Border czar Tom Homan says ICE media ride-alongs may end over leaks
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
- Country
- United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)
- Where
- United States
- Level of government
- National
- Tactic
- Access bans
- Stage
- Restrict (see the ladder)
- Head of government at the time
- Donald Trump
- Issue of the day
- An ICE operation in Aurora, Colorado aimed at alleged gang members captured only one of roughly one hundred people sought; acting ICE director Caleb Vitello attributed the shortfall to leaks about the operation before it occurred.
- Outcome
- Unknown. Homan described ending ride-alongs as under consideration; no formal, dated order was documented in the source reviewed.
- Era
- The 2020s
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
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
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Homan | announced | White House Border Czar |
| U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement | enforced | Federal immigration enforcement agency |
Sources
Claims cited
- Acting ICE Director Vitello attributed the Aurora raid's poor results to leaked information.
intel leaks
Border Czar Tom Homan: ICE Media 'Ride Alongs' May End Due To Safety, Mediaite, 2025-02-06. Claim 382, checked 2026-09-22. - 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. - 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.