The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today strongly refuted a report by Los Angeles local news outlet KTLA5, which falsely claimed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem attended an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on the home of a pregnant U.S. mother in Huntington Park.
The DHS labeled the report “FAKE NEWS” and provided clarifying details about the operation, revealing the true target was a previously deported individual with a criminal history.
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KTLA5, a CW affiliate, had initially reported on Thursday night that Sabrina Medina, identified as a U.S. citizen and mother of four, was in her shower at 6 a.m. when she discovered her home surrounded by ICE agents. Medina reportedly told KTLA5, “I was just terrified. I was shaking. I was scared. I’ve never gone through anything like this.”
However, the DHS quickly fact-checked the narrative on Friday via an X post, stating, “FAKE NEWS. At this house was an illegal alien from Mexico who had previously been deported.” The DHS post further revealed that Medina’s husband, David Garcia, has a criminal history that includes “drug trafficking and assault.”
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Adding to the DHS’s clarification, Fox News’ Bill Melugin, who stated he attended the ICE raid with Secretary Noem on Thursday, corroborated the DHS’s account.
Melugin posted on X that the raid “wasn’t targeting a ‘pregnant mother’, it was targeting her previously deported illegal alien Mexican husband who had been convicted of drug trafficking in February & had an attempted murder charge pleaded down to an assault conviction.”
Melugin further emphasized that “ICE had a criminal judicial warrant for his arrest, signed off on by a federal judge,” and suggested that KTLA5’s incomplete reporting stemmed from the outlet having “only spoke to [the illegal’s] wife.”
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KTLA5 subsequently updated their online article with an editor’s note: “This article has been updated to include the intended target of the raid.” Despite the correction, critics noted that the updated article did not mention Garcia until the seventh paragraph, seemingly downplaying the true nature of the operation.
The Huntington Park raid was also a point of contention during a press conference later Thursday afternoon, where Secretary Noem mentioned the location.
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During the conference, Democratic California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed after interrupting proceedings and condemning the Trump Administration’s treatment of undocumented immigrants through strategic ICE raids.
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