ICE overhauls dress code for deportation officers, bans jeans and T-shirts, leaked memo says

EXCLUSIVE — Immigration and Customs Enforcement has banned deportation officers from wearing jeans and T-shirts while working in public spaces in an effort that will make police easier to spot but could risk officer safety, the Washington Examiner has learned.New guidelines issued internally on July 17 by ICE’s deportations chief, Marcos Charles, overhauled the 2023 dress and appearance requirements to give federal law enforcement a more professional look while making arrests on the street. ICE agents are seen patrolling the halls of federal immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, NY on Monday, September 8, 2025. (Photo by Cristina Matuozzi/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images) As of June, death threats against ICE personnel were up 8,000% compared to the previous administration, according to the Trump administration.One ICE officer questioned why the agency’s Washington headquarters was focused on this given that, he said, ICE had more pressing issues at hand, including how to handle traffic stops and new recruits being sent to the field before federal background checks had been completed.“Out of all the issues, this is the one they want to focus on,” the ICE employee told the Washington Examiner. “We are not local cops. It limits the officers from conducting various forms of surveillance and intel gathering. An officer can be identified by their ballistic vest, badge. If an officer fails to put on those identifiers, then that should be addressed with the officer. Not this blanket policy.”Charles, who oversees ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, said in the four-page memo that the “image we convey to the communities we serve, our law enforcement partners, and other internal and external stakeholders, impacts their perception of not only us as individuals, but as an agency as well.”Deportation officers performing field operations, or who are out on the street, should wear “ICE identifiable attire,” and “khaki or coyote brown tactical type pants, with an ICE polo, or dark blue or black polo,” the document says.“This excludes less formal clothing such as jeans, sweatshirts or hoodies, non-collared shirts, and any clothing with graphics/screen prints. When conducting low-visibility operations, your ICE badge must be visible at the time of arrest,” the memo says. “Appropriate sweatshirts or hoodies may be worn during cold weather settings for field operations only. This includes during field operations, any operational briefings, law enforcement meetings, or other similar internal or external engagements that don’t warrant business or business casual attire but a more formal law enforcement attire.” Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escort a detained immigrant into an elevator after he exited an immigration courtroom, Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova, file) Officers were instructed not to wear T-shirts unless they are issued by ICE; sports team jerseys; athletic wear, such as “athleisure”; shirts that have a non-ICE or Department of Homeland Security graphic, cartoon, slogans, or pictures; tie-dye; sweatpants; and sleepwear.“Garments displaying unprofessional, political, indecent, extremist, racist, or offensive matter are not permitted,” the memo said. “Revealing clothing, including restrictively tight, see-through, short, torn, tattered and cutout clothing is not permitted.”A senior Trump administration official familiar with the dress code change was unsure why appearance was the priority for ICE at the moment, adding that there was “no upside” to the changes.“They already have identifiable gear on and badges they show,” the official wrote in a text message.ICE has been criticized by immigrant rights advocates for aggressive vehicle pursuits and seemingly random arrests of people in public. Although ICE goes out in teams in search of a specific individual, encounters with the public have prompted fear among immigrants because officers generally cover their faces, do not wear name tags, and only have their agency listed on their chest or back.A congressional aide who had seen the memo applauded the changes as a way for the public to know the men and women on the street are, in fact, federal police, not people posing as ICE.“Anything to formalize and professionalize the appearance of ICE when in public is a welcome development. ICE agents should be identifiable when in local communities and this appears to be a step in that direction,” the aide wrote in a text message. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer is seen in Park Ridge, Illinois, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley) ICE ARRESTING VISA OVERSTAYERS AT AIRPORTS COAST TO COAST: REPORTThe former senior administration official said changes that better identify ICE would help to “gain support and trust,” but warned that the changes to the dress code should not be expanded to requiring full-on uniforms.“Proper markings and a solid appearance is key but a uniform for an agent that is not an uniformed agency is dumb,” the official wrote in a text message. “Focus on body cameras, better field officer training, traffic stop training, Special Response Team support, mental health support for officers being stressed in the field with quotas and stop with the smoke and mirrors.”