DHS Official Confronts Hollywood Stars Over False ICE Raid Claims

In the latest episode of Rich People Playing Politics, Hollywood elites are once again using their Instagram accounts to tell working Americans how to feel about border security. From behind gates, security details, and seven-figure paychecks, they’re shedding crocodile tears over immigration enforcement—policies they’ll never experience or understand.

Welcome to the modern information war, where actresses and influencers with no law enforcement training claim to know more than the Department of Homeland Security. And thanks to social media, millions of Americans are hearing them loud and clear—truth optional.

One of the loudest voices in this latest misinformation parade is actress Eva Longoria, who recently told her 10.6 million followers that ICE agents are “rounding up” immigrants at birthday parties and elementary school graduations. Sounds shocking… because it’s not true.

In fact, DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin directly responded to Longoria’s fictional fear-fest. “It’s not happening,” McLaughlin said. “But if you are an MS-13 gang member, if you are a violent criminal alien, and you try to hide in a church or a courthouse or a kindergarten classroom, we will come and get you.”

So, no, ICE isn’t camping out in kindergarten classrooms like some dystopian sitcom. But if you’re a violent criminal hiding behind a chalkboard, you’d better believe the feds are coming. That’s the part the Hollywood crowd conveniently skips.

Even the Los Angeles Times—hardly a bastion of conservative journalism—confirmed Longoria’s claims were false. But accuracy isn’t the goal. Fear and virtue-signaling are. And unfortunately, the internet eats it up.

Then there’s Kim Kardashian, who took a break from selling shapewear to declare that ICE was “inhumane” and ripping apart “innocent families.” With 365 million followers, Kardashian’s words carry weight—especially when facts are left out of the conversation.

McLaughlin didn’t let that slide. She fired back, asking Kardashian which criminals she’d like to keep in the country—gang members, human traffickers, or both? The Trump-era policy of “worst first” made it clear: ICE targets violent offenders and threats to national security. Not someone’s abuela bringing tamales to a baptism.

Let’s not forget: the majority of ICE’s work focuses on individuals with criminal convictions, not parents shopping at Home Depot. But thanks to celebrities crying wolf, agents are being vilified for doing their jobs—and facing increased danger while doing them.

According to a recent Pew Research study, over half of American adults now get their news from social media. That’s a lot of people relying on celebrities instead of facts. Combine that with Hollywood’s flair for drama, and suddenly ICE agents become villains in a script they never auditioned for.

McLaughlin summed it up best, calling out “the fear-mongering we’ve seen from Eva Longoria, Sabrina Carpenter, and the who’s who of Gen Z” as “just baloney.”

And she’s right. It’s baloney wrapped in designer guilt.

At the end of the day, these celebrities will go back to their gated communities, buffered from the realities they pretend to care about. Meanwhile, ICE officers will keep doing the hard, thankless work of protecting the public—without the luxury of Instagram filters or red carpet applause.