In late-June 2025, a number of social media posts claimed that tow trucks in Los Angeles were following U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles and towing them whenever they parked incorrectly.
We received numerous questions from Snopes readers asking whether tow trucks in Los Angeles were targeting ICE vehicles as the claim spread on Facebook, TikTok and X. One X post asked the following question:
Apparently a growing group of tow truck drivers in LA are reportedly stalking ICE convoys so they can tow away all the unmarked ICE vans and SUVs that get parked incorrectly the moment the agents get out to start looking for people to abduct and deport. Can anyone confirm this?
Another post on X shared a video claiming the same and calling on Los Angeles drivers to post videos of tow trucks carrying out the action.
However, we found no evidence Los Angeles tow truck drivers were targeting ICE vehicles specifically. The above video shows only highway traffic, and no evidence of a tow truck hauling an ICE vehicle. We found the earliest example of this claim on a Facebook page that describes itself as satirical in nature. As such, this claim originated as satire.
The claim was shared on June 20, 2025, on a Facebook account called The Halfway Post. The post read:
BREAKING: A growing group of tow truck drivers in LA are reportedly stalking ICE convoys so they can tow away all the unmarked ICE vans and SUVs that get parked incorrectly the moment the agents get out to start looking for people to abduct and deport.
The Halfway Post is a satirical news account. Its Facebook intro states: "The Halfway Post is America's #1 source of Dada news. I don't just report the facts, I improve them."
The page also links to comedian Dash MacIntyre's various social media accounts. According to his bio on Medium: "MacIntyre is a comedian from St. Louis, and writes The Halfway Post, America's number one source of halfway real satirical news."
We searched for cases of tow trucks targeting ICE vehicles in the news and found no authentic outlet reporting on this. There have also been no official statements from ICE confirming that tow trucks are targeting their vehicles.
The fictional story spread after protests broke out in Los Angeles in June 2025 as ICE agents conducted a series of raids against immigrants, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to send the National Guard to the city.
The Halfway Post has a history of making up stories for shares and comments.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims from The Halfway Post before, including the May 2025 rumor that Trump called Chinese officials a dozen times daily to beg for a trade deal.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.