Is Enrique Tarrio currently working for ICE
Executive summary
Available reporting shows Enrique Tarrio’s name appears on a widely circulated leaked ICE database and on the ICE List site, but Tarrio has publicly denied being an ICE employee and multiple fact-checks and news outlets report no confirmed employment by ICE; DHS/ICE have not independently verified his employment in the cited coverage, leaving the claim unproven [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. The allegation: a leaked ICE roster names Tarrio
A whistleblower leak of roughly 4,500 DHS/ICE/Border Patrol personnel was published and propagated by an online watchdog called ICE List, and that published material includes an entry for “Enrique Tarrio” that some outlets treated as evidence he was listed among immigration-enforcement personnel [1] [2].
2. The catalogue’s claim of “verified” status and the gaps around verification
At least one reporter noted the ICE List entry for Tarrio was labeled “verified,” but journalists also sought clarification from ICE List about how names are placed and what verification entails — requests the outlet said it would respond to but which, in the cited reporting, remained unresolved — creating uncertainty about the meaning of “verified” in that context [1].
3. Tarrio’s public response: denial and sarcasm that sowed confusion
Tarrio initially reposted and quipped about the screenshot of the list, then posted a follow-up denying he worked for ICE; multiple outlets quote his clarification that he is not an ICE employee and report he told Newsweek he was not, despite joking that he “would love” the job and the sign-on bonus [3] [6] [4].
4. Independent fact-checks and mainstream reporting push back on the claim
Fact-checkers concluded Tarrio did not say he was an ICE agent and that the viral claim was false; mainstream reporting likewise flagged inconsistencies in the screenshot and noted ICE had not confirmed any connection, leading several outlets to treat the “Tarrio-is-ICE” story as unproven or false in the absence of DHS confirmation [3] [5].
5. Why the story spread: incentives, politics, and ambiguous sources
The claim spread for several predictable reasons: the leak itself was a high-profile data event and a watchdog site promoted the list, Tarrio’s own sarcastic reposting amplified attention, and partisan actors and some outlets seized on the apparent irony of a former Proud Boys leader appearing on an ICE roster — an angle that fits preexisting narratives and political arguments about extremist infiltration of government roles [1] [7] [8].
6. What the reporting does not show — and why that matters
No source in the provided reporting supplies an official DHS or ICE personnel record confirming Tarrio’s employment, and at least one journalist and fact-checker explicitly report he denied working for ICE; therefore the available evidence does not establish that Tarrio is currently employed by ICE, though it does document that his name appears on a published list whose provenance and verification standards are disputed [1] [3] [4] [5].
7. Bottom line: weighing the evidence
On balance, the credible reporting cited here shows a disputed leaked list naming Enrique Tarrio and public denials and fact-checks concluding he is not an ICE employee; absent independent confirmation from DHS/ICE or production of authenticated employment records, the claim that Tarrio is “currently working for ICE” is not supported by the available sources [2] [3] [4] [5].