adminThe Department of Homeland Security has rightly slammed a reckless NBC narrative that accused ICE of using a five-year-old autistic girl as “bait,” calling the claim a disgusting smear and demanding the network correct the record. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin publicly pushed back, insisting the agents did not exploit a child and warning that such lies endanger law enforcement and fuel violent attacks.
The original NBC affiliate footage out of Leominster, Massachusetts was framed by activists and some national outlets as proof of callous, inhumane tactics meant to terrorize immigrant families—a talking point the left has weaponized for months. That initial reporting glossed over key facts and presented emotional allegations without the context that would have shown ICE agents trying to protect, not exploit, a vulnerable child.
DHS and other investigators say what actually happened is far different: the criminal target allegedly ignored emergency lights, abandoned his five-year-old in a vehicle, and fled into his house, leaving the child unattended until officers rescued her and called local police. McLaughlin noted the suspect has a troubling criminal history, details omitted in the breathless coverage that rushed to vilify border enforcement.
Faced with overwhelming facts, NBC quietly updated its story to remove the inflammatory language and added a correction that conceded the earlier version mischaracterized the agents’ actions—yet that modest edit can never fully undo the damage caused by the original smear. Left-wing politicians and pundits amplified the initial lie to millions, proving once again how the media sows outrage first and offers a tepid correction later.
This smear campaign against ICE didn’t occur in a vacuum; it has coincided with a wave of attacks and a dangerous climate that recently exploded into bloodshed at an ICE facility in Dallas, prompting an ongoing federal investigation and official statements from the FBI. When outlets manufacture narratives that demonize our men and women in uniform, they are complicit in putting lives at risk and emboldening violent actors.
Patriotic Americans must demand accountability from the press and stand with the brave officers who keep our communities safe amid lawlessness at the border and on our streets. The media’s habitual rush to a politicized narrative requires consequences—retractions, corrections, and better journalism—or else taxpayers and frontline officers will continue to pay the price for the press’s negligence.
