CBS airs '60 Minutes' story on Trump admin deportations after it was held over editorial concerns

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss ordered the story set to air Dec. 21 held because she did not think it sufficiently reflected the Trump administration’s viewpoint

Published: January 19, 2026 9:24am

CBS on Sunday night aired a “60 Minutes” story on Trump administration deportations that was pulled at the last minute about a month ago.

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss ordered the story set to air Dec. 21 held because she did not think it sufficiently reflected the administration’s viewpoint or advance reporting that had been done by other news organizations earlier, according to the Associated Press

The story centers on migrants deported from the U.S. to El Salvador’s notoriously harsh CECOT prison

Sharyn Alfonsi, the correspondent for the story after it was pulled, said Weiss's decision was "not an editorial decision, it was a political one.”

The story that aired Sunday included statements from the White House and Department of Homeland Security that were not part of what Alfonsi had used before her story was pulled but did not include on-camera interviews with Trump administration officials, the wire service also reports. 

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