The Trump administration is disputing a report alleging that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) used an illegal immigrant’s five-year-old daughter as bait during a confrontation in Massachusetts last week.
Under the headline, “ICE held 5-year-old autistic girl in Massachusetts to pressure father to surrender, family says,” NBC News reported that Edward Hip Mejia called his wife to let her know that he believed he was being followed while driving with their daughter.
Here’s how NBC described the incident:
Her husband, Edward Hip Mejia, drove home and “managed to run back into the parking lot of my house, but they grabbed” their daughter, she added.
Mejia is originally from Guatemala and has lived in the United States for about 25 years, according to his wife, who asked that her name not be published. The pair share two children who were born in the U.S., she said.
The video appears to then show authorities trying to coax the girl’s father out of his Leominster, Massachusetts home.
“Is that your daughter? Come here so I can see those IDs,” a man who appears to be an immigration agent can be heard saying in the video.
“Hey, I can give it through the door,” Mejia is heard saying in response.
The agent then points to the ground in front of himself and tells Mejia he can give the ID to him “right here.”
In a statement offered on social media, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin vehemently denied the reporting.
“Absolutely not. ICE agents NEVER used a 5-year-old girl as ‘bait’—what a disgusting smear. The criminal illegal alien target —with previous arrests for domestic abuse and strangulation, among other charges—ABANDONED his own child in a car,” she began. “The target, Edwards Hip Mejia, ignored law enforcement emergency lights to pull over and drove back to his house. He fled from the car, gave officers the double middle finger, and darted inside his house. He abandoned his 5-year-old daughter in the car. Officers helped rescue the child and called local police to report the abandonment.”
“Disgusting smears like these peddled by the media are leading to a 1000% increase in assaults against our brave law enforcement,” concluded McLaughlin.
The post ‘Disgusting Smear’: Trump Admin Disputes Report ICE Used 5-Year-Old Daughter as Bait first appeared on Mediaite.
