<description>&lt;p&gt;Hey UnWrapped Fam! We're digging into a very serious issue today: The FBI has finally issued a bulletin warning the public about criminals posing as ICE agents. This isn't just about a few bad apples; it's a serious national law enforcement concern.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Drawing from reporting by Wired , I break down the FBI advisory citing incidents of fake immigration officers committing &lt;strong&gt;robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults&lt;/strong&gt; across the country. The bulletin cites five 2025 incidents , including a robbery in a New York restaurant and a sexual assault attempt in Brooklyn. I discuss the bureau's new call for officers to clearly identify themselves and why this is the &lt;strong&gt;bare minimum&lt;/strong&gt; of police procedure. The advisory even suggests the identification should include allowing calls to a local police precinct.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But is the focus only on impersonators distracting from the &lt;em&gt;original&lt;/em&gt; problem? I share my perspective on how the behavior of armed, masked federal officers &lt;em&gt;themselves&lt;/em&gt; erodes public trust and the stark contradictions in the administration's stance. The Trump administration frames the mask use as an "officer safety measure" , but to me, that sounds like plausible deniability to put distance between the leadership and the reckless acts in the field.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Y'all, the contradictions are stark. When you give carte blanche to racially profile people , and then your own official behavior, like shooting people with pepper balls at point blank range, doesn't "erode the trust in law enforcement," but the &lt;em&gt;impersonators&lt;/em&gt; do, something is fundamentally broken. The actions of these federal agents, even without the sexual assault and burglaries, are still endangering public safety and eroding trust.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I'm leaving it there. It's an essential article , and if those five cited cases are the only ones, we'd be lucky; but we know they're not.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here’s the link to the article from WIRED:&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-warns-of-criminals-posing-as-ice-urges-agents-to-id-themselves/"&gt;https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-warns-of-criminals-posing-as-ice-urges-agents-to-id-themselves/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit &lt;a href="https://tashapierceunwrapped.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2"&gt;tashapierceunwrapped.substack.com/subscribe&lt;/a&gt;</description>

Tasha Pierce: UnWrapped

Tasha Pierce: pop culture and politics, unwrapped

UnWrapped: The FBI Warning on Fake ICE Agents. Is This Plausible Deniability?

NOV 5, 202512 MIN
Tasha Pierce: UnWrapped

UnWrapped: The FBI Warning on Fake ICE Agents. Is This Plausible Deniability?

NOV 5, 202512 MIN

Description

<p>Hey UnWrapped Fam! We're digging into a very serious issue today: The FBI has finally issued a bulletin warning the public about criminals posing as ICE agents. This isn't just about a few bad apples; it's a serious national law enforcement concern.</p><p>Drawing from reporting by Wired , I break down the FBI advisory citing incidents of fake immigration officers committing <strong>robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults</strong> across the country. The bulletin cites five 2025 incidents , including a robbery in a New York restaurant and a sexual assault attempt in Brooklyn. I discuss the bureau's new call for officers to clearly identify themselves and why this is the <strong>bare minimum</strong> of police procedure. The advisory even suggests the identification should include allowing calls to a local police precinct.</p><p>But is the focus only on impersonators distracting from the <em>original</em> problem? I share my perspective on how the behavior of armed, masked federal officers <em>themselves</em> erodes public trust and the stark contradictions in the administration's stance. The Trump administration frames the mask use as an "officer safety measure" , but to me, that sounds like plausible deniability to put distance between the leadership and the reckless acts in the field.</p><p>Y'all, the contradictions are stark. When you give carte blanche to racially profile people , and then your own official behavior, like shooting people with pepper balls at point blank range, doesn't "erode the trust in law enforcement," but the <em>impersonators</em> do, something is fundamentally broken. The actions of these federal agents, even without the sexual assault and burglaries, are still endangering public safety and eroding trust.</p><p>I'm leaving it there. It's an essential article , and if those five cited cases are the only ones, we'd be lucky; but we know they're not.</p><p>Here’s the link to the article from WIRED:<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-warns-of-criminals-posing-as-ice-urges-agents-to-id-themselves/">https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-warns-of-criminals-posing-as-ice-urges-agents-to-id-themselves/</a></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://tashapierceunwrapped.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">tashapierceunwrapped.substack.com/subscribe</a>