ICE Impersonations Proliferate Amid the Agency's Undercover Tactics

[justaprogressive]

Over the past few months, there have been chronic reports of individuals posing as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, in many cases using these guises to commit unlawful acts. Impersonation of law enforcement is not an uncommon occurrence in the United States, but the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies, and the particular ways in which ICE enjoys anonymity, have led to increased opportunities for such behavior, endangering and exploiting immigrants and their communities, regardless of their status.

It is indisputable that ICE agents regularly exhibit behavior that, if it were to be displayed by anyone else, would be considered criminal activity. The detention of individuals like Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student who was seized in broad daylight by masked ICE agents, fits the defining features of kidnapping but is not viewed this way when performed by federal immigration officials. A home security camera in Somerville, Massachusetts, captured the moment when Öztürk was accosted by ICE agents dressed in plain clothes and face masks, with the agent who first approaches her quickly grabbing her hands and later handcuffing them behind her back. She was ushered into an unmarked car and held in a federal facility for six weeks.

ICE agents regularly exhibit behavior that, if it were to be displayed by anyone else, would be considered criminal activity.

When they have bothered to explain these activities, ICE has said that anonymity is necessary for the protection of their agents. Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, defended his agents’ use of masks in a press conference on June 2, claiming that “People are out there, taking photos of the names [ICE agents], their faces, and posting them online with death threats to their family and themselves. So, I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line and their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is.”

ICE’s view appears to be that they have a higher duty to carry out actions that protect the public from people who have committed or have the potential to commit crimes. But the strategies they employ to do so invite criminal behavior from others. Individuals are emboldened to commit crimes against those they believe are immigrants, capitalizing on the camouflage ICE agents employ and the fear of deportation in immigrant communities. ICE’s tactics make impersonation much easier in a chilling landscape where it has become difficult to distinguish who is an agent of the state and who is not.

https://prospect.org/justice/2025-06-24-ice-impersonations-proliferate-agencys-undercover-tactics/

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. When you see masked people w no badge numbers / name tags, call Police. Let them sort it out with ICE / pseudo-ICE

Unmarked vehicles. An abduction is an abduction. Anyone can buy gear with ICE or POLICE on the back.

The bigger the "scene", the more likely targets can escape.

[Arazi]

2. When/if there's a retaliatory terror attack by Iran, they'll dress as ICE agents imo

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Here are some steps that could be taken

I think that these suggestions make sense

We need for these people to provide proper identification