The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Incident

Border czar Tom Homan says ICE media ride-alongs may end over leaks

United StatesRSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

White House border czar Tom Homan said the administration might stop letting journalists ride along on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations after an Aurora, Colorado raid captured far fewer people than expected, which officials attributed to leaked details of the operation.1

What happened

On February 6, 2025, border czar Tom Homan told reporters the administration might have to stop allowing media ride-alongs on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, citing operational security after an enforcement action in Aurora, Colorado, aimed at roughly one hundred suspected gang members, resulted in only one capture. Acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello said leaked details about the raid had compromised it beforehand. Homan said fewer people knowing about upcoming operations, including journalists embedded with agents, would make agents safer, and said he had already identified the source of a specific leak and was consulting the Justice Department about next steps.231

What reason was given

Stated justification

Homan said the change would be about "OpSec, operation security," arguing that fewer people knowing about enforcement operations in advance made ICE agents safer.2

What changed for reporting

Journalists who had embedded with ICE agents to document immigration enforcement operations faced the prospect of losing that access entirely, based on the leak of a single operation's details rather than any specific reporting failure.3

Timeline

2025

6 February 2025
Border czar Tom Homan says ICE media ride-alongs may end over leaks

Who acted

NameRole in this incidentOffice at the time
Tom HomanannouncedWhite House Border Czar
U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementenforcedFederal immigration enforcement agency

Sources

  1. Border Czar Tom Homan: ICE Media 'Ride Alongs' May End Due To SafetyMediaite, 2025-02-06, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. Acting ICE Director Vitello attributed the Aurora raid's poor results to leaked information.intel leaksBorder Czar Tom Homan: ICE Media 'Ride Alongs' May End Due To Safety, Mediaite, 2025-02-06.Claim 382, checked 2026-09-22.
  2. Homan said fewer people knowing about operations, potentially including media, would make agents safer.It's all about OpSec, operation security, so we may have to stop the media ride alongs.Border Czar Tom Homan: ICE Media 'Ride Alongs' May End Due To Safety, Mediaite, 2025-02-06.Claim 380, checked 2026-09-22.
  3. Homan said reducing the number of people aware of operations in advance protected agents.the less people that know about these operations, the safer this for our agents.Border Czar Tom Homan: ICE Media 'Ride Alongs' May End Due To Safety, Mediaite, 2025-02-06.Claim 381, checked 2026-09-22.