At least two dozen incidents of people posing as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been documented in 2025, exceeding the total number recorded across the previous four presidential terms, according to a review of court filings, social media posts and local news reports by CNN. The cases range from intimidation and fraud to alleged kidnapping, robbery, assault and rape.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, whose office is prosecuting two cases this year, told the news site that the pattern is unprecedented. "I've been at this for 38 years, and I've never seen cases involving the impersonation of ICE agents before Donald Trump won the second time," he said.
Experts and local officials have linked the spike to the government's expanded, highly visible immigration operations and the use of masks and plain clothes by agents during raids, which critics say blurs identification and invites copycats. "It's very easy for somebody to just play dress up and go out acting like these agents," said former FBI agent Mike German. "Because these agents have been so aggressive in public without identifying themselves, it creates fear and that fear is an opportunity for a criminal."
ICE says face coverings are used to protect agents and their families from doxxing and threats amid large protests and notes agents "always have credentials visible and clearly announce who they are." The agency said it "strongly condemns the impersonation of its law enforcement officers or agents," calling the practice dangerous and illegal.
Lawmakers in several states have moved to restrict masked operations; California enacted a first-in-the-nation ban on most masked enforcement, citing concerns about copycat activity. The White House has called the law unconstitutional, and the Department of Homeland Security said federal officers will not abide by it, pointing to what it describes as a sharp rise in assaults and doxxing campaigns targeting agents.
Of the roughly two dozen impersonation cases identified this year, authorities have brought criminal charges in 10, with only one resulting in federal impersonation charges—a departure from prior administrations, when about half of such cases were charged federally.
Some local officials warn limited federal prosecutions risk encouraging further offenses. "I expect it will continue to grow exponentially because those individuals have seen that the federal government is not willing to hold them accountable," said Fresno City Council member Miguel Arias to CNN.
Recent cases include an alleged kidnapping in Florida by a woman wearing an ICE shirt and mask, a Philadelphia robbery in which a suspect reportedly zip-tied an employee while claiming to be an ICE agent, and traffic-stop scams in Delaware and South Carolina carried out by masked men in vests labeled "ICE." Authorities say other incidents appear aimed at social media clout or political provocation, including staged videos and public appearances in ICE-branded apparel.
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