Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has not amended her post attacking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following NBC News’ retraction of a story involving a 5-year-old autistic girl in Massachusetts. The original report by NBC described ICE agents as holding the child outside her home to pressure her father to surrender to authorities, but the article was later corrected. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) clarified that the father, Edwards Hip Mejia, had abandoned his daughter in the car after fleeing from law enforcement, leading to an intervention by officers who rescued the child.
Omar’s post criticizing ICE remains unchanged, and the DHS called her comments ‘cruel.’ The incident occurred a day before a gunman opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, Texas, killing one detain, and critically injuring two others, sparking concerns about anti-ICE sentiments. The DHS has stated that it appears to be motivated by a hatred for ICE. Omar’s post, which originally stated, ‘This is vile and beyond cruel. Abolish ICE,’ has been left intact despite NBC’s correction of the initial story. The correction indicated that the video and incident were an illegal alien’s abandonment of his daughter after fleeing from law enforcement.
The video obtained by Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra shows the girl sitting beside a law enforcement SUV, holding a bottle, while surrounded by several male officers outside her home in Leominster 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 girl’s mother can be heard telling officers her daughter is on the spectrum before demanding they return her child.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin responded to Omar on X, calling the progressive’s words ‘cruel.’ McLaughlin wrote, ‘ICE agents NEVER used a 5-year-old girl as ‘bait.’ The criminal illegal alien target – with previous arrests for domestic abuse and strangulation, among other charges – ABANDONED his own child in a car. 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.’
Omar’s post came a day before a gunman opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, Texas, killing one detainee and critically injuring two others. The DHS has said it ‘appears to be motivated by a hatred for ICE.’ These events have intensified the debate over ICE’s role in U.S. immigration policy and the public’s perception of the agency. Omar’s comments and the NBC correction raise important questions about the accuracy of media reports, the role of politicians in shaping public opinion, and the potential consequences of misinformation.