The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is blasting NBC News for omitting key details about a violent criminal history in its coverage of an illegal alien’s arrest in California.
An NBC News affiliate described the illegal alien as an “undocumented father” while leaving out his shocking rap sheet, which includes arrests for battery and child sex abuse.
The controversy erupted after NBC Bay Area aired a sympathetic segment on the arrest of 42-year-old Gerardo Rojas-Leyva.
Rojas-Leyva was detained by federal agents in San Jose as he was leaving for work.
“According to the family’s Ring video, Gerardo was in his black truck at 7:45 a.m., about to head out to his construction job when multiple people, who appear to be federal officers, approached his truck and yelled for him to get out,” the report read.
The station added that the suspect’s wife, Idalia, who said she is a U.S. citizen, ran outside to intervene.
“She said a woman, not in uniform, hit her 22-year-old daughter with a baton — the incident, however, is not shown on the footage,” the affiliate reported.
But DHS officials say NBC’s reporting left out crucial information, namely, that Rojas-Leyva is an illegal alien from Mexico with a serious criminal record, including crimes involving a child and domestic violence.
DHS: NBC “Refuses to Tell the American Public” the Truth
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin publicly rebuked the network in a post on X, accusing it of misleading viewers.
“Of course @NBCNews refuses to tell the American public that this illegal alien from Mexico has a rap sheet that includes: lewd and lascivious acts with a CHILD, battery of a spouse, domestic battery, compensation for prostitution, felony reentry after removal,” McLaughlin wrote.
Of course @NBCNews refuses to tell the American public that this illegal alien from Mexico has a rap sheet that includes:
-lewd and lascivious acts with a CHILD
-battery of a spouse
-domestic battery
-compensation for prostitution
-felony reentry after removal https://t.co/5ymBH8qGVZ— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) October 29, 2025
In a detailed statement, McLaughlin confirmed that federal agents arrested Rojas-Leyva, who has been deported previously and re-entered the United States illegally.
“Rojas-Leyva’s criminal history includes lewd and lascivious acts with a child of 14-15 years old, battery of a spouse, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, and providing compensation for prostitution,” McLaughlin said.
She added that the suspect resisted arrest and refused to identify himself, forcing an officer to deploy a taser before taking him into custody.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,” McLaughlin warned.
“Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”
NBC’s Pattern of Misleading Coverage
McLaughlin also pointed out that this is not the first time NBC has been accused of smearing federal immigration officers.
Earlier this year, the network ran a report alleging that ICE agents used a 5-year-old girl with autism to pressure her father, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, to surrender.
McLaughlin blasted the story as a deliberate distortion.
“Keep in mind, these men and women of ICE are fathers and mothers, and they are sons and daughters,” she said on Fox & Friends.
“These are people who just want to go home to their families at night and serve our great nation.”
“It was a disgusting smear of ICE agents,” she added.
DHS: “Law Enforcement Will Continue to Do Its Job”
DHS officials emphasized that federal agents will continue enforcing immigration law despite media criticism and activist pushback.
McLaughlin said the department’s focus remains on removing criminal illegal aliens who pose a threat to public safety, not on appeasing “sanctuary politicians” or news outlets that obscure the facts.
“ICE officers will continue to carry out their duty,” a DHS spokesperson said Thursday.
“Media spin doesn’t change the reality that dangerous offenders have no right to remain in the United States.”
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