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Strong U.S. April Jobs Number; Migrant Communities Gripped by Fear; Challenges to Trump's Military Transgender Ban. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 02, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Opinion yesterday. "Allowing the president to unilaterally define the conditions when he may invoke the AEA, and then summarily declare that those conditions exist, would remove all limitations to the executive branch's authority under the AEA and would strip the courts of their traditional role of interpreting congressional statues to determine whether a government official has exceeded the statue's scope. The law does not support such a position."

So here we have a trial level judge, but still a Trump appointee in that crucial district, the southern district of Texas, saying, this is not a wartime power that can be used at this time, and there needs to be a check on the presidency, even in such - something as immigration like this.

Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And as we've heard from at least the vice president, they do plan to aggressively appeal this decision.

Katelyn Polantz, really appreciate you being here. Thanks for the reporting.

Meanwhile, happening now, the April jobs report has just been released. We're going to go through it. We're going to break down the numbers when we come back.

Also, some of the last cargo ships carrying Chinese goods with no tariffs are now arriving, as China says they are evaluating possible trade talks with the U.S. We'll explain, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:48]

JIMENEZ: All right, breaking moments ago, the April jobs report just released showing steady gains amid some economic uncertainty.

I want to bring in CNN's Matt Egan, who joins me now with more.

All right, what are we seeing in the numbers? What is the context here? MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Omar, we were bracing for a slowdown in

the jobs market. We did not get that. We got steady hiring. This jobs market is just relentless.

Let me run you through the key numbers.

JIMENEZ: Yes, let's do it.

EGAN: 177,000 jobs were added in the month of April. That easily beat forecasts for 135,000. So not even close there. The unemployment rate stayed low. It stayed at 4.2 percent. When we look at where the jobs are right now, we're seeing solid gains in a number of places. Accommodation and food services, right, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, healthcare, private education, all of them adding jobs.

One place where we saw a loss of jobs again was the federal government as the DOGE cuts to the workforce continue. But still, when we really zoom out here, this jobs market has been solid, right? I mean, 177,000 jobs, that, when we look at the trend, look at this, we saw that March was actually significantly revised lower, to 185,000 jobs added. That's down from the original report.

So, you can see that there really isn't all that much of a change here. And these are still very solid numbers.

Now, this is a big contrast to what's shown up in the surveys, right?

JIMENEZ: Yes.

EGAN: We've seen so much gloom and doom from consumers, small business owners, CEOs. There's all of these concerns about the economy, about the trade war.

One thing I would note, as we look at the market reaction, futures were up ahead of this. They remain up.

One thing I would just stress is that this does not mean that the economy is out of the woods, right? It does not take off the risk of a recession, right? Because there is the risk that there's a demand shock, there's a hit to the jobs market that just isn't visible yet in the data, right? That it's something that we could be seeing more in May and in June.

I talked to RSM economist Joe Brusuelas, and he told me, look, in some ways this could be kind of like the last call for the economy, right? Kind of like on a - on a Saturday night, this is the last song. Enjoy it while it lasts because there are all of these risks ahead.

So, I think the big question is, is this the calm before the storm, or is it the calm before the calm? And I think we're only going to get that answer in the next few weeks and months. And a lot of that is going to be decided by what happens with tariffs.

JIMENEZ: And a major data point essentially in the sort of economic picture and what will likely be a forecast ahead. But that number coming in higher than expectations is the bottom line, at least for now.

EGAN: Yes. Yes.

JIMENEZ: Absolutely.

Matt Egan, appreciate it, as always.

EGAN: Thank you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, joining us right now our CNN - is CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar. She's also the global business columnist and associate editor at "The Financial Times." And Jeff Rightmer, professor of supply chain management at Wayne State University in Michigan.

I need to lean on both of your expertise for exactly what we're looking at here.

But first, Rana, what is your reaction? What do you - what do you see in this new jobs report?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, it's interesting, you know, it makes me think that some of the gloom and doom leading up to this jobs report, which, of course, was, you know, robust. You got to say, this is a good report, is really about the uncertainty of the moment that were in, right? I mean, you know, companies are putting higher prices on goods because they're concerned about coming tariffs. Consumers have been buttoning up their wallets and spending a little bit less. But some of that is a fear factor because we don't know what's going to happen. And the reality, as we've just seen, is that we're still in a pretty good moment.

Now, I will say that jobs are a trailing indicator, so they tend to be something that's not forward looking but a little bit more a picture of the past. And they're often revised down, you know, as you move forward in time. So, I wouldn't look at that number and say, oh, this is what the future is going to be like. I would simply say that we may be a little bit preemptively negative because of worries about what may be coming down the pike.

[08:40:02]

BOLDUAN: Yes, because the thing is, is, Rana, everyone is looking for evidence of damage, right, of Trump's trade policies.

FOROOHAR: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Where the president and - I mean the president himself continues to say - finally acknowledge that there will be some damage, there will be an impact on pricing, there will be an impact on supply and store shelves, as - in the way he talked about it this week.

But the question is where - where is the piece of data that's actually showing it? I guess we haven't seen it yet. FOROOHAR: At this - at this moment. Well, I would agree with that largely. Let me tweak it and say, one place that you are noticing higher prices already is in some of those very ultra low, cheap shopping platforms, Shein, Temu, some of these Chinese shopping platforms.

BOLDUAN: Right.

FOROOHAR: There was a loophole that allowed packages of $800 or less to come into the U.S. without paying import fees. That loophole has been closed. So, you're seeing some of those price hikes.

If you start to add tariffs into that, I think that that's going to be one of the first places that - that you start to see hits.

I mean, you know, the fact that Amazon's low - very ultra-low shopping platform, Hall (ph), was the platform that was thinking about putting those, you know, numbers against tariffs, and then the president called Jeff Bezos and suddenly that's not happening, I think that those ultra-low areas where folks are used to getting super, super cheap goods that are basically based on as - as, you know, the other guests will tell you, based on a supply chain paradigm that's going away, that's where you're going to see the hit first.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And, Jeff, this all speaks to we're - every - this is all about impact of the trade war and tariffs. And there's been so much back and forth about what the real impact is going to be on supply chains, where we're going to see it, when you're going to see it. Broadly speaking, what do you see is going to be the impact?

JEFF RIGHTMER, PROFESSOR OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY: The - the current impact is the uncertainty. And organizations can plan, but they can't plan for uncertainty. And supply chains have been evolving in this point to where we're at now over decades. And you're turning that upside down, kind of like when the pandemic hit. And I think, as prices start to increase, you're going to start to see panic buying again. And that kind of leads to maybe, we're going to have not enough stock on store shelves, and all those things that are just going to kind of snowball.

BOLDUAN: Jeff, a lot has been made about how President Trump talked about prices in store shelves this week. There's something that the Treasury secretary also said this week that - is that the president's trade policies would not result in shortages of consumer goods. Kind of the exact opposite of what we have been - keep hearing.

I want to play for you what Scott Bessent said, because I'd like your take.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: I wouldn't think that we would have supply chain shocks. And I think retailers, they have managed their inventory in - in front of this. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Managed their inventory on the front end of this. Can you weigh in on that, Jeff?

RIGHTMER: They - if you're a big retailer, you could front load everything. So, you saw the increase in traffic on the ports in the East Coast. And a lot of these big organizations, Walmarts, Targets and so forth have brought in a lot of goods in anticipation of this happening. So, they probably have six to eight weeks' worth of inventory on hand. After that, then it starts to hit. And if the 145 percent tariffs continue, you're going to start to see shortages of some products. It's just bound to happen.

BOLDUAN: Rana, real quick, let's go back to the breaking news of, now we have this April jobs report. Waiting to see what the White House reaction will be. We will look - I haven't looked in a second, to see if the president has gone on Truth Social to discuss it. But you can anticipate, it is a good report. The White House is going to come out and say, this is a good report. Is there a caveat to it that people - or context around it that you think people should keep in mind when we begin to hear people applauding, it?

FOROOHAR: Absolutely. I would just say that the jobs numbers tend to be backward looking. You're getting a picture of what has happened in the past, and it tends to be a picture that, you know, as you go forward and get more nuanced numbers, is often revised downward. So, I don't want to, you know, be preemptively gloomy, but I wouldn't look at this and say, the economy's going to be strong and getting better. I would look at this and say, it's been OK. We don't know where we're going to be this summer.

[08:45:02]

BOLDUAN: The bottom line and the headline of it all is, the uncertainty you both are discussing, it remains in place no matter the jobs report that comes out right now.

It's great to see you. Thank you both very much.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: Well, Kate, we got more news ahead, including new CNN reporting about how migrant communities across America are gripped by fear of soft raids. We're going to tell you how they're changing their lives to avoid ICE.

Plus, Elon Musk gives his latest assessment of DOGE's efforts to slash the federal budget as he begins his transition back to Tesla.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:01] BOLDUAN: So, a developing story on the southern border. The U.S. Army is creating a second expanded military zone along Texas-Mexico border, where soldiers can detain migrants before handing them over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This is part of the administration's latest push to militarize the southern border, as they work to slow the flow of migrants. The narrow strip of land will be 63 miles long and is located at Fort Bliss, near El Paso. Last month, another militarized zone was created we reported on along the New Mexico border with Mexico. U.S. Northern Command says, I'll read it for you, this about the new El Paso buildup, saying, quote, "southern border service members who are already detecting and monitoring through stationary positions and mobile patrols nearby can now temporarily detain trespassers until they are transferred to an appropriate law enforcement entity."

We'll keep reporting on this.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: Well, that situation on the border is just fueling the mounting fears migrants say they live with every day. The White House announced this week more than 66,000 undocumented migrants have been arrested by ICE since President Trump took office again. Now, many undocumented immigrants who play a crucial role for the U.S. economy are changing their everyday lives because of soft target raids.

I want to bring in CNN's Stephanie Elam, who has the latest for us.

So, Stephanie, can you just explain what that is, soft target raids, and what we're learning here?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Omar, good morning.

What's really important here, it's not so much that there are so much more of those soft target raids as much as there is a fear of them among the day laborer and migrant communities. And so they are changing their behaviors because of this.

Now, on April 22nd, there was a raid by Customs and Border Patrol at a Home Depot parking lot in Pomona, California. They detained ten people during that event. There was said, when I reached out to CBP, that they were looking for one person, and then they found other people who also had charges, including child abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, immigration violations and DUI, according to the agency. They call those collateral arrests.

That sparked so much fear that after that, the days after that, talking to day labor advocates, those workers were not coming to seek jobs because they were afraid. They were afraid that this could be another target another day. Their families are changing their behaviors as well because they're afraid of what this could mean. So that means maybe not showing up at their children's schools, maybe not going to houses of worship, staying away from these places where they could easily be detained.

Now, on that same day as that Pomona Home Depot raid, there was a man who was picked up. His name is Martin Majin Leon. He's 59 years old, from Mexico. He was on his way into work at the barber shop that he's owned for more than two decades. And with just a matter of minutes, he was also detained by officials. He was released just over 24 hours later. But this is what he told us. He said, as he was speaking to us in Spanish, "I used to live an independent life, going places and taking my wife to her appointments. I don't feel I can do that right now. I just can't take any chances."

And he went on to say that at this point he's having his son drive him around, even though he has a valid driver's license here in California. But he was so afraid that he would end up in El Salvador or Guantanamo because of the actions that he has seen being taken by the Trump administration. So, there was fear of what that could mean.

Now, at the same time, you've got this fear of raids also impacting other places where people go to find jobs. It may not just be a Home Depot parking lot, but as one day laborer advocate said to me, that's about as American as apple pie at this point. People know they can go find these day laborers.

They said this is nothing new, Omar. However, the Obama administration did more of these. But what they're saying now is that they don't care about the law, that's a direct quote, with this administration, and that is what's making it so much more dangerous and scary for these day laborers.

JIMENEZ: Stephanie Elam, dynamic to keep an eye on. Really appreciate the reporting.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, the U.S. Supreme Court could soon decide whether it will take up a consequential case from President Trump. He wants the justices to keep his ban on transgender people serving in the military, at least while the issue works its way through lower courts. Trump implemented the ban in 2017, though a series - through a series of tweets that blindsided top military brass then.

Three years later, in his first week in office, President Biden lifted that ban. Just days after Trump returned to the White House, he put his ban back in place.

The back and forth has left some battle-ready service members on the sidelines. CNN's MJ Lee has more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MJ LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you remember the first time you put this on?

[08:55:00]

LT. NIC TALBOTT, TRANSGENDER U.S. ARMY RESERVIST: Yes, I do. This - this particular one was at basic training. I was starting to think I was never going to get to wear this. And here I am. And especially now, you know, getting to - to be a lieutenant and getting to wear my rank, whoo, I worked really hard for this.

LEE (voice over): Lieutenant Nic Talbott waited almost nine years to enlist in the U.S. military. Now he's the face of. Talbott versus Trump, a lawsuit that could determine whether transgender individuals can be banned from serving in the military.

MAJ. ERICA VANDAL, TRANSGENDER U.S. ARMY OFFICER: I've deployed before my transition, during my transition and after my transition. My ability to meet the standards, to maintain my readiness and my deployability has never changed throughout this time period.

LEE (voice over): For Army Major Erica Vandel, her 14 years as an active duty soldier now hang in the balance as she prepares for her next deployment to Iraq and Syria. Talbott and Vandel are among a group of transgender soldiers suing the Trump administration. They could get an answer as soon as Friday on whether the Supreme Court will allow President Trump's ban to go into effect while the cases make their way through the lower courts.

TALBOTT: I used to be in the Nicole Kathryn (ph).

LEE (voice over): Talbott began his transition from female to male as a teenager.

TALBOTT: This is from my mom's wedding. This is like - probably like just shy of a year on hormones at that point.

LEE (voice over): In 2017, the first Trump administration's ban on transgender service members upended Talbott's plans to enlist.

TALBOTT: My phone just starts buzzing like crazy. And I'm not sure what's going on. And I remember my best friend Jessie (ph) being on his phone and him saying, you know, hey, Nic, I think we should probably pull over at this rest stop up here and maybe take a lunch break. You don't want to be driving when you hear this. I just kind of remember in that moment going, oh, my gosh, what am I going to do now?

LEE (voice over): At the time, Talbott had no choice but to put on hold his pursuit of enlisting. When the Biden administration lifted Trump's first ban, he started trying again. Talbott enlisted a year ago.

LEE: And how did that feel?

TALBOTT: Oh, obviously I still get emotional talking about it. It was like the most incredible feeling ever. At that point I'd been working for this for right around nine years.

LEE (voice over): He's now a lieutenant in the Army Reserve but doesn't know for how much longer because of Trump's ban.

TRUMP: To ensure that we have the most lethal fighting force in the world we will get transgender ideology the hell out of our military. It's going to be gone.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Get rid of all the DEI, all of the - not transgender nonsense, all of the quotas, make this - if you want to have different standards, fine, but have different standards for different jobs.

LEE (voice over): The Pentagon also said in a memo that "the department only recognizes two sexes: male and female. An individual sex is immutable, unchanging during a person's life."

LEE: The executive order says, quote, "adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual's sex conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life."

TALBOTT: Statements like that couldn't be farther from the truth. You know, I look in the mirror every day now and I go, yes, this is like - this is the most Nic Talbott version we've ever had of Nic Talbott. It's just absolutely ridiculous to insinuate that trans folks and trans service members are, you know, going home and trying to pretend to be something that we're not.

LEE (voice over): Major Vandal's career is also in limbo.

LEE: If tomorrow you got the news that you could no longer be in the military, what would that do to you?

VANDAL: It - it would be devastating.

LEE (voice over): Born into a military family, Vandal commissioned in 2011 as a lieutenant after graduating from West Point. She began her transition from male to female in 2021.

LEE: Was there anything you found physically more challenging after the transition?

VANDAL: Oh, sure. I think hormones can change a lot. I think there was definitely a reduction in muscle mass and everything associated with that. So, you do have to work harder in that regard.

LEE (voice over): After she transitioned, Vandal says her military duties and responsibilities remain the same, but she found herself pushing harder.

VANDAL: You kind of feel that need to prove that you do truly belong. So maybe you work that little bit extra, work that little bit harder just to - just to prove you're still capable of meeting all the same expectations, you know?

LEE: You mean as a woman you feel like you have to prove yourself more?

VANDAL: Yes. And again, there's never been anything explicit associated with that. Maybe it's just my own self expectations.

LEE: So, the DOJ is arguing, without the Supreme Court taking action, the military will be, quote, "forced to maintain a policy that it has determined, in its professional judgment, to be contrary to the military readiness and the nation's interests." What do you think about that?

VANDAL: If anything, I think removing proven soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, proven leaders with very specific skill sets would be.