The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday pushed back hard against an NBC News report claiming ICE agents used a 5-year-old autistic girl as “bait” to arrest her father, an undocumented Guatemalan man, in Leominster.
A video obtained by Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra showed the girl sitting near a law enforcement SUV, holding a bottle, while officers stood nearby. NBC reported the father, Edwards Hip Mejia, told his wife he thought he was being followed, drove home, and ran toward the parking lot before agents allegedly “grabbed” their daughter, according to his wife.
DHS response
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin called the allegation a false narrative.
“Absolutely not. ICE agents NEVER used a 5-year-old girl as ‘bait’—what a disgusting smear,” McLaughlin posted on X.
She said Mejia, who had prior arrests for domestic abuse and strangulation, abandoned his daughter in the car while fleeing from officers.
“He fled from the car, gave officers the double middle finger, and darted inside his house,” McLaughlin stated. “He abandoned his 5-year-old daughter in the car. Officers helped rescue the child and called local police to report the abandonment.”
McLaughlin added that such “disgusting smears” against law enforcement have fueled a 1,000% increase in assaults on officers.
What happened next
Local police later arrived, recovered the child, and returned her to the family, according to NBC Boston.
Mejia was detained two days later and is currently being held in Plymouth, Massachusetts, his wife told Telemundo.
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