Obama-Era CNN Segment Shows Different ICE Coverage Compared to Trump Years

Social media users are resurfacing a decade-old CNN segment from the Obama era that they argue highlights a stark contrast in how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was covered before President Donald J. Trump took office.

The segment aired May 31, 2016, and featured CNN reporter Pamela Brown embedded with ICE agents in Chicago as they carried out early-morning operations targeting undocumented criminals. At the time, the report was framed as an inside look at federal law enforcement operating within a so-called “sanctuary city.”

“Just before the sun rises in the Windy City, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents fan out across Chicago to arrest criminals in the U.S. illegally. CNN was granted exclusive access to witness some of those raids,” Brown told viewers at the start of the segment, titled, “A day with ICE in the ‘Sanctuary City’ of Chicago.”

During the broadcast, an ICE agent is heard briefing colleagues that they had “three targets” in neighborhoods described as a “little sketchy.” Brown explained the operation began around 3 a.m. to ensure agents could apprehend suspects before they left for work. One agent told CNN his adrenaline and blood pressure rise when “you’re getting ready to do something like this.”

The report showed agents attempting to maintain discretion during the raid, though confusion briefly ensued.

“This may look organized, but in this moment, confusion. ICE agents mistakenly arrest the target’s brother,” Brown said during the segment.

Agents later corrected the mistake and arrested the intended suspect. CNN then aired an on-screen graphic explaining ICE’s opposition to Cook County’s sanctuary policies, which restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

“ICE says the county ordinance creates a danger to the community by releasing undocumented criminals back onto the streets,” the network told viewers.

The segment continued with ICE agents arresting a second target who had reportedly reentered the country using a false identity after previously being deported. Brown told viewers that ICE had been monitoring the individual for “a while.”

“He’s going to be processed, they’re going to fingerprint him, ask him questions, and there is a whole process that goes into place before anyone is deported,” Brown said.

CNN then followed agents as they arrested a third target, whose criminal history was detailed during the report.

“He is a criminal, he has extensive criminal history, and by taking him out of the community, it’s making the community safer and that’s ICE’s purpose,” one agent said.

In another encounter, agents approached a man at his workplace who briefly attempted to flee. He was released after agents confirmed he was not a target. Brown later took viewers inside an ICE processing center and interviewed a man awaiting deportation.

The segment concluded with an on-screen summary: “On this day ICE detained 6 for possible deportation. 2 of them were released because they didn’t have criminal records.”

The footage was recently rediscovered and shared by X user @mazemoore, who noted that CNN’s coverage at the time appeared largely neutral or even sympathetic to ICE’s mission.

Although CNN has undergone multiple ownership and leadership changes since 2016, conservatives argue the resurfaced segment underscores how legacy media outlets treated ICE far more favorably under President Barack Obama than under President Trump, whose administration’s immigration enforcement policies have been relentlessly criticized.

The renewed attention comes amid heightened scrutiny of ICE following last week’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. The Trump administration stated that Good attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon against an ICE agent, a claim that has fueled national debate over immigration enforcement and media narratives.

Numerous users weighed in on X after the video circulated. New York Times columnist Ross Douthat remarked that the shift in tone was notable, adding that the segment also showed ICE agents presenting themselves differently at the time.

For many conservatives, the resurfaced report is a reminder of what they view as a clear double standard in media coverage—one that changed dramatically once immigration enforcement became a central priority under President Trump.