As ICE agents remain unnamed after the Minneapolis shooting, questions grow over masked federal enforcement in immigrant-heavy cities
When federal Immigration agents gunned down 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti on Saturday, their identities were almost completely concealed. They were mostly wearing civilian clothes, and masks obscured their faces. With authorities refusing to disclose their names and records, the agents involved in the killing have so far remained anonymous.
But there is one distinguishing characteristic that could help identify the man who first opened fire: the patches on the back of his vest. One is the state flag of Texas. Another appears to read “U.S. Border Patrol.”
Insignia like these have become a common sight as federal agents swarm U.S. cities to carry out the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies. When Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen in Minneapolis this month, his tactical vest was adorned with “Police” and “Federal Agent” patches. When a mob of officers created a civil disturbance in which Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva in Arizona was pepper-sprayed, many were wearing a distinctive red shoulder insignia, some with vest patches reading “HSI.”
Patches like these are often the only means to identify a federal officer’s agency or a particular unit within it. But amid mounting scrutiny of the Trump administration’s brutal tactics, government agencies are attempting to keep information about their personnel, operations, and even their uniforms under wraps – right down to the patches that officers wear.
The most common patches are the least helpful. Many ICE agents affix to their vests or plate carriers vague patches reading “Police,” “Federal Agent,” or “Federal Officer.” Border Patrol agents often wear “Police” patches as well. Some common patches are also strictly fashion choices, such as earth-tone U.S. flags designed to blend into military camouflage.
But federal agents’ outfits are sometimes adorned with lesser-known acronyms that offer additional information. “ERO” is short for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, a unit tasked with the standard immigration enforcement process: identifying, arresting, and deporting immigrants. “HSI” stands for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, which formerly focused on transnational crimes, ranging from narcotics smuggling to cybercrime, but has been pressed into service as an anti-immigrant force.
CBP’s Border Patrol agents generally wear “U.S. Border Patrol” patches on their vests. Others sport “U.S. Border Patrol” or “U.S. Customs and Border Protection” patches on their sleeves. Specialized components of agencies, like CBP’s Air and Marine Operations unit, wear unique official patches. Others may wear unofficial morale patches designed to foster esprit de corps.
Last year, Cary López Alvarado, to U.S. citizen who was nine months pregnant, was harassed by a Border Patrol agent wearing a patch with the image of the Punisher war skull over a thin-green-line Border Patrol variant of the American flag. The iconic logo of the brutal Marvel Comics vigilante anti-hero from the 1970s, The Punisher, was inspired, in part, by the “totenkopf,” a skull-and-bones logo worn by the Nazi SS during World War II. The Punisher’s symbol has been embraced by members of the U.S. military and law enforcement personnel in the 21st century. CBP did not immediately return a request for comment about the patch.
