FBI encouraging ICE agents to identify themselves amid a surge of crimes by impersonators

Source: The Independent

Wednesday 05 November 2025 20:04 EST


The FBI is reportedly calling on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to “adequately identify themselves” when interacting with the public, following a string of violent criminals impersonating immigration agents.

“Due to the recent increase in ICE enforcement actions across the country, criminal actors are using ICE’s enhanced public profile and media coverage to their advantage to target vulnerable communities and commit criminal activity,” the agency allegedly wrote last month in a bulletin obtained by Property of the People, a watchdog group. “This not only effects the victims and communities but also has broader negative consequences on law enforcement agencies.”

The memo, prepared by the FBI’s Office of Partner Engagement and New York Field Office, and first reported by WIRED, pointed to a series of concerning incidents carried out by individuals impersonating ICE. These included an August robbery in New York where impersonators tied up staff, an April kidnapping in Florida, and a January incident in which a North Carolina man broke into a motel posing as an agent and threatened a woman with deportation if she didn’t engage in sexual acts with him. The Independent has contacted the FBI and ICE for comment.

Under federal regulations, immigration officers are required to identify themselves and state a reason for arrest “as soon as it is practical and safe to do so.” Throughout the Trump administration, immigration officers have worn masks, used unmarked cars, and adopted aggressive tactics during operations.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/fbi-ice-mask-crime-impersonators-b2859575.html