The FBI has urged immigration officers to clearly identify themselves during operations to show they are not criminals — a warning that underscores the growing danger of impostors posing as U.S. agents to commit violent crimes.
According to a law enforcement bulletin first reported by Wired, criminals impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have carried out kidnappings, robberies, and sexual assaults across several states.
The document was first obtained by the transparency nonprofit Property of the People.
The FBI said the incidents are eroding public trust and making it harder for Americans, particularly in immigrant-heavy communities, to distinguish legitimate law enforcement from criminals.
"Ensure law enforcement personnel adequately identify themselves during operations and cooperate with individuals who request further verification," the FBI advisory said, calling on agencies to allow the public to confirm an officer's credentials with local police when in doubt.
The advisory cited at least five incidents in 2025 involving fake ICE agents.
In one incident, three armed men stormed a New York restaurant claiming to be ICE officers, tied up employees, and robbed an ATM. Other cases involved a woman in Florida kidnapped by a fake agent and a man in Brooklyn who tried to rape a woman after identifying himself as an ICE officer.
The FBI bulletin warned that criminals are exploiting ICE's "enhanced public profile" to prey on vulnerable people, taking advantage of confusion around the agency's visible and often masked operations.
A senior ICE official told Wired that anyone caught impersonating a federal officer would be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
The bulletin comes amid growing concern about ICE's use of face coverings and unmarked gear during enforcement actions, practices that some activists claim fuel public distrust, The Hill reported.
Critics have argued that masked operations blur the line between legitimate officers and impostors, giving criminals cover to operate more easily.
Trump administration officials and conservatives defend ICE agents' use of masks as a necessary safety measure.
Early last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said federal agents face escalating threats from left-wing extremist groups and organized cartels.
"So our intelligence indicates that these people are organized," Noem warned in a Sunday morning TV interview. "They're getting more and more people on their team, as far as attacking officers, and they're making plans to ambush them and to kill them.
"We have specific officers and agents that have bounties on their heads. It's been $2,000 to kidnap them, $10,000 to kill them. They've released their pictures. They've sent them between their networks. It's an extremely dangerous situation and unprecedented."
Noem and other officials have argued that masks protect agents' identities from doxxing and retaliation by criminal networks, including MS-13 and foreign terror groups.
"These men and women put their lives on the line every day," former ICE Director Tom Homan said. "If a mask keeps them safe, that's the right call."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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