Staff at ’60 Minutes’ threaten to resign over cut story on migrant transfers

CBS is facing internal criticism after a decision to pull a “60 Minutes” segment examining deportations to a high-security prison in El Salvador sparked staff unrest and raised concerns about political interference.

Several members of the “60 Minutes” team have reportedly threatened to resign over the cancellation of the report, which had been scheduled to air Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. The segment focused on migrant deportations under the current administration and the conditions at the CECOT facility, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.

The decision was allegedly made by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss approximately three hours before the scheduled broadcast. Weiss said the segment “needed additional reporting” and proposed including a White House perspective, specifically an interview with Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

Miller has played a key role in shaping the administration’s immigration policy, including the deportation initiatives covered in the report.

According to a social media post by CNN’s chief media analyst Brian Stelter, the report had undergone multiple internal reviews and legal checks before being pulled.

In a statement to The New York Times, Weiss said, “Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason — that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices — happens every day in every newsroom.” She added, “I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”

However, internal communications suggest the story had been vetted and cleared. In an internal memo to colleagues, “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi said the piece had passed five rounds of screening and was approved by CBS legal and standards departments.

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CBS News had also already been promoting the story ahead of the Dec. 21 airdate and posted an “Editor’s Note” to social media Sunday afternoon reading “The broadcast lineup for tonight’s edition of 60 Minutes has been updated. Our report ‘Inside CECOT’ will air in a future broadcast.”

“It is factually correct,” Alfonsi wrote in the memo, which was leaked to the media. “In my view, pulling it now — after every rigorous internal check has been met — is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”

Alfonsi said the production team had reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and the White House for comment. According to her memo, no response was received, which she characterized as a deliberate attempt to stall the story.

“If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient,” she wrote.

CBS has experienced significant organizational changes following its merger with Skydance Media, forming Paramount Skydance. The merger was approved under conditions set by the Federal Communications Commission during Donald Trump’s second administration. These included the creation of an ombudsman role filled by Kenneth Weinstein, a former policy official with conservative affiliations.

The appointment of Weiss, previously founder of the Free Press, a conservative-leaning analysis site, was made by CBS CEO David Ellison following the merger. Ellison and his family are publicly aligned with the Trump administration.

In November, CBS faced separate criticism for omitting key portions of a televised interview with Donald Trump. The final edit removed segments in which the president became visibly agitated and made unverified claims regarding payouts related to previous CBS coverage.

CBS and Paramount Skydance have not issued public responses to the controversy surrounding the pulled segment.