Advertisement

Meet 'ICE Bae': The border patrol agent going viral on social media

A female Customs and Border Protection officer has gone viral after photos emerged of her providing security for Vice President Mike Pence during his recent border visit.

The agent was photographed standing outside of a holding cell, and selfies have also appeared on Twitter.

People on social media initially started sharing photos because they think the agent is “hot”.

One user even wrote that she could “detain me as long as she wants”.

A Twitter account, supposedly belonging to the agent, identified the woman as Kiara Cervantes, according to the New York Post.

In a post early Monday morning, she claimed the page was authentic.

She noted she “was just doing my job ... providing security for the visit of @VP.”

Photo of "Ice Bae" Kiara Cervantes whose photo while providing security to Mike Pence went viral.
Kiara Cervantes was dubbed "ice bae" after a photo of her on the job went viral on social media. Source: Twitter

She also posted a video to prove the account was hers, saying, “It’s me — I’m a customs officer based in Texas and yeah, I don’t know what else to say”.

However, many others on social media took issue with making light of the ongoing crisis at detention centres on the southern border, which is costing American taxpayers a staggering $4.5 million (A$6.4m) per day.

Some made sarcastic captions to accompany selfies she had posted, with one user writing, “Feeling cute might separate families at the concentration camp later”.

Additionally, some are angry at people making light of the situation.

Some just wished they had never heard about #IceBae and were disgusted people were sexualising the agent.

Vice President on the ground at migrant camp

Pence toured two detention facilities on the Texas border Friday, including a Border Patrol station where hundreds of men were crowded in sweltering cages without cots.

"Look, this is tough stuff," Pence acknowledged at a later news conference.

"I knew we'd see a system that is overcrowded," he added.

"It's overwhelmed and that's why Congress has to act."

The caged migrants were being held in an area at the McAllen Border Patrol station.

When detainees saw reporters arrive, many began shouting, saying they had been there for 40 days or more and they were hungry and wanted to brush their teeth.

The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General released a blistering report last week, slamming the Department for substandard conditions where detained children didn’t have access to showers, changes of clothes, or hot meals.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has criticised President Donald Trump, saying there had to be a “better way” of securing the borders.

“We don’t think that we have to put children in cages to do it,” she said, calling Trump’s immigration policies “outside the circle of civilised human behaviour”.

Requests for comment were not immediately returned by US Customs and Border Protection.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.