Dr. Phil responds to critics of him joining ICE for illegal immigrant arrests

Talk show host Dr. Phil called out multiple media outlets for expressing outrage over his ride-along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as it apprehended illegal immigrants. 

Phil McGraw, known as “Dr. Phil,” joined border czar Tom Homan and a team of agents as they took various illegal immigrants into custody in Chicago. As part of his show on Merit TV, Dr. Phil filmed a variety of arrests and even interviewed a convicted sex offender and internet predator from Thailand who was being taken into custody.

News outlets responded with a flurry of condemnations, not just for ICE, but for McGraw’s ride-along itself. The talk show host responded by defending his show and turning the tables to call out different media outlets directly in a video titled, “THE TRUTH About ICE Raids.”

“We deal with facts, reality, what is actually happening, not what people wish was happening,” McGraw declared. “Some people don’t like the law, don’t like ICE enforcing the law. Ironic that the critics are the very ones that advocated for the open border that allowed the dangerous criminals to get into our country and cry the loudest when someone has to come behind them and clean it up.”

DR. PHIL JOINS ICE TEAM AND BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN FOR CHICAGO DEPORTATION OPERATIONS

“The number one reason for these raids is to get criminals off the street and keep our communities and families safe,” he said, before sarcastically asking, “But why let facts get in the way of a good headline?”

He then called out multiple news outlets.

“One of the lead stories from the local NBC station in Houston read ‘Know your rights in Texas if stopped by police, immigration agents or FBI,’” he said before noting a CBS Miami headline using the phrase “they snatched her” and the Palm Beach Post headline saying “Families fear immigration raids at schools.”

He then singled out NBC News for a headline reading “Trump immigration raids snag US citizens” and noted to viewers, “if you read the rest of the NBC news story you’ll find out those citizens were not arrested, they were asked for identification.”

The first arrest in Chicago Dr. Phil witnessed with border czar Tom Homan was a convicted sex offender and internet predator from Thailand. (Merit TV/screengrab)

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He said this could be “unnerving,” but objected to the term “snagged.”

“That’s what you call confirmation bias, only seeing those things that confirm your pre-existing belief,” he said.

He then mentioned the Chicago Sun Times, arguing they “missed the whole point of me being in Chicago calling it quote unquote ‘the immigration show.’ Again I was there for one reason, to show exactly how these raids went down.”

Dr. Phil then derided accusations that his appearance with ICE was merely stoking “sensationalism,” daring media outlets to show him any proof.

Dr. Phil called out multiple media outlets for how they have covered ICE raids. (Dr. Phil Primetime YouTube channel)

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“Reality is what it is. Pretending that is something else because you don’t like it is just not rational. This is not about sensationalism, that’s what some like to complain,” he said. “So what is sensationalism? Well, especially in journalism, it’s a noun, ‘The use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy in order to provoke public interest or excitement.’ So where is the expense of accuracy?”

“We showed it happening. Our cameras recorded the truth,” he said.