DATE:
October 21, 2025
18
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
STOPPING ICE IMPERSONATORS AND COUNTERFEIT GEAR SUPPLIERS (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
Over the past year, communities have witnessed an alarming escalation in raids carried out by masked, unidentified agents. A CNN investigation released in October 2025 found that incidents of fraudsters and predators impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have surged this year, more than in the past four presidential administrations combined, with reports ranging from assault and kidnapping to extortion.i Fewer than half of the impersonation cases led to criminal charges, and only one resulted in federal prosecution, evidence that a significant enforcement gap is leaving communities exposed.
The results are predictable: when legitimate law enforcement blurs the line, predators step in. Earlier this year, a man posing as an ICE officer in Charleston, South Carolina, threatened a woman with deportation before sexually assaulting herii. Weeks later in Brooklyn Heights, New York, another impersonator identifying himself as "Immigration" forced a woman into a stairwell, attempted rape, and robberyiii. In San Diego County, a San Ysidro man was indicted for impersonating an ICE agent to defraud more than 25 immigrants, charging each up to $20,000 with fake Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents and a counterfeit badgeiv. These cases prove the stakes: when residents cannot distinguish between real officers and impostors, criminals are empowered to terrorize communities.
State and national leaders are sounding the alarm. On March 18, California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned of rising "fake ICE officer" scams targeting immigrant families. On August 11, the Democratic Women's Caucus issued a statement describing ICE's own masked, unmarked operations as tactics that cause confusion, terror, and mistrust among the publicv:
"All our lives, we are taught to fear masked men ...
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