Several high-ranking members of the Trump administration are striking back at liberal media outlets for anti-ICE and anti-Border Patrol headlines and news articles the officials believe fail to tell the whole story behind recent use-of-force incidents and illegal alien arrests. In one recent post, the Department of Homeland Security calls an NBC article “DISGUSTING, even for fake news.”
DHS blasted NBC’s tear gas coverage as “disgusting,” accusing the outlet of omitting key facts—like the arrest of a violent illegal alien and assaults on federal officers. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli also rebuked LA Times reporters for downplaying the criminal threat posed by a man armed with a stolen handgun and a toddler in tow, saying, “Anyone who assaults or interferes with federal agents will be arrested and charged.”
The latest news article to draw the ire of the Trump administration was published by NBC News on Wednesday under a headline that read, “Chicago residents say immigration enforcement is leading to children getting tear-gassed.” The accompanying article describes the experience of a “ginger-haired 2-year-old, Leia,” who, along with her mother, was allegedly exposed to tear gas deployed by Border Patrol Agents in Chicago during a Saturday morning walk.
In the article, Leia’s mother, Sarah Parise, hears her child’s screams of “Mommy! Mommy! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” The article’s author, Natasha Korecki, a Senior National Politics Reporter for NBC News and former reporter for Politico, details the child’s mother’s experience writing, “As Parise raced home, she heard whistles and cars honking, she said. She saw a blur of armed men dressed in fatigues. Multiple reports from that day, Oct.25, detailed how Border Patrol agents conducting immigration enforcement in the neighborhood confronted residents, leading a federal judge to question an official in court over the use of tear gas there “without any warning.”
The reference to a federal judge questioning an official in court over tear gas use in Chicago refers to a matter before the courts brought by the Chicago Headline Club and other plaintiffs regarding the Border Patrol’s use of non-lethal force. The Chicago Headline Club is an independent nonprofit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Coincidentally, the article’s author, Natasha Korecki, is a former winner of the Peter Lisagor Award for best journalism by the Chicago Headline Club, a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, and Border Patrol Commander of Operation At Large Gregory Bovino.
In a Thursday morning post on X by the Homeland Security account, the agency chided the article’s content, saying:
Here’s the REAL STORY: Border Patrol Conducted an operation that resulted in the arrest of a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who has previously been arrested for assault.
During the operations, Border Patrol agents were surrounded and boxed in by a group of agitators. Federal law enforcement issued multiple lawful commands and verbal warnings, all of which were ignored. During the operation, two U.S. citizens were arrested for assaulting and impeding a federal officer.
To safely clear the area after multiple warnings and the crowd continuing to advance on them, Border Patrol had to deploy crowd control measures. Our officers are facing a 1000% increase in assaults against them. Smears like this from @NBCNews are adding fuel to the fire. It must end.
Another news article drawing sharp criticism from the Trump administration appeared in the Los Angeles Times with a headline that read “Video: Armed agents drive off with child after detaining her father”. The article describes an incident in Cypress Park, a Los Angeles, California neighborhood that took place on Tuesday morning operation outside a Home Depot store. The article focuses more on the dangers that federal immigration agents posed to a toddler that was strapped in the back seat than the father arrested during the incident.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol agents allege the father of the child, 32-year-old Dennis Quinonez a United States Citizen had earlier exited his vehicle carrying a hammer and threw rocks at law enforcement agents while he had his child in the car. At the time of the arrest, Quinonez allegedly was in possession of a stolen handgun and ammunition and was the subject of an outstanding criminal warrant of arrest.
In response to a social media post on X by one of the article’s authors, Brittny Mejia, United States Attorney for the Southern District of California Bill Essayli responded on the platform in his own post saying, “Let me help you out Brittny. This US Citizen threw rocks at Border Patrol agents and had a loaded firearm. Dennis Orlando Quinonez was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of domestic violence in violation of 18 USC 922g.”
Essayli went on to clarify his position to the author and other reporters, adding, “Not sure why this is so difficult for you and other reporters to understand. Anyone who assaults or interferes with federal agents will be arrested and charged with a federal crime.”
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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