Feds warn Houston residents about people impersonating ICE officials

Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is warning Houston-area residents about people impersonating federal homeland security agents.

The individuals, posing as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, are knocking on residents’ doors and instructing them to evacuate, allegedly so they can rob empty homes, ICE said in a statement Wednesday.

The agency is asking residents to request to see the badges of anyone claiming to be an HSI special agent. Such officials, ICE said, are conducting hurricane relief operations with other law enforcement agencies.

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ICE also noted that it is not conducting immigration enforcement raids in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey, which tore through southeast Texas and became a tropical storm inland.

Federal officials indicated last week that they would not conduct the immigration enforcement operations in affected areas and would instead focus on “life-saving and life-sustaining activities.”

The Houston area was among those most drastically affected by the storm and resulting flooding.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Tuesday imposed a citywide curfew lasting from midnight to 5 a.m. to curb looting in the area. Turner announced Wednesday that no citations had been issued on the first night of the curfew.

“There are too many people from across our city, too many residents, that are out of their homes and they are in shelters, and I don’t want them to have to worry about someone breaking into their home or looting or doing anything of that nature while they are away,” he said Tuesday.