On reddit and in a few opinion pieces in media, I’ve seen people say or speculate that a lot of the people who are claiming to be ICE are not actually employed by ICE and are impersonating them (or perhaps deputized in some way?), ranging from bounty hunters to proud boy types. Among these same sources it’s suggested that there’s some sort of bounty on illegals (which often just ends up being brown people). I’ve heard $1500 specifically quoted.
It seems plausible in that there’s suddenly a massive upsurge in people who are claiming to be ICE, and they seem like they’re cosplaying ICE – regular old unmarked vehicles that do not look like law enforcement vehicles, clothing and equipment that came from a hunting store or a milsurp catalog – they definitely do not look like they’re equipped like federal law enforcement agents. Their tactics often look very sloppy – not like trained law enforcement. Since they all wear mask and refuse to identify themselves, it’s hard for a member of the public witnesses these abuses to confirm whether or not they’re legitimate law enforcement officers.
But do we have factual information about this? Are people pretending to be ICE to gather up the bounties on brown people? Are they perhaps unofficially employed or deputized by ICE in some way to act on their behalf? Are there people completely unaffiliated with ICE snatching people off the streets in ICE-themed kidnappings? If so, is there any sort of law enforcement agency or government oversight committee actually acknowledging the problem and trying to do something about it? Any media sources actively covering this?
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills when it seems more likely than not we’ve got people impersonating law enforcement snatching people off the streets and no one is covering or investigating the possibility.
I’m not going to actually look for it, but heard rumor that you can buy ICE jackets/caps online.
And I did see a guy interviewed that said it was fun to imitate them and scare the shit out of people. Hardy, har, har. He looked/acted like he had the proportionate IQ to do just that.
So, not hard facts or evidence really, but it would not surprise me in the least. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t happening.
Kristy Noem said that the ‘real’ ICE agents hide their identity because a lot of them are working under cover, which is typical bullshit for this administration. Even the real ICE agents know that they are skating over the edge of legality.
Are these idiots actually “doing” stuff, or just parading around to look cool and intimidating? I have seen clips of people looking like ICE agents deploying somewhere but not actually doing anything to anyone, likely fakes. Versus scenes where people are actually being arrested and cuffed. I suspect the cosplayers are too chicken-shit to actually do anything, but yeah, the risk that some of them can use the costume for more than just play is very real.
I definitely believe people are taking advantage of the chaos to kidnap people, but I’m interested in something that’s more systematic with government complicity. Like, for example, if ICE talked to the leaders of the proud boys and similar right wing militias and offered them either official or unofficial permission to run around and snatch people up and perhaps turn them into some sort of detention centers, or if bounty hunters are snatching people up pretending to be ICE for the rewards. Guys deciding on their own to pretend to be ICE to commit crimes is definitely a problem spawned by this utter insanity, but ICE and the federal government is probably not actually intentionally complicit with that, whereas if they’re allowing people to snatch up and deliver suspected immigrants they would be complicit in it.
In the former case, it’s random people committing crimes, but in the latter case they’d be turning in the immigrants into some sort of government custody, just operating quasi-legally with complicity. Basically, I want to know if these people are turning up in government custody but they were rounded up/kidnapped by people who aren’t actually federal law enforcement officers. ICE would necessarily have to be complicit because you can’t just turn up as a random citizen and hand over people you’ve kidnapped into their custody. Unless they’re in on it.
Yes, this. If there is evidence of organized irregulars, then it would of course be on topic to post it. However, wild guesses of what might be happening that we don’t know about, or speculation about what might happen in the future, or opinions about the implications of what is or might be happening, are all questions better suited to other forums.
I saw one post where they identified one ICE agent during the earlier arrests, where he was not wearing his mask, as a prominent member of one of the white militias. The post did not say whether that was his regular day job but the implication was he (and his “posse”) had been deputised to do this job. Several posts on social media have hilighted the disorganization and lack of proper training and tactics.
I recall one post pointed out that in one raid, contrary to standard law enforcement and other serious arms training, the agents were walking - and running - weapons drawn and with their fingers on the triggers. In another, they are arresting someone on the street and an agent points a gun at a random car that is approaching to pass but not threatening.
If witnessed, how would ANYONE be able to attest that it really is an ICE agent? How would any onlooker determine THAT woman was a target, and not just a woman?
Who is there to report? What can they report?
I get what you want, but, in this instance it seems an impossible ask.
When their words are designed to inflame and their actions defy expectations for law enforcement and their appearance and behavior is indistinguishable from thuggery, they are complicit. It’s called “plausible deniability.” If they aren’t actively rooting out and punishing the extra-legal maqueraders, they are creating a scenario where their official agents can do any l level of violence and blame the fake agents.
How is this any different than men (it’s never women) impersonation cops to assault women or to fuck with people or cosplay as if they are a real cop? That’s been going on for decades.
But the idea that there are now gangs of police impersonators running around is worrisome to say the least.
Typically real cops are very much not-fond of impersonators and things go real badly when they are caught.
The other issue here is if these new gangs are in effect approved by the real ICE, by ommission or commision, that is a far more worrisome development. If.
A different but closely related issue is that real ICE and real state, county, and city police seemingly don’t communicate much. So a city cop driving by a traffic stop by a fake cop car will notice something amiss. The same cop driving by a fake ICE roundup will perhaps think “Oh, they do that all the time without telling us” and continue on.
Of course all the above also assumes the city cop isn’t just as trumply as the fake ICE gang he just drove past without action.
As per post #6, I’m specifically not asking about people who are, of their own accord, impersonating ice agents to commit crime. I’m talking about people who may have been recruited or otherwise given secret permission to act on the government behalf as unofficial law enforcement agents and/or bounty hunters.
Basically, we have a ton of people running around, claiming to be ICE, but not looking like police officers. They kidnap/arrest people and do… something with them. Are they bringing them to government detention centers? Are they acting illegally on an arrangement with the federal government? Did elements of ICE or the federal government recruit non-police officers to pretend to be ICE?
I would disagree, a local cop would expect to recognize you, on a smaller force. But more importantly a cop has to identify himself when requested. Not so ICE agents.
And a fake cop might not know the protocols making it easier than you imagine to detect.
Yes, but since ICE agents are being allowed to wear an assortment of gear and carry a variety of weapons and wear a variety of different mask types by personal preference, it’s hard to say any of the agents we see are, in fact, not real ICE agents.