Social media was set ablaze this week following breathless reports of a seemingly heartless action by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers: A man driving his wife to the hospital to give birth was taken into ICE custody when the couple stopped at a gas station in San Bernardino, California.

Early reports, predictably, failed to include pivotal details.

The man ICE detained, Joel Arrona-Lara, is wanted for homicide in Mexico.

“Mr. Arrona-Lara was brought to ICE’s attention due to an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Mexico on homicide charges,” said ICE spokesperson Lori Haley, as reported in The Daily Caller and other outlets.

Oh — and the pregnant woman, Maria del Carmen Venegas, a mother of five, was not in labor.

She drove herself the rest of the way. The pair were en route to the hospital for a planned Caesarean section.

Those crucial details, of course, didn’t stop those on the Left from immediately seizing upon the situation to cast ICE as monsters — and to call for its abolishment.

With much of the media complicit in furthering the Left’s agenda to demonize ICE and lionize illegal aliens, stories like this are far too tempting for liberals to pass up — even if they have to obscure reality in order to fit the preferred narrative.

Politicians instantly jumped on board as well, including Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), who decried the action as worse than heartless.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

“She said to help her tell the judge that [Arrona-Lara] is a good man … that he needs to be back here with his family because his family needs him,” said a young boy.

The youngster, presumably the older son of Venegas, was translating for his mother in a clip aired Sunday afternoon on Fox News’ “America’s News HQ.”

“We’re gonna have hope on God, and we’re gonna pray … that he’s gonna come out and come back home,” the boy added.

Lori Haley, again speaking on behalf of ICE, said yesterday, “ICE continues to focus its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security … ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement.”

Arrona-Lara is still in custody, Fox News reported Sunday afternoon — and his family maintains the man’s innocence.

Check out this video, then see the tweets below:

Michele Blood is a Flemington, New Jersey-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to LifeZette.