Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) joined her Democratic Women’s Caucus colleagues in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expressing deep concerns over ICE impersonators harassing and assaulting women. The members called for ICE to require agents to wear visible, clear identification during enforcement activities and to ensure impersonators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
In the letter, members raised grave concerns about women being assaulted by individuals impersonating ICE agents — taking advantage of the agency’s increased use of masks, plain-clothes, and unmarked vehicles. Lack of uniformity makes impersonating ICE and counterfeit ICE gear more accessible. ICE lacks specific regulations on dress, unlike local police officers, who are required to have distinguishable forms of identification.
“All our lives, we are taught to fear masked men in unmarked vehicles. We learn we should run from such men to avoid being kidnapped, sexually assaulted, or killed. Yet, ICE is increasingly conducting raids and arrests in masks, plain-clothes, without visible identification or badges, using unmarked vehicles – tactics that cause confusion, terror, and mistrust among the public. These tactics invited perpetrators of violence against women to take advantage of the chaos by impersonating masked ICE agents in order to target and sexually assault women,” the members wrote.
Reports of ICE impersonators attacking women began surfacing shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, coinciding with the direction for ICE agents to increase immigration enforcement activities and operate in masks, plain clothes, using unmarked vehicles. Cases of women being assaulted by ICE impersonators have been reported in several states, including New York, Maryland, and North Carolina.
In the letter sent to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE Associate Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility Jennifer Fenton, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, and White House Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Thomas Homan, the members demanded the Trump administration respond with a plan to effectively address this this growing threat and to denounce the use of ICE impersonation as a tool for manipulation, intimidation, and violence.
“We call on the Department to implement policies and protocols that are responsive to these serious concerns about women’s safety and law enforcement integrity to protect women from further harm. Your current practices leave women vulnerable to life-altering violence. It’s past time to act. Just like local police officers, ICE agents must be required to wear visible and clear identification to ensure their safety, better protect women, and deter impersonators. Finally, impersonators must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law and this violence must be denounced by this administration,” the members continued.
The full letter can be found here and below:
August 11, 2025
The Honorable Kristi Noem
Secretary
Department of Homeland Security
2707 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE
Washington, DC 20528
Mr. Todd Lyons
Acting Director
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
500 12th St SW
Washington, DC 20536
Ms. Jennifer M. Fenton
Associate Director
Office of Professional Responsibility
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
500 12th St SW
Washington, DC 20536
Mr. Thomas Homan
Executive Associate Director of Enforcement
and Removal Operations
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Secretary Noem, Mr. Lyons, Ms. Fenton, and Mr. Homan:
As members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, we write with grave concern regarding the violent attacks on women by masked U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and those who are using this moment to impersonate immigration enforcement officers. All our lives, we are taught to fear masked men in unmarked vehicles. We learn we should run from such men to avoid being kidnapped, sexually assaulted, or killed. Yet, ICE is increasingly conducting raids and arrests in masks, plain-clothes, without visible identification or badges, using unmarked vehicles – tactics that cause confusion, terror, and mistrust among the public. These tactics invited perpetrators of violence against women to take advantage of the chaos by impersonating masked ICE agents in order to target and sexually assault women. This cannot continue and must be addressed immediately. The Democratic Women’s Caucus is committed to defending the rights of all women and girls to live in safety. We call on the Department to recognize this pervasive issue and to take immediate action. We demand that ICE agents visibly and clearly identify themselves when conducting immigration enforcement activities to stop enabling impersonators who leverage women’s uncertainty and fear of immigration consequences to rape, harass, and abuse them.
Reports of ICE impersonators assaulting women started shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, in sync with the administration directing ICE to conduct raids in plain-clothes and unmarked vans. At the end of January, a North Carolina man threatened to deport a woman if she did not have sex with him, showing her a fake business card. In February, a New York man pretended to be an ICE agent, told a woman he needed to speak with her, then tried to sexually assault her. In June, a Maryland man flashed a fake badge, threatened to deport a woman if she did not enter his car, where he then sexually assaulted her. Such horrifying and gut-wrenching stories demonstrate the rise in attacks against women by ICE impersonators, and these are just the incidents we know about. Without a doubt, these crimes against women have been enabled by the administration’s harsh immigration enforcement tactics and consistent violations of due process. For example, Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student, was accosted and detained by more than five plain-clothes, masked ICE agents and placed into an unmarked vehicle in broad daylight. This horrifying scene appeared more like a kidnapping than an arrest by legitimate law enforcement. To keep women safe, we must effectively address the ability of perpetrators to so easily impersonate an ICE agent.
Experts note that immigration enforcement officers hiding their identities leads to public mistrust and enables imposters to carry out their schemes given the lack of uniformity in their masking practices. The lack of clear uniformity also contributes to the accessibility of counterfeit ICE gear, which is far too easy to purchase. Fake ICE jackets became a ‘best seller’ on Amazon in February of this year. Without outlined protocols and specific regulations, anyone can now throw on a fake ICE jacket, put on a mask, and claim to be an ICE agent to deceive and attack women. Whereas, local police officers are required to have distinguishable forms of identification, including official badges and photo identification, that help individuals determine their legitimacy. ICE agents should not be excluded from such policies especially when it is clear that women’s safety and law enforcement legitimacy are at stake.
Members from both chambers introduced bills that would break this disturbing cycle and end the horrific abuse of these disturbing practices. Now, the administration must take action. We call on the Department to implement policies and protocols that are responsive to these serious concerns about women’s safety and law enforcement integrity to protect women from further harm. Your current practices leave women vulnerable to life-altering violence. It’s past time to act. Just like local police officers, ICE agents must be required to wear visible and clear identification to ensure their safety, better protect women, and deter impersonators. Finally, impersonators must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law and this violence must be denounced by this administration.
We request a response that includes the administration’s plan to effectively address this issue and better protect women from harm by those that impersonate ICE as a tool of manipulation, intimidation, and coercion.
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Issues: 119th Congress, Immigration