As of Monday, MSNBC refrained from mentioning any potential child labor issues following the recent raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a marijuana farm.
ICE executed a search warrant at the site, rescuing at least ten minors, eight of whom are reportedly unaccompanied. In contrast, during the period from Thursday through 11 a.m. Monday, keyword searches for “child labor” on archived footage from Grabien News revealed that CNN and Fox News collectively referenced the term 70 times.
CNN aired the phrase 15 times across a variety of formats, including news reports and discussions. Most mentions occurred on Friday by reporters, while it was also frequently used during discussions over the weekend. Reviews indicate that six out of eight mentions took place during these panel discussions.
During a debate on Saturday morning, former “Big Loser” star Jillian Michaels confronted CNN host Abby Phillip about the discovery of a minor on the marijuana farm. “There’s something unsettling here. They don’t want to see people throwing rocks at federal agents. They also may not want to know about the numerous undocumented or unaccompanied children. It seems strange, and perhaps we should focus on that,” she remarked.
Updates on California Marijuana Facility: Our brave agents have arrested at least *361* illegal aliens. Criminals include rape, tricks, child abuse, serial robbery, hits and runs, and DUI.
On the same site, @icegov and @cbp Law… pic.twitter.com/akxt6rfoju
– Tricia McLaughlin (@triciaohio) July 14, 2025
One point worth noting is that the United Farm Workers (UFW) issued a statement about the events, confirming that farm workers were injured during the chaotic raid in Ventura County, California. They reported being pressured to delete photos and videos from their phones and noted that farm work is exempt from the Child Labour Act.
On Fox News, the phrase “child labor” came up 55 times, with many hosts and guests criticizing Democrats for their stance against ICE.
Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for governor in California, questioned on Monday morning, “Where are the morals of these people? Forget about the marijuana; what about the child labor?”
A search specifically for “minor” yielded eight mentions on CNN and three on MSNBC, but there was no connection between the term and ICE raids on MSNBC. The only MSNBC reference concerning minors related to how the Trump administration managed files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Tricia McLaughlin, a deputy secretary for homeland security, expressed her view that the matter extends beyond politics, emphasizing the welfare of children. She noted that MSNBC appears to overlook issues of potential exploitation and child trafficking.
CNN and MSNBC did not respond to requests for comments regarding this issue.
