A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official has rejected [1] claims made in an NBC News report that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents used a 5-year-old girl as “bait” during an operation in Leominster, Massachusetts.
The agency said the allegation was false and that the child was abandoned by her father, a wanted illegal alien who fled from officers attempting to arrest him.
.@NBCNews [2] — these smears are SICK.
Our ICE agents NEVER used a 5-year-old girl as ‘bait.’
The criminal illegal alien target of the operation—with previous arrests for domestic abuse, strangulation, and vandalizing property—ABANDONED HIS OWN CHILD in a car.
Edwards Hip Mejia, a… pic.twitter.com/p0Bedk5p6Q [3]
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 23, 2025 [4]
The incident took place during an August operation targeting Edwards Hip Mejia, who has lived illegally in the United States for more than two decades and was sought on multiple criminal charges.
According to ICE, Mejia was wanted for offenses including domestic abuse, strangulation, and property vandalism.
During the attempted arrest, Mejia refused to pull over for ICE officers and instead drove to his home about an hour northwest of Boston.
When he arrived, he ran inside, flipping his middle finger at the agents pursuing him. In his haste, Mejia left his 5-year-old daughter behind in the vehicle.
Video recorded by the family shows the interaction between ICE officers and Mejia at the door of his residence.
“Is that your daughter? Come here so I can see those IDs,” one officer can be heard saying.
“Hey, I can give it through the door,” Mejia responded.
The officer insisted he step outside and present identification “right here.”
“Don’t touch her!” Mejia yelled when he realized his daughter remained near the agents.
An officer is heard saying, “You’re more than welcome to come pick her up.”
Mejia and his wife refused to come out of the home.
Both have lived in the United States illegally for over 20 years.
ICE eventually turned the girl, a U.S. citizen, over to her grandmother.
In response to media coverage, DHS issued a public statement rejecting the claims that the girl was used as leverage against her parents.
“ICE agents NEVER used a 5-year-old girl as ‘bait,’” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the Boston Globe.
She explained that Mejia “abandoned his own child in a car” when he ran into the home to evade arrest.
McLaughlin described the sequence of events in detail, stating that Mejia “ignored” officers’ emergency lights, left the vehicle in front of his house, “gave officers the double middle finger, and darted inside his house.”
She added, “Officers helped rescue the child and called local police to report the abandonment.”
This is a vile lie. @IlhanMN [5]’s habitual lies and demonization of our law enforcement is what’s cruel.
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… https://t.co/gwRCqX17rn [6]
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) September 23, 2025 [7]
Shot.
Chaser.
Maybe @NBCNews [2] should have asked @DHSgov [8] before propagating these smears. pic.twitter.com/I92yzy7PJh [9]
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) September 24, 2025 [10]
The girl was later released to her grandmother after about three hours.
The DHS statement concluded with a sharp rebuke of NBC and other outlets, saying, “Stop the smears. Stop the lies.”
Two days after the confrontation, ICE officers arrested Mejia while he was on his way to work.
His wife confirmed to Telemundo that he was taken into custody and is currently being held at an ICE detention facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
“Officers came out behind my house, arrested him, took him away,” she said.
“We are not criminals.”
Mejia, originally from Guatemala, has two children with his wife, both born in the United States.
Federal officials have not commented further on pending legal proceedings but emphasized that the original reporting of the incident mischaracterized the conduct of ICE officers.