NBC News “corrected” its story claiming Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents used a five-year-old autistic girl as bait to pressure her criminal illegal alien father to surrender – but, not until the falsehood was called out by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“ICE agents held 5-year-old autistic girl outside her Massachusetts home,” NBC News declared in a now-deleted social media post linking to the inaccurate article.
“Video shows ICE with 5-year-old girl while agents attempt to arrest her father,” reads NBC’s new post linking to the article, adding:
“Correction: An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the activities of ICE agents in the video. The article has been updated.”
The same “correction” notice has been added to the bottom of NBC’s print version of the story, which has been edited with the following changes, presenting a far different impression of events:
Original Headline:
“ICE Held 5-year-old autistic girl in Massachusetts to pressure father to surrender, family says The girl's father, Edward Hip, has lived in the United States for the last 22 years, according to his wife.”
New Headline:
“Video shows ICE with 5-year-old girl while agents attempt to arrest her father The Department of Homeland Security said the father ignored directions to pull over and ‘abandoned’ his daughter.
Original Text:
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents held a 5-year-old autistic girl outside her Massachusetts home to pressure her father to surrender to authorities last week, according to the girl's family.”
…
“The video appears to then show authorities trying to coax the girl's father out of his Leominster, Massachusetts home.”
New Text:
“A video obtained by Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra shows Immigration and Customs Enforcement with a 5-year-old girl, whose mother says she is autistic, while agents attempted to arrest her father near their Massachusetts home.”
…
“The video appears to show authorities outside the home communicating with the father.”
Despite the corrections, the URL of the NBC News story still reflects the original headline: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ice-held-5-year-old-autistic-girl-massachusetts-pressure-father-surren-rcna233146
And, instead of correcting the initial narrative, NBC affiliate WCVB Channel 5 Boston frames its televised report as “DHS denies using child as 'bait'” in its YouTube post of the broadcast.
“Leominster family claims 5-year-old was held as bargaining chip for father’s arrest,” a caption in the Channel 5 “Breaking News” report says.
The NBC affiliate’s news report portrays the criminal illegal immigrant and his family as victims, peppering it with terms such as “fear,” “targeted” and “hard-working man.”
It also features Democrat Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy condemning the “horrifying” video of the illegal alien’s arrest.
“The family has stopped going to church and school, the five-year-old now in therapy processing the trauma she’s gone through,” the NBC affiliate tells its viewers.
“.@NBCNews— these smears are SICK. Our ICE agents NEVER used a 5-year-old girl as ‘bait.’” DHS responded to the network’s first post, noting the illegal alien’s criminal history and explaining that he had abandoned his child in an effort to escape:
“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 criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, ignored law enforcement emergency lights and darted inside his house, abandoning his 5-year-old daughter in the car. Officers helped rescue the child and called local police to report the abandonment.”
“Stop the smears. Stop the lies,” DHS told NBC.
“Disgusting smears like these peddled by the media are leading to a 1000% increase in assaults against our brave law enforcement,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin warned in a separate post.
Shot.
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) September 24, 2025
Chaser.
Maybe @NBCNews should have asked @DHSgov before propagating these smears. pic.twitter.com/I92yzy7PJh
.@NBCNews — these smears are SICK.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 23, 2025
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
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