The Intercept: Federal Agents Left Behind “Death Cards” After Arresting Immigrants

Kevin R. Johnson

06 Feb 2026 — 1 min read

Hard to believe or par for the course? Read this Intercept report.

When family members arrived on the scene in Eagle County, Colorado, their loved ones had already been apprehended immigration officers. "But what they found inside the vehicles was disturbing: a customized ace of spades playing card — popularly known as a `death card' — that read `ICE Denver Field Office.'”

During the Vietnam War, U.S. troops regularly adorned Vietnamese corpses with “death cards.” " A 1966 entry in the Congressional Record noted that due to supposed Vietnamese superstitions regarding the ace of spades, `the U.S. Playing Card Co. had been furnishing thousands of these cards free to U.S. servicemen in Vietnam who requested them.'

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From the Bookshelves: Asian American History by Huping Ling

Immigration Article of the Day: A Qualified Defense of Immigration Exceptionalism by Anja Bossow

From the Bookshelves: Unwelcome Shores: Black Refugees in America by Bernadette Ludwig

Immigration Article of the Day: Blind Spots: Choice, Colorblindness, and the Contemporary Experience of Latinx Immigrant Students in America's Schools by Rachel E. Moran