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Judge: Anti-War Protester Facing Deportation Stays In Detention; U.S. Businesses Brace For Impact Of Steel, Aluminum Tariffs; JFK Jr. Suggests Getting Measles Is An Effective Defense Against It. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired March 12, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: -- Russian goal to divide us from our NATO allies. It would also make things easier for the Russians, both politically and militarily.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: So many implications with how this could turn out.

Colonel Cedric Leighton, appreciate you joining us, as always.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Boris. Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, an update on the case of that Palestinian activist who was arrested by immigration officials. He is set to remain in ICE custody, at least for now. The latest details on this case when we come back.

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[13:35:01]

SANCHEZ: A pro-Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University student protests is going to remain in ICE custody, at least for now. Supporters of Mahmoud Khalil lined up outside the courthouse in New York this morning, demanding his release.

Ahead of the hearing, his lawyer said Khalil's green card had been revoked by the Trump administration. The judge today made no further decisions on the deportation.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: But Khalil's attorney will now have better access to the Columbia University graduate. He was arrested Saturday accused of being a Hamas sympathizer.

Protests have erupted at several universities defending Khalil's right to call for a ceasefire.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is outside court in New York.

So, Gloria, get us up to speed on what happened at the hearing and what's next. GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, we had gone into this

hearing sort of expecting that it would be somewhat procedural. And that's actually what happened.

The judge instructed both parties to go ahead and file the motions that they intend to file and essentially come back to him in a few days.

And we did not get any new information about how the government is justifying the arrest of Khalil. And the judge did not make a decision today on whether or not he should be released. That matter was not before him today.

The one thing he did agree to today was that Khalil has so far had a very difficult time having access to his lawyers, something that his attorneys talked about in court today.

They said, quote, "We literally have not been able to confer with our client once since he was taken off the streets of New York City."

The judge listened to that argument and asked the government to work with them to make sure that they can have access, specifically privileged calls that are not being monitored by the government.

Now, we are expecting the parties to file their motions. The government is making an argument that the state of New York does not have jurisdiction over this matter, because Khalil was first detained in New Jersey and then transferred to Louisiana, where he is now.

The judge encouraged the Khalil attorneys to sort of agree to have the jurisdiction matter resolved, so that things can sort of get moving forward.

In the meantime, a lot of support for Khalil, not just in the courtroom, which was packed, but also outside of the courtroom here in Foley Square in downtown Manhattan, where protests -- protesters demonstrated and advocated for his support.

We also heard from the wife of Khalil, in the form of a statement that she issued. It was read on her behalf.

And I want you to just take a listen to how she's been describing the past few days.

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SHEZZA ABBOUSHIDALLAI, KHALIL'S ATTORNEY READING HIS WIFE'S STATEMENT: My husband was kidnaped from our home. And it's shameful that the United States government continues to hold him because he stood for the rights and lives of his people.

I demand his immediate release and return to our family. His disappearance has devastated our lives.

And yet we are not alone. So many who know and love Mahmoud have come together, refusing to stay silent. Their support is a testament to his character and to the deep injustice of what is being done to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Brianna, Boris, we did not hear the government give any new information today about what charges, if anything, they plan to bring against Khalil.

They also did not give any details of the supposed evidence that they have showing that he was engaged in activities in support of a terrorist organization.

Now the judge has directed both parties to file their motions, and we expect that they will be heard by the end of the week -- Brianna, Boris?

KEILAR: All right. We'll be looking toward that.

Gloria Pazmino, thank you.

[13:39:00]

President Trump's new tariffs are now in effect. And those tariffs pose real threats to Americas small businesses. We'll discuss with one business owner after a quick break.

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KEILAR: President Trump's trade war and the whiplash that his tariffs are causing aren't just affecting Wall Street. Small businesses across the country are also fearful of how they'll be affected.

Shane Cusick is with us now. He's the co-owner of Pello Bikes, where they design and sell lightweight bicycles made specifically for kids.

What a lovely company, Shane. And I should note, you spoke to the New York times in 2019 about the tariffs that President Trump was implementing then, during his first term, and how they could harm your company.

I should note that, ultimately, that did force you to move production of the bikes out of China, where 95 percent of bikes with smaller wheels were made.

But before we get to the expected effects of these latest tariffs on your small business, can you take us through that process? Because that is something that Trump wanted, which was moving production out of China, though we should note, you didn't move it to the U.S.

SHANE CUSICK, CO-OWNER, PELLO BIKES: Correct, yes. Back in the first Trump administration, we -- we did make that move because of the -- the -- the increased tariffs on Chinese imports.

And through that move, it was -- you know, fortunately, our builder is a Taiwanese company so we were able to shift our production to Taiwan. And yes, it was a -- it was a bit of an eye-opening experience. And like you said, it's -- unfortunately, we weren't able to come to

America, to the U.S. to produce our bikes, which is a goal. It's still a goal.

But I think it's important to note whether it's the first round of tariffs or now the -- at least in the bicycle industry, it's to produce something.

[13:45:01]

It's like the reason that 95 percent of all bikes in the world were produced in China at that time is because it's sort of like a village. And so our builder is in one area, but down the street from them are the people that make the tires, and down the street from them are the people that make the cardboard boxes.

So everything is sort of close together. So getting parts and things like that make more sense. And it's not like the tire company is just sending them tires. They're turning the raw material into a tire and supplying it.

So for the U.S. production to happen, which again, I would love to have that be a thing, it's just that we have to establish that village again. We can -- we can assemble bikes in the U.S., but we would still be importing all the parts at this time.

KEILAR: Yes, they really have a hold on the production of these parts. So in - in -- in China they did.

As you said, you moved it to Taiwan. So when you look at this latest round of tariffs, how are you planning, how are you expecting for this to affect you?

CUSICK: Well, fortunately, we took the steps back previously to move our production out of China. And that's sort of our -- our -- our path forward at the moment.

And it's -- right now Taiwan is still sort of doing the normal tariff scenario. So that could change. But that's where we're headed at the moment.

KEILAR: What has it been like for you? What has it meant for the bottom line? For how much, especially as an emerging company and you are a small business, to be clear, you don't make a ton of bikes.

And what has that meant for you as you're trying to sell your product and get a toehold in the industry? Has it made it harder? Has it shifted you towards something that you wanted ultimately to do, which was to not maybe be producing in China?

CUSICK: Well yes, it has sort of made us, I guess, rethink where we are.

And, and just to be clear, too, it's when we made that move, that shift from, from China to Taiwan, there was an automatic 10 percent increase in the cost. And so that's sort of like, why -- why China sort of became, you know,

like such a such a hub for bicycles is sort of the, the inexpensive labor and, and other factors and things like that.

And yes, moving forward as far as like our current situation, hopefully -- it's - it's hard to say. I guess, you know, and probably like a lot of businesses, you know, we're a small -- we're -- we're super small.

So with the -- you know, the tariffs kind of like they're on, they're off, they're on, they're off. It's -- it's hard to sort of forecast and predict with such rapid changes in things that are happening.

Because when we -- when we place an order with our builder -- so we - we -- we designed the bikes from the ground up. So they built them to our spec.

But when we -- when we place our order, it's a window of about three to six months --

KEILAR: Wow.

CUSICK: -- by the time, you know, we place the order, by the time we get the order.

KEILAR: Yes.

CUSICK: And unfortunately, the first tariff round, we did get caught with some of the high -- high tariffs because we were -- we were like, all right, well, our shipment should make it. But it didn't. It was actually one day, one day late --

KEILAR: Wow.

CUSICK -- and we had -- when the tariffs came.

KEILAR: So, Shane, explain -- explain then, if you could, just before I let you go, kind of what this means for someone who is a customer of yours and is looking -- or any small company making a product sort of in the realm of yours -- that if you are either moving out of China or you are passing on the tariff, it sounds like, there's a price increase that goes along with it.

How do you want customers to understand what this means for the product that you're selling them?

CUSICK: Yes, that's a great question. And I think that a lot of folks that I -- that I -- at least that I talked to sort of there's a little bit of a disconnect between what the tariff is.

And so the tariff is, you know, its -- it's -- it's a tax that is paid for my company or U.S. importers. It's not anything that China pays. So -- so, right, so we have to pay that extra money.

And when we did get caught with the kind of that one-day-late in the big tariff, it was a, you know, like it went from about, you know, $10,000 to $15,000 tariff duty to about a $30,000 tariff. So our margins are already very tight as it is.

[13:49:59]

And yes, so it's sort of like, if we have to pay it, it's one thing to absorb, you know, a quick, you know, like a smaller tariff, but a big tariff, you know, we have to increase the prices to cover that -- that extra cost.

Which -- which means, unfortunately, you know, the -- the cost of the bikes goes up and our -- our customers are paying more for the bikes.

KEILAR: Shane, thank you so much. It's -- its really helpful for us to understand as you're going through this process, what it does for your business and what it does for the customer. And you really illustrate that.

Shane Cusick, thanks for being with us.

CUSICK: Great. Thank you.

KEILAR: And when we come back, alarming new comments from Trump's secretary of Health and Human Services as the measles outbreak spreads in Texas and New Mexico and now Oklahoma. We'll have that next.

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[13:55:14]

SANCHEZ: The secretary of Health and Human Services appears to be suggesting that actually getting the measles is an effective way to build immunity against the highly contagious disease.

Robert Kennedy Jr, a known vaccine skeptic, made the comments amid this outbreak in Texas that has now spread to two other states. So far, more than 250 cases have been reported.

Here is Secretary Kennedy on FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: But if people don't want it, they shouldn't be -- the government shouldn't force them to do it.

There are adverse events from the vaccine. It does cause deaths every year. It causes -- it causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes, encephalitis and blindness, et cetera.

And so people ought to be able to make that choice for themselves. And -- and what we need to do is give them the best information and encourage them to vaccinate. The vaccine does stop the spread of the disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN medical correspondent, Meg Tirrell, joins us now live. Meg, would you fact check that for us? Is the secretary correct? And

what else did he say?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, I mean, it's really important to note there that experts do give RFK Jr credit for actually saying they are recommending people get vaccinated. That's further than he's gone, you know, in previous times when it comes to the measles vaccine.

But then, in that same breath, he says that it has risks and he puts them on the same plane as risks from measles infection itself. And that's just not true from the data that we have seen over decades of this measles vaccine being available.

If you look at one study that sort of put this into -- if you look at 10,000 children who either got infected by measles or who were vaccinated by measles, the studies show us that if kids get infected, 2,000 out of 10,000 would be hospitalized.

And there would be 10 to 30 deaths among those children, or they would suffer from encephalitis or brain inflammation, and 500 of them would get pneumonia.

Now, for kids who would receive the MMR vaccine, of 10,000 of them, there may be three seizures linked to fever and less than one allergic reaction or blood clots.

So it's very important to emphasize that these things are not on the same plane. But when the health secretary says, yes, we're encouraging vaccination.

But people should know the vaccine has these big risks that could cause a lot of fear in parents. And that's what people e worried about.

Of course, you also mentioned the waning immunity, and experts emphasize the measles vaccine in most people confers lifetime immunity as well -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: Good to know.

Meg Tirrell, thank you so much for the update.

Coming up next hour, an invasive fish is creating an eco disaster in the Caribbean. How one world-famous chef is hoping to get rid of them, one bite at a time.

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