Law Enforcement Expert on Fake ICE Agents for The New York Times

The bureau urges agencies to ensure officers clearly identify themselves and to cooperate when civilians ask to verify an officer’s identity—including by allowing calls to a local police precinct. “Ensure law enforcement personnel adequality [sic] identify themselves during operations and cooperate with individuals who request further verification,” it says. The bureau’s advisory urges agencies at every level of government to coordinate to “verify legitimate versus non-legitimate operations” attributed to ICE—a call that frames the wave of impersonations as a national law-enforcement concern. The FBI describes a few signs of impersonation: forged or mismatched credentials, outdated protective gear, and cloned vehicle markings. It’s urging agencies to launch outreach programs aimed at identifying fake ICE agents, a step the FBI argues could counteract the mistrust caused by impersonators and strengthen law enforcement’s image.