Image does not show ICE arresting baby
- Published on October 7, 2025 at 21:08
- 3 min read
- By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA
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"Why does tRump's criminal regime think that a 3 year old child is an enemy of the country?" says an October 4, 2025 post on Facebook. "tRump has ramped up the already huge problem of police brutality. Abusing babies and children is degenerate. Why zip-tie a baby? WHY?"
Similar posts circulated across Facebook and other platforms including Reddit and Instagram, with many linking the photo to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in US cities.
"A Toddler being detained and zip-tied as part of an early morning ICE raid in Chicago," says one post on X.
Another on Threads claims: "ICE is snatching up children who are American citizens."
The posts come as Trump has ratcheted up his efforts to deport immigrants living illegally in the United States and ordered 700 National Guard troops to Chicago, Illinois. The state filed suit October 6 to prevent the deployment, one day after an Oregon judge temporarily blocked Trump from sending soldiers to Portland.
The Republican president branded Chicago a "war zone" to justify the unprecedented use of the military on home soil, which follows similar campaigns opposed by local officials in Washington and Los Angeles.
After one overnight raid at a Chicago apartment complex September 30, residents recalled agents rounding up adults and children alike, according to reports.
But the picture spreading online is unrelated to the immigration crackdown.
Reverse image searches traced the still image to a TikTok video posted June 19, 2024 -- months before Trump's election as president -- with the location tagged to the state of Texas (archived here).
In the post, from an account called "@officerevansjr42.2," a uniformed officer chases a smiling child through a parking lot before pretending to place handcuffs on the boy. The handcuffs remain loose and fall off once the officer lets go of the child's hands.
"WHEN YOU CATCH HIM OUTSIDE AND HE SUPPOSED TO BE ON HOUSE ARREST," the caption says, alongside a laughing-face emoji and the hashtag "#jokes."
@officerevansjr42.2 WHEN YOU CATCH HIM OUTSIDE AND HE SUPPOSED TO BE ON HOUSE ARREST #serveandprotect#fypシ゚viral#jokes#policeoftiktok#fypp♬ Bad Boys - Inner Circle
The owner of the account, Corey Evans Jr, told AFP in a direct message on TikTok that the post "was a playful video."
"I believe people are misrepresenting the video to push their narrative about Trump and the ICE raid in Chicago," Evans said October 6.
Evans's social media profiles place him in Longview, Texas -- far from Chicago -- and show him wearing Texas law enforcement uniforms (archived here and here).
On his TikTok page, Evans reiterated that his video was being mischaracterized and urged people to help "spread the truth" (archived here and here).
"So apparently, my video yet going viral again, saying that ICE is detaining kids. So, they're using that picture, which is my video, of me and my son playing 'cops and robbers,'" he said in one clip, referring to a make-believe game similar to tag.
"If y'all don't know, me, myself and my son, we live in Texas," Evans continued. "We don't live in Chicago. Me and my son playing 'cops and robbers.' We got a whole series on my page. I'm trying to figure out why people lying to make it political."
The playlist on Evans's TikTok page includes other related videos, all similarly labeled as jokes (archived here and here).
AFP has debunked other misinformation about US politics here.
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