CNN reexamined a viral May 2016 ride-along showing ICE agents conducting early-morning arrests in Chicago; reporters said those agents appeared professional and faced no visible public resistance at the time. Today, journalists say enforcement is occurring in a far more "testy" environment, with protests, whistles and overlapping law-enforcement presences complicating operations. Tensions have grown after a recent fatal shooting in Minneapolis and an ambush that hospitalized an ICE agent, prompting renewed scrutiny of tactics and media coverage.
CNN Reexamines Viral 2016 ICE Ride-Along: Reporters Say Protests And Rhetoric Now Hamper Operations
An anti-ICE activist chants and gestures during a protest at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Jan. 9, 2026, in Portland, Ore.(Getty Images)
CNN on Friday revisited a 2016 report about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that recently resurfaced online, concluding that "heightened rhetoric," public demonstrations and a larger tactical presence have made enforcement operations more complicated under the Trump administration.
The original segment focused on a May 2016 ride-along in Chicago in which reporter Pamela Brown accompanied a team of ICE agents as they arrested undocumented individuals with felony records. After rewatching the archival footage, Brown told viewers she found the agents to be "very professional" and "respectful" during their encounters and noted there were no visible protesters at the time; raids were often conducted in the early morning to minimize public disruption.
People march during a protest after the killing of Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
What Reporters Observed
CNN correspondent Priscilla Alvarez said similar enforcement actions continue nationwide, but media attention has concentrated on Minneapolis because of the size of recent operations and intense public backlash. Alvarez described the present environment as a "very, very testy landscape," with agents encountering protesters — sometimes using whistles — and multiple law enforcement entities operating in the same spaces.
"They have a very specific mandate, right? They are enforcing immigration laws," Alvarez said. "But when they’re put in situations like policing the streets, that skirts a little bit what their typical operations and their tasks are when they are out in the field."
Alvarez added that overlapping agencies, including U.S. Border Patrol, and charged public discourse have "supercharged" tensions during enforcement actions.
A picture of Renee Nicole Good is displayed near a makeshift memorial for Good.
Recent Incidents That Raised Scrutiny
Public scrutiny of ICE intensified following a recent fatal shooting in Minneapolis involving an ICE agent and Renee Nicole Good; federal authorities have said the agent reported that Good tried to use her car as a weapon. Separately, the Department of Homeland Security reported that an ICE agent was hospitalized after being ambushed during an attempt to arrest a Venezuelan national in Minneapolis; DHS said the suspect "violently assaulted" the officer and two others attacked the agent with a snow shovel and a broom handle.
Reporters and commentators have pointed to the resurfaced 2016 footage to argue about perceived media double standards — contrasting the tone of coverage about ICE during the Obama administration with reporting under the Trump administration — while others say the operational and political context has changed and complicated enforcement work.
Note: This article summarizes CNN's reexamination of the 2016 report and includes statements from CNN correspondents and DHS incident summaries.
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