I don’t think legitimate ICE agents would have backed down. Sounds like an attempted kidnapping…
They more than likely were with ICE. The agency has massively and rapidly expanded its enforcement personnel, and has done so in a haphazard way that has (deliberately) not given them an opportunity to properly train personnel up on procedures and rules and stuff. Nobody who wants to do good in the world is going to work for ICE right now. So, they’ve basically just done a presto gestapo, and a lot of times these guys really are just out there doing the sloppiest, shittiest, and most bully-like law enforcement you could possibly conceive of. I know where I’m posting this, I know what we all generally think of cops here, the current state of ice is about ten rungs down from that. We’re talking real amateur hour shit, and they’ll get away with it if people let them.
The good news is that apparently none of these fucking jokers seem to know or care how to cross t’s and dot i’s. You absolutely can send them packing, just like these folks did, and if they don’t leave, then call your local sheriff’s office or police dept. This is really dependent on your area, metro PD tend to be stocked full of major league assholes, but my local PD is actually pretty chill and has a good working relationship with the community; in my experience, sheriff’s deputies tend to be people who got into law enforcement because they’re true believers in the ideals of law enforcement (protecting life and property, accountability, etc) and constitutional justice, not because they want to flex on minorities. YMMV.
But if you think you can trust one of your local law enforcement agencies, absolutely call up 911 and tell them that you’ve got some people here that are trespassing (they’ve been told to leave and aren’t), seem to be impersonating law enforcement (since they won’t provide proof of ID), and you’re worried that they’re trying to kidnap someone, that you think these people are an imminent threat to your life or someone else’s. That’ll generally get the cops out there in a hurry, and they will likely be not very happy at all that ICE is out here putting on a fucking circus. That, or the agents will hear you and fucking split so that they don’t get clowned on by local law enforcement. There have been plenty of instances of federal agents getting arrested while fucking around; mind you, they’re almost never charged, but nobody walks away from that particularly happy.
Make sure your local hasn’t agreed to enforce for ICE first. https://themarkup.org/tools/2025/04/16/law-enforcement-ice-cooperation-tracker
Sound advice. I know that after a bunch of locals voiced concern about it, our chief said that they are absolutely not working with ICE, and their duty is to serving the whole community first and foremost.
Great advice. And anyone in authority at a place of employment that might be targeted should know exactly how they intend to respond, meaning they must plan for it. As soon as the thugs make themselves known, execute the plan - get one person on 911 doing what you said, while another confronts them directly to try to force them to leave.
I wonder if there are any resources giving concrete advice on what to do in these scenarios? Kind of like how we have great standard advice from various law professionals, etc., about what to do and not do when detained by police.
Edit to add: even if you expect the local PD to come down against your side, it’s probably still a good idea to call them in. The resulting time and chaos as they get things sorted out may be just enough to do something useful for the vulnerable person needing help. Remember, once that person is in the custody of the gestapo, it’s fucking over, their life is wrecked at best. See only what happened to Kilmar Abrego Garcia for proof.
That’s one thing my campus has done decently–I know that to do if ICE shows up.
- they’re not allowed to just walk in to non-public areas
- we call campus police (whose main jobs seems to be keeping students safe and keeping campus out of the news). Annoyingly, I work in a public building (the library) but my office is private, big, and has a lock on the door. I’m well stocked up in case of a shelter-in-place situation and I’m happy to wait until campus police shows up.
I think we will need a phone app that modifies the emergency function:
1: When the police are called, the recording function turns on. 2: The ACLU/legal services of choice are given the recording, live, without interfering with the current call. 3: ICE Spotting apps are given your current location, as are designated people in your contact list.
In effect, this allows you to uphold your legal rights, since ICE would likely break your phone when they begin trafficking people, which may include you. Plus, people in the area might be alerted to the presence of ICE, and begin gathering. We should use the bee’s approach and swarm the bastards. Heat is the great weakness of ICE and bullies alike.
