29-year-old Atickul Islam, who works as a New York Police Department sergeant, impersonated an ICE agent and ordered a woman and her family to turn themselves into an ICE facility. While Islam has been charged for the same, he has pleaded to a single count of personation of a federal officer in a trial on Tuesday (November 18).
He was released on an unsecured recognizance bond of $25,000. However, he was suspended without any remuneration by the police department. According to his attorney, Atickul’s service weapon and badge were also seized.
This is not the first impersonation case that has plagued the United States. There have been many ever since the deportation and detention activities have surged under President Donald Trump, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
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Earlier in June this year, a man was charged for impersonating a police officer wherein he murdered a Democratic Minnesota state representative along with her husband. He had also gravely injured a state senator and his wife.
Talking about this case, Atickul had allegedly reached out to the victim, referring to himself as an ICE agent (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and also showed her the court papers. He then asked the victim and her family to report themselves to the ICE facility by April 15, 2026.
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According to the New York Post, the act was committed by Islam as an act of revenge against the woman. She had reportedly rejected his romantic advances online. The NYPD records reveal that the accused works in Service Area 3 in Brooklyn.
According to amNY, Service Area 3 is a housing project patrol in Brooklyn. A request was granted by the federal prosecutors by U.S. Magistrate Judge Taryn Merkel to prohibit Islam from entering the city block where the woman resides.
However, it seems that Atickul is determined to fight these charges. The defense attorney John Arlia revealed that Islam is “absolutely adamant about fighting these charges.”
A statement was also issued by an immigrant advocacy group called LatinoJustice on the crime committed by Islam. They called it an extreme abuse of power and an act which threatens the community’s safety.
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Supervising Counsel for Immigrant Rights, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Rx Chen, revealed in the statement, “Impersonating a federal agent to order someone from our immigrant community to report to an ICE facility is an egregious abuse of power that shatters public trust and threatens our community’s safety.”
The statement further had Chen say that this kind of crime sends a chilling message to the immigrant communities and makes all New Yorkers feel unsafe. It said, “Weaponizing immigration fear against a victim is unconscionable. It sends a chilling message to our immigrant communities, discouraging victims and witnesses from seeking help or reporting crimes, and ultimately makes all New Yorkers less safe.”
Some X users also shared their reactions to the incident. One of the netizens stated, “I bet that was an intentional set-up by him to make ICE officers look bad.”
A user added, “And the evidence of this crime is he said vs she said.” A netizen further wrote, “This story is a stub. What was his motive?”
The impersonation case of Atickul Islam comes as a federal judge rejects a Trump administration lawsuit that challenged a New York state law preventing mass immigration arrests at state and local courthouses.
