Officials react to allegations of civilians impersonating ICE

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(The Center Square) - One San Diego County supervisor is concerned about civilians posing as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents using fake ICE clothing and tactical gear and sowing fear and discord.

Terra Lawson-Remer, chair of the Board of Supervisors, wrote in an Oct. 17 e-newsletter that she is leading efforts in the county to issue cease-and-desist letters to companies that sell fake law enforcement gear that allows members of the public to misrepresent themselves as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

“When the public can’t tell the difference between legitimate officers and impostors, everyone loses – especially the communities already targeted by exploitation and fear,” Lawson-Remer wrote in the newsletter. “In San Diego County, we’re drawing the line. We’re saying no to masked federal chaos, no to deception, and no to the idea that accountability is optional.”

Lawson-Remer described a CNN investigation conducted earlier this year about people across the country buying shirts, baseball caps, bulletproof vests and other gear that would make the wearer look like an ICE agent. The supervisor said the ability to impersonate officers is made easier by an ICE policy that allows officers to wear masks to hide their identities.

“This type of behavior from federal law enforcement creates an opening for bad actors to step in and abuse this fear,” Lawson-Remer said in the e-newsletter.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has told The Center Square that masks are necessary to protect officers.

The CNN investigation, meanwhile, found more than two dozen cases of private individuals posing as ICE officers across the country since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. A graphic displayed in a video produced as part of that investigation shows Southern California communities as the sites where officers were impersonated.

According to that investigation, real ICE agents often conduct operations in plainclothes and drive unmarked cars - a departure from the way at least one ICE impersonator operated in Seattle. The man drove a black SUV with “ICE” painted along the sides of the car in large white letters.

Online retailers are selling items marked 'ICE'

Amazon.com is one online retailer that is selling items labeled with the “ICE” acronym. This week, baseball caps with “ICE” sewn across the front and an American flag on the side were selling for $36.95, while other caps with just “ICE” across the front sold for as low as $14.99.

A black windbreaker with the phrase “Border Patrol” on the front and back, in bold white lettering, can be bought on Amazon for $29.99. Unlabeled bulletproof vests sell on Amazon starting at $32.99, and generic fake police badges can be bought for as low as $13.99. It's difficult to tell what agencies the badges are supposed to represent.

Other retailers sell ICE clothing. SHEIN, the popular fast-fashion site that sells trendy clothes for extremely low prices, sells a short-sleeved women’s T-shirt that says “ICE Federal Agent” across the front in large, bold yellow letters. That T-shirt sells for $9.95 on SHEIN’s website.

Another online retailer, Shield Republic, sells a T-shirt with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security logo on the back above the letters “ICE” in large black lettering.

“These predators are using fake ICE gear, including jackets, patches, badges, and vests, that can be bought online for next to nothing,” Lawson-Remer wrote in the e-newsletter.

However, city and county staff in San Diego and Los Angeles have suggested ICE impersonators are negligible, if they exist at all.

“I’m not aware of this occurring in San Diego,” wrote Rachel Laing, a staff member of the city of San Diego, in an email to The Center Square.

Similarly, officials in Los Angeles County said they haven’t seen ICE impersonators in their communities. However, some have released statements opposing ICE officers wearing masks, which they say encourage ICE impersonators to follow suit.

Officials say the general public can't tell the difference.

“Across the county, people are being pulled out of their cars, beaten, and ripped from their families by men in tactical gear with balaclavas, no badges, and no names,” said Janice Hahn, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. “That’s not how law enforcement in a democracy should operate. Residents have a right to know who is stopping them, questioning them, and detaining them.”

Is any of this legal?

Impersonating an ICE officer is a felony.

And the U.S. Department of Homeland Security takes it seriously.

“Anyone caught impersonating themselves as a federal immigration agent will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," an unnamed senior DHS official wrote in an email to The Center Square on Thursday. "Impersonating a federal immigration officer endangers public safety and erodes trust in law enforcement."

According to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School, 18 U.S. Code § 913 states, "Whoever falsely represents himself to be an officer, agent, or employee of the United States, and in such assumed character arrests or detains any person or in any manner searches the person, buildings, or other property of any person, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."

Hedding Law Firm, which has an office in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Encino, warns against impersonating an officer. 

"If you falsely represent yourself in certain situations, you could be charged with a federal criminal offense," the firm's website states.

Less clear is whether it's legal for companies to sell clothing or other items with the ICE name, acronym or logo on them, or fake police badges and other gear that could be used to impersonate a federal officer. 

The Media Law Resource Center said it's all about context.

"It could be a liability issue if someone dresses in ICE insignia, and is either reasonably believed to be a member of ICE and attempting to undertake some action," said Dave Heller, a lawyer and the center's deputy director. "You could especially imagine, for example, any kind of vigilante act that people put on, whether it's ICE or any other type of law enforcement garb, and have this wrongful intent to try to fool people about what they're wearing."

"Generally, labeling is okay so long as it doesn’t look like actual official garb," Heller told The Center Square Thursday. "This is particularly so for state law enforcement officers that have identifiable uniforms. So the sale of 'official' uniforms online or elsewhere is illegal. For example, New York State Penal Law prohibits the sale of 'any part of the [police] uniform which identifies the wearer as a member of a police department, such as the uniform, shield, badge, numbers, or other identifying insignias or emblems.' "

Law firms largely advise the public to be careful when producing or selling clothes. 

"Using names or acronyms related to U.S. government agencies requires careful consideration," according to Midwestern law firm Keener & Associates P.C. in a website post about trademark law.

Keener & Associates P.C.'s website applies to business owners producing items that have government agency names on them. The firm warns against implying false government connections.

Lawson-Remer, the San Diego County supervisor, didn’t respond to requests for comment for this story. Neither did the others on the Board of Supervisors, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, San Diego City Council members and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

The Center Square contacted, but did not get a response from, Amazon, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The Center Square also wasn't able to reach SHEIN or Shield Republic.