ICE Agents Pose as Utility Workers at Three Oregon Homes, Rep. Says

New reports surfaced of agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presenting themselves as utility workers in attempts to lure people from their homes.

Oregon State Rep. Ricki Ruiz, who represents Gresham, a Portland suburb, said he knew of three incidents where federal agents impersonated utility workers at the homes of his constituents.

In an email to T&D World, Ruiz said his office learned of two incidents where agents posed as utility workers in mid-November 2025, and a third case in the first week of December 2025.

“Two of the three reports came directly to me while one of them, the third case was shared by a trusted partner in the area,” Ruiz said. “In one of the cases in which we have video evidence, it was recorded in where two individuals came to the front door of a home saying they were ‘electrical’ workers and lured a gentleman out of his house to show them where electric work will be conducted. Seconds later, an ICE agent was shown coming around and handcuffing the homeowner.”

Ruiz said the agents wore yellow high visibility safety vests and asked questions about bills. The agent who made the arrest was wearing regular street clothes.

Municipal electric utility Portland General Electric and NW Natural, a gas utility, both put out statements urging their customers to be aware of people misrepresenting themselves as utility workers. Neither utility statement said the individuals were federal agents.

John Farmer, spokesperson for PGE, said such statements are not unusual for utilities to put out, as scammers frequently use such tactics to gain access to properties and people.

“For us, we send out info about scams probably once or twice a year. This type of information is kind of a drumbeat thing for us. Just like every year we talk about wildfire preparedness and other issues. So, this is part of our drumbeat,” Farmer said in a call to T&D World.

Both companies said their workers will identify themselves with badges, and said people should contact the police as well as the utility if they suspect an imposter may be targeting them.

“It’s just reminding folks they have agency. We will never threaten or pressure anyone,” Farmer said.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of which ICE is an arm, denies these reports. ICE officers do not impersonate utility workers, a DHS spokesperson told KOIN 6 News.

Ruiz said he has not spoken with DHS about this, but added that utility companies may have worded their statements carefully.

"There is no question that we are also seeing scammers going door to door, but probably to be cautious, the utility companies are being careful on how they word stuff given that we live in a world that anyone says anything bad about the president and the government, they risk federal issues," Ruiz said.

PGE’s statement said people should be suspicious of urgent threats or pressuring language, adding that power shutoffs will be scheduled in advance. Utility workers typically do not go door to door threatening customers with disconnections.

NW Natural said in a statement that if there is a reason to send a utility worker into a customer’s home, this would also be set up in advance.

In June 2025, immigration agents claiming to be from Tucson Electric Power attempted to nab a local before neighbors warned that they had no utility uniforms.

“Tucson Electric Power objects to any misrepresentation by anyone who falsely claims to be a TEP employee or representative,” the utility said at the time. “Any misrepresentation can create problems for TEP workers who do sometimes need access to private property to read meters, to locate and mark underground electrical facilities, to maintain or replace facilities, or for other reasons related to our service.”

Gov. Katie Hobbs called the impersonations concerning and added that her office was looking into what state laws might apply to people misrepresenting themselves as utility workers.