Recent findings from a survey indicate that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is largely portrayed negatively by major news networks like ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News. This analysis, conducted by the Media Research Center (MRC), examined news programs from January 7—the day Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by ICE agents—through January 17. The incident has ignited serious debate nationwide and led to violence against federal immigration officers.
During the ten days after the shooting, the data showed a stark bias. The MRC documented 68 negative remarks about ICE compared to just five positive ones; this represents a striking 93% negative coverage across these networks.
A particularly alarming aspect highlighted by the MRC involves anti-ICE activists disrupting church services in Minnesota, including harassing congregants at the church of Pete Hegseth.
MRC Chairman David Bozell commented on the findings, suggesting that such biased reporting seems deliberate, aiming to sway public opinion against immigration enforcement entirely.
The study revealed that programs like ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight” aired 21 negative soundbites but only two positive ones, resulting in 91% negative coverage. Interestingly, NBC showed a similar pattern: again, 21 negative soundbites with just two positives.
In contrast, CBS reported a whopping 96% negativity, with 26 negative soundbites and just one positive mention.
On another note, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that ICE officers acted in self-defense when Good allegedly threatened them with her SUV. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin informed that one officer sustained internal bleeding from being struck. However, the extent of these injuries remains unclear.
Despite ABC and NBC providing nearly 78 minutes of coverage on the incident and its repercussions, they only mentioned the officer being hit once. CBS, however, merely referenced claims about the officer being punched, with no confirmation from their reports.
Bill D’Agostino from the MRC pointed out the discrepancies, noting that while ABC featured someone stating they had punched Good, NBC included her stepfather’s admission that she did hit him.
In total, of the extensive 121 minutes spent discussing the shooting and ICE’s role, only a small fraction addressed illegal immigrant crimes relevant to the incident. Although ICE’s presence in Minnesota was due to unlawful activities committed by illegal immigrants, these were discussed for just 12 seconds on ABC, 16 seconds on CBS, and 89 seconds on NBC.
As for the networks, there was no immediate response to inquiries regarding this coverage from Fox News Digital.
