The Trump Administration Is Turning ICE Raids and Protests Into Reality TV
Jun 9, 2025 2:44 PM Whether creating its own memes or working with celebrities like "Dr. Phil" McGraw, the government is treating a volatile situation in Los Angeles like content. Photo-Illustration: Wired Staff;Since the very beginning of the year, President Donald Trump's administration has worked to build a self-sustaining digital media ecosystem in support of its controversial immigration policies. That system is now working overtime as protests bubble up in Los Angeles and get planned across the country, spawning an onslaught of AI-generated slop and reality television-style content.
Protests broke out on Friday shortly after ICE officers conducted a series of raids targeting Latino communities in Los Angeles. Reality star Phil 'Dr. Phil' McGraw and the camera crew for his new Merit TV network embedded with immigration officials during Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Friday's raids, CNN reported. Merit TV announced in a press release that its footage will be aired throughout a '2-Night Television Event' on Monday and Tuesday. The broadcast includes an exclusive one-on-one interview with Trump's border czar Tom Homan. (There is already an interview with Homan currently streaming on Merit TV's site.)
'Dr. Phil and Tom Homan break down the multi-agency raid targeting cartel-linked businesses in LA's garment district,' states the Merit TV email about Monday night's program. 'With $80 million in undeclared imports uncovered, $17 million in unpaid tariffs identified, and 41 undocumented immigrants detained, the high-impact operation drew fierce public protests. Homan addresses the growing backlash and explains the zero-tolerance policy for interference with federal enforcement.'
It's unclear where the highly specific numbers mentioned in the press email come from, or what the source of information is for the claim that affected businesses are tied to cartels. Homan and other heads of law enforcement agencies have repeatedly threatened protesters and even California politicians with arrest. Trump also said he would arrest California Governor Gavin Newsom.
MAGA's independent influencers also spent the weekend parroting the Trump administration's talking points. On Sunday, Rogan O'Handley, who goes by DC Draino online, posted what appears to be an AI-generated video on Instagram of Trump pummeling a man holding a Mexican flag on a dirt bike. As the man falls over, a triumphant Trump raises the flag which magically transforms into an American one.
'MAGA won the popular vote and this is what we want,' the caption of the post reads. It currently has more than 50,000 likes.
Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and host of an eponymous podcast, posted to X in an apparent attempt to rally the right's outrage over LA into support for the Trump administration's budget plans. 'Infuriated about what you are seeing in LA? Pass the BBB [Big Beautiful Bill]. Watch this and support the bill. We must reclaim America,' Kirk posted on Monday.
This didn't come out of nowhere. The Trump administration's crackdown on immigration has been broadcasted across television and the internet for months, as influencers and content creators have been invited to participate in broadcasts and ride-a-longs with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials.
'That's been a pretty routine thing. Libs of TikTok was embedded, Tomi Lahren.' CJ Pearson, a conservative influencer tells WIRED of the ridealongs. 'I've been asked as well, so, I think there definitely will be more to come.'
In January, agencies assisting with immigration crackdowns were told to be camera-ready, CNN reported. In February, DHS launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign featuring a clip of Kristi Noem, the secretary of DHS, warning undocumented immigrants that they would be deported if they did not choose to leave on their own. These ads were 'hyper-targeted' to 'reach illegal immigrants in the interior of the United States, as well as internally,' according to a February DHS press release.
'If you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you. You will never return,' Noem says in the ad. 'But if you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream.'
Noem has traveled to El Salvador for content as well. In March, she filmed a notorious video, where she stood in front of prisoners at El Salvador's infamous CECOT prison. 'If you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences,' Noem said.
In April, the far-right influencer Chaya Raichik, who runs the massive Libs of TikTok account on X, joined DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during an immigration enforcement operation in Phoenix, Arizona, posting 'exclusive footage' to her more than four million followers. Both Raichik and Noem wore bullet proof vests with ICE badges pinned to their chests.
A DHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WIRED.
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