New York Times Rejects Full Page Ad Buy From Trump Admin Highlighting ICE Arrests

The Department of Homeland Security says The New York Times denied a request to buy a full-page ad highlighting notable ICE arrests in Minnesota — and that no specific reason for the rejection was provided.

The ad would have included 30 mugshots of individuals arrested in Operation Metro Surge, specifically those with additional criminal convictions ranging from domestic violence to rape and homicide.

“These are some of the 10,000 criminals ICE law enforcement has risked their lives to arrest in Minnesota,” the proposed advertisement stated in all capital letters.

“Sanctuary cities like Minneapolis protect criminals instead of handing them over,” it continued, with a tagline that read, “ICE saves innocent lives.”

The Daily Wire reviewed January 26 emails between Homeland Security and a media placement service the department works with regarding the ad buy request, in which the agency wrote that the NYT said that they were “not able to accept the ad in its current form.” When the agency requested a letter on official letterhead explaining the reason the ad was not acceptable, that request was also denied and the agency was instead informed that feedback was usually provided through email.

The Times noted that it gets a high number of ads submitted daily, and each usually takes the paper “one or two business days to fully review.” As of this publication, Homeland Security has yet to receive a justification for the rejection. The Daily Wire also reached out to the New York Times for comment.

In recent weeks, Operation Metro Surge sent resources and personnel into the Minneapolis area, resulting in thousands of arrests, as anti-ICE protests have ratcheted up in the region. ICE operations have been underway nationwide throughout the country since President Donald Trump took office last January.

“The media’s blackout is undeniable: they refuse to report on the vital work ICE is doing to remove dangerous public safety threats—murderers, rapists, gang members, and child predators—from Minneapolis streets and communities nationwide,” Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire.

“The New York Times won’t even run a straightforward ad showing the violent criminals that our brave law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to deport. The New York Times deliberate suppression of public safety information should outrage every American,” McLaughlin added. “When the press shields heinous offenders while ignoring or downplaying the officers protecting us, it betrays the public trust and endangers lives.”

The protests, which surged after the shootings of Alex Pretti, have Democrats calling for major reforms to be made to ICE and Border Patrol. The Daily Wire reported that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and numerous other Democrats want the Trump administration to switch from administrative to judicial warrants, which could seriously limit the number of arrests that ICE is able to make.

The New York Times has made headlines in the past over full-page ads it has chosen to run, including one from an 80-year-old man writing a letter titled “A PLEA FOR DONALD TRUMP TO RESIGN,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Last June, Walmart heiress Christy Walton asked Americans to “mobilize” in the “No Kings” protests against Trump, CBS News reported. That same month, The Onion took out an ad slamming Congress and the Trump administration, saying “Congress, Now More Than Ever The Nation Needs Your Cowardice.”

In 2007, MoveOn.org ran an ad during the Bush administration with “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” as a criticism of the Iraq War.