In June 2025, a claim that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was "erasing people" with "Hispanic last names" from
One X user shared the following post on June 24, 2025:
Similar claims spread on Reddit, Threads and Facebook alongside a video from a TikTok user.
In that video, the TikTok user, who said he has a Hispanic name, described a traffic stop where officers said they could not find any record of him despite giving them his identification and Social Security number. A law enforcement officer reportedly told him, "Well, in all honestly, you can thank ICE for this one." The TikTok user then said, in part:
I was like, what? He's like, you know, your name? I was like, so because I have a Hispanic last name I'm flagged in ICE. He's like, well, you're not just flagged. You're kind of removed from everything.
Multiple Snopes readers emailed us and searched our website to ask whether the claims were true.
Snopes was unable to independently confirm the veracity of the TikTok user's report, which is why we've left these claims unrated. ICE did not respond to Snopes' request for comment by the time of publication.
Here's what we know about the viral TikTok that sparked the rumors and claims that ICE could remove people from databases:
Claims stem from viral TikTok
The claims stem from a video shared by TikTok user @jac0gfitness on June 22, 2025. In the video, which is nearly four minutes long, the user described the alleged traffic stop in detail.
Here's a
He said an officer pulled him over (the user didn't say where) for an issue regarding an inspection sticker on his car. After the officer asked for his ID, she came back about four or five minutes later and followed up with a question about whether he had an ID in any other
Later, the officer reportedly asked the TikTok user for his Social Security number, which he provided. The officer then told him she was not able to pull up the TikTok user in any of their systems, according to the user's account.
The officer allegedly called her sergeant to the scene. The sergeant then asked the TikTok user to step out of the vehicle and questioned whether his license was real, suggesting authorities suspected his ID was fake.
After about 20 minutes, the sergeant reportedly came back and told the TikTok user he "got it all squared away," the user said. After the user asked what was happening, the sergeant reportedly said, "Well, in all honestly, you can thank ICE for this one."
The TikTok user then described an exchange with the law enforcement officer, who reportedly said, "You know, your name?" The user then said, in part: "I was like, so because I have a Hispanic last name I'm flagged in ICE." The sergeant reportedly responded by saying: "Well, you're not flagged. You're kind of removed from everything."
The user went on to say he is a U.S. citizen who was born in the United States and spent his entire life in the country. He added that his last name is of Spanish origin rather than Mexican.
The video ended with the user saying he was "flagged" and "this might keep happening" to him.
Snopes reached out to the TikTok user via direct message to ask for his last name, where the incident took place and whether he filed a report.
The user declined to share the state or his last name, citing safety concerns, which prevented Snopes from independently verifying the alleged incident. However, the user did say he has "been speaking to the people I need to be so I can figure out how this happened exactly."
What we know about ICE access to databases
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the nonprofit American Immigration Council, provided context via email about ICE and its access to state databases. He said, "I don't believe there is any way in which ICE could 'delete' someone from a state database, as the federal government does not have authority to modify state databases."
However, that doesn't mean ICE cannot access drivers' personal data at all. In July 2021, the Center for Public Integrity, a left-leaning nonprofit investigative journalism organization, reported that it found at least seven states had "shared personal information from drivers" with ICE since January 2020. The report continued, in part:
Sometimes, immigration agents will ask motor-vehicle agency staff to run a facial recognition search to match a provided photo. Other times, they seek addresses and driving records for specific people.
Agents often say these immigrants are suspects in crimes, but sometimes they are searching for people they believe committed only a civil immigration infraction, such as overstaying a visa.
Some immigrant rights groups now question whether it's too risky for undocumented immigrants to get licenses.