The Department of Homeland Security has called out the Los Angeles Times and other outlets for spreading a “bizarre hoax” claiming a Los Angeles mother was abducted by bounty hunters and turned over to ICE.

Reports initially claimed Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon was kidnapped at gunpoint on her way to work by armed bounty hunters working for immigration enforcement, driven to a border station, and forced to sign self-deportation papers. When she refused, the story claimed, she was thrown into a warehouse with other detainees without food, water, or access to legal counsel, and held indefinitely alongside men and women until agreeing to leave the country.

The Los Angeles Times and KTLA reported the claims as fact, fueling outrage from open-borders activists and furthering the narrative that federal immigration enforcement is operating in the shadows to target migrants.

But DHS swiftly stepped in to crush the claims, calling the entire story fabricated.

“This bizarre tale about being picked up by bounty hunters, taken to an unmarked warehouse without access to food, water, or an attorney were clearly fabricated,” DHS posted on X. “This woman was never arrested or ‘kidnapped’ by ICE.”

The department further clarified that it neither employs nor partners with bounty hunters for immigration enforcement and does not engage in off-the-books detentions in unmarked warehouses, despite what Calderon and her family claimed in the viral reports.

“Lazy reporting like this is why trust in the media is at an all-time low,” DHS continued. “This type of fear mongering demonizes our law enforcement who are now facing a nearly 700% increase in assaults against them.”

The narrative that Calderon was abducted without due process is precisely the type of open-borders propaganda that fuels public distrust and erodes confidence in legitimate immigration enforcement. Activists and their media allies have frequently accused ICE of conducting “secret raids,” a claim that has repeatedly been debunked as ICE arrests occur under clear guidelines with required documentation and legal oversight.

The Los Angeles Times has not issued a retraction, despite the DHS’s categorical denial of the story’s accuracy. The case has ignited calls for media accountability as outlets continue to amplify claims from activists without independently verifying their stories, particularly on immigration.

The fake kidnapping narrative arrives as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration enforcement efforts, dismantling sanctuary policies in cities like Los Angeles and moving swiftly to detain and deport criminal migrants. These efforts have drawn sharp criticism from left-wing groups that characterize enforcement as “fascism” and “racial terror,” while ignoring the legal framework that allows ICE to operate within its mandate to remove individuals who violate federal immigration laws.

Meanwhile, DHS has faced growing attacks from activist networks seeking to obstruct enforcement and portray immigration authorities as villains, even as migrant-related crime spikes in sanctuary cities. The department’s denial of the Calderon story underscores the administration’s broader efforts to push back against misinformation and highlight the legal, methodical nature of its immigration operations.

The fake story also exposes how anti-enforcement narratives are used to justify policies that defund ICE, end deportations, and open the border, even in the face of evidence that these policies undermine public safety.

For now, DHS has made it clear: the kidnapping story was fake, ICE was never involved, and there is no rogue unit of bounty hunters abducting migrants in California. The episode serves as another reminder that much of the outrage driving open-borders activism is built on a foundation of narratives that collapse under scrutiny.