NBC report paints illegal immigrant guilty of sex crimes, felonies as sympathetic ‘undocumented father’ after ICE arrest

Last week, federal officers arrested 42-year-old Gerardo Rojas-Leyva outside his home in San Jose as he was leaving for work. NBC Bay Area covered the incident, noting that his family and neighbors recorded video of the arrest. Ring doorbell footage showed Rojas-Leyva sitting in his black truck at around 7:45 am when federal agents approached him and ordered that he exit the vehicle.

According to the report, his wife, Idalia, a US citizen, tried to intervene and claimed that a woman who was not in uniform hit her 22-year-old daughter with a baton, though that incident was not seen in the footage.

After the story was published, the Department of Homeland Security publicly called out NBC Bay Area on X, writing, “Why is [NBC Bay Area] peddling a hoax for a PEDOPHILE?”

In its statement, DHS clarified that ICE had arrested Rojas-Leyva, describing him as a criminal illegal immigrant from Mexico who had a rap sheet that included “lewd and lascivious acts with a child, battery of a spouse, domestic battery, and providing compensation for prostitution.”

“This pedophile illegally re-entered the U.S. after a previous removal—a felony—at an unknown date and time,” DHS said. “President Trump and [DHS Secretary Kristi Noem] are removing criminal illegal alien predators from our communities and putting the safety of Americans FIRST.”

NBC’s omission of Rojas-Leyva’s criminal background comes as many left-wing outlets and leaders have tried to frame ICE arrests as being unwarranted and at random. The Trump administration maintains that its operations focus primarily on illegal immigrants, particularly those with criminal records or prior deportations.

On Monday, DHS announced that more than 527,000 illegal immigrants have been removed under the Trump administration.