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Global Response To Help Victims Of Deadly Quakes Ramps Up; Iran And U.S. Exchange Strikes, Straining Peace Agreement; Rally By "Next250" Outlines Vision For Next 250 Years Of The United States; Dangerous Heat Wave Builds Across Central And Eastern United States; Ruling: Trump May End Deportation Protections For Haitians, Syrians. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 27, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:33]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

We're going to start with breaking news out of Venezuela. Search and rescue teams from around the world are getting there to assist in response efforts to the pair of earthquakes that hit Venezuela this week.

Emergency workers are urgently searching for survivors, digging through the rubble and navigating constant aftershocks, which obviously are slowing efforts. But more than 1,400 people have died, with many more still missing. And over 3,000 families have lost their homes.

Hospitals are struggling to treat the injured due to decades of neglect in Venezuela's health care system, and 13 hospitals were damaged in the quakes.

But there is hope.

Talk about how difficult these rescue efforts are. This morning, a 15- year-old girl was rescued. She and her dog were found alive and pulled out of the rubble by a team. You see the dog there. The team was from El Salvador.

CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon has the latest from Venezuela.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILADY DUQUE, VENEZUELAN RESIDENT: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): There's no words to explain everything that you feel. Once you get here, you have to imagine that your family is in there and not receiving help from anyone. It's very sad.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CTPR: Milady Duque is one of many Venezuelan mothers waiting for news of their loved ones.

DUQUE: My 82-year-old mother lived here alongside my brother and my 20-year-old daughter.

My daughter's boyfriend had come over to deliver a meal to my mother, and with the last contact we had with her was at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Since then, we've heard nothing more.

POZZEBON: Her hometown, La Guaira, was one of the hardest hit by Wednesday's twin earthquakes. Despite not being at the epicenter, huge parts of the coastal city have been destroyed, with Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodriguez declaring it a disaster zone.

On Friday as rescue searches continued, some people took advantage of the chaos to take items from local businesses, desperately grabbing hold of whatever they could.

Near the capital, Caracas, operations continued on Saturday to try to recover those still trapped in the rubble.

For this woman, the wait has proven unbearable.

SUSANA HENRIQUEZ, VENEZUELAN RESIDENT (through translator): These past hours have been filled with great pain and uncertainty.

Today, the rescuers and the dogs finally arrived. We truly hope they managed to finish rescuing our neighbors who are in the building next door.

POZZEBON: And although her family has been taken care of, she knows many others haven't been so lucky.

HENRIQUEZ: Fortunately, we have resources, but there are many people who are in need.

POZZEBON: Before the earthquake, Venezuela was already in the throes of a humanitarian crisis, amplified by recent political instability and international sanctions.

Now, as authorities struggle to provide an emergency response, signs of hope may finally be on the horizon. Emergency aid has been sent from Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica and several other countries, while the United States has promised to send elite rescue teams, military transport and $150 million in humanitarian aid.

Venezuela's acting leader thanked countries for the show of support on Saturday.

DELCY RODRIGUEZ, VENEZUELA'S ACTING PRESIDENT (through translator): Venezuela is not alone. We have received a helping hand of solidarity from the world.

POZZEBON: Back in La Guaira, the search continues for signs of life in the rubble CNN.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN -- Valencia, Venezuela.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: I want to thank Stefano Pozzebon for that reporting as well.

We are also able to see some live pictures. This is live in Caracas right now of the search and rescue efforts. You see just how many people are working on this particular site with some of the machinery there as well. Obviously a lot of work to be done.

[17:04:43]

JIMENEZ: I want to bring in Chief Dave Downey. He's a retired team leader from Miami-Dade Fire, Search and Rescue.

And Chief, look, it's been more than 70 hours since the quake hit. More search and rescue teams, as we've been talking about, from the United States have arrived to help. What would you expect their immediate focus would be?

DAVE DOWNEY, RETIRED TEAM LEADER, MIAMI-DADE FIRE, SEARCH AND RESCUE: Well, you know, this is a devastating disaster. And they have been trying to get an idea of where the greatest chance for survival is and where the buildings are, where there could be survivors still located. A lot of that had taken place by the locals.

And now that these teams are arriving, they're coordinating their efforts and going to the areas where there's the greatest chance for survival.

You know, you saw in your story there that they are still bringing survivors out of the buildings. And what we're looking for now is we're looking for those survivable spaces, those areas where somebody could have survived the collapse.

Time is not on our side, but time is only one of those elements that you look at when you talk about victim recovery.

So these teams now are going to be fanning out. They spoke -- the story spoke of the canines. The canines are going to be a vital element in locating some of these survivors. The canines are trained to do this.

They're -- these teams are also coming with listening devices and search cameras where they can get into some of these small voids and find these survivors.

So I would expect that a lot of activity is going to be taking place over the next couple of days as these teams go to work.

JIMENEZ: You know, whenever search and rescue teams are deployed, you know, even in the aftermath of natural disasters and, you know this being in the -- in the Miami area, you know, even after a hurricane, sometimes the flooding can present major challenges for search and rescue teams, including downed power lines, other risks like that.

And here were talking about the threat of aftershocks while these crew members are searching for survivors. How do crews navigate that threat and try to mitigate against any complicating factor there? DOWNEY: Well, from the rescuers' standpoint, you try to manage the

risk. Unfortunately, in earthquake-prone areas, you're going to experience the aftershocks.

I can't tell you how many we experienced in Haiti when we were down there after the earthquake and in Turkey after the earthquake.

And so that's just part of the challenges that the rescuers will have, trying to make sure that they're operating in an area that's as safe as possible. But -- and making sure that they always have an exit, you know, they could be several layers below a collapsed structure.

Making sure that they have the ability to get out if there's any change in the movement of the building. These teams bring engineers. We bring monitoring devices that we can set on a building and watch for the smallest amount of movement in the building that could signal something else about to take place.

JIMENEZ: What do you think we're going to see in the next 24 to 48 hours? Clearly, there's a lot of manpower there on the ground. The images that we've been showing, these are live images. So a lot of active work going on right now.

And then of course, time is of the essence. You know, we're still getting survivors, but at some point, the recovery efforts change dynamics completely in a very grim way.

I just wonder, what will you be looking for in the next 24 to 48 hours?

DOWNEY: I would anticipate you're going to be seeing more rescues and survivors being removed, because now the areas are understood. They know where the greatest possibility of survival is.

You know, things that we look for are in the collapse, are there survivable spaces? And while time is critical, you know, I think back to our days in Haiti and we removed a two -- two-year-old little girl, eight days after the earthquake.

So while time is something we have to think about, it's not something that has a hard stop. So these rescuers are going to continue to move along until there's a point where they've decided there's no real survivable spaces. We haven't located any signs of life and making that determination and change from rescue now to recovery.

But I wouldn't anticipate that taking place for a couple days now.

JIMENEZ: Do you think -- how much does the global response here help the local crews in these rescue efforts?

DOWNEY: Oh, its tremendous. You know, these are very experienced teams that are coming from around the globe. I can speak especially from the teams from the United States. There's two on the ground now. And as we're speaking, two more are arriving.

These rescuers have experience in this type of collapse rescue. These teams from the U.S. worked locally here in Miami-Dade when we had the Champlain Towers building collapse.

So they bring highly-experienced, highly-trained personnel that are going to aid in the local responders. The key is trying to navigate through where there are chances for survival, you know.

[17:09:45]

DOWNEY: Is anybody hearing voices in the building? Is there somewhere that, you know, somebody had heard somebody speaking, maybe they stopped speaking.

Those types of things are critical because of the size of this disaster. It's very difficult to kind of get your hands around the size of it.

So having all these rescue teams there is going to be critical.

JIMENEZ: I mean, to your point, the size of this disaster, the devastation we've seen, the death toll which unfortunately likely will continue to rise as they work through this. But hopefully those rescued, that number also rises as well.

Chief Dave Downey, really appreciate your time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

DOWNEY: Thanks for having me.

JIMENEZ: And for you all, for more information about how you can help Venezuela earthquake victims, you can go to CNN.com/impact or text QUAKE to 707070.

All right. Coming up for us, tensions are running high in the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. launches strikes against Iran and Iran launches drones. We'll have the very latest there.

Plus Haitian migrants speaking out after the Supreme Court rules hundreds of thousands of Haitians living legally in the United States now face the possibility of being deported.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:10:58]

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JIMENEZ: We're following breaking news out of the Middle East, where tensions are rising again between the United States and Iran, throwing the ongoing nuclear negotiations and that fragile U.S.-Iran peace agreement into jeopardy.

Earlier today, for example, maritime authorities said a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by a, quote, "unidentified projectile", end quote. They say the ship was damaged, but no one was hurt. And this is after the U.S. said it struck Iranian missile and drone targets around the strait after an Iranian attack on a cargo ship. Now, a U.S. official said Iranian drones were fired at American

military sites in the Middle East, but that they didn't reach their targets. So a lot of back and forth here.

I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who joins us now from the White House. So, Julia, have we heard anything from administration officials on all of this?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the big questions right now are how this could impact the ceasefire and how this could impact negotiations with Iran.

And according to a U.S. official who spoke with CNN, the U.S. strikes do not reflect a return to major combat operations, at least for now.

A reminder that that Memorandum of Understanding, what has been signed between the United States and Iran is really just a starting point. It kicked off this 60-day time period for negotiations on the big issues, including the destruction of Iran's nuclear program and the fate of its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.

Vice President J.D. Vance has been front and center for a lot of this. In fact, he traveled to Switzerland to kick off the technical negotiations just last weekend. And he did post on social media writing, quote, "Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence."

The U.S. military conducted strikes on Friday in response to Tehran's attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. And prior to U.S. Central Command confirming that those U.S. strikes had taken place, President Donald Trump was taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office. He only took a few before he asked them to be ushered out.

But I want to play you part of that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said that Iran violated the ceasefire. Will they face any consequences?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, you'll find out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you consider the ceasefire to still be in place?

TRUMP: I don't like the fact that they took a shot yesterday -- actually, four we knocked down three -- at a ship.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To Iran.

TRUMP: We're going to respond, you're going to find out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And then, as you mentioned today, Iran says that it struck U.S. targets in the Middle East in response to those U.S. strikes.

So all of that tension there in the critical waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, really adding pressure to the negotiations that are taking place. U.S. military says that those Iranian drone strikes did not hit their intended targets.

We have reached out to the White House for more information on those recent developments.

JIMENEZ: Julia, while I have you, I want to ask you about President Trump just announced a new potential ICE director today. What do we know about this? Who is this?

BENBROOK: He did. He said that he is nominating Lance Shroyer to be the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said that he believes he is a proven leader.

I want to pull up part of the post for you now. In this, Trump said, "Lance has over 29 years of law enforcement experience in Oklahoma." Trump then went on to highlight his own record in the state when it comes to elections, and added "Lance is a former Oklahoma state trooper and United States marine."

Now, DHS put out a statement saying that Shroyer currently serves as a senior adviser to the Department of Homeland Security, to the secretary there, Markwayne Mullin, who also happens to be from the state of Oklahoma. And we are learning that they have a long relationship, that they have known each other for a while.

Mullin, in a statement to CNN, said that he believes that this is a great pick, and he encouraged the Senate to approve him quickly.

Now, it remains to be seen if he will have that kind of support.

[17:19:46]

BENBROOK: ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director for several years now, all the way back to 2017, actually.

JIMENEZ: Yes, almost ten years. Julia Benbrook, really appreciate the reporting. Thank you so much.

I want to turn back to where we started with Julia in the Middle East and bring in CNN global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh. She served as deputy Pentagon press secretary during the Biden administration.

So, Sabrina, we were talking about these back and forth strikes that we've been seeing, again while this Memorandum of Understanding technically seems to still be on the table.

But can you just help us see the big picture here? Do you see these back and forth strikes as a setback for negotiations?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, I think that remains to be seen.

JIMENEZ: True.

SINGH: Certainly the kinetic action that we're seeing between Iran and the U.S., I mean, we've had two attacks on two different ships from Thursday. And of course, the U.S. responded again on Friday. And then you saw Iran sort of widen its aperture and try to attack Bahrain. I think it remains to be seen how much this tension is going to put on the mou that's in place in this tentative peace deal.

I think the big picture here is to keep watching. I mean, what happens in the strait, how many ships continue to get out and can move in and out, either on the Iranian coastline or the Omani coastline that we know U.S. Central Command has sort of cleared that pathway for ships while those strikes were going on during the war.

So I think there's a lot that remains to be seen and a lot of unknowns. And essentially, we just don't know if this is going to break this temporary ceasefire or not.

JIMENEZ: And whether it breaks it or not, you're right, there's still a lot to be seen here. And there has been plenty in the region that could have derailed this earlier than now.

And again, it still seems things are on.

But what message do you believe Iran is sending by exerting this control over the strait, by continuing to launch some of these strikes?

SINGH: Iran is testing the red lines of this agreement. Iran is trying to flex its power each time it conducts any type of operation or offensive strike against a ship. It is truly trying to test how long can this ceasefire, peace deal, whatever you want to call it, MOU, hold because you have to remember this is just a tentative deal until we can get to really the meat of these negotiations, which is the nuclear program, Iran's nuclear program, and the highly-enriched uranium that is still sitting in Iran.

So Iran is going to continue to flex its power over the strait. And they've been pretty clear on messaging that they might charge some type of fee for ships going through that strait, which not only has the closure of the strait really upended the global economy, charging any type of toll or fee through that strait would really challenge international law and maritime laws of just how ships can flow in and out in free water.

And so, you know, it's possible that we continue to see Iran try and do this and trying to continue to target ships. But as you know, you read J.D. Vance's tweet or X post, the U.S. is also not backing down and will respond back if needed.

JIMENEZ: You know, one of the main sort of outside but related dynamics has obviously been between Israel and Hezbollah and Lebanon, and trying it's I mean, it's the point one of the Memorandum of Understanding --

SINGH: Right. JIMENEZ: -- trying to find peace there, to allow even that MOU to move

forward. And here we have Hezbollah's main political ally in Lebanon, rejecting the newly-signed agreement with Israel, calling it unbalanced. And we have seen new strikes on that front as well today and this weekend.

How volatile is that agreement, and how would you assess how volatile that situation is in terms of the overall MOU?

SINGH: That might also -- might be more volatile than honestly the strait, because Hezbollah is not a signer to any of the agreements. And Israel is only a signer to a peace agreement between the U.S., the Lebanese government and Israel.

And so because Hezbollah is not at the table, they feel, you know, like they don't have any shackles on them. They don't feel like they have to honor any agreement.

And the agreement that was struck between Israel and the Lebanese government was that Israel would basically phase back their line. And the Lebanese armed forces would start coming in and basically removing armed groups, which includes Hezbollah.

Now the Lebanese armed forces, while they are armed, that's going to require a ton of work and support to do that. And that's why you're seeing Hezbollah continue to message and to say, you know, we're not a part of this agreement and therefore, we might not honor it.

And I think that's really another place to watch in the coming days and weeks.

[17:24:45]

JIMENEZ: It's been a dynamic to watch all along through these MOU -- through this MOU negotiations. And yet we're still seeing kinetic activity again on the Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah front and between the U.S. and Iran. We will see where this goes.

Sabrina Singh, really appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

SINGH: Thanks, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Meanwhile, all 50 states are being showcased in the U.S. Capitol ahead of the 250th anniversary of America.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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JIMENEZ: As people prepare to celebrate Americas 250th anniversary, crowds are gathering at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the Trump administration's Great American State Fair.

JIMENEZ: It is a 16-day festival featuring pavilions showcasing all U.S. states and territories, military flyovers, and a giant Ferris wheel.

[17:30:00]

But, a time to celebrate America has been divisive to many, especially, going into these Midterms.

CNN's Gabe Cohen is at the fair now, joins us from the National Mall.

And, Gabe, I just wonder, what have attendees been sharing with you as you've been out there?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, a lot of people are excited to be here, Omar, as the fair kicked off its first weekend here on the mall. But I can tell you today, just about a mile down the road, there was this counter program put together by several mostly progressive organizations who said they wanted to have their own event marking this country's 250th birthday, and it really speaks to how divided many Americans have been over these events, with some saying that the Trump administration has turned some of them into partisan spectacles.

One of the reasons this fair has been controversial is because it was organized by a Trump-aligned nonprofit, Freedom 250, as opposed to the bipartisan organization that Congress created a few years ago to plan these events. And the president has definitely put his stamp on this event. Not only did he hold a rally to kick off the fair, but if you look right in the center of it, there is this scaled-down replica of the triumphal arch that he is hoping to build here in the nation's capital.

And what we have seen here in recent weeks is musical artists that have canceled performances here over concerns that it was becoming this partisan event. We have seen Democrat-led states who decided they would refuse to even participate in it. But, as you mentioned, we talked to some of the people who came here. They came from all over the country, a lot of them, Trump supporters who shared their excitement to celebrate 250.

And we also spoke to an organizer of that event across town, who said she and others don't feel welcome here. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's great. I think he is doing a great job, but I think it's the best thing he could have done for the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People don't like what the other side is doing, no matter what it is. They will fight tooth and nail, it's just politics. But politics aside, this is a great thing for America, and I think, we should all enjoy it, and believe that this is an exceptional event.

SARU JAYARAMAN, CO-FOUNDER, THE NEXT 250 INITIATIVE: The people who are putting on that fair are attacking who we are, and we are saying we all belong here. What -- you are welcome to come to our event. We don't feel welcome at your event, but everybody is welcome at ours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: And Omar, this is just the beginning of these celebrations, including all the ones that have been planned by the Trump administration and Freedom 250, and that's going to include a Trump rally here on the Mall on July 4th, and a massive fireworks display later that night. Omar?

JIMENEZ: All right. Gabe Cohen, appreciate you being there. Good to see you. Stay cool out there.

As we talk about a searing heat dome heading for the eastern half of the United States next week, the prolonged heat wave is forecast to bring sweltering hot and humid conditions to millions, with feels like temperatures climbing to triple digits for many.

CNN meteorologist Melissa Nord is tracking the heat and joins us with the latest.

MELISSA NORD, PART-TIME CNN METEOROLOGIST: The heat wave starts in the Central Plains the second half of this weekend, and it's going to increase and push eastward as we head through the workweek. It's multiple days of high heat, humidity is going to be building, little relief from rainfall, and in the overnights near-record warm minimum temperatures as well, so, your body doesn't have a chance to recuperate if you don't have good working A.C. during the overnights as well.

Here is the heat dome set up, and that is going to just kind of reradiate that heat through the day and night across some of the same areas. The heat is centered over the central U.S. to finish the weekend. But, as we get into Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, it's really racing eastward. And we could see multiple days in a row with some cities in the triple digits for temperatures themselves, as we get towards the second half of the week there in the East Coast.

All right, heat indices, what is it going to feel like factoring in that high humidity with the temperatures? Well, you see a lot of 100- degree numbers on this map. These are feels like temperatures: 104 in Dallas on Sunday, 104 in St. Louis. Lot of these cities here, we are starting to see those extreme heat alerts issued because of the danger of that heat and humidity on your body, as you are over exerting yourself outside.

The heat pushes eastward. We'll see highs reaching the century mark in places like Raleigh, Washington D.C., and New York City by the end of the week. But we add in the feels like temperatures that humidity into effect. Look at this: 112 in D.C. on Thursday, and 108 in New York City, Boston 104. That forecast feels like temperature there on Thursday.

Here is D.C.'s numbers themselves, the actual temperature, not the humidity combined, and you can see, three days in a row there, where it is going to be above or at 100 degrees. New York City as well, danger seat moving in the end of the week, 102 on Wednesday, 104 records in jeopardy for Thursday.

JIMENEZ: All right. Melissa Nord. Really appreciate it.

Speaking of whether Kentucky's governor has declared a state of emergency as deadly flooding spreads across the state there.

[17:35:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (voice over): Governor Andy Beshear says there could be multiple fatalities, but it's unclear how many.

These are some of the images we are getting in.

One motorist was killed after being swept away in flash flooding. This is a church that was destroyed. Up to seven inches of rain has fallen in some areas, and a second round of rainfall is expected tonight. So, something we will continue to monitor there.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants are now scrambling to stay in the U.S. legally after the Supreme Court issues a major ruling. We'll talk about it next, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:40:16]

JIMENEZ: More than 350,000 people living legally in the United States could now be forced to leave after a landmark Supreme Court decision this week. The court cleared the way to end temporary protected status, TPS, as it is known, for Haitian and Syrian people who came to the United States fleeing war or instability.

I want to bring in CNN's Gloria Pazmino, who is with me now. And Gloria, you have been talking to migrants in New York City's Little Haiti neighborhood, what are they telling you?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Omar. I think, the overwhelming emotion, the overwhelming reaction is a whole lot of uncertainty from these communities. Right? They are not sure how this is going to affect them, when and if this decision is going to be enforced, and how it's going to be enforced.

So, we are seeing large communities, frankly, who have been here in New York City, but all around the United States for many, many years, wondering if their lives are going to be upended as a result of this decision.

Here in New York City, there are an estimated 160,000 Haitians who live and work here in New York City. And overall, as you said, 350,000 Haitians, 6,000 Syrians also affected by this decision.

As you said, TPS protection given to nationals from countries that are experiencing either civil or natural disasters, humanitarian crises. And the protection allows them to stay here in the United States and work legally. But that is only valid as long as their TPS status is valid, which is what this court decision opens the door for, essentially ending.

We spoke to many of those Haitians here in New York City. They told us it's essentially unthinkable to return home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN BAPTISTE, MOVED TO THE UNITED STATES 42 YEARS AGO: Haiti not good right now. It's not good to let the people go, send them to Haiti, you know. They know -- they know exactly what it is, you know. So, I don't know why they took that decision to send them to Haiti.

NOEL JOAN, MIGRATED FROM HAITI 40 YEARS AGO: Go back to Haiti is now is dangerous. They have a -- people in power in Haiti, they can't control the country, they can't control it.

Or we are just sitting down and wait. We didn't -- we were sitting down and wait to see what's going to happen, that's what we were -- we were doing. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Omar, one thing I found interesting talking to some of those people, especially the older ones, who told me that they came here, they have worked to get their families ahead, even family members who are still in Haiti. The potential disruption to the economy could be massive.

Removing Haitian TPS holders from this country would have a significant impact to locals and the larger economy. We have spoken to employers who say that their industries would be severely impacted by this. Haitians make up a large share of the service industry and the elder care industry here in New York City, which is an industry that's already suffering from a serious staffing shortage.

I also want to mention, the attorney that argued the Syrian TPS case before the United States Supreme Court described this decision as the largest de-documentation event of people in U.S. history. Omar.

JIMENEZ: As you heard from the folks there, just injected a whole lot of uncertainty to a lot of people who are trying to figure out what to do next.

Gloria Pazmino, really appreciate the reporting.

I want to bring in Guerline Jozef. She is executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, and I just wonder, what are you hearing from the Haitian community about this ruling?

GUERLINE JOZEF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HAITIAN BRIDGE ALLIANCE: Thank you, Omar. I'm coming to you in San Diego, where we have a community engagement event going on right now.

I can share with you, we normally have 300 to 400 families coming to get legal services, to get diapers, and the basic necessities. Today, we only had a hundred. That tells you the fear that is already going rampant within the community. I have received several calls. People are literally asking, what does that mean for me? Deportation, incarceration, family separation, loss of employment? These are the things we are dealing with right now, in addition to extreme mental and trauma that we continue to experience due to those policies.

So, this ruling from the Supreme Court is one of the words that we could have received, but we are here, we are trying to push through in the middle of the extreme, extreme fear that we are experiencing as a community.

[17:45:03]

JIMENEZ: And, you know, I know you all, through your work are constantly communicating with Haitians in Haiti about the situation there, especially, for those that might have been trying to get to the United States, in some cases. And what do they tell you about the current situation in Haiti? Is it -- how would you facilitate people going back? Is it safe for them to go back?

JOZEF: There is no way to do that, Omar. As of right now, according to the U.S. government itself, we are at the Category 4, do not travel to Haiti. The airport in Port-au-Prince have been closed for over three years. There are no flight in and out to the capital of Haiti, where 80 percent of it has been controlled by armed gangs.

We are currently at a state where the Haitian government is unable to put in place sustainability for people to be returned home. I spoke with people yesterday that were in Haiti. What they shared with me was that, yes, those policies are here in the United States, but what people don't understand is that 1.4 to 4 million people in Haiti are literally surviving because those TPS holders in other Haitian American immigrants are the only life source they have in order to survive and not force to flee Haiti right now.

That's why we continue to say that extending TPS, protecting Haitians in the United States, is in the best interest of the United States to make sure that we are able to not only allow people who have been paying into our taxes for the past five, 10, or even 15 years, to allow them to continue to be a part of our community, but also supporting those who are back home living in extreme conditions.

What I can share with you is that the TPS was designated for Haiti in 2010 after the earthquake, and the false narrative around TPS is a temporary part of it. But people fail to understand it is temporary based on current country conditions, and the current country conditions in Haiti right now are literally almost worse than what it was after the earthquake in 2010, because of the extreme conditions, political instability, and all the different things we are surviving right now.

JIMENEZ: Just personally, how did it make you feel when this ruling came down?

JOZEF: I felt like the rug was pulled from underneath me once again. And I will share with you one thing that one of our committee members said that was very true for me yesterday, and as I was standing in front of the Supreme Court, really talking to the community.

The earthquake that happened in Haiti in 2010, literally feels like the aftershock of that, and I had to stop to breathe to understand, what are we going to do when we have over 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians who are unable to go back home, but yet, we find ourselves at the -- at the crossroad where we do not know how to protect them.

That is why, currently, in the Senate, we have the Senate Bill S.4815 being led by senators Ed Markey and Blunt Chester (PH) in Delaware, pushing to create a pathway TPS for Haitians for the next three years.

So, right now we understand the Supreme Court has really given us a big blow.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

JOZEF: But we are pushing in Congress to make sure we are able to protect the people as well.

JIMENEZ: Trying to find other paths. Well, Guerline Jozef, I really appreciate you taking the time. Thank you for being here.

JOZEF: Thank you for having me.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right, everyone, we will be right back.

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[17:53:50]

JIMENEZ: The 2026 FIFA World Cup has brought millions of international fans to American cities, and something unexpected is happening off the pitch. Tourists from Scotland, Germany, Brazil, and beyond are pulling out their phones, not just to capture the goals, but to document American culture.

That is, everything from shopping at Costco, Target, tasting ranch dressing, packing ranch dressing in their luggage's, and the sheer size of a Buc-ee's, because come on, how is that not camera-phone ready?

CNN's Ivan Rodriguez shows us why their reactions are going viral.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Many soccer fans travel 1000s of miles to watch the beautiful game, and yes, there have been plenty of moments of magic, but scroll social media, and you'll also find tourists losing their minds over every day American life.

SHAUN ALEXANDER, SCOTLAND FAN, Buc-ee's is like America in a box, a very, very large box. But, you know, you go in there, it's very colorful, there is all this kind of gifts and all this different food and smells and stuff, and it's just fantastic.

RODRIGUEZ (voice over): That sense of wonder has been playing out on social media, as some fans encounter parts of America for the first time.

German content creator Finn Agostinenlli put it simply:

FINN AGOSTINELLI, WORLD CUP TOURIST: In Europe, we have a lot of rather negative news about the Americans in the last five years, let's say that.

[17:55:03]

And I think, we are all enjoying, like, the fact that this country is so great to visit. The people are amazing, so welcoming.

RODRIGUEZ (voice over): Tourism expert, Dr. Rachel Fu of the University of Florida says what's fueling all of this isn't just novelty, its authenticity.

DR. RACHEL FU, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA: And one of the many main reasons, those videos have become so viral because they present authenticity.

RODRIGUEZ (voice over): Dr. Fu says every viral video of a fan falling in love becomes, in her words, a marketing person for America. But perhaps, the most unexpected audience for all of this is us, Americans seeing our country reflected back through someone else's eyes.

FU: for Americans ourselves, those videos remind us how kind we are. We should keep being kind people.

RODRIGUEZ (voice over): I'm Ivan Rodriguez, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: You got to love people enjoying the game and the surroundings as well. Appreciate Ivan Rodriguez for that reporting.

Now, as we have been talking about over the course of this hour, the situation in the Middle East has been volatile at times, and we have breaking news to bring you. A U.S. official tells CNN that it is conducting additional strikes on targets around the Strait of Hormuz. We are gathering some of that information now. We'll tell you what we know just ahead. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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