Fake ICE Agents Are Terrorizing Latino Communities—Here’s What You Need to Know

Immigration raids are ramping up around the country following President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The law enforcement agency, emboldened by the current president’s support, has conducted mass sweeps that have caught American citizens, Native Americans, and legal residents in drag nets of harassment and arrest. Immigrant communities are on edge, and new reports of ICE impersonations are causing more fear.

People are impersonating immigration officials and assaulting others

Police arrested a South Carolina man after a viral video showed him harassing a group of Latino men in a truck. Sean-Michael Johnson, 33, was charged with three counts of kidnapping and one count each of impersonating a law enforcement officer, petty larceny, assault, and battery. The exchange shows the man hanging in the truck window and verbally harassing the men. He also reaches into the truck and removes the keys when one of them attempts to park.

“You cannot drive because you do not have a license,” Johnson tells the men in an impersonation of a Latino accent. “You’re going back!”

The confrontation escalated when one of the men made a phone call. Johnson slapped the phone out of the man’s hand when he heard him speaking Spanish and went on a tirade.

“Don’t be speaking that pig Latin in my f***ing country,” Johnson shouts before slapping the phone out of the driver’s hand. “Don’t be speaking that pig Latin here.”

Johnson has since posted a $230,000 bail and is out of jail pending a court date. According to CNN, Johnson’s family is pleading with the presiding judge to give him mercy. The family claims that Johnson suffers from mental health issues and has attempted to get help in the past.

ICE impersonations have been growing across the country, terrorizing Latino people

Police charged a man in Raleigh, North Carolina, with several crimes after impersonating an ICE officer and sexually assaulting a woman. According to reports, the man broke into a motel room and demanded that the woman have sex with him or he would deport her. According to WBTV, Carl Bennett Jr., 37, showed a business card with a badge claiming to be an ICE officer.

Temple University student Aidan Steigelmann, 22, tried entering a residence hall by impersonating an ICE agent. Police were called to Temple’s Johnson & Hardwick Residence Hall on the university’s North Philadelphia campus. It is not immediately clear what the intention behind the visit to the residence hall was. Steigelmann allegedly met two other suspects who attempted to gain access to the building but were denied.

Police arrested 24-year-old Bryan Golbricht after he assaulted a man, demanding paperwork while impersonating an ICE officer in Missouri. Authorities charged Golbricht with first-degree burglary, first-degree harassment, fourth-degree assault, and falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer.

It has been less than a month since the Trump administration came into power announcing sweeping immigration raids. The escalation of people impersonating ICE officers is a chilling example of what some people are capable of when they want to terrorize a community. Stay safe out there, mi gente. Protect your loved ones and be vigilant.