LEOMINSTER — A federal immigration arrest in Leominster has ignited public scrutiny after a local family alleged that agents used their 5-year-old daughter as leverage to coax her father into custody — a claim ICE strongly denies.
The incident occurred on September 16, 2025, outside a home on Ash Street, where federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been pursuing Edward Hip Mejia, an undocumented immigrant with alleged prior arrests. According to his family, Mejia was followed home by ICE agents, who then detained the couple’s 5-year-old daughter — a U.S. citizen and reportedly autistic — in the driveway as they demanded he surrender.
In a video recorded by the family, the girl is seen sitting beside an SUV, surrounded by agents in tactical gear labeled “POLICE,” while officers can be heard saying, “Is that your daughter? Come here so I can see those IDs.”
The family claims the agents refused to return the child to the house and instead left her outside, alone, as a means of pressuring Mejia. The girl’s mother, who has asked not to be named for safety reasons, said her daughter was terrified and that the family is still processing the trauma.
But ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) strongly dispute the family’s account. On social media, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin called the allegations “a disgusting smear” and said Mejia fled from a traffic stop, leaving the child behind. “He fled from the car, gave officers the double middle finger, and darted inside his house,” McLaughlin said in her post on X. “He abandoned his 5-year-old daughter in the car. Officers helped rescue the child and called local police to report the abandonment.”
Absolutely not. ICE agents NEVER used a 5-year-old girl as “bait”—what a disgusting smear. The criminal illegal alien target —with previous arrests for domestic abuse and strangulation, among other charges—ABANDONED his own child in a car.
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) September 23, 2025
The target, Edwards Hip Mejia,… https://t.co/8LIMlC92H5
Leominster Police Chief Ryan D. Malatos released a statement Tuesday confirming the department’s involvement. According to the statement, police received a 9-1-1 call from a man on Ash Street reporting that he was inside his home and “being hunted.” The man said his daughter was locked in a car outside.
While officers responded to the scene, the Leominster Police Department received a call from ICE informing them that the child had been left behind when Mejia fled into the house. “Had the video broadcasted by the news been aired in its entirety,” Chief Malatos wrote, “you would have seen our officers safely remove the child from the scene, in the most kind and professional manner possible.”
Chief Malatos said Leominster police’s role was limited to ensuring the child’s safety. “After making sure the child was physically unharmed,” Malatos added, “our officers made proactive efforts to reunite the child with their family.”
Two days later, ICE agents returned and arrested Mejia, pulling him from a vehicle outside the same home. He is currently being held at a detention facility in Plymouth, awaiting further immigration proceedings.
Mejia, a native of Guatemala, has lived in the United States for about 25 years, according to his wife, who spoke with NBC Boston. She said the couple has two children, both born in the U.S.
In a statement posted to GoFundMe, Mejia’s wife said she has been unable to leave their home since his detention. “Since Edward was detained, I have been unable to leave our home. Our house is surrounded, and I am afraid to take my children to school or even to the doctor if they get sick.”
The Department of Homeland Security defended the agents’ actions, pointing to Mejia’s prior alleged arrests — which include domestic assault, strangulation, and vandalism — as grounds for the enforcement operation.
Leominster police say all further questions should be directed to ICE.
