Multiple ICE impersonation arrests made during nationwide immigration crackdown

Authorities in three states have made arrests in connection with individuals impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, as tensions rise amid a nationwide immigration crackdown.

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 immigration enforcement efforts 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.”