NBC News reports:

A Christ figurine watches over the door as the man secures the bolts and bars that protect his home. If the locks fail, a host of archangels, holy cards and crosses stand guard on nearby walls and tables.

“Most people don’t live like I do,” said the Mexican immigrant, who didn’t want to give his name out of fear for his safety. “I know they’re just pieces of wood or little locks, but they help me because I feel a little safer.”

He said nights have haunted him since Jan. 20, 2025. That was when a group of assailants entered a house he shared with other immigrants in Greensboro, North Carolina, and a hooded man shouting “ICE! ICE!” kicked down his bedroom door.

“I raised my hands, and he asked, ‘Where’s the money?’ That’s when I realized it was a robbery. It wasn’t ICE. It wasn’t the police,” the Mexican immigrant said.

The assault, which local police have not yet solved and for which no arrests have been made, happened the same day Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term, vowing to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in the nation’s history. Since then, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has swelled by thousands of agents and has carried out waves of arrests and deportations in cities across the country.

Although neither the federal government nor local authorities publish specific records of people impersonating immigration agents, an analysis by Noticias Telemundo, based on court records, police reports and news articles, suggests that the number of such crimes has increased over the past year.

Our investigation documented at least 31 cases in 2025 alone — a sharp increase compared to an average of 5.3 incidents per year in the previous decade. Overall, we identified 84 instances of impostors posing as immigration agents between 2014 and 2025. [Continue reading…]