On Sunday's The Weekend: Primetime, MS NOW hyped the case of immigration enforcement agents detaining an American citizen even though she was stopped because she was driving the car of an illegal alien they were searching for.
The show also provided an unchallenged forum to ex-Mayor Mitch Landrieu to push the conspiracy theory that federal agents wear masks to conceal involvement in the Proud Boys or the January 6 riots.
Co-host Antonia Hylton set up the segment:
Week after week, we keep seeing new cases in which American citizens are caught in the immigration crackdown and mass deportation dragnet. In this viral video, federal agents drag a woman in medical scrubs out of her car during a traffic stop in Florida. She screams out for help when they handcuff and put her on the ground...
After a clip of the woman being forcibly detained by agents, Hylton read a DHS statement explaining why the woman was stopped, and that she was detained for refusing to cooperate.
Hylton then suggested that there was something wrong with agents demanding that the woman identify herself: "Agents did finally release her about 10 minutes later, once they checked her driver's license and confirmed that she is indeed a U.S. citizen, as she said so, it seems to be detain first, verify later."
The MS NOW host then fretted over another case in which there was mistaken identity, and agents chased a woman back to her parents' home because she resembled someone they were searching for. Hylton made another disapproving comment:
They said no arrests were made, but they've also made no public apology to the woman that they chased through her neighborhood. However, this all appears to be part of the cost and course of doing business for border czar Tom Homan.
Then Landrieu appeared as a guest and was allowed to rail against the Trump administration's efforts to track down illegal aliens. Early on he contradicted himself on the issue of racial profiling when he suggested that only areas with large Hispanic populations should see enforcement actions: "It doesn't make any sense. First of all, they should not be in New Orleans. New Orleans doesn't have a large Hispanic population."
But, a bit later, he was accusing agents of wrongly detaining suspects because of their skin color:
...in law enforcement, if you're hired and you're trained right, you should be able to articulate that reasonable suspicion has something to do with behavior, not the way you look. And essentially what they're lying about is if you are brown and you look strange, that gives ice agents who are improperly trained reasonable suspicion to think that you might be an illegal immigrant.
Then, in spite of the big increase in violence and death threats against immigration enforcement agents, Landrieu pushed his flaky theory about the real reason they wear masks:
I understand that ICE agents have masks on their face so nobody knows who they are. And the excuse that they're using is they want to protect ICE agents. Has anybody actually thought that what they're really trying to do is shield their identity? Do we really know that these guys are not from the Proud Boys? Are they people who attacked the Capitol on January 6th that have been pardoned?
As part of a followup, co-host Catherine Rampell went along with this premise:
But, as you point out, the U.S. citizens in these areas that are being targeted by these raids are being put in harm's way effectively. They don't know if they are being abducted by the Proud Boys or lawful agents of -- of the federal government. So what is the role of the -- of the state and local officials to keep people safe?
These people don't worry about the safety of law-enforcement agents. The illegal immigrants are always the victims, as long as they are in threat of deportation.
Transcript follows:
MS NOW's The Weekend: Primetime
December 7, 2025
6:34 p.m. Eastern
ANTONIA HYLTON: Week after week, we keep seeing new cases in which American citizens are caught in the immigration crackdown and mass deportation dragnet. In this viral video, federal agents drag a woman in medical scrubs out of her car during a traffic stop in Florida. She screams out for help when they handcuff and put her on the ground, but take a listen to what she yells out as they try to apprehend her. Watch.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I'm a U.S. citizen! Please help me! This is unfair -- why are you doing this to me?!
HYLTON: In a statement on X by DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, she claims the woman was driving her undocumented boyfriend's car who was previously arrested and refused to comply with law enforcement's orders to identify herself. Agents did finally release her about 10 minutes later, once they checked her driver's license and confirmed that she is indeed a U.S. citizen, as she said so, it seems to be detained first, verify later.
Then there's this footage out of Marrero, Louisiana, where a woman is seen being chased by masked agents before she made it into her parents' home, according to local reports. She told the agents twice that she's a U.S. citizen before running away from them.
In a statement on X, DHS said that Border Patrol was conducting a targeted immigration enforcement operation against a criminal and encountered a woman that matched the description of the target. They said no arrests were made, but they've also made no public apology to the woman that they chased through her neighborhood. However, this all appears to be part of the cost and course of doing business for border czar Tom Homan. Take a look at this.
TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR (from CNN's State of the Union): If they have reasonable suspicion to stop and question somebody and shortly hold and detain them briefly for questioning -- if they have reasonable suspicion, they can stop ... (editing jump) ... I'm not aware of these specific cases, Dana. I'm not there, but I'm going to have faith that ICE agents are gathering articulable facts for reasonable suspicion to detain somebody and question them.
HYLTON: And joining us now, Mitch Landrieu, former mayor of New Orleans and former lieutenant governor of Louisiana. Mitch, good to see you. Thank you for joining us tonight. So the Trump administration has launched this brand new operation in New Orleans. I want to get your reaction, though, to the video that we just showed there of a woman from Louisiana running back into her home to her parents. What kind of lasting effect do you think incidents like this are going to leave on residents in your city?
EX-MAYOR MITCH LANDRIEU (D-NEW ORLEANS): Well, first of all, it was terrible. I've seen it many, many times, and I'm heartbroken by it. But let me just make this comment first. Tom Homan lied through his teeth on CNN today, and he and Steve Miller and Greg Bovino are the architects, with the permission of the President, for this really awful example of trying to do the right thing on the streets of America.
It doesn't make any sense. First of all, they should not be in New Orleans. New Orleans doesn't have a large Hispanic population. Although, as you know, New Orleans is one of the famous world multicultural cities of all time. We're a port city. We've always been a city of immigrants. We're a welcoming city. If, in fact, the Trump administration wants to fight violent crime, there's no mayor or county executive in America that wouldn't work with the ATF, the DEA, the U.S. attorney's office to go after violent criminals, whether they're American citizens or not. But that is not what this operation is. This operation, particularly as it relates to New Orleans because it's a blue city, is about intimidation. And when he says it, they're not arresting American citizens.
He's lying. You saw two examples, one in Florida, one of New Orleans, where they're arresting first, and they're asking questions later. And it is really simple. American citizens should not have to be fearful on the streets of America that because of how they look, they're going to get pulled aside.
Now, if you go back and look at that Tom -- Tom Homan interview, she -- Dana asked him, "Well, what is reasonable suspicion?" Because in law enforcement, if you're hired and you're trained right, you should be able to articulate that reasonable suspicion has something to do with behavior, not the way you look. And essentially what they're lying about is if you are brown and you look strange, that gives ice agents who are improperly trained reasonable suspicion to think that you might be an illegal immigrant.
Now, when they say that they're only going after violent criminals, that's a lie, too. And a couple of months ago in New Orleans, ICE agents grabbed a grandma who was gardening in her yard and put her in a -- in a van and took her and put her in a hold where her family did not know where she was for 24 hours. And so I think that most people in America look at this and say, listen, if you're trying to -- to accomplish a goal, you're overreaching. You're not being thoughtful. The ICE agents are not doing what they're supposed to do.
And finally, let me just say this. I understand that ICE agents have masks on their face so nobody knows who they are. And the excuse that they're using is they want to protect ICE agents. Has anybody actually thought that what they're really trying to do is shield their identity? Do we really know that these guys are not from the Proud Boys? Are they people who attacked the Capitol on January 6th that have been pardoned? And if the -- and if the administration wants to be transparent, they can do two things. They can release the names and the records of everybody that's been arrested, that's in in custody in Louisiana. They can also release the names of all of the people that work for ice, so that the people of the United States of America can make a determination of whether or not the Trump administration is actually being truthful and honest.
CATHERINE RAMPBELL: So, Mitch, what is the role of state and local officials in keeping their residents safe? I've talked with officials in other parts of the country, including in Chicago, who have basically said the goal is not to have a shootout, obviously, between the local police department and these federal agents who are coming in. But, as you point out, the U.S. citizens in these areas that are being targeted by these raids are being put in harm's way effectively. They don't know if they are being abducted by the Proud Boys or lawful agents of -- of the federal government. So what is the role of the -- of the state and local officials to keep people safe?
LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, it is the role of local officials to keep people safe. And many police chiefs have said and implored the Trump administration, "You're making us less safe because when people can't trust law enforcement, they don't report crime." So if there are domestic abuse events, if there are rape events and someone calls the police department, if they think that what they're going to do is turn them over to ICE, they never report the activity so long term.
RAMPELL: Right, right, but I'm asking -- I'm asking: Should local police forces intervene when acts like this happen?
LANDRIEU: I was coming to that. I was just making two points. The second point is this, that because of the way the Trump administration is handling this, it is -- it is in fact against the law to get in the way of federal officials doing what they perceive their job to be. So I don't think local law enforcement can actually get in the way and provoke a conflict. That would not be a smart thing to do, and that, in fact, puts you in harm's way. But it is possible. And the mayor-elect has done this in New Orleans. The police chief in Kenna has not done this, has basically said, "I'm going to do everything I can to let people know what's coming, to advocate for transparency, to communicate with the governor and the President and homing in on these guys and say, 'Listen, if you're going after violent criminals, that's fine. But all this other stuff is a real problem.'"
This is this has been devastating for communities. I've talked personally to three small business owners who are conservative Republicans who said this is outrageous. Folks are not coming to work -- businesses are closing. There's got to be some kind of balance in the way that they're doing that. And that is not what the Trump administration is doing right now. They've gone way overboard.
