VICTOR VALLEY, Calif. (VVNG.com) — The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents about a growing wave of misinformation across the county, fueled by viral social media posts falsely claiming Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are underway in the region.
A post from a Facebook page with over 263,000 followers, “Hispanos Unidos,” falsely stated that downtown Victorville was closed due to ICE activity and included an image showing a person being detained by a man in a “POLICE ICE” vest.
However, a reverse image search confirmed the photo was taken in 2019 in Texas, unrelated to any recent activity in San Bernardino County.
County officials say such false claims are endangering deputies and undermining public trust.
“All white vehicles are NOT ICE,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department posted on its social media accounts. “Our department has a fleet of unmarked vehicles in all colors, makes and models for various assignments and uses, none of which include immigration enforcement.”
The department said its personnel have been targeted as a result of this misinformation, including two incidents where unmarked sheriff’s vehicles were mistaken for ICE and harassed. “In one case they were run off the road,” officials said in a written post.
VVNG previously reported that on Thursday, June 12, community members inaccurately claimed ICE was operating at the Victorville IHOP and other locations including Costco in Victorville, Walmart in...
VICTOR VALLEY, Calif. (VVNG.com) — The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents about a growing wave of misinformation across the county, fueled by viral social media posts ...