CBS News releases full '60 Minutes' interview with DHS official after facing scrutiny over deleted scenes

DHS General Counsel James Percival.

The CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes has faced heavy scrutiny over the editing of an interview with a top Department of Homeland Security official that aired Sunday night, including the very official who was interviewed. Questions arose over what was left out of the interview, prompting CBS News to eventually released the unedited version of the conversation in its entirety on YouTube. 

Gianna Toboni, a 60 Minutes contributor, interviewed DHS General Counsel James Percival and much of the conversation centered on the Trump administration's renewed focus on deporting illegal immigrants, including deportations to third countries. But after the segment aired on Sunday night's broadcast, Percival spoke out on social media accusing CBS News of selective editing that resulted in critical context being left out of the conversation. 

“I talked to @60Minutes for nearly an hour," Percival said in a post on X after the episode aired. "In our conversation, we talked about the vicious killers and rapists we are removing to third countries and the fact that no President before President Trump removed these public safety threats from our community. Unfortunately, as they always do, they selectively edited the video and included none of that. They did promise they would publish the entire interview, so I look forward to my comments being posted in full this week,” Percival posted on Sunday.

Indeed, CBS News released the full interview on its YouTube channel on Tuesday. During the interview, Percival explains why the U.S. sends some illegal immigrants to third countries, or a country different than the illegal immigrant came from. "Somebody -- maybe they're a serious criminal and the country just won't take them back. We have actually no way to force countries to take their nationals back. There are some countries that are sort of notorious for not taking their people back and if they're criminals in particular, they won't take them back," Percival told Toboni.

The interview got contentious around whether illegal immigrants who are returned to their country of origin face violence or persecution. Percival posted a deleted portion of the interview in which he pushed back against some of Toboni's assertions.  

Percival posted a few other clips as well, revealing that 60 Minutes producers left out details on why the DHS is focused on deporting illegals who committ other crimes besides rape and murder, including Toboni admitting that she agreed with the point Percival was making. Of course, this is not the first time 60 Minutes has come under fire for its editing of a consequential interview. In July of last year, Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, settled a lawsuit with Donald Trump over the deceptive editing of an interview with Kamala Harris during the final sprint to the 2024 presidential election.

Watch the full 60 Minutes interview with Percival below, which CBS News released after the network came under heavy scrutiny.