US sees spate of arrests of civilians impersonating Ice officers [View all]
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
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