{"id":2608983,"date":"2026-06-01T09:27:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T13:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T09:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T13:30:00","slug":"exclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: New Kids&#8217; Book Targets The Left&#8217;s Anti-ICE Narrative"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2608983&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/economist-rejects-uighur-genocide-determination\/\" title=\"\u2018Economist\u2019 Rejects Uighur Genocide Determination\">article argues<\/a> that anti-ICE messaging is being used to shape how children view immigration enforcement, and it highlights a pushback from children\u2019s book authors Mike Howell and Ryan Neuhaus. Their new picture book, *Diego the Dingo Finds His Way Home*, portrays an immigrant dingo family that is smuggled across the border and eventually deported. Unlike many similar stories, it depicts the process as helping the family return home rather than portraying ICE agents as villains.<\/p>\n<p>The narrative follows Diego, who struggles to adapt in America, his family\u2019s wish to go back, and ICE agents who explain deportation and send them home-ending with Diego reuniting with his grandparents. The authors say the book teaches that breaking rules has consequences while also emphasizing home and family. They also point to their earlier works that depict detention or deportation in a negative light, as part of a broader conversation about how children\u2019s stories influence attitudes toward ICE and the rule of law.<\/p>\n<p>Howell and Neuhaus dedicate the book to children of ICE officers, arguing that those kids face scrutiny and demonization, and they suggest that children should learn to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-and-officials-condemn-attack-on-u-s-capitol\/\" title=\"...makers and officials condemn attack on U.S. Capitol\">respect law enforcement<\/a> rather than be scared into hatred. The piece mentions congressional and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-harris-media-double-standard-that-wasnt-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"The Harris media \u2018double standard\u2019 that wasn\u2019t - Washington Examiner\">media comparisons<\/a> of ICE to the Gestapo and describes violent attacks on ICE facilities, then says the authors plan to share the book with children in ICE family detention centers and ultimately in schools and libraries.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span>Photo Courtesy of Mike Howell and Ryan Neuhaus       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/01\/exclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Exclusive: Meet The Kids\u2019 Book Character Challenging The Left\u2019s Pro-Illegal Immigration Narrative&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/01\/exclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Exclusive: Meet The Kids\u2019 Book Character Challenging The Left\u2019s Pro-Illegal Immigration Narrative&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/01\/exclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/01\/exclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Exclusive: Meet The Kids\u2019 Book Character Challenging The Left\u2019s Pro-Illegal Immigration Narrative&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/01\/exclusive-meet-the-kids-book-character-challenging-the-lefts-pro-illegal-immigration-narrative\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Amid the flood of anti-ICE messaging inundating social media feeds and classrooms, leftists are teaching kids to demonize federal agents who enforce America\u2019s immigration laws. Now children\u2019s book authors Mike Howell and Ryan Neuhaus are pushing back on this messaging that seeks to \u201cindoctrinate kids into open borders ideology.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Howell and Neuhaus\u2019 new picture book \u2014 <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0H3FT3C1R?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apan_dp_LIGHTSABER1GHUL7A6XM&#038;ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apan_dp_LIGHTSABER1GHUL7A6XM&#038;social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apan_dp_LIGHTSABER1GHUL7A6XM&#038;bestFormat=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Diego the Dingo Finds His Way Home<\/a><\/em>  \u2014 follows the story of an immigrant family of dingos that is illegally smuggled over the border and ultimately deported. Unlike many other children\u2019s books about the subject, this one positively portrays migrants returning home instead of painting ICE agents as moral monsters.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2818994054\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The book details the dingos\u2019 long journey to America as a family of coyotes smuggles them in. Diego, one of the dingo children, realizes quickly that he doesn\u2019t speak the language and is unable to assimilate. He and his family begin wishing they could return home. ICE agents eventually pick up the family, explain the deportation process, and send them back to their home country. As Diego sits on the airplane to leave America, he realizes that \u201chome is where they belonged.\u201d The story ends with Diego reuniting with his grandparents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiego spends most of the story learning that breaking the rules isn\u2019t fun and comes with consequences, but also that those consequences can lead him back to where he knows he belongs: home,\u201d Neuhaus said. \u201cFortunately, Iggy from ICE is there to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Howell said many children\u2019s books about immigration have \u201cterrible messaging,\u201d which inspired him to create his own children\u2019s book to \u201cdemystify the issue for children.\u201d <em>I Wish You Knew <\/em>and <em>Something Happened to My Dad<\/em> are children\u2019s picture books that depict ICE and its actions negatively. Both of these books are about young girls whose fathers face detention or deportation because they came to the United States illegally. <em>Until Someone Listens<\/em> is about a girl who advocates against ICE after they detain her family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s meant to scare children to demonize ICE, even from a young age,\u201d Howell said. \u201cWe really thought that kids should learn values from the books that are read to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The authors dedicated the book to children of ICE agents because of the scrutiny and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >demonization immigration officers face<\/a>, according to Howell.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t imagine what it\u2019s like to be the child of an ICE officer,\u201d Howell said. \u201cThere\u2019s a bunch of really angry and bad people who want to convince children that their parents are evil. They should feel pride in what their parents do, just like the son of a police officer or firefighter. I grew up playing with fire trucks and police cars, and maybe they should be playing with ICE vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Anti-ICE rhetoric from the corporate media and politicians has had serious consequences. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., and Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/25\/media-dems-wont-apologize-for-comparing-ice-to-gestapo-after-attack-targeting-agents\/\">compared<\/a> ICE to the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police. A host of other Democrats have attacked ICE with similar smears. ICE agents have also been the targets of numerous violent attacks, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/01\/lets-track-every-lie-dems-and-media-invented-to-demonize-immigration-agents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">including<\/a> one attack on an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas, where agitators fired shots at agents. Nearly a dozen were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism in this incident.<\/p>\n<p>The authors plan to get their book into ICE family detention centers after the initial Amazon release. Howell said he hopes to visit a detention facility and read the books to children of illegal aliens in the same situation as the fictional dingo. In addition, they hope to get the book into school classrooms and libraries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChildren need more stories that teach them not only compassion, but also the importance of family and respect for the rule of law,\u201d Neuhaus said.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Skye Graham is an intern at The Federalist. She is a senior History major at Hillsdale College and serves as the assistant features editor for the Hillsdale Collegian.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Skye Graham<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/skyegraham\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/border-crisis\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">border crisis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/childrens-book\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Children&#8217;s Book<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ice\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ICE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/illegal-aliens\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">illegal aliens<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/illegal-immigration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Illegal Immigration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/immigration-and-customs-enforcement\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mike-howell\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Mike Howell<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ryan-neuhaus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ryan Neuhaus<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amid anti-ICE messaging, leftists teach children to demonize immigration law agents<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4302,"featured_media":2608984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-29-at-10.47.53-AM-e1780066370146-1024x576.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[80595,32557,36382,80594,44008],"class_list":["post-2608983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-anti-ice-narrative","tag-book-review","tag-immigration-policy","tag-kids-book","tag-political-messaging"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-29-at-10.47.53-AM-e1780066370146-1024x576.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2608983"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2608987,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608983\/revisions\/2608987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2608984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2608983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2608983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2608983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}