A new memo from the FBI released in February has exposed a deeper issue within immigration enforcement agencies, especially ICE: a sheer lack of training and experience which has made them ineffective and easily susceptible to scams and tricks.
Back in February, the FBI sounded the alarm and warned law enforcement agencies across the country that a group of women had been creating and running a series of fake online dating profiles to target immigration agents working for ICE.
Although the memo has not been released publicly, the nonprofit, Property of the People, whose mission is centered around government transparency, managed to obtain a copy through a public records request.
According to the memo, these online profiles have been “incorporating imagery of a ‘traditional wife’ aesthetic and listing specific interests in an attempt to appeal to individuals in law enforcement.”
The memo also states that “The objective was to lure affiliated law enforcement personnel into an online or in-person interaction under the guise of a date, after which the individuals would be publicly exposed and doxed online. The tactic is intended to generate public embarrassment and deter immigration enforcement activity.”
The timing of these profiles in early 2026 coincided with a large wave of immigration enforcement officials being sent to Minneapolis. This sparked a massive wave of outrage across the country, resulting in mass protests at the same time these profiles were created.
It is not surprising that these profiles were created in an attempt to express anger against ICE agents. But what is surprising is that the threat to agents was serious enough that the FBI had to send out a warning.
In President Trump’s second term, a shocking 11,400 new hires were reported at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Even recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a new push to hire 5,000 more ICE agents.
A whistleblower reported last year that ICE was severely overwhelmed and had hired officers without running background checks due to a mass influx of new hires. New hires had been confirmed before background checks, identity confirmations, and credit checks were completed.
As a result of this lack of vetting and training, new ICE hires, who have not been taught to identify and counter these kinds of security threats, have been increasingly falling for makeshift scams such as these. In addition to their gullibility, new ICE hires have also faced a lot of criticism for improper enforcement of immigration laws, such as in the cases of the deaths of civilians Alex Pretti and Renee Good, which has led to mass scrutiny of ICE’s handling of these cases.
The issue of immigration enforcement is one that is hotly debated in the American community, with drastically different perspectives on how harshly immigration regulations should be enforced. Regardless of one’s opinion on this, it is clear that the Trump administration’s current method is not working: if an agent is not being taught to recognize fake information on the internet, how can they be expected to properly investigate immigration cases and enforce them properly? A lack of training of agents creates a risk that cases will be handled improperly, which can lead to consequences for individuals in the immigration system who have not violated any regulations, and a lack of consequences for those in the immigration system who have.
While the Trump administration has clearly gone for breadth over depth when it comes to their mass hiring of ICE agents, this has not improved our immigration system, but rather has flooded it with liabilities. To properly enforce immigration policy, the Trump administration must backtrack, placing holds on new hires until vetting is completed and all new hires have undergone extensive training.
This would act as a solution to eliminate the liabilities of ICE agents, allowing the government to ensure that immigration enforcement efforts are following regulations and preventing security threats such as the one outlined in this memo.
On the surface, federal agents unable to discern when they are being catfished by a fake profile may seem like a joke that brings laughter to many. However, this situation has troubling implications for the future of immigration enforcement efforts in the United States.
Meher Singh is a staff writer for On the Record. She is a freshman in the College studying Public Policy.