ICE Officers Blow Whistle on False Reports and Inflated Stats

On a forum with over 5,000 members claiming to be current and former immigration enforcement officers, a damning picture emerges of Trump's immigration crackdown: fabricated reports, inflated statistics, and officers stretched to their breaking point.

"I'm all for removing illegals, but snatching dudes off lawn mowers in Cali and leaving the truck and equipment just sitting there? Definitely not working smarter," wrote one user on the unofficial platform where ICE and CBP officers vent their frustrations.

The False Report Scandal

The most explosive allegations center on deliberately falsified documentation. One officer claimed immigration agents are "lying in your 213 narratives saying someone who didn't look at all like your target agreed to talk and self-identified as illegal." These 213 forms are the official reports officers write to document encounters with suspects.

The same whistleblower alleged officers aren't documenting property damage either: "You don't mention breaking glass!!??!! Whistleblowers!!!!" they posted, suggesting systematic cover-ups of enforcement misconduct.

These aren't isolated complaints. Multiple forum users have raised concerns about arrest reports containing "false statements at worst, misleading statements at best," with one predicting that "plaintiffs' lawyers gonna have a field day with lawsuits after Trump leaves."

The Numbers Game

DHS claims to have removed more than 675,000 illegal immigrants with an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations. But forum users paint a very different picture.

"The stats are complete BS," wrote one officer. "I don't know if the administration is aware of this, or are just playing dumb and using the bogus numbers."

Another explained the inflation mechanism: "When we make an arrest through a task force, that single arrest is reported separately" by every participating agency. "In reality, the true number is likely closer to a quarter of what's being reported."

This statistical manipulation appears designed to meet political pressure for impressive deportation numbers, regardless of accuracy.

Overworked and Understaffed

Beyond the ethical concerns, officers describe an agency in crisis. One 18-year veteran with just 2.3 years until retirement wrote: "No more weekends off, more work than ever before... This is not what any of us envisioned for our last years of career when we are in our 50's."

The situation worsened after ICE personnel lost union representation in 2022, stripping away overtime pay protections and other basic worker rights. Officers now face mandatory deployments with less than 24 hours notice and seven-day work weeks.

"Mandated TDY's [temporary duty assignments] with less than 24 hours notice," complained the veteran officer. "No more union. No more down time."

Dangerous Improvisation

The rushed nature of operations like Minneapolis's Operation Metro Surge has created dangerous conditions. Officers described "absolutely zero forethought" in planning, with border patrol agents suddenly thrust into urban enforcement roles they weren't trained for.

"A two-hour TEAMS Zoom course ain't enough," one officer noted about the minimal training provided for complex urban operations.

This improvisation has led to concerning incidents, including CBP agents engaging in vehicle pursuits despite ICE's no-pursuit policy. "How about the genius who thought it was a great idea to film himself during a vehicle pursuit, while actually trying to PIT the guy—when ICE literally has a no pursuit policy?" one user wrote.

Collateral Damage

The consequences of this chaotic enforcement are already visible. Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a US citizen in Alabama, is suing after being detained for allegedly "interfering" with operations. Multiple US citizens and legal residents have been mistakenly arrested.

More troubling are allegations of excessive force. One Mexican national living in Minnesota for four years was hospitalized with facial fractures after detention. While ICE claimed he "ran into a wall," hospital staff disputed this account, with one nurse telling the Associated Press: "There was no way this person ran headfirst into a wall."

The Morale Crisis

Perhaps most telling is the collapse in agency morale. Officers complain about leadership going after "low hanging fruit" to inflate arrest numbers while creating public relations disasters.

"Hey you know what, maybe don't pull over the car at 7:30 in the morning in front of a school for an administrative arrest, dimwits," one frustrated officer wrote.

The forum reveals an agency where experienced officers are considering early retirement while newer recruits struggle with inadequate training and ethical compromises.