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DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin set the record straight Thursday after a recent NBC News report claimed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) used a 5-year-old girl with autism to pressure her father, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, to surrender.
“This is a disgusting smear,” she said on “Fox & Friends.”
McLaughlin said the reporter informed her of the allegations against ICE, which she immediately rejected and urged him to hold until official information was available.
She also warned against spreading misinformation that vilifies law enforcement.
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“The truth… is that this individual who was a target of our law enforcement operation had past criminal convictions for domestic violence and strangulation. He was pulled over by our ICE law enforcement officers in a proper stop. He went off to flee from the vehicle, giving the double bird to our law enforcement and stranding his 5-year-old daughter,” she said.
“Our law enforcement conducted themselves with total professionalism. They stayed with that 5-year-old daughter to make sure she was okay until she was in proper care.”
McLaughlin continued: “Keep in mind, these men and women of ICE are fathers and mothers, and they are sons and daughters. These are people who just want to go home to their families at night and serve our great nation.”
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The controversy stemmed from video obtained by Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra, showing the young girl sitting beside a law enforcement SUV, holding a bottle, while surrounded by several male officers outside her home in Leominster, Mass., last Tuesday.
NBC reported that the father, Edwards Hip Mejia, told his wife he believed he was being followed and drove home. Once there, he allegedly ran toward the parking lot, but agents “grabbed” their daughter, the wife told Telemundo.
The mother can be heard telling officers her daughter is on the spectrum and demanding her return.
The Sept. 23 article, originally titled “ICE held 5-year-old autistic girl in Massachusetts to pressure father to surrender, family says,” was later updated with the headline, “Video shows ICE with 5-year-old girl while agents attempt to arrest her father.”
A correction was added later Tuesday: “An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the activities of ICE agents in the video. The article has been updated.”
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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