What equipment and gear do ICE agents carry with their uniforms?

1. What “uniform” options exist and why that matters

ICE lacks a single standard uniform, a fact that shows up repeatedly in reporting and advocacy analyses and helps explain the variety of gear agents carry: some teams operate in black or camouflage tactical clothing and plates/helmets, others wear DHS/ICE polo shirts or jackets provided through restricted suppliers, and yet others work in plainclothes to blend into environments — each choice dictates different visible and concealed equipment needs ^{[1] [2] [5] [6]}.

2. Agency‑branded apparel and official identifiers

When ICE personnel wear agency-marked clothing it typically comes through authorized suppliers and is restricted to employees; vendors such as FEDS Apparel and specialty uniform shops sell polos, jackets and embroidered patches intended for active ICE staff, indicating that a portion of “uniform gear” is simply branded outerwear and patches rather than heavy tactical kit ^{[2] [5] [7]}.

3. Ballistic protection and body armor

ICE contracts and procurement demonstrate that body armor is standard equipment: the agency selected Armor Express to supply ballistic-resistant vests, and ICE’s testing and procurement apparatus (including the National Firearms and Tactical Training Unit) vets body armor and ballistic systems for field use, implying that agents routinely have access to concealable and tactical ballistic protection depending on assignment ^{[3] [4]}.

4. Firearms, ammunition and weapons support

ICE maintains an internal firearms and tactical-testing unit that outfits and tests the weapons and ammunition agents use, showing that service pistols, rifles and mission-specific ordnance — vetted, modified and supplied through NFTTU — are central parts of tactical team equipment even if not always visible when agents are in plainclothes ^[4].

5. Tactical kit: vests, helmets, face coverings and mission tools

Photographs and contemporary reporting describe ICE tactical teams in helmets, tactical plate carriers or vests, and masks or gaiters that obscure faces; those items are part of the de facto kit for enforcement operations and are functionally linked to mission safety and anonymity, a combination that has drawn concern from civil‑liberties groups about identification and accountability ^{[1] [6]}.

6. Plainclothes and unmarked operations: different equipment profile

When agents operate without marked uniforms, they still carry operational gear—firearms and body armor vetted by NFTTU, communication equipment and minimal identifiers—but their outerwear may be civilian clothing or subdued polos, and they may use neck gaiters or masks that further obscure agency affiliation, a practice that has prompted legal and policy debates about transparency during workplace and community enforcement actions ^{[4] [1] [6]}.

7. Commercial replicas and the risk of impersonation

There is a parallel marketplace of replica and costume “ICE” jackets and windbreakers available to the public, and commercial sellers of patches and uniform-style items exist; vendors and federal guidance stress that official insignia sales are restricted to employees because false procurement or impersonation is unlawful, highlighting the risk that similar-looking clothing can confuse the public about who is an official agent ^{[8] [5] [7]}.

8. Limits of the reporting and unanswered specifics

Public sources document categories of gear (branded apparel, ballistic vests, firearms, tactical kit, masks) and ICE procurement/testing infrastructure, but reporting and vendor pages do not produce a single checklist of every item an agent carries on any given shift; therefore, precise inventories depend on unit, mission and local policy and are not fully captured in the available materials ^{[2] [3] [4] [1]}.