US sees spate of arrests of civilians impersonating Ice officers

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 28 Jun 2025 17.14 EDT
Last modified on Sat 28 Jun 2025 17.15 EDT


Police in southern California arrested a man suspected of posing as a federal immigration officer this week, the latest in a series of such arrests, as masked, plainclothes immigration agents are deployed nationwide to meet the Trump administration’s mass deportation targets. The man, Fernando Diaz, was arrested by Huntington Park police after officers said they found a loaded gun and official-looking documents with Department of Homeland Security headings in his SUV, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Officers were impounding his vehicle for parking in a handicapped zone when Diaz asked to retrieve items inside, the police said. Among the items seen by officers in the car were “multiple copies of passports not registered under the individual’s name”, NBC reports. Diaz was arrested for possession of the allegedly unregistered firearm and released on bail.

The Huntington Park police chief and mayor accused Diaz of impersonating an immigration agent at a news conference, a move Diaz later told the NBC News affiliate he was surprised by. Diaz also denied to the outlet that he had posed as an officer with border patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). At the news conference, police showed reporters paper they found inside his car with an official-looking US Customs and Border Protection header.

The arrest is one of several cases involving people allegedly impersonating immigration officials, as the nationwide crackdown on undocumented immigrants intensifies. Experts have warned that federal agents’ increased practice of masking while carrying out immigration raids and arrests makes it easier for imposters to pose as federal officers. Around the country, the sight of Ice officers emerging from unmarked cars in plainclothes to make arrests has become increasingly common.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/28/civilians-impersonating-ice-officers

[C Moon]

1. trump sux!

[Karasu]

2. Then GET RID OF THE FUCKING MASKS ALREADY. It's unprecedented, ridiculous, and insane. What the fuck did they

think was going to happen after trying to normalize this?!

Better yet, stop indiscriminately arresting people. But that one's clearly asking for too much in this country now.

[GiqueCee]

3. Arrest and detain...

... Nosferatu Miller. That evil fucking psychopath and his frothing-at-the-mouth racism is at the bottom of all of this ICE insanity. Then throw his ass in the deepest sinkhole in El Salvador.

[bdamomma]

4. I agree

that would be the most appropriate place for Miller.

All those Jan 6th insurrectionists may hopefully find themselves in prison again or even better detention camps.

[mdbl]

5. The Jan 6 criminals are perfect candidates to pull some BS like this

They all think they are law enforcement in their fantasies.

[bdamomma]

16. After what

they did Law enforcement officers at the Jan 6th Insurrection, you can see they want to bully migrants and immigrants. They should be called out for being Jan 6th Insurrectionists to their faces.

[DENVERPOPS]

25. Bingo mdcl

they and all their buddies that weren't yet arrested, and every radical group they all hang with........

Hell, Trump wouldn't even have to pay them........

[Justice matters.]

23. nosferatu miller would not be in the WH if he didn't convince

if he didn't convince the convicted idiot it was a good thing to do (deportations) to brown people in order for him to get elected again (and it worked).

So the convicted idiot is the one responsible again.

[tanyev]

6. It's not JUST the masks.

It’s also the refusal of so-called agents to give their names, show official ID, and present appropriate warrants.

[dalton99a]

9. +1

[bdamomma]

17. Makes perfect sense

to me. Don't underestimate some clear-thinking Americans to come to this decision.

[mwmisses4289]

7. Arrest more of them, charge them all with impersonating officers.

Already at least one young Latina woman was kidnapped by some of these thugs and raped.
Time to demand they get rid of the masks, or they will be charged with impersonating an officer.

[Timeflyer]

8. That's the thing--it's declaring open-season on women, and showing how to grab them in public with impunity.

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Because they've made it SO DAMNED EASY to impersonate ICE -- irregular "uniforms", masks, refusal to ID themselves. nt

[pandr32]

11. It seems criminals and predators are given cover now.

What's to stop sexual predators from snatching victims, including children off the streets right out in the open?

[Bettie]

13. Absolutely nothing

Right now, the US is a human trafficker's dream. The government encourages removing people, publicly and violently, while masked in unmarked vehicles and there is zero oversight.

[pandr32]

14. This is a nightmare. An absolute horror.

Human trafficking has been franchised and imitated right out in the open. Criminals can operate with cover. How can this be the U.S.A.?

Anyone who holds some investment in 'detention centers' should be shamed and hopefully prosecuted one day. All those bounty hunters and recruits for ICE need to be identified. They are working against the American people and our Constitution. Ditto for Republicans. We need to work towards accountability no matter how long it takes. There is no way we can afford to give up this fight. As it is, anyone is fair game.

[Zackzzzz]

18. I thought this from the start.

Do you react by pulling away from what you think is a kidnapper?
Now ICE/police? look like kidnappers.
In the olden days if you got raped or killed it was
Did you react, scream, fight hard enough or not.
And what were you wearing.

Today you can be snatched just going to work, by who?
It all messes with my mind.

[pandr32]

19. There is no safety anymore.

[Bettie]

12. They're probably deputizing

them outside the back door of the courthouse.

Their only mistake was 'freelancing'.

[SWBTATTReg]

15. I honestly believe that some of these arrests by ICE have been carried out by these thugs illegally in costume.

How horrible and how gross when they hide themselves so much, the so-called agents, making it difficult by the public to actually determine if these truly are federal agents. Carrying implicit authority too.

[AverageOldGuy]

20. It's only a matter of days . . .

Masked, plainclothes dumbasses with POLICE vests jump out and head for the wrong car and are met with a fusillade of AR15 fire.

ICE will respond by ordering plainclothes, masked agents to go with guns drawn

And then it’s on.

[Zackzzzz]

21. Who are these people? Some are in Tee Shirts, Running Shoes,

Some in camo outfits. They all show up at some designated place, together.
They [6-20 men], take A citizen down TO THE GROUND, often hurting them,
in some wrestling move.
6-29-2025, Pacoima, CA Elder Tortilla Woman
Afterwards, some leave in their own separate vehicles.

How are they being informed to meet somewhere?
How are they each being paid? How much are they being paid?
If the person goes away in an ambulance, do they lose payment?
What's in it for them?

[dlk]

22. Criminals wear masks

ICE agents should be required to show their faces and badge numbers.

[republianmushroom]

24. No, I think ICE agents are impersonating, muggers and rapist, myself.