Overview

• Newly circulated video shows agents beside the child outside the Leominster home as a man inside is told, “Is that your daughter? Come here so I can see those IDs.”
• DHS public affairs chief Tricia McLaughlin rejected the “bait” allegation and said the father fled into the house and abandoned his daughter, describing the agents’ actions as a rescue.
• The family and their attorney dispute DHS’s account, saying the girl, who has autism, was held outside and later taken to the police station before Leominster officers returned her home.
• ICE arrested Edward Hip Mejia two days after the incident; he is detained in Plymouth as attorneys seek his release, and a federal judge ordered he not be transferred out of state.
• Officials cited prior arrests in defending the operation; court records reported by the Boston Globe show those charges were dismissed in 2024 as neighbors and advocates call for an investigation.