MMA Fighter-Turned-ICE Enforcer: John Fabbricatore to Overhaul Immigration in Colorado
Ex-MMA fighter John Fabbricatore is going all-in on Donald Trump’s plans to mass deport illegal immigrants.
Less than a month into the Trump administration, the former Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and congressional candidate has advocated for more state and local cooperation with the president’s controversial deportation efforts in Colorado.
On February 5, ICE raided three Denver metro area apartment complexes, with more than 100 agents from ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies including the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). And more raids are expected in the coming weeks and months.
Later that same day, more than 5,000 protesters gathered at the Colorado State Capitol Trump’s immigration policy and decried Project 2025, a conservative policy plan written by one of Fabbricatore’s employers, the Heritage Foundation.
“Mass deportation isn’t necessarily getting rid of all the criminals,” Fabbricatore told Westword. “It will encompass some people who are not committing crimes, but at the end of the day it will improve on our legal immigration system,” he says. “At the end of the day, you came into this country illegally, and that needs to be dealt with.”
Fabbricatore went 2-0 in MMA before becoming an ‘expert’ on immigration enforcement
For fifteen years, Fabbricatore worked as an agent for ICE, where he rose to a high rank, directing the agency’s field office for Colorado and Wyoming from 2019 to 2022. He ultimately left the organization over concerns regarding the Biden administration.
Before becoming a self-proclaimed expert on enforcing United States immigration laws, Fabbricatore went 2-0 as a mixed martial artist. He scored a 28-second knockout in his MMA debut in 2004. 11 years later, he returned to the cage and added another first-round KO to his resume under the Sparta Sports and Entertainment banner in 2015.
