labor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): And they're doing it in a place that might surprise you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (on camera): That's east?

ROTH: Yes.

CULVER: If I go far enough, I'll hit Mar-a-Lago?

ROTH: Yes, you will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): You need to only travel about 40 miles from here, as Roth Farms sits just on the western edge of Palm Beach County, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (on camera): Certainly, doesn't feel like the beaches of Palm Beach.

ROTH: But it has the weather.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): Which can be brutally hot and humid for those working these fields.

Yet, despite his need for a reliable and cost-efficient workforce, Roth says he supports President Trump's stance on immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (on camera): Is it going to get more difficult to get workers, you think, under President Trump and the crackdown on immigration?

ROTH: No, I think it actually will get easier. We just want people to be vetted and we want good workers that come out to here.

CULVER: So, the H-2A visa program may seem like a perfect solution to keep predominantly-migrant workers employed on farms like this one here in Florida.

But critics point out that it doesn't cover every person or every situation. Say, for example, those migrants who are fleeing violent and dangerous situations and don't have a home to go back to once the seasons over, or those who simply want to live and work with their families year-round in the U.S.

Then, you've got small farmers who say that the program is just way too costly and way too complicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): For now though, Roth sees H-2A visas as the best way to keep U.S. farms running. He hires a third-party company to handle the logistics. They recruit the workers from abroad and then place them at several different farms, including Roth's.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[18:39:59]

ROTH: You hire them in Mexico. And you transport them over here. You pay all the transportation costs.

CULVER (on camera): You're paying for that?

ROTH: I pay all the transportation costs. We put them up in housing. We pay all the housing costs.

The only thing we're allowed to charge them for is the cost of the food when we feed them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): So, what is it like for these workers?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (on camera): So here it is, about 5:00 in the evening and these workers have just finished their shift at Roth Farms. They're arriving back at their housing complex.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): Juan Manuel and the others invite us to meet them after their workday is over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (on camera): Como esta?

CISNEROS: Bien.

CULVER: Yes?

What do you do this time of the day?

CISNEROS: (INAUDIBLE) ...

CULVER: Yes, when you get here from work.

CISNEROS: Como (INAUDIBLE) alas seis dela tarde, llegamos a comer.

CULVER: Dinner's at 6:00?

CISNEROS: Si.

CULVER: We can go with him. He's inviting us up.

Wow. Muchas camas aqui, no?

CISNEROS: Si.

CULVER: They've been working 10 hours today. They work six, sometimes seven days a week. They have just a few things that they need. A few changes of clothes, some snacks and not much privacy. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): Juan Manuel shows us his setup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (on camera): Nada de ...

CISNEROS: No.

CULVER: ... de la familia ...

CISNEROS: No - no traje, no.

CULVER: He says what he makes is about $16 an hour. So here, what you make in an hour, as he puts it, is an entire day's work in Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): This is his third year on the visa work program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (on camera): He said the money that he makes here, he's able to support his family in Mexico as well and help his mom and dad, and brother and sister.

CISNEROS: Para poder sobre vivir.

CULVER: And he said, that's what you need to do to survive.

You can see all the workers now are gathering from all the different buildings. Most of them all work at different sites, but they come together to eat and then sleep.

And then, they will be back at it on the fields in about 10, 11 hours from now.

What's interesting is many of the farmers that we've spoken with are in support of President Trump, and along with it, his immigration policies. But as these deportations continue, they warn there's just sense of urgency when it comes to the H-2A visa program, working to expand it, working to make it more cost effective, particularly for smaller farmers who say it's just way too expensive. And they say its overall just too complicated to use.

So, to make it less cumbersome, they say if the President doesn't act on that, that food prices in this country will soar to levels that we have not seen before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right. David Culver, thank you so much for that reporting. Still to come tonight, are Arab Americans who voted for President Trump having second thoughts after he revealed his plan for Gaza? We're going to go to Dearborn, Michigan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:47:14]

DEAN: The city of Dearborn, Michigan, is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the U.S., and many of them did not support Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election because of the Biden administration's support for Israel and its war with Hamas. So, how are they reacting now that President Trump is proposing a U.S. takeover of Gaza? CNN's Jason Carroll talked to voters about whether they have regrets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Days before the last presidential election, Donald Trump was the invited guest at The Great Commoner restaurant in Dearborn, Michigan.

Albert Abbas says he extended that invitation, a decision he is now reflecting on, given all that has happened in the last 24 hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERT ABBAS, DEARBORN, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: Many in the community are at a loss for words. Last night was a very rough night for most of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL (voice over): Abbas is Arab American and one of a number of Democrats who voted for Trump. Abbas says he hoped Trump would do more than President Joe Biden did to help Palestinians suffering in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL (voice over): But after Trump said Palestinians should leave Gaza so it can be redeveloped, Abbas says not only does he feel betrayed, he's hearing from a number of people angered over his past support of Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS: People were really, really frustrated. And I don't think there's anyone to blame. At the end of the day, as Arab Americans or Muslims, we really didn't have much of a choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CARROLL (voice over): Dearborn, a Detroit suburb, is home to the largest Arab American population in the United States, a community which helped Trump carry the critical swing state.

He won 42 percent of the vote in Dearborn versus Vice President Harris with 36 percent and Jill Stein with 18. In 2020, Biden handily carried the city with 69 percent.

Faye Nimmer (ph) voted for Trump in 2024 out of frustration over the previous administration's support of Israel. Now, she is troubled by the President's proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAYE NIMMER: I mean, it's very concerning and it's infuriating.

CARROLL (on camera): Personal feelings, you're infuriated, but standing by your decision for now to have voted for Trump.

NIMMER: Correct.

CARROLL: And what would move that needle for you to say, you know what? I made a mistake.

NIMMER: Palestine is the red line for this community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL (voice over): Nimmer (ph) says she suspects Trump is bluffing and is using his proposal as some sort of negotiating tactic. That's the same sentiment shared by Amer Zahr (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMER ZAHR: First, this is clearly not going to happen, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL (voice over): And real estate broker Ali Farajalla.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI FARAJALLA, REAL ESTATE AGENT: A lot of people are calling me and texting me saying, hey, you know, how did your vote work out, you know? How is that third party vote?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:50:04]

CARROLL (voice over): Both were so-called protest voters. Neither supported Trump or Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Are there any sort of second thoughts now about having supported a third party candidate?

FARAJALLA: Absolutely not. And I'll still do it again and again and again.

ZAHR: I didn't vote for Trump. So a protest vote? I don't know. I would say it was a targeted vote of conscience to say that the children of Gaza have to mean something. Their death has to mean something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL (voice over): And while Arab Americans here were divided in the past going forward, one point is uniting them. Opposition to Trump's proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM BAYDOUN, WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN COMMISSIONER: The community will be unified. I will tell you this, the Palestinian people would rather die and live in a demolition site than to be ethnically cleansed and being sent out of Gaza to Egypt or Jordan.

CARROLL (on camera): So, there's a real sense from those that we spoke to here in the Arab American community that they've been let down by both parties. A real sense of frustration, clearly, over Trump's proposal. But those very same people told us that if Harris had been elected and if there had been a Harris administration, their feeling is that Palestinians would still be suffering.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Dearborn, Michigan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Jason, thank you.

And just ahead, why co-stars and now Netflix are withdrawing support for the star of "Emilia Perez," this year's most nominated film at the Oscars. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:14]

DEAN: Oscar nominee Karla Sofia Gascon is vowing not to bow out of the race for Best Actress despite growing scandal over her social media posts. The controversy arose after journalists shared screenshots of Gascon's now-deleted tweets, which led to accusations of racism and Islamophobia. Gascon is the star of the Netflix drama "Emilia Perez" and the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting award at the Oscars. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): "Emilia Perez," Netflix's big Oscar contender with 13 nominations now reduced to a tearful apology from its breakout star, Karla Sofia Gascon, whose controversial tweets shocked Hollywood at the height of her Oscar campaign. The tweets, uncovered by an independent writer, included this 2016 post: "Islam is becoming a hotbed of infection for humanity that urgently needs to be cured."

Alongside a Muslim family photo, she called Islam "a deep disgusting humanity." During protests over the police killing of George Floyd, Gascon called Floyd "a drug addict swindler whose death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys without rights and consider policemen to be assassins. They're all wrong."

In an exclusive interview with CNN and Espanol's Juan Carlos Arciniegas, Gascon apologized and said she's not a racist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARLA SOFIA GASCON, TRANSGENDER ACTOR: (Foreign language) ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: "I have been condemned, and sacrificed, and crucified and stoned without a trial and with no option to defend myself," she said, tearfully adding that she thought the public made her out to be a terrible monster.

It's a stunning turn of events for Gascon, who made history just last month as the first openly transgender actor to ever be nominated for an Oscar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAYTON DAVIS, SENIOR AWARDS EDITOR, VARIETY: The reconciling of the moment is like this historic nomination we're supposed to be celebrating. She would have been prominently displayed and cut to during the Oscar telecast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: In another resurfaced post, Gascon mocked the Oscar telecast itself, calling it a "vindictive film awards ceremony, I didn't know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or March 8th," apparently referring to International Women's Day.

The Academy immediately unfollowed Gascon on social media, and her co- stars in the film's director are distancing themselves, too.

Zoe Saldana, who won the Golden Globe last month, is now vying for her first Oscar and spoke to Variety's Clayton Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOE SALDANA, ACTRESS: I'm very sad. I'm also disappointed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: Despite the growing backlash, Gascon says she won't pull out of the race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GASCON: Yo no puedo renunciar ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: "I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination," she said, "because I have not committed any crime, nor have I harmed anyone."

Few doubt the power of Gascon's performance. She plays a complex role, a cartel leader both as a man and a woman. But now many are asking how Netflix missed a huge landmine on its road to Oscar gold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIS: All that work and money was flushed down the toilet just a week ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER (on camera): Now, Netflix has not publicly commented on this situation at all. I have reached out to Netflix, I have not heard back. But I do hear that they are actively distancing themselves from Karla Sofia Gascon in an effort to salvage this campaign for the rest of the cast, crew, and creatives who worked so hard on this film.

Back to you.

[19:00:00]

DEAN: Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much. A new hour of CNN starts right now.