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Dozens of federal immigration agents have been arrested — and in some cases, convicted — of crimes related to sexual and gender-based violence, according to a group of anti-fascist researchers.

The Pacific Antifascist Collective (PAC) tracks federal immigration agents they claim are “credibly accused” of abuse. The group reports that over the last 20 years, at least 81 agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been arrested — and in some cases, convicted — for sexually or physically abusing women or children. Prism independently reviewed the research, which was first published in January and is regularly updated in a social media thread using local news reports and court documents.

Almost all of the agents are men, and 78 of them have allegedly committed sexual offenses. Sixty of those agents are accused of child sexual abuse, including the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, solicitation of a minor, and child sexual assault. The dozens of other agents were arrested or convicted for gender-based crimes, including sexual assault, domestic violence, and coercing women in detention to have sex. To verify the allegations, Prism cross-checked PAC’s research with local and national reporting, as well as publicly available court records.

Since 2020, at least two dozen ICE employees and contractors have been charged with crimes, the Associated Press (AP) reported in February. The growing list of allegations of gender-based crimes committed by agents employed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), combined with growing reports of ICE kidnappings nationwide and an alarming lack of background checks and vetting during the DHS hiring process, raises questions about who the Trump administration is hiring and empowering to police borders and carry out legally dubious immigration raids. In November, the FBI urged partnering agencies to “adequately identify themselves” after a string of cases in which men impersonated masked ICE agents to commit crimes, such as assaulting and kidnapping immigrant women.

Allegations against federal immigration agents go back decades, with some dating back to 2002 soon after DHS was created post-9/11, leading advocates to question the larger culture cultivated within the department. There are long-standing concerns about sexual violence within federal immigration agencies such as ICE and CBP, where agents have raped and beaten women and children while tasked with keeping the American public safe.

ICE Separated 145,000 Children From Their Parents Since 2025, Study Estimates

Who Are the “Criminals”?

At the core of the Trump administration’s justification for the growing number of raids and deportations nationwide is the claim that ICE and CBP are targeting and arresting “criminals.”

“Nearly 70% of illegal aliens ICE arrested across the country have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges in the U.S. alone,” according to just one of the many false claims regularly published in DHS press releases. Over 70% of the more than 60,000 immigrants held in ICE detention as of April have no criminal conviction, according to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research organization that tracks and publishes federal enforcement, staffing and financial data. Additionally, studies have consistently shown that immigrants are far less likely to commit crimes than people born in the U.S.

However, on a weekly basis, DHS emphasizes that its agencies are arresting “rapists” and “child predators.” Since the beginning of 2025, 180 DHS press releases have used the term “rapists,” averaging 2.5 press releases a week making the connection between immigrants and sexual violence.

When Prism contacted ICE and CBP with the list of agents who have been arrested, charged, or convicted for sexual crimes, both agencies refused to confirm if any of the agents have been suspended or terminated without pay.

The list of offenders includes Andrew Golobic, an Ohio-based deportation agent who was sentenced in March 2025 to 12 years in prison for coercing detained women into sex, as well as Alexander Steven Back, a Minnesota-based DHS employee arrested in November 2025 for soliciting sex from a minor.

A spokesperson for ICE accused Prism of attempting to “dox” agents convicted of sexual crimes, alleging that “doxxing our officers put [sic] their lives and their families in serious danger.”

“Our law enforcement officers are on the frontlines arresting terrorists, gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and rapists,” the spokesperson added.

“ICE is committed to ensuring its law enforcement personnel are held to the highest standards,” the spokesperson also noted. “Vetting is an ongoing process … in preventing unqualified or unsuitable candidates from being entrusted with law enforcement responsibilities.”

According to activists and advocates, ICE’s statement does not reflect the reality of ICE’s and CBP’s vetting processes, including cases in which the federal agencies failed to identify prospective agents with histories of sexual and gender-based violence.

“These are the same agencies that portray all immigrants as criminals, which is not the case, not anywhere near it,” said Lynn Tramonte, executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. In January, Tramonte compiled PAC’s research into a spreadsheet, finding that most of the agents’ offenses harmed children. “In reality, these agencies are hiring people who have these abusive personalities, in some cases keeping them employed for decades,” she said.

Samuel L. Saxon, an Ohio-based ICE assistant........

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