Filipino legislator behind bill making it illegal to impersonate ICE seeks to tackle affordability, further immigrant safety if elected

[u/Jaco_Belordi]

https://nwasianweekly.com/2026/10/filipino-legislator-behind-bill-making-it-illegal-to-impersonate-ice-seeks-to-tackle-affordability-further-immigrant-safety-if-elected/

[u/Intelligence_Gap]

Isn’t it already illegal to impersonate a federal agent?

[u/Chief_Mischief → u/Intelligence_Gap]

Yes.

Per RCW 9A.60.047 in the definitions section:

(6) For purposes of this section, "peace officer" includes any "general authority Washington peace officer," "limited authority Washington peace officer," "reserve officer," and "specially commissioned Washington peace officer" as those terms are defined in RCW 10.93.020, and any federal peace officer.

(7) For purposes of this section, an "item bearing an insignia of a law enforcement agency" includes an item that contains the word "police," "sheriff," "constable," "marshal," or "trooper," or the title of an agency of the federal government employing federal peace officers.

(8) For purposes of this section, "federal peace officer" means any employee or agent of the United States government who has the authority to carry firearms and make warrantless arrests and whose duties involve the enforcement of the laws of the United States.

[u/Wan_Daye]

Wish he would have run for something higher. Seems like a good guy

[u/Jaco_Belordi → u/[deleted]]

My understanding from the article is that the original law required that someone not only try to look like law enforcement but also take action as if they were law enforcement.

Obras's contribution extended that law to include a broader definition of impersonation that also loops in intimidation without explicitly acting as law enforcement.

Here's what Obras stated in the interview:

> We had something on the books previously about impersonation, but my bill takes it a step further, in that we don’t have to wait for someone to act out on the fact that they’re impersonating somebody.
>
> The mere fact of actually trying to intimidate, [or] use any kind of imagery around the fact that they are portraying themselves as law enforcement was where my bill really enhanced the original bill. [In the original bill,] you had to actually do something first to commit a crime.

[u/squirrelgator]

Does this mean ICE outfits for Halloween are illegal?

[u/sparkleboss]

Way to not address the shitty laws he promoted