The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took to social media, where they accused ABC7 Eyewitness News of ideological censorship for using artificial intelligence to edit DHS statements in their coverage of immigration enforcement actions carried out on Thursday. DHS accused the media outlet of using AI to mold their coverage to “edit DHS statements to conform to their narrative bias,” remove an illegal alien’s criminal background, and shamelessly lie.
DHS posted a scathing message on the social media platform X to the Los Angeles affiliate, ABC7, criticizing the ABC affiliate for editing its response to an inquiry about arrests that occurred outside a courthouse in Rancho Cucamonga, California, on Thursday. Side-by-side images posted by DHS on X show the detailed response by DHS to ABC7 describing the immigration enforcement arrests and what appears to be an email response to DHS by an ABC7 employee that advised other ABC7 employees the sender “took the liberty of running it through AI asking that it be formatted for current journalist ethics and standards.”
DHS edited that image to show terminology included in the original statement by the federal agency had been changed in several instances by ABC7 including amending “criminal illegal aliens” to “individuals”, “criminal illegal alien” to “national”, and omitting “released by Biden” to describe how those arrested on Thursday had been released after entering the United States illegally.
DHS consternation arose from a Thursday ABC7 news report that described the arrest of several men by federal agents at the Rancho Cucamonga courthouse. Rancho Cucamonga sits just east of Los Angeles. The outlet posted video of the arrests and included testimony by immigrant rights advocate Hector Pereyra of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, who warned ABC7 the arrests could lead to an escalation of violence, saying, “The arrests that are happening here could lead to that escalation of violence because federal agents are being trained to escalate, not deescalate. It puts everyone at the courthouse in harm’s way.”
The video shows several men being arrested just outside the courthouse, one having to be chased down in a foot pursuit before being captured by arresting agents. DHS took issue with the initial reporting, saying in a Friday social media post on X, “they decided to shamelessly lie in their article and claim that DHS did not respond to their inquiry.”
On the ACB7 website, the original print story was edited after the critical DHS X post emerged to include the full, unedited DHS response to their inquiry.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the immigration enforcement actions that occurred at Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday by ICE and CBP agents resulted in the arrest of Godofredo Chiquete-Lopez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico. Chiquete-Lopez had been previously arrested by law enforcement officers for assault with a deadly weapon and hit and run. According to DHS, a request by ICE to San Bernardino authorities to turn Chiquete-Lopez over to the agency was not honored, and he was released into the community. Chiquete-Lopez entered the United States on a tourist visa and overstayed his legally authorized visit by more than 16 years, according to DHS.
DHS also arrested Alexander Pacheco-Sabogal, a criminal illegal alien from Colombia. Pacheco-Sabogal was previously arrested for battery and was also the subject of an immigration detainer that California authorities failed to honor, according to the agency. Pacheco-Sabogal entered the United States illegally and was released by the Biden administration in 2022 near San Luis, Arizona. Pacheco-Sabogal was ordered removed in 2023 after failing to appear for his scheduled removal hearing.
Cesar Andres Mendez-Garzon, an illegal alien from Colombia, was the third person arrested at the courthouse on Thursday. According to DHS, Mendez-Garzon illegally entered the United States in 2023 near Lukeville, Arizona, and was released into the United States. Mendez-Garzon was ordered removed by an immigration judge after failing to appear for his removal hearing in 2025.
A DHS spokesperson commented on the arrests in their response to ABC7, saying, “We need state and local law enforcement engagement and information, so we don’t have to have such a presence on the streets. If we work together, we can make America safe again. Elected officials who refuse to cooperate with DHS law enforcement are wasting law enforcement time, energy, and resources, while putting their own constituents in danger. 7 of the top 10 safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE. Sanctuary policies have consequences, and unfortunately, they are the murder, reape, assault, robbery, or drug overdose of American citizens.”
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.
