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Palestinian Activist Khalil Takes Trump Fight to Supreme Court; Evacuations, Explosion Risk in Toledo as Chemical Tank Leaks; Trump Announces $8 Billion Aid Package for Farmers. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired October 21, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

MAHMOUD KHALIL, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LEAD STUDENT NEGOTIATOR: You know, I'm fighting this case because I believe that the Supreme Court should side with us. In the past, they did, including Justice Alito, by the way, who also sided around this question around the federal court has jurisdiction or has the power to intervene when there are constitutional questions.

So, we're just asking them to reaffirm, one, that immigrants in this have the right to challenge their detention and immigration in federal courts, but also to reaffirm that non-citizens in this country also have First Amendment rights. And that was very well established in the past.

But again, we're dealing with a government right now who's trying to push the envelope, who's trying just to see what they can get away with. But also, you know, I don't get my -- I would say, my accountability or my justice only through courts, because we know too well that the rights that we have right now, we have them because people vote for these rights, whether it is during the independence at war, whether it is during the construction era, the civil rights movement, or any, you know, like the Black Lives Matter.

So, to me, when I see that people are actually voting out those members of Congress who are also trying to take away our rights, this is accountability to me. And my book that's now is out is accountability to me. The fact that the same words that this administration tried to silence are now out, and now people are reading more and more about my story and about the stories of immigrants in this country, but also the story of Palestinian families around the world.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's such an important story indeed. Mahmoud, if the U.S. Supreme Court does not rule in your favor, what is your next course of action to stay in this country?

KHALIL: You know, we have another case in the Fifth Circuit. It's also a conservative circuit. That's why the Trump administration transferred me over 13 miles away to ensure that I would stay in that, so they can ensure the outcome. So, you know, the Fifth Circuit is one of the most conservative circuits in the country. It's in Louisiana. So, I would continue to fight. But once again, this is not only about whether I get to stay in this country. I'm fighting this fight because I can't afford to lose. Thankfully, you know, I'm a Nigerian citizen. I'm also -- you know, I have family in Europe. So, that's not the story. I'm really fighting because I can't afford to lose, unlike the thousands and hundreds of thousands of immigrant families in this country who cannot afford to lose, unfortunately, or the Palestinian families who are now, you know, going through occupation and killing. Also, they cannot afford to lose.

So, I'm one of those privileged Palestinians who are now, when I compare my situation with my people, but also with immigrant families, it's a drop in the sea of sorrow, unfortunately. So, this is my part of the fight.

BLITZER: As you know, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement after your lawyers filed papers with the Supreme Court. In the Department of Homeland Security statement, they say, and I'm quoting now, "The Trump administration acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority with respect to Khalil, as it does with any alien who advocates for violence, glorifies and supports terrorists, harasses Jews and damages property. We would encourage him to use the Customs and Border Protection Home app and self-deport," end quote. How do you respond to that statement?

KHALIL: You know, the government knows all too well that baseless allegations and smears against me cannot survive the slightest scrutiny in federal courts. That's why they are doing everything they could to keep those courts away from looking at my case and to channel it through its kangaroo immigration system that's fully controlled by the Trump administration.

So, I'm saying that I'm fighting until the end, and, you know, they're in power for the next two and a half years, maximum, maybe two weeks now in Congress and Senate. So, we will see.

BLITZER: What has your life been like, Mahmoud, since you were first detained some 18 months ago?

KHALIL: You know, it's been very difficult. Like, I'm a new father. I'm also like a new family. I got married just like about two years ago. And it's been now really moved into this just labyrinth of legal fights, of also advocacy fights. So, it's been difficult. But this is, you know, a life of so many immigrants' families as well in this country.

Again, like, thankfully and gratefully, like, I have a legal team, a very strong legal team. I have a good support system.

[11:35:00]

But many of the families, the immigrants' families here who are fearing to be snatched off the streets, they don't have this kind of support. They don't have this kind of spotlight on their cases. So, I take that with so much grace, with so much responsibility to do what I could do. And also, this is -- you know, I'm fighting because this government really stripped me from 104 days of my life, but also from witnessing the birth of my child. So, I will continue to seek accountability toward that. So, it's really not about whether I get to stay in this, not only about whether I get to stay in this country. It's much bigger than that.

And it's unfortunate that this is happening in a country that supposedly champions justice, rule of law, basic dignities. But these are not afforded, unfortunately, to us, or this administration is trying so hard to strip us from these basic rights.

BLITZER: Well, I just want to point out to our viewers, you have not been charged with any crime, but you were detained for more than 100 days. And I want to congratulate you on your graduate school, your graduation from Columbia University. Good work on that front as well. Mahmoud Khalil, good luck to you. Thanks so much for joining us.

KHALIL: Thank you so much, Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to bring in our Chief Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic right now. Joan, how do you think the court will read Mahmoud Khalil's petition?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Well, thanks for having me, Wolf. And I think he laid out a lot of issues very well. I mean, he laid out his broader quest here for the kind of justice he's seeking. But he also was right when he said it's actually a very discreet question that the Supreme Court is being asked to decide here. And that's, you know, the forum for this initial challenge to his detention and his deportation order.

A lower court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that handled the order that had come up from New Jersey in his case, said he shouldn't have been able to get relief from a district court judge. He should be back before an immigration judge. And that really stops him in his tracks. And what he's done is appealed that to the Supreme Court.

And the court's being asked to review what are sometimes called now or never claims. Can someone who's subject to a deportation order and being detained be able to get relief in a district court now rather than having to wait to the end of his proceedings and, you know, essentially kind of be shut out?

And the one thing that he's got -- you know, this is a tough court, as you rightly said, Wolf, when you said that, you know, we have this conservative supermajority. And it's a court that has been very sympathetic to Donald Trump's efforts to, you know, for mass deportations, to narrow immigration rights. But what he does have going for him is that the lower courts are kind of divided on how to handle these claims.

And even though the Third Circuit ruled against him in his case, there was another ruling recently from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which is based in Richmond, in a different matter that was more lenient in terms of when these so-called now or never claims can be brought.

So, one thing I should tell you about timing, we're not going to know for about three months or so whether the Supreme Court takes this, because the Justice Department now has about a month to respond to this petition. The justices will likely consider his plea in a January conference. And then if they take it, probably a decision by the end of June, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. I will see what happens on that front. And, Joan, while I have you, I want to get your thoughts on some news just coming in from the Supreme Court. The high court is about to consider transgender medical care in federal prisons. Tell us about that.

BISKUPIC: Sure. It just happened, Wolf. So, I'm going to look down at this order. It was just a brief one in an emergency case where the Trump administration was appealing from a prison situation where it wanted to suspend hormone therapy and other treatments for transgender Americans in federal prisons.

And it was a case where just in this emergency posture right now, Wolf, the court did not side with the Trump administration. It's in litigation in lower courts. And the justices wanted the I mean, pardon me, the Trump administration wanted the justices to intervene immediately to stop this kind of care in prisons. And there was no explanation for the order.

But I do have to say that two justices dissented, Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito. They did not explain themselves. But we'll be seeing more of this coming up. And it was a rare but temporary win for the transgender interests. But as I say, it's a very preliminary move right now by the Supreme Court. And where this case is at involving federal prisoners, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Joan Biskupic, our Supreme Court analyst. Thank you so much. Always good to have you join us in the Situation Room.

BISKUPIC: Thanks.

[11:40:00]

BLITZER: And just ahead, the Trump administration is spending billions of dollars to try to help farmers cover rising costs as harvest season arrives. But is it too little too late? We'll ask the founder of the National Black Farmers Association. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's breaking news. We're getting new video coming in to the Situation Room of the hazmat situation in Toleda, Ohio. This is from our affiliate there. And you can see cloud billowing out from a tank. The chemical leaking is an industrial product used in coating.

The Toledo mayor told just a few minutes ago that hazmat teams have still not been able to approach the tank because of the risk of an exploration. He also said that long-term exposure to this chemical could cause cancer. We'll continue to monitor this and bring you all the latest developments. Stand by for that.

Also happening now, with 13 days until the midterm elections, the Trump administration is rolling out $8 billion in relief for farmers who face soaring fuel and fertilizer prices. It's the second aid package in less than a year and comes as the fall harvest season gets underway. But farmers have been sounding the alarm on prices for months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAKE REYNOLDS, IOWA FARMER: I obviously can't purchase ground. Ground is $12,000, $13,000, $14,000, $15,000 an acre now, and I just can't purchase it and pencil it out in my lifetime or even my son's lifetime.

[11:45:00]

COREY GOODHUE, IOWA FARMER: I would say this time last year, we weren't feeling real great about life because we had to do a lot of cutting to get this thing to a positive number. The buck has to stop at this desk. I just didn't think $6 or $5.50 diesel was in the cards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: John Boyd Jr. is the founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association. John, thanks so much for joining us. As you know, the USDA, the Department of Agriculture, is set to announce payments next month. What assurances are you looking for to ensure this money reaches farmers who need it most?

JOHN BOYD JR., FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION: Well, Wolf, thank you so much for having me. I think this is a minute too late and a dime too short by the Trump administration. I believe it's an announcement to really look at votes, getting votes in the midterm election. And we have to look at what got us here, the president's tariffs, the war in Iran.

The war in Iran is really what is at the center of this thing. We didn't have $6 and $7 diesel fuel until we went to war with Iran and the administration that made numerous promises to help America's farmers. And I've certainly been on CNN talking about the 400 farm foreclosures that we have. And this administration has done absolutely nothing to help these farmers facing farm foreclosure.

Wolf, I'm paying $7 a gallon for diesel fuel, and I'm letting other bills go to pay for this diesel fuel. So, every time I roll up there and fill up my 300-gallon tank, my farm tank, it's $2,100 that I have to have to pay to put into my combine to harvest my crop. So, the money has to come from somewhere, and I'm letting other bills go. And nobody's talking about the equipment companies that are suing farmers and taking them to court and picking up their equipment.

I have a fertilizer deal. I went from a $100,000 bill there, Wolf, from paying it down to $40,000, and they're taking me to court. When I reached out to them yesterday to tell them about these payments, they said they didn't believe anything that this administration was saying. So, there's a lot of doubt, and farmers need the help right now. And I'm hoping that farmers will run to the polls.

I've been talking to farmers, Wolf, that are voting early for the first time. I never heard of farmers voting early, because they're in bad shape. When you lose your farm, Wolf, you lose your history, you lose your livelihood, and you just don't pick up and buy another farm. And that's what this president doesn't understand.

So, he makes these announcements. You know, I was listening to him, and he said unemployment was at an all-time high for black people and Native Americans and Hispanics. I think he knows what he's saying when he says this stuff. He's done a deal with Russia. You know, when did we start doing deals with Russia for diesel fuel for 300 metric tons? 300 metric tons in the United States will last us 13 hours.

So, again, these are announcements that this president is making, but they really don't amount to real significant payments for farmers. Our farmers at the MBFA, Wolf, don't qualify -- many don't qualify for this payment, because many haven't reported their crops because they haven't been getting any help from USDA. So, you have to have already reported your crops, been in the system.

So, this diesel fuel payment is going to help a lot of large-scale farmers and not many small-scale farmers here in the United States.

BLITZER: You represent black farmers across the United States. Are they facing particular challenges right now, and are you concerned about whether they will get the needed relief from this newly announced bailout plan?

BOYD JR.: I'm very concerned about it. And, Wolf, when I reached out to this administration, well, they invited me to the meeting when the president had the farmer meeting in the White House, and then they disinvited me. They said that I couldn't come to the meeting, that they were doing away with DEI and the Black farmer issue, the small farmer issue.

So, I'm very concerned that this administration, with something not included, those payments that the president spoke about earlier, the $13 billion payment that already went out, many black farmers didn't get it, again, because they're not in the system. They have to change those rules to allow all farmers to participate and receive this aid. That's why you see the subsidy numbers so lopsided, where black farmers are merely just not even in the scheme of things there. They have to change that. The Agriculture Department knows it. The president knows it.

So, he puts us into this position that we're in through his policies, Wolf. We didn't. We got here by the president's policies, bad policies, his tariffs, his war. And now, we're having to pay the price. And this administration, if he wants to help farmers and all farmers, stop farm foreclosures today in a complete farm moratorium.

[11:50:00]

Direct loans at USDA, guaranteed loans, and all secondary agricultural lenders, we should not be losing our farms because of a war in Iran and the president's poor decisions and ego is in the way of saying, you know what, my war put these farmers in complete jeopardy here. And that's really what happened.

And I'm hoping their farmers -- you know, they voted for him, Wolf, three times. And I'm hoping that they will vote their pocketbooks this time instead of their pride in our history of voting completely Republican.

BLITZER: Yes. All right. John Boyd, Jr., good luck to you. Good luck to all the farmers out there, especially the black farmers right now that you represent.

BOYD JR.: And we'll -- we have a national conference coming up October 30th and 31st in Columbia, South Carolina. There's going to be a thousand farmers there. And people who want their vote, they need to show up and tell these farmers why they should vote for them in the upcoming election. So, thank you so very, very much for having me.

BLITZER: John Boyd, Jr., good luck, good work. Thanks so much for joining us. And we'll be right back with more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:55:00]

BLITZER: The Australian lawmaker badly injured in what officials call a deliberate attack has now had her second leg amputated. Authorities say a man hit Helen Haines with his SUV Monday outside her office. Her husband says she's in critical condition, but is stable, at least for now. A suspect has been arrested and charged, but investigators aren't talking about a motive.

Other news. British police say they've re-arrested two men on suspicion of helping Iran's foreign intelligence service. It's part of the investigation into an alleged terror plot targeting a Royal Air Force base that U.S. bombers have been using. Seven people in total face charges. Iran denies any involvement. The U.S. moved all of its long-range B-1 bombers from the base days after the initial arrests last month. Those B-1s have played a big role in the war with Iran.

And the NFL is now defending how the Philadelphia Eagles handled the health of star quarterback Jalen Hurts. He likely will miss the rest of the season because of blood clots. Doctors noticed them last weekend and cleared him to play. But after the game, the clots had moved to his lungs. Critics questioned the decision to let Hurts play, but the league's chief medical officer says the team made the right call. The Players Association is still calling for a full investigation.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us on social media @wolfblitzer and @pamelabrowncnn. We'll see you back here tomorrow morning, every weekday morning, 10:00 a.m. Eastern for two hours. Inside Politics with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts after a quick break.

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