On Friday, prominent politicians and religious leaders joined thousands of people gathered in the cold as they marched for the most basic of civil rights. However, for the Friday evening and Saturday morning news shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC, the 53rd annual March for Life in Washington might as well have not even happened, as they devoted no time to it. Instead, they continued to hype anti-ICE protests in Minnesota.
Continuing with the Friday theme of tying the protests in with the case of 5-year-old Liam Ramos, who was taken by ICE after he was abandoned by his father and not claimed by his mother despite ICE's promises she would not be taken into custody, CBS Saturday Morning co-anchor Adriana Diaz introduced reporter Nicole Sganga, “Tensions are rising in Minnesota after ICE agents detained a five-year-old boy in Minneapolis on Tuesday. We're told he's being held with his father, but this image of Liam Ramos and his Spider-Man backpack surrounded by ICE agents around his home has people asking a lot of questions. The family’s lawyer and school say the boy was used by ICE as quote “bait,” but the Department of Homeland Security calls that “a horrific smear.” Nicole Sganga is in Minneapolis with more.”
Sganga began her report by highlighting how, “Thousands braved subfreezing temperature in the Twin Cities to protest ICE with businesses declaring Blackout Friday. Dozens of clergy were arrested in demonstrations outside of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.”
The networks continued to hype anti-ICE protests in Minnesota on Saturday, but all continued to act as if the March for Life didn't happen. pic.twitter.com/FbfvargJFE
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) January 24, 2026
As the media loves to cite religious leaders, including Catholic cardinals, to go after the Trump administration, Pope Leo’s address to the March for Life was considered far less interesting even though Trump sent in a video message and Vice President JD Vance addressed the crowd in person.
Back on NBC, Today co-anchor Laura Jarrett hyped another development coming out of Minnesota, “But we’re going to turn now to some other breaking news out of Minnesota, where those protests have raged for weeks after the fatal shooting of a woman who was protesting ICE raids there. Now an FBI agent involved in the investigation into that shooting has stepped down. NBC's Camila Bernal is in Minneapolis with the very latest. Camila, good morning.”
After reporting how this FBI agent didn’t approve of the investigation being “focused more on Renee Good and her partner and their actions instead of the officer in this case,” Bernal turned to the protests, “This as the largest protest since this shooting took place in the city with thousands of people out in freezing temperatures. And their message is they want ICE out of this city. They do not want to see detention of people in their neighborhoods and especially not the detention of children. One of the school districts in this area said at least four children were detained this week. Here's some reaction from one of the protesters.”
The protestor was then shown wondering, “What is wrong with you? That you would do that to a child?...It just fills me with sadness for the children, for the families.”
NBC not covering the March for Life while covering left-wing alternatives is not new. In 2024, they skipped the pro-lifers in order to cover pro-abortion high school activists.
Meanwhile, over on ABC’s Good Morning America, co-host Whit Johnson was more matter-of-fact, “We do move on now to Minneapolis, a massive anti-ICE protest in subfreezing conditions. Thousands of people filling the streets in what organizers called a no work, no school, no shopping blackout. Hundreds of businesses closing for the day and some museums also shutting their doors, the action coming two weeks after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good in her car in Minneapolis.”
Due to the weather or pre-scheduled teacher workdays, several Minnesota schools were already closed, but when you decide to cover one side’s protest but not the other, such details tend to just get in the way.
Here are transcripts for the January 24 shows:
ABC Good Morning America
1/24/2026
7:11 AM ET
WHIT JOHNSON: We do move on now to Minneapolis, a massive anti-ICE protest in subfreezing conditions. Thousands of people filling the streets in what organizers called a no work, no school, no shopping blackout. Hundreds of businesses closing for the day and some museums also shutting their doors, the action coming two weeks after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good in her car in Minneapolis.
***
CBS Saturday Morning
1/24/2026
8:21 AM ET
ADRIANA DIAZ: Tensions are rising in Minnesota after ICE agents detained a five-year-old boy in Minneapolis on Tuesday. We're told he's being held with his father, but this image of Liam Ramos and his Spider-Man backpack surrounded by ICE agents around his home has people asking a lot of questions. The family’s lawyer and school say the boy was used by ICE as quote “bait,” but the Department of Homeland Security calls that “a horrific smear.” Nicole Sganga is in Minneapolis with more.
NICOLE SGANGA: Thousands braved subfreezing temperature in the Twin Cities to protest ICE with businesses declaring Blackout Friday. Dozens of clergy were arrested in demonstrations outside of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
***
NBC Today
1/24/2026
7:13 AM ET
LAURA JARRETT: But we’re going to turn now to some other breaking news out of Minnesota, where those protests have raged for weeks after the fatal shooting of a woman who was protesting ICE raids there. Now an FBI agent involved in the investigation into that shooting has stepped down. NBC's Camila Bernal is in Minneapolis with the very latest. Camila, good morning.
CAMILA BERNAL: Hey, Laura, good morning. So, we now know this FBI agent was a supervisor here in the Minneapolis office and resigned because this investigation was focused more on Renee Good and her partner and their actions instead of the officer in this case.
This as the largest protest since this shooting took place in the city with thousands of people out in freezing temperatures. And their message is they want ICE out of this city. They do not want to see detention of people in their neighborhoods and especially not the detention of children. One of the school districts in this area said at least four children were detained this week. Here's some reaction from one of the protesters.
PROTESTOR: What is wrong with you? That you would do that to a child? [jump cut] It just fills me with sadness for the children, for the families.
