Men in Two States Charged with Impersonating ICE Officers, Including South Carolina Man Seen in Confrontation Video

A South Carolina man who police say was seen in a “disturbing” video confronting a Latino man in a pickup truck and telling him he was going to be sent back to Mexico has been arrested on charges that include impersonating an ICE officer. The arrest was followed by a similar case the next day at Temple University, where a 22-year-old man and two other people were accused of falsely identifying themselves as officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Philadelphia police said. The cases come amid aggressive immigration enforcement by the Trump administration at the U.S.-Mexico border and major U.S. cities, creating an environment that a Latino civil rights group called dangerous.

A Temple University student has been charged in connection with the alleged impersonation of ICE officers on the North Philadelphia campus.

A trio of Temple University students posed as phony federal immigration agents on the Philadelphia campus over the weekend — and neither cops nor school officials thought the stunt was funny. One of the students, identified by Fox affiliate WTXF-TV News as 22-year-old Aidan Steigelmann, was charged with impersonating a public servant and suspended from the university. Two other students, who were not identified, are now under investigation, the school said. “Impersonating law enforcement officers is a crime,” school officials said in a statement Saturday. “This behavior and harassment of Temple community members will not be tolerated. According to the school, two students wearing shirts marked “Police” and “ICE” were spotted on campus shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday, with a third shooting video of their encounters. They tried to get inside one of the dorms but were turned away — with cops arriving at the scene. It is unclear if the other two students were questioned or remain on the loose.