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CNN on Friday revisited a 2016 report by the channel on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the United States that recently went viral, with journalists noting that “increased rhetoric,” protests and an increased tactical presence have complicated the agency’s ability to operate under the Trump administration.
The report centered on a May 2016 ride through Chicago, where reporter Pamela Brown followed a team of ICE agents as they arrested undocumented criminals.
Some conservative social media users, who recently discovered the clip, used the footage to suggest a media double standard, contrasting the agency’s more favorable framing under the Obama administration with current coverage under the Trump administration.
After reviewing the archival footage Friday, Brown told viewers she observed the officers were “very professional” and “respectful” during their encounters. She noted a lack of public resistance at the time, saying there were no protesters and raids were carried out early in the morning to avoid public disruption.
An anti-ICE activist chants and gestures during a protest at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Center, January 9, 2026, in Portland, Oregon. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)
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CNN correspondent Priscilla Alvarez noted that although similar operations continue across the country, media attention has shifted to Minneapolis due to the scale of the operations and significant public backlash.
She observed that officers now operate in a “very, very testy landscape,” where they encounter “protesters with these whistles.”
“They have a very specific mandate, right? They enforce immigration laws,” Alvarez said. “But when they’re put into situations like street policing, it kind of circumvents their regular operations and their duties when they’re out in the field.”
Alvarez added that the current climate has become “turbid” due to the presence of multiple law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Border Patrol. She said the heated rhetoric surrounding the agency has “supercharged” the environment.
People march during a protest following the murder of Renee Nicole Good on January 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Getty Images)
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“There’s heightened rhetoric, and then it’s kind of overloaded with so many agents in a very, very tense landscape where there are also people showing up to protest, and where agents are also rounding up a lot of undocumented immigrants to meet the administration’s mandate,” Alvarez said.
“And using aggressive tactics like we saw in the videos,” Brown added.
Scrutiny of ICE and its tactics has only intensified over the past week. fatal shooting by ICE agent of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, who the administration said was trying to use her car as a weapon against the officer.
A photo of Renée Nicole Good is displayed near a makeshift memorial for Good. (Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)
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On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said an ICE agent was hospitalized after being ambushed while attempting to arrest a Venezuelan national in Minneapolis during a traffic stop.
While attempting to arrest the suspect, DHS says the suspect “violently assaulted the officer” and two other individuals came out of a building and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and broom handle.
Brian Flood of Fox News contributed to this report.
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