“Since @jamestalarico won’t tell the American people the full story, here’s what happened,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin explained Thursday, responding to Democrat Texas Senate candidate James Talarico’s efforts to deceptively prey on readers’ emotions to gain support for his vendetta against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“BREAKING: Liam Tadeo was just deported by ICE,” Talarico posted Wednesday, displaying a picture of a smiling five-year-old boy wearing a cowboy hat and “Texas Longhorns” sports jersey while giving the peace sign.
“A 5-year-old Texan just spent the first day of school in an ICE detention center,” Talarico followed up Thursday, displaying the same photo and accusing ICE of kidnapping the child:
“ICE kidnapped Liam Tadeo on his way to a soccer game with his dad. Liam should be in kindergarten. Instead, our government has thrown him in a prison camp hundreds of miles from home.”
“Liam and children like him deserve better, and we’ve got to keep fighting for them to get it,” failed Democrat presidential candidate and former First Lady Hillary Clinton chimed in Thursday, replying to Talarico’s initial post.
As it turns out, the boy was taken into custody – not “kidnapped” and thrown into prison – by ICE, when his father was arrested.
In a classic case of bias-by-omission, Talarico’s posts give readers a grossly false impression of the boy’s deportation.
In fact, the boy was deported because his illegal alien father chose to take his son with him when he was deported, DHS Sec. Mullin explained Thursday, filing in key details that set the record straight about Talarico’s portrayal of ICE as a heartless monster that kidnaps children:
“Following Victor Martinez Nieto’s arrest, ICE processed his request to voluntarily depart the United States with his son, Liam, and they were removed from the country on August 25.
“ICE does NOT separate families. Parents are asked if the they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. In this case, both the father and son were deported together.
“NOBODY is above the law. When illegal alien parents willingly choose to break our nation’s laws, they are responsible for what happens to their children – just as any U.S. citizen parent who breaks the law is when they are arrested.”
Since @jamestalarico won’t tell the American people the full story, here’s what happened:
Following Victor Martinez Nieto’s arrest, ICE processed his request to voluntarily depart the United States with his son, Liam, and they were removed from the country on August 25.
ICE… https://t.co/RmMk4EZYPM— Secretary Markwayne Mullin (@SecMullinDHS) August 27, 2026
