Moments on immigration that were widely criticized as performative, staged or misleading, with the fact-checks, including the ones that cut the other way.
Jon Favreau, Antonio Villaraigosa and others · May 2018
“Kids in cages,” wrong president
What happened: They shared AP photos of children in a holding cell as if they showed Trump-era detention.
The criticism: The photos were taken June 18, 2014, at a CBP center in Nogales, Arizona, under President Obama. Trump tweeted that Democrats had “mistakenly” shared Obama-era pictures. AP Fact Check
Fact-check / counterpoint: PolitiFact found Trump’s tweet accurate. Favreau deleted his post and said the 2014 photos showed the challenge of reuniting unaccompanied minors, while in 2018 the government was separating families. PolitiFact · KPBS/AP
TIME magazine · cover dated July 2, 2018
The TIME cover
What happened: TIME put a photo of a crying Honduran toddler, Yanela, next to an image of Trump as a symbol of family separation.
The criticism: Her father and CBP said she was never separated from her mother. She was set down briefly while her mother was searched. Washington Post
Fact-check / counterpoint: TIME corrected an earlier story that said she was “carried away screaming,” but defended the cover as capturing the stakes of the policy. AP · PolitiFact
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joaquin Castro and other House Democrats · July 1, 2019 · El Paso and Clint, Texas
“Drink out of the toilets”
What happened: After touring CBP facilities, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that officers had told detained women “to drink out of the toilets.” NBC News
The criticism: CBP and former ICE director Tom Homan denied it. Homan said the cells had combination toilet-sink units and called the claim “ridiculous.” Fox News
Fact-check / counterpoint: FactCheck.org called the episode “confusion.” Ocasio-Cortez said the cell had a combination unit whose sink wasn’t working, so women were told they could drink from the bowl. CBP said clean water was available. FactCheck.org
Vice President Kamala Harris · NBC interview aired June 8, 2021
“And I haven’t been to Europe”
What happened: Harris was the administration’s lead on the root causes of migration. When Lester Holt pressed her on not visiting the border, she said: “And I haven’t been to Europe… I don’t understand the point that you’re making.” Axios
The criticism: Republicans, and some Democrats, had urged her to visit, and the exchange drew wide criticism. NPR
Fact-check / counterpoint: Harris said her focus was the root causes of migration in Central America, and that she had visited the border as a senator. BBC She visited El Paso on June 25, 2021, where a reporter asked about critics calling it a “check-the-box visit.” DHS readout · Transcript
Mark Ruffalo, Wanda Sykes, Jean Smart, Natasha Lyonne, Ariana Grande and others · Golden Globes, Jan 11, 2026
Pins on the red carpet
What happened: Stars wore “BE GOOD” and “ICE OUT” pins days after Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent. AP
The criticism: A Fox News op-ed called it “all symbol, no sacrifice” and noted the pins disappeared at the after-parties. Critics on the left, such as The Canary, called it a “damp squib” because almost no winners mentioned ICE in their speeches. Fox News opinion · The Canary
Fact-check / counterpoint: The ACLU backed the #BeGood campaign, and supporters said the pins raised awareness. Wanda Sykes told Variety: “we need to speak up.” Fox News
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (and Sen. Amy Klobuchar) · June 26, 2019 · Homestead, Florida
The ladder
What happened: Hours before the first Democratic debate in Miami, Warren was denied entry to the Homestead shelter for migrant children. She stood on a stepladder to look over the fence and wave at the teens inside. At least eight candidates visited or planned to visit the site that week. Boston Globe · AP
The criticism: Critics called it a debate-week photo op. Both Warren and Klobuchar missed that day’s Senate vote on a $4.6 billion border bill that included humanitarian aid. CBS News
Fact-check / counterpoint: Warren said she went as a “witness.” She said she saw children marched “like little prisoners,” and she had released a plan to end for-profit detention. Homestead had faced lawsuits over its conditions. HuffPost
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) · Sept. 14, 2022
Flown to Martha’s Vineyard
What happened: Florida paid to fly about 50 Venezuelan migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard without notice to local officials. The migrants said they had been told they were going to Boston for work. NPR
The criticism: Critics, including the migrants’ lawyers, called it a “cowardly political stunt.” CNN Online, others accused the island of hypocrisy and said residents had “deported” the migrants.
Fact-check / counterpoint: The “deported” claim is false. Residents sheltered the migrants for two days, and the state then moved them voluntarily to Joint Base Cape Cod, an emergency shelter. PolitiFact
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) · March 2021 · Rio Grande Valley
Border “cosplay”
What happened: On a GOP senators’ border trip, Cruz posted night videos saying smugglers and cartels were “yelling” at the group and shining flashlights at them. The Hill
The criticism: Beto O’Rourke wrote: “If you’re looking for a crisis to cosplay Senator for, I’m happy to point you in the right direction,” and said the only threat was “unarmed children and families who are seeking asylum (as well as the occasional heckler).” The Hill
Fact-check / counterpoint: Cruz and other Republicans said the trip showed a real crisis, as border encounters were rising in early 2021. O’Rourke argued the numbers were similar to 2019.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, then Democratic nominee for Congress · June 27, 2018 · interview with The Intercept
The 34,000-bed “quota”
What happened: She said: “ICE is required to fill 34,000 beds with detainees every single night and that number has only been increasing since 2009.” PolitiFact
The criticism: The bed language required ICE to maintain beds, not necessarily fill them, and it last appeared in an appropriations bill in 2016. PolitiFact
Fact-check / counterpoint: PolitiFact: “We rate Ocasio-Cortez’s claim False.” Verdict: False. PolitiFact
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), with Reps. Daniel Goldman and Pramila Jayapal · April 30, 2025
“to allow Trump to DEPORT U.S. citizens”
What happened: After Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee voted down a Democratic amendment, Swalwell posted: “Republicans just voted in the House Judiciary Committee to allow Trump to DEPORT U.S. citizens to a foreign country.” PolitiFact
The criticism: Rejecting the amendment didn’t hand Trump that power. “Current case law bars the deportation of U.S. citizens.” PolitiFact
Fact-check / counterpoint: Verdict: Mostly False. Jayapal’s office pointed to a recent case of two U.S.-citizen children deported with their noncitizen mother. PolitiFact
KUSA 9News (Denver NBC affiliate) · February 2025
The “man without a criminal history”
What happened: The station reported that ICE had detained a man without a criminal history. Adweek
The criticism: ICE pushed back. It turned out the man had a DUI on his record. Adweek
Fact-check / counterpoint: Anchor Kyle Clark corrected it: “We didn’t realize his name was spelled differently in state-level records so we missed his recent DUI. I apologize for our error.” Verdict: Correction issued. Adweek
Viral Instagram, TikTok and Facebook posts · June 6, 2025 · Los Angeles
The graduation “raid”
What happened: An emotional video claimed ICE raided Gratts Learning Academy during a graduation, saying “a bunch of parents have to run out because (ICE) is there,” and it got millions of views. PolitiFact
The criticism: LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said: “We’ve investigated it, and all the reports that came back were that no such event happened,” and the district added: “These claims are false.” PolitiFact
Fact-check / counterpoint: Verdict: False. PolitiFact
Viral TikTok posts · July 2025
Deportees dumped in the ocean
What happened: TikTok videos claimed ICE deportation flights were dumping migrants in the middle of the ocean. PolitiFact
The criticism: Thomas Cartwright, an advocate who tracks ICE flights, told PolitiFact: “These videos have no basis in fact”. PolitiFact
Fact-check / counterpoint: Verdict: Pants on Fire! PolitiFact
Occupy Democrats (Instagram) · June 25, 2025 · Texas
“500+ construction workers” detained
What happened: The post said: “BREAKING: Over 500+ construction workers — mostly Hispanic — have been detained by federal agents in Texas while simply showing up to work.” It drew over 449,000 views. Snopes
The criticism: The video predated the posts by more than two weeks. ICE told Snopes: “The video is not related to any activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” Snopes
Fact-check / counterpoint: Verdict: Miscaptioned. Snopes noted the largest documented Texas construction-site raid had involved 25 arrests. Snopes
Viral X, Instagram and Threads posts · January 2025
The “Latinos for Trump” arrest photo
What happened: A photo said to show ICE arresting a man in a “Latinos for Trump 2024” shirt spread in the first days of Trump’s second term. One post topped 1 million views. Snopes
The criticism: The image was a 2018 photo from an HSI operation at Fresh Mark in Salem, Ohio. It had been doctored to add the slogan and change the vests from “HSI” to “ICE”. Snopes
Fact-check / counterpoint: Verdict: Fake. Snopes
Viral Reddit, Threads and Instagram posts · October 2025 · Chicago
The “school” arrest video
What happened: Posts said a video showed ICE agents violently arresting a mother inside a school, and at least one suggested it was in Chicago. Snopes
The criticism: The footage was real but showed agents arresting a woman’s husband on Sept. 25, 2025, at the Federal Plaza Immigration Court in New York City. Snopes
Fact-check / counterpoint: Verdict: Miscaptioned. The video was not from a school or Chicago, though separate footage showed an agent pushing the wife to the ground. Snopes
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) · April 2025
“kidnapped the United States citizen”
What happened: Speaking about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man deported to El Salvador, Van Hollen told reporters: “I don’t think he wants to essentially be the president who’s kidnapped the United States citizen”. Daily Caller News Foundation
The criticism: Abrego Garcia is not a U.S. citizen. He crossed the border illegally around 2011 or 2012. His wife is a U.S. citizen. PolitiFact
Fact-check / counterpoint: Van Hollen’s office corrected it: “The Senator intended to say husband of a U.S. citizen”. Verdict: Misspoke, corrected by his office. Daily Caller News Foundation
Sen. Chris Van Hollen and 24 Democratic senators, plus wide media coverage · April 2025
What the Maryland-father framing left out
What happened: The senators’ press release called him “a father who was living legally, under protected status, in Maryland with his family”. Van Hollen press release
The criticism: Much of that spring’s coverage did not mention the court record later laid out by PolitiFact. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, filed protective orders against him in 2020 and 2021, saying he had slapped, punched and bruised her. She rescinded the 2020 petition days later, and after the 2021 filing a court ordered him not to contact, harass or abuse her. In a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop he was found driving nine passengers and was let go with a warning. A grand jury later indicted him on two human-smuggling counts. He pleaded not guilty. PolitiFact
Fact-check / counterpoint: Several administration claims were also wrong. PolitiFact called Noem’s “human trafficking” label inaccurate, because he was charged with smuggling, not trafficking. Vasquez Sura told Newsweek the orders are “not a justification for ICE’s action” and said: “Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process.” PolitiFact His withholding of removal let him “remain in the U.S. and work legally,” though it gave no path to permanent residence. FactCheck.org He was charged but never convicted. A judge dismissed the indictment in May 2026, ruling that “the presumption of vindictiveness remains unrebutted”. ABC News As of October 2026 the government’s appeal is pending, and so is his separate deportation fight. PBS/AP Verdict: Criticism of the omissions is supported by the record. The allegations are unproven.
We include a moment only when there is documented criticism and a linked source. Know a well-documented case? Submit it.