- Reaction score
- 3,952
- Location
- Upper US
Authorities in at least three states have arrested individuals allegedly impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at a time when real ICE agents have ramped up under the Trump administration.
In South Carolina, Sean-Michael Johnson, 33, was charged with kidnapping and impersonating an ICE agent after allegedly detaining a group of Latino men along a Charleston County road. Johnson is accused of “willfully and unlawfully presenting himself as an ICE Agent and detaining a vehicle of individuals from moving,” according to court records. The incident, which was recorded by one of the victims, took place on Sullivan’s Island near Charleston on January 29. “You all got caught!” Johnson is heard saying on the video. “Where are you from, Mexico? You from Mexico? You’re going back to Mexico!”
In the video, Johnson is seen taking the driver’s keys, mocking the driver’s accent, while jiggling the car keys in his face. At one point he is seen trying to take the driver’s phone. The driver calls a friend and, speaking Spanish, says, “I don’t know man, he’s saying immigration.” “Now don’t be speaking that pig-Latin in my f**king country!” Johnson says, knocking the phone out of his hand. “He’s crazy. He’s a racist, man,” one of the passengers in the vehicle, another victim, can be heard saying in Spanish.
Johnson was charged with three counts of kidnapping and one count each of impersonating a law enforcement officer, petty larceny, assault and battery, according to jail records. Johnson bonded out of jail over the weekend, and in a his parents pleaded with the judge saying that their son has mental health issues and “has tried to get help” in the past, “but he needs to continue with that therapy,” according to CNN affiliate WCIV.
The founder and president of the Charleston Hispanic Association told CNN he does not believe this is an isolated incident. "We hear of Hispanics being targeted quite a bit. It’s an everyday thing,” Enrique Grace told CNN. “I don’t think this is an isolated case, it was just caught on video. It’s pretty sad to see that.”
The ICE impersonation cases come as President Donald Trump has in the United States, part of a broader strategy to amass a large enforcement machine. The administration has sent troops to the US-Mexico border, utilized military aircraft to repatriate recent border crossers, and deployed people from multiple federal agencies, including those under the Justice Department, to augment immigration enforcement operations.
“Immigrants are a target for scams anyway, and I think that this just kind of amplifies this, this situation where people who are particularly vulnerable are in this moment where they are kind of looking for ICE agents everywhere,” Siembra NC co-director Nikki Marin Baena told CNN.
A grassroots organization borne out of frustration with immigration policies enacted during Trump’s first term, is focused on empowering Latino communities across North Carolina through comprehensive civic engagement and social justice initiatives. Siembra NC is actively combating ICE impersonation and reducing community fear by creating and distributing multimedia educational resources, including and , and hosting statewide “know your rights” presentations that teach Latino residents how to distinguish between legitimate federal law enforcement officers and potential impersonators.
In another impersonation case, in Philadelphia, police charged a Temple University student in connection with the alleged impersonation of ICE officers on campus. The incident, which occurred Saturday night, involved three individuals, two wearing shirts with “Police” and “ICE” in white lettering, attempting to enter a residence hall on campus, Temple University said in a . After being denied entrance to the residence hall, they were later found disrupting a local business, the university said. Philadelphia police arrested a 22-year-old student, charging him with impersonating a public servant, with the university saying that he’s been placed on “interim suspension.” Two other suspects involved in the incident fled the scene in a light-colored SUV, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. Temple’s statement followed an announcement earlier in the week reacting to Trump’s executive orders, including the plans for of undocumented immigrants.
“The uncertainty of the present moment has also led to an increase in rumors, which can quickly be amplified through social media,” Temple University President John Fry said in a . “Please know that neither Temple’s Department of Public Safety nor the Philadelphia Police Department have any reports of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents being on campus.”
Meanwhile, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Carl Thomas Bennett was arrested for allegedly impersonating an ICE officer and sexual assaulting a woman at a Motel 6 threatening to deport her if she didn’t comply, according to . Police reports indicated that Bennett, 37, “threatened to deport the victim if she did not have sex with him,” and “displayed a business card with a badge on it,” according to WRAL. Bennett was denied bond and appointed a public defender, court records show, reported.
The incidents show the importance of “safe space” policies, according to Maribel Hernández Rivera, director of policy and government affairs, border and immigration at the American Civil Liberties Union. “It’s important for immigrant communities to feel safe, to be able to approach law enforcement and report anything that’s happening and when people do not feel safe, not only does it make people who are immigrants less safe, but it makes all of us less safe,” Hernández Rivera said.
Under the Trump administration, federal immigration authorities are now permitted to arrest people and carry out enforcement actions in and near places such as churches and schools, marking a departure from long-standing policy to avoid so-called sensitive areas. Hernandez said the shift in policy not only threatens public safety but discourages people who need help from law enforcement or health care providers to seek it out. After watching the video Hernández Rivera said it also showed the effect that White House policies are having across the country – not just for migrant communities but also everyone else. “What we’re seeing here is we have leadership at the top that dehumanizes people who are immigrants and now this is the outcome of that dehumanizing,” Hernández Rivera said. “You end up having a violation of people’s rights, people see and hear this and they feel emboldened to go against immigrants.”
