Suspicious White-Powder Letters Sent to NYC ICE Office Contained Boric Acid and Threat Note
Executive Summary
On August 14, 2025, five envelopes containing white powder and anti-ICE messages were discovered in the ninth-floor mailroom of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations office at 26 Federal Plaza, New York City. Two employees were exposed before the building was evacuated. Initial testing determined the substance was boric acid, not a hazardous biological or chemical agent. The letters included threats framed as “karma” for ICE’s treatment of migrants and cited song lyrics. The FBI is investigating the incident as a federal crime, with further analysis underway at Quantico.
Key Judgments
Key Judgment 1
The letters’ contents and rhetoric indicate they were intended as a symbolic act of intimidation against ICE personnel, linking the threat to migrant rights and anti-ICE activism.
Evidence: One letter included phrases such as “nobody can escape from karma,” anti-ICE accusations, and references to the metal band Anthrax’s lyrics.
Key Judgment 2
The incident occurred amid heightened tensions over ICE detention practices in NYC, potentially reflecting a broader escalation in protest tactics from symbolic demonstrations to targeted intimidation of personnel.
Evidence: The building houses ICE offices, immigration court, and other DHS agencies; recent advocacy campaigns and court orders have criticized conditions and arrests at the site.
Analysis
The August 14 incident bears hallmarks of a hoax bioterrorism event: a non-lethal substance presented as a possible toxic agent, delivered with overt political messaging. The inclusion of anti-ICE rhetoric, cultural references, and threats against employees and their families signals an attempt to personalize the grievance and psychologically impact recipients.
Operationally, the event forced a multi-agency emergency response involving FDNY Hazmat, NYPD, FBI, and Federal Protective Service. It disrupted federal operations, including the relocation of 39 detainees to New Jersey. While boric acid presents minimal health risk, its powder form and unfamiliarity to most recipients made the threat plausible enough to trigger full hazardous-materials protocols.
The choice of 26 Federal Plaza—symbolically and practically significant as a hub for immigration enforcement—ensures both high visibility and media coverage. The incident follows months of contentious activism targeting ICE in NYC and a 1,000% increase in assaults on officers reported by DHS. If linked to activist networks, this tactic could mark an escalation from street protest to psychological operations aimed at personnel morale and deterrence.
At present, no group has claimed responsibility. The FBI has confirmed it will treat the incident as a serious federal crime regardless of the substance’s benign nature, citing potential charges related to threats, hoaxes, and bioterrorism statutes.
