Law enforcement and local government officials across the United States have expressed growing concerns that immigration operations are interfering with police work and leading to threats against officers, according to internal emails and briefings obtained by the Guardian.
The documents, spanning seven states and several federal agencies, reveal alarm that civilians are mistaking local officers for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. This confusion is creating problems and fear for officers carrying out their regular duties, particularly as the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown has made the public distrustful of law enforcement.
In Minneapolis, internal emails show city officials worried that municipal workers could be mistaken for ICE during a surge in January. The city operations officer instructed staff to “clearly identify yourself verbally” and “consider describing your clothing or uniform in advance”. An internal memo warned of a “substantial increase” in residents declining to let fire inspectors into their homes, forcing adjustments to procedures.
Minneapolis launched a campaign to distinguish city personnel from ICE, including creating a badge for community safety workers. Other municipalities followed suit. Jess Olstad, Minneapolis’s media relations manager, said residents were frightened to answer doors for animal control and firefighters. “We wanted to recognise what our city employees do and quite literally what they look like,” she said.
The anxiety is another sign that ICE’s strategy of deploying masked agents in unmarked cars is causing chaos. Police are already grappling with criminals impersonating ICE officers and civilians calling 911 on ICE when unsure if agents are legitimate. Although many police agencies work closely with ICE, some cities are taking steps to differentiate their officers.
