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ICE keeps giving exclusive access to right-wing and right-leaning influencers

Influencers have joined ICE on ride-alongs across the country, calling protesters the “enemy within” and bragging about getting “full access” with “no guidelines”

Written by Payton Armstrong

Published

Updated

A handful of right-wing and right-leaning influencers have been given repeated access to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and ride-alongs, celebrating “riding with ICE in Chicago exposing the enemies within” and touting their “full access.”

The ride-alongs have come as Trump sends the National Guard into U.S. cities partially in response to protests against ICE. Right-wing media, who have generally seen increased access to the second Trump administration, have cheered the incursions.

A.J. Bauer, a University of Alabama professor who studies media activism, told NPR that the Trump administration is “working hand in glove” with right-wing influencers “in order to promote the government's message” around the protests against ICE. Meanwhile, some local media outlets have reportedly not been granted the same access when they have asked for it.

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  • Trump has sent troops to blue cities across the country. Right-wing media – who have been given extensive administration access — have cheered the move.

    • President Donald Trump’s administration has sent troops to cities across the country in part to quell protests against ICE, drawing pushback from courts and Democratic officials. According to NPR, “Over the past six months, Trump has suggested or ordered mobilizing Guard troops to nearly a dozen cities — all run by Democratic mayors and in states mostly run by Democratic governors.” Trump’s deployment of troops has been challenged by Democratic officials in Oregon, Illinois, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and California, and a federal judge recently permanently blocked Trump from deploying the National Guard to Portland. (The Trump administration has since appealed the district court ruling.) Hina Shamsi, the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project director, told NPR that Trump’s use of the National Guard is a “dangerous abuse of power” that is “putting Americans in danger.” [NPR, 11/11/25, 6/9/25; Oregon Public Broadcasting, 11/7/25; KATU, 11/14/25]
    • ICE’s tactics during raids have included “storming an apartment complex by helicopter as families slept,” “deploying chemical agents near a public school,” and “handcuffing a Chicago City council member at a hospital,” according to The Associated Press. [AP News, 10/6/25]
    • Right-wing media have rallied behind Trump’s efforts to deploy the National Guard. Conservative pundits have suggested that federal deployment in Democratic cities “should be permanent” and that Portland, Oregon, should be put “under martial law.” [Media Matters, 10/8/25]
    • MAGA media figures have been given extensive access to Trump’s second administration while legacy media are often snubbed. Media Matters' data shows that White House press briefings during the beginning of Trump's administration have elevated right-wing outlets, with 4 out of 5 reporters called on most in press briefings between January 20 and April 22 coming from right-wing outlets. Meanwhile, Trump installed right-wing media figures into high-level administration positions, and the administration has given MAGA influencers significant access to the White House, Cabinet departments, and other federal agencies. [Media Matters, 2/26/25, 4/25/25]

  • Reports highlight how the administration is “working hand in glove” with right-wing influencers while not granting similar access to some local media outlets

    • Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Erik Neumann has reported on the Trump administration’s use of right-wing influencers to “shape” the public's “understanding of Portland protests,” noting that “local media … have not been given the same access to the ICE building when they requested it.” [Oregon Public Broadcasting, 10/11/25]
    • The Oregonian and Oregon Public Broadcasting both reported that they requested the same sort of access and were either ignored or told to submit examples of their coverage for consideration. The Oregonian reported submitting multiple requests for access to a Portland ICE building with no response, and Oregon Public Broadcasting wrote: “In response to requests to tour the ICE building, DHS officials have asked OPB — a century-old media organization that has covered newsworthy events at the protests since their earliest days — to share links to OPB coverage of the protests before considering access.” In a letter to the Department of Justice, Portland City Attorney Robert Taylor accused the administration of committing “viewpoint discrimination,” saying, “It appears the federal government is providing special access to the ICE facility for social media ‘influencers’ who favor the federal administration.” [OregonianLive, 10/7/25; Oregon Public Broadcasting, 10/11/25]
    • A.J. Bauer, a University of Alabama professor who studies media activism, told NPR that the Trump administration is “working hand in glove” with right-wing influencers “in order to promote the government's message” around the protests against ICE. Bauer also explained that “the streamers are actually counterprotesters themselves who are going and documenting the protests that they disagree with.” [NPR, 10/11/25]
    • Wired wrote that the administration is “turning ICE raids and protests into reality TV.” The outlet added: “The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has been broadcast 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.” [Wired, 6/9/25]

  • Here are five right-wing and right-leaning influencers who have gone on ride-alongs with ICE

  • Ben Bergquam

    • Bergquam is a right-wing influencer and correspondent for the far-right outlet Real America’s Voice who has used extreme rhetoric about Democrats and Democrat-run cities. Bergquam, who hosts a show for Real America’s Voice called Law & Border, recently said that “we need martial law, whatever it takes, to go in there and restore order” in Democrat-run cities. Bergquam also recently reportedly “filmed outside of Gov. JB Pritzker’s home and invited his followers to ‘take action’ after the murder of Charlie Kirk.” The Chicago Sun Times reported that the video “has prompted additional concerns over Pritzker’s safety.” The Arizona Mirror reported in 2022 that Bergquam had “been arrested for political agitation” and “got his start in Fresno, Calif., where he partnered with ‘proud islamophobe’ Laura Loomer to trespass onto Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mansion while dressed in racist caricatures of immigrants.” [Chicago Sun Times, 9/12/25; AmericasVoice.news, accessed 11/7/25; Twitter/X, 10/6/25; Arizona Mirror, 11/30/22]
    • Bergquam has done at least 4 ride-alongs in Chicago, according to news reports and his own accounts, including embedding with Trump “border czar” Tom Homan in January and April. He mentioned a third ride-along with ICE during the June 12 episode of the show FlashPoint. And according to The Guardian, during a September ride-along, Bergquam yelled at protesters, calling them “the enemy within.” Bergquam posted footage to Facebook in October of one of his ride-alongs, which shows him referring to a group of bystanders as a “beehive of activist traitors,” with on-screen text that said, “Riding with ICE in Chicago exposing the enemies within!” [The Guardian, 9/10/25; YouTube, FlashPoint, 6/12/25; Facebook, 10/17/25]
    • Bergquam has done at least 1 ride-along in Portland, Oregon, where he said that “leftist traitors need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” and posted a picture saying he was “reporting from the rooftop #PortlandICE.” Bergquam posted a video of himself in an ICE vehicle with agents and wrote: “Every sanctuary jurisdiction in America needs to be shut down!” [Twitter/X, 10/13/25, 10/1/25]
    • Bergquam has done at least 2 ride-alongs in Texas, during which he filmed content for his Real America’s Voice show, according to his posts. In August, Bergquam posted a clip of himself embedded with ICE in San Antonio for Law & Border, adding, “Stay tuned for the rest of the story, only on Law & Border.” He also wrote in the caption of the video: “Epic ride along with San Antonio #ICE today! Criminal warrant on one illegal turns into 5 illegals being picked up including two additional surprise felons! God bless ICE!” And at the end of October, Bergquam posted a video showing people in handcuffs with screen text that read, “Exclusive from Houston #ICE.” [Twitter/X, 8/27/25; Facebook, 10/28/25]
    • Bergquam has done at least 1 ride-along in Indiana, which involved embedding with ICE to provide “exclusive” footage of deportations, according to reporting and his own accounts. The Chicago Sun Times reported that Bergquam had “embedded with ICE in July to get videos of deportation flights leaving Gary, Indiana.” (It appears the ride-along actually happened in June.) In June, Bergquam posted a video of people in handcuffs being put on planes and wrote, “Exclusive! Gary, Indiana deportation flight! … Stay tuned for the full story on ‘Law & Border’ only on Real America’s Voice News.” [Chicago Sun Times, 9/9/25; Twitter/X, 6/17/25]

    Benny Johnson

    • Johnson is a right-wing influencer and podcaster who trafficks in conspiracy theories and misinformation. Johnson has a history of anti-immigrant rhetoric, including declaring that immigrants who become citizens shouldn’t be allowed to be judges or serve in Congress and that the U.S. should have “zero immigration until the criminal aliens are gone.” In September 2024, Johnson was revealed to be one of several prominent MAGA influencers who were supposedly unwittingly working on behalf of Russia. [Media Matters, accessed 11/5/25; YouTube, The Benny Show, 6/5/25, 10/9/25]
    • During a visit to Chicago in October, Johnson went on a ride-along and to an ICE facility with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and he posted content of the visit that earned over 2 million views in total. Johnson posted a video of himself wearing a border patrol bulletproof vest that garnered at least 1.6 million views and wrote: “Secretary Kristi Noem just raided a Walmart in Chicago with ICE. … I Just watched the whole thing. Incredible.” He also posted a video of Noem, adding, “DHS Secretary Kristi Noem just visited a sniper nest on top of the ICE detention facility in Chicago.” Johnson posted a YouTube video titled “I Went on an ICE Raid and Arrested Illegals in Chicago” that earned at least 422,000 views. “Come along with us as we show you what a day in the life of an ICE agent inside one of America’s most Democrat left-wing cities is actually like,” he said. Johnson also posted a picture of himself with agents in military attire and wrote, “It’s just me and my homies, in the streets.” After the visit, Johnson reportedly posted (and later seemingly removed) “an AI-generated video that featured him portraying Batman and beating up multiple people wearing sombreros and ponchos.” [Twitter/X, 10/3/25, 10/3/25, 10/3/25; YouTube, The Benny Show, 10/5/25; The Independent, 10/6/25]
    • Johnson went on a tour of Portland ICE facilities in October with Noem and uploaded footage from the visit to his social media channels. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported: “Standing on the building’s rooftop, Johnson and the other influencers filmed Noem for their millions of followers online.” Johnson posted a video from the visit titled “I Went to The Portland ICE Facility Under Attack by Antifa | What I Saw Was INSANE… .” The video, which includes an interview with Noem, earned at least 77,000 views. [Oregon Public Broadcasting, 10/11/25; YouTube, The Benny Show, 10/8/25]

    Chaya Raichik

    • Raichik is a right-wing influencer who created the social media accounts Libs of TikTok, which spread anti-LGBTQ sentiment and have expanded into anti-migrant rhetoric. In 2023, Media Matters documented 38 institutions, events, and individuals who reported threats after being targeted by Libs of TikTok, and 10 who reported harassment — a total of at least 48 instances of threats or harassment. More recently, Raichik and her Libs of TikTok accounts have expanded beyond anti-LGBTQ attacks to spread bigotry and extreme rhetoric around immigration. That includes pushing the “great replacement” theory, saying that Democrats are “importing people who want to destroy America” and “bringing them in to replace us,” and claiming that “not all cultures are equal.” [Media Matters, 11/2/23, 3/15/24, 2/2/24]
    • Raichik did a ride-along in April in Arizona, posting a picture with Kristi Noem captioned “Arrested some criminal illegal aliens with @Sec_Noem this morning! Exclusive footage coming soon.” As of April 10, the post had 3.3 million views. She also posted a video during her ride-along and said, “Democrats are mad that people like him are getting arrested.” The post has at least 560,000 views. [Yahoo, 4/10/25; Twitter/X, 4/8/25]

  • Nick Shirley

    • Shirley is a right-leaning streamer who Reuters described ahead of the 2024 election as being “among a new class of influencers supportive of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump who are helping shape the immigration debate.” Shirley orchestrated a stunt in 2024 where “Hispanic day laborers were paid $20 each to parade in front of the White House on camera, holding signs with slogans like ‘I Love Biden’ and ‘I Need Work Permit for My Family,’” according to Reuters. Shirley was also given access to the CECOT prison in El Salvador, posted a video at CECOT that got over 5.7 million views, and repeatedly appeared on Fox News to discuss the visit. [Reuters, 6/13/24; Media Matters, 4/24/25]
    • Shirley went on a ride-along in Chicago in October and posted at least two videos that earned over 2 million combined views. The videos show Shirley interviewing masked agents, riding in an ICE vehicle, and observing people being arrested. [YouTube, 10/15/25, 10/16/25]
  • Nick Shirley ICE

    From an October 15, 2025, video uploaded to Nick Shirley's YouTube channel

  • Dr. Phil/Merit Street Media

    • Phil McGraw, host of multiple shows including the right-leaning podcast The Dr. Phil Podcast, has reportedly become increasingly connected to Trump’s immigration policies and has interviewed cabinet officials in Trump's second term. McGraw, who previously hosted a program on CBS that became a safe space for right-wing media personalities to spread hate and misinformation, launched a since-failed network in 2024 called Merit Street Media in part to focus on true crime. In January, NBC News wrote, “McGraw in the past year has become a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump’s immigration positions, discussing his views on TV, podcasts and social media and even at a Trump rally.” He has also interviewed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump “border czar” Tom Homan for his shows. [Variety, 4/2/25, 10/28/25; Media Matters, 11/3/22; YouTube, 3/24/25, 4/30/25; NBC News, 1/29/25]
    • McGraw reportedly “embedded with Homan directly during January ICE raids in Chicago for his new entertainment venture, Merit Street Media, a television network focused on news and true crime.” [Politico, 6/9/25]
    • McGraw has reportedly embedded with ICE agents on raids in Los Angeles, claiming that ICE gave his network “full access” with “no guidelines.” McGraw told CNN that his conservative channel had “exclusive” access to Homan before and after the raids. McGraw told California Gov. Gavin Newsom that “we’re embedded with ICE, and they’ve allowed us full access at Merit TV. And when I say full access, there are no guidelines.” He added, “We can show every case. They’re not cherry-picked cases, and we’re able to show everything that’s going on.” His network also used the ride-along footage throughout a “2-Night Television Event,” saying that “the broadcast includes an exclusive one-on-one interview with Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan.” [Politico, 6/9/25; CNN, 6/9/25; Wired, 6/9/25]

  • Media Matters is maintaining a database of online shows and streamers that self-characterize in nonpolitical categories such as comedy, sports, and culture but which we determined regularly cover news and politics with a right-leaning or left-leaning ideological bent. This report draws upon that ongoing research in categorizing the shows and streamers mentioned.

    Correction (11/20/25): This piece has been updated to correct the name of Oregon Public Broadcasting.