Tipsheet

Another Deportation Sob Story Has Gone Viral. There's Just One Minor Problem With It.

Guy Benson
Guy Benson  |  May 13, 2025 10:05 AM

The following social media post has generated millions of views, as well as tens of thousands of retweets and likes.  When I encountered it 'in the wild,' I read the description and immediately became suspicious -- because cynical suspicion must be the default setting about these sorts of alleged horror tales.  The summary felt a bit too on-the-nose, on a gut level.  Perhaps an even bigger red flag was the fact that the original poster (an admitted partisan activist) had shut off replies.  After a small amount of digging, I easily uncovered a string of omitted facts that flipped this story on its head.  As expected, quite frankly.  But millions of people appear to have taken this version of events as reality:

Martin Diaz came to the U.S. as a toddler, fleeing cartel violence. His family had proof of the danger—and hope for safety here. He married a U.S. citizen, and after years of waiting, their visa case finally moved forward. Days later, ICE showed up at their Spokane home with no warrant, no ID, and no regard for the law. His wife wasn’t home, but a roommate filmed everything. When he asked for badge numbers, agents said, “None of your business.” Then they assaulted Martin and dragged him away. Now ICE is charging him with assault. But the video tells the truth. This is what ICE does—lie, escalate, and disappear people. Kendall Diaz spoke out at the Spokane Fights Back rally. We echo her call: Deportation is not an option. We demand justice. #OnYourSide #DemsUnited 

Additional video appears to depict him fleeing the agents and resisting arrest.  As for this poor, innocent, all-American DREAMer who was so unjustly targeted and abused by ICE, here is the actual reality about him:


As an adult, he was arrested and charged with rape, eventually pleading down to a lesser crime and spending time behind bars.  A decade later, he was convicted of felony domestic abuse, a violent crime.  After that, a deportation order was issued against him.  He appealed and received a temporary reprieve, but ultimately the deportation order was upheld.  It's final and active.  That's lots of due process.  And he's still lived here illegally, despite the criminal record, for more than half-a-decade after a final order of removal was formalized against him.  This man being taken down and thrown out of the United States is overdue, not some sort of outrage or injustice.  And, naturally, this is how local media is covering the facts you just read:


He's a "Spokane man," you see, and he tried so hard to get legal status. Sorry, journos and headline writers, he failed in that endeavor because of the violent crimes he committed, as an illegal immigrant.  What about Massachusetts woman?  The media is just going to keep doing this:

Local Democrats are now accused of assaulting law enforcement officers in their attempts to prevent the detention of this illegal immigrant, who was arrested for attacking a pregnant woman.  They think they're the good guys.  Meanwhile, did you hear about the innocent abuela who's getting deported simply for making a wrong turn while driving?  How cruel.  You'll be shocked to discover that there are additional facts at play:

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She's been living here illegally for two decades, which is not allowed, and she's been driving without a license that is also not allowed. In the process of being here illegally and driving illegally, she drove onto a military base and couldn't identify herself, none of which is allowed. You might chalk up the wrong turn to an innocent and unfortunate mistake. Is living in America in violations of our laws an innocent mistake? What about routinely getting behind the wheel of a car without a license (in a state that actually does permit illegal immigrants to obtain licenses and operate vehicles)?  Either laws matter, or they don't.  They must matter, or we'd have a lawless society, by definition, while surrendering sovereignty.  Finally, amid a wave of politically-motivated left-wing violence, I'll leave you with the usual dirtbag coalition calling for the abolishment of ICE, comparing the enforcement agency to Nazis.  These people are disgusting: