Again, Dr. Phil McGraw is incorporated into a controversial US immigration enforcement raid.
According to CNN, during the Los Angeles raids last week, the previous daytime television personality best known as “Dr. Phil,” was tagged along with Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the Los Angeles raids last week.
A spokesman for McGraw's conservative channel, Merit TV, confirmed to the outlet that footage from the operation was featured in his upcoming report on the show, Dr. Phil Primetime, offering “direct viewing of operations targeted at targeted operations” of President Donald Trump's anti-transport mission.
McGraw shared the video with X and teased a “exclusive” interview with Trump's border emperor Tom Homan. The two men sat for a recorded conversation about ice efforts both “the day after the LA operation and the day,” Merit TV told CNN.
McGraw's involvement in the Los Angeles raid comes after similar missions early in Trump's second presidency. In January, he was embedded with ice agents in Chicago, and according to People Magazine, some federal agents were told that the cameras were ready on the day of filming.
In a video posted to X on January 26th, McGraw, 74, was seen standing beside Homan and other immigration executives as he questioned detained immigrants who reportedly lacked permanent legal status.
In the clip, McGraw asked the detained individual about his background and the status of his immigration. The man revealed he was aware of McGraw from the TV.
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“Did you get charged with sex with a child?” McGraw finally asks.
“Not,” replied the man.
“And have you ever been deported?” I asked McGraw, and the man replied, “No.”
“I wanted to see (the immigration enforcement attack) for myself,” McGraw told the Daily Mail at the time.
“There were no restrictions. There were no spaces I couldn't enter. There were no meetings I couldn't attend,” he continued, claiming that over 100 people were seen rolled up on ice in one day.
According to analysts at CNN Media, Brian Stelter was the first to share McGraw's latest Ice Tag-Along news, embedding celebrity psychologists is all part of a broader management strategy.
“The presence of McGraw on LA ground reinforces the nature of Trump's immigrant crackdown that was made for television,” Stelter wrote Monday.
Multiple Waymo taxis are on fire following immigration raid protests near the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, 2025.
Eric Sayer / Associated Press
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He continued. “Trump officials have repeatedly tried to repeat the television and online attention on this year's immigration enforcement efforts. (Tom) Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Christa Noem are regulars on Fox News and other Trump-located television networks. They frequently publish ICE actions on X and other social media platforms.”
The attack in Los Angeles sparked rage in the city on Friday, resulting in massive protests that saw thousands of people take them onto the streets. Major highways were also blocked, and self-driving cars were on fire.
Eventually, Trump ordered the deployment of the California State Guard, quelling the protests, causing more confusion. At least 300 troops tried to control the crowd on Sunday using tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs.
Sunday's protests in Los Angeles, a vast city of 4 million people, were concentrated in several blocks downtown.
Security guards were specially deployed to protect federal buildings, including downtown detention centers, where protesters were concentrated.
They were shoulder-to-shouldering carrying long guns and riot shields as protesters cried out “shame” and “go home.” After some approached the guards closely, another set of officers in uniform advanced in groups, shooting them into the street through a smokey canister.
Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired crowd-controlled force ammunition to disperse the protesters. Many of the groups then moved to block traffic on the 101 highway until state patrol officers cleared them off the road by late afternoon.
Protesters will face police on June 8, 2025 on the 101 highway near the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, following the protests over the immigration attack.
Jae C. Hong / Associated Press
Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were “overwhelmed” by the remaining protesters. He said they included regular agitators who appeared at the demonstrations to cause trouble.
Dozens of people were arrested throughout the protest weekend. One was taken into custody for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police on Sunday, and the other for plunging a motorcycle into a police line.
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