A man says he was left shocked and offended after immigration agents allegedly asked him to shave off his beard after a case of mistaken identity, a request he found both humiliating and unjustified.
“I’ll never shave my beard, that was disrespectful, the audacity,” Ponce told Newsweek in an exclusive statement.
Miguel Angel Ponce Jr., a U.S. citizen born in College Station and residing in Navasota in Texas, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on his way to work in Houston after he was mistakenly identified as a wanted violent offender.
Why It Matters
The arrest raises concerns around identity verification and racial profiling.
ICE, the nation’s immigration enforcers, have been under the microscope as President Donald Trump‘s administration looks to remove millions of migrants to fulfill his pledge to conduct the largest mass deportation program in U.S. history.
What To Know
After presenting his ID, Ponce was asked to exit his vehicle. Despite repeatedly stating that he was a U.S. citizen, he says the agents did not produce a warrant. Instead, they showed him a photograph of someone they claimed he resembled.
Ponce was handcuffed and held for approximately 90 minutes to two hours, during which time he says he was repeatedly dismissed when insisting they had the wrong person.
During the detainment, he says agents also claimed multiple people were using his Social Security number.
“The agents seemed to think it was a game, telling me that multiple people use my social security number, and when I asked if they could show me proof, they just changed the subject,” Ponce said. “I kept telling them I’m not who they want, they just said, ‘just ’cause you keep saying it doesn’t make it true.’”
He eventually persuaded the agents to compare his tattoos with those of the individual in the photo. That comparison revealed the mistake, and he was released.
According to Ponce, the agents then drove him home and suggested he shave his beard so he wouldn’t be confused for the suspect again—an idea he found insulting. He later described the suggestion as disrespectful and said he would never comply with it.
Though the agents eventually acknowledged their error, the incident has left lingering questions about accountability and how citizens can be protected from similar encounters.
What People Are Saying
An ICE spokesperson said in a statement to KBTX: “The individual with the same first, middle and last name bears a striking resemblance to the individual temporarily taken into custody by mistake.”
Ponce told Newsweek: “As the days passed, it got harder to shake off the anger, the embarrassment, I feel violated, and the fear, ’cause it felt like I was getting kidnapped. I couldn’t call no one; I was hauled off from my car. It’s not easy to get over something like this.”
The post US Citizen Responds to Being Asked to Shave Beard by ICE Agents appeared first on Newsweek.
