‘Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire’
- Bruce Botelho
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
By Bruce Botelho
Too often in recent months this childhood taunt has come to mind as I have listened to or read accounts of forceful interventions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or border patrol agents in deportation raids that are rocking cities (mostly Democratically-governed) around the country.
Within moments of almost every instance of serious injury or death of a civilian, Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin issues a statement denouncing the individual as a “rioter” or “criminal illegal alien,” followed closely behind by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem proclaiming the individual to be a “domestic terrorist,” Venezuelan gang member or like words. Without fail, the statements are intended to deflect blame (or, in the parlance of today, “spin the story”) to lay all fault on the victim.
Last week serves as the latest example. McLaughlin claimed that Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother and a U.S. citizen killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, was a "violent rioter" who "weaponized her vehicle" to attempt to run over law enforcement. However, eyewitnesses vehemently disputed that characterization.
Moreover, video analysis clearly shows the officer was not in the vehicle's path when firing, and there is no evidence that any officers were injured. These accounts did nothing to deter Steven Miller from labeling Good a “domestic terrorist,” Vice President J.D. Vance calling her a “deranged leftist” and President Trump accusing Good of running “over an ICE officer.”
Two other incidents obtained some notoriety. In September, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, an undocumented Mexican immigrant living in this country since 2007, was pulled over by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as part of “Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Villegas-Gonzalez had just dropped his two young sons at an elementary school and a day care center. Describing Villegas-Gonzalez as a “criminal illegal alien,” the DHS press release continues: “He refused to follow law enforcement officers' commands and drove his car at law enforcement officers. One of the ICE officers was hit by the car and dragged a significant distance. Fearing for his own life and broader public safety, the officer fired his weapon.”
Video recorded at the time tends to contradict the DHS rendition, but the case remains under investigation. According to the Cook County Medical Examiner, Villegas-Gonzalez died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Two weeks later Marimar Martinez, a United States citizen, was accused of ramming a vehicle of a Border Patrol agent in Chicago before he stepped out and shot her five times. The DHS narrative described Martinez as a “domestic terrorist” who had “ambushed” the CBP vehicle and had possessed a semi-automatic weapon.
After filing charges urged on by DHS, prosecutors ultimately requested the federal judge to "dismiss the indictment and exonerate" Martinez. Evidence suggested that the agent was at fault for the crash, had driven the DHS vehicle to Maine (thus avoiding a forensic examination) and had repeatedly bragged about his prowess in shooting. Martinez did indeed have a registered gun in her purse and a permit to carry it, but there was never evidence that she removed the gun from her purse.
In none of these situations did Homeland Security deliver a message conveying any concern about the participants or promise a thorough investigation and advise the public that until the facts were fully established, no conclusions should be drawn, a law enforcement response that is both historically customary and responsible. Unfortunately, we should expect more of these tragic incidents. In 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) more than doubled its size from 10,000 to 22,000 and shortened its training period from six months to six weeks.
I’m old enough to remember a time when it seemed unthinkable that high-ranking government officials would consciously lie to the American people. I also remember the cynicism I first experienced with the revelations of the Watergate era as evidence contradicted Nixon’s infamous claim (“I am not a crook”).
Nevertheless, I want to believe that most government officials, especially law enforcement officials, want to do what is right and honorable. That absolutely reflects my years in government working with federal, state and local law enforcement officials who have, almost without exception, served with integrity. It is baffling to me that DHS leadership would intentionally mislead the public in the face of witness statements and video recordings that reveal an entirely different narrative than the one they’re promoting and, when challenged, double down. These actions do nothing other than undermine the public’s confidence and trust in the good faith of our government.
We can’t become complicit in allowing this or any administration to intentionally shortcut due process, distort fact and devalue human worth. One virtue of childhood is that children have not yet learned all of the polite ways of calling someone untruthful (“misspoke,” “misrepresented,” “distorted,” “prevaricated”). They just shout “liar, liar, pants on fire.”
• Bruce Botelho is a former Juneau mayor and Alaska attorney general, and president of the Juneau Independent’s board of directors.
