Notorious 'Tan Mom' claims ICE agents mistook her for illegal immigrant because of extreme tan
New Jersey's notorious "Tan Mom" claims federal immigration agents nearly slapped her in handcuffs after questioning her American citizenship, allegedly because of the famously deep tan that made her a tabloid sensation.
Patricia Krentcil recounted the bizarre encounter during an appearance on the "Light. Tan. Up." podcast alongside actor Tom Arnold, claiming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stopped her as she left a restaurant with girlfriends.
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Patricia Krentcil, better known as "Tan Mom," claims ICE agents questioned her U.S. citizenship because of her dark tan during an appearance on the "Light. Tan. Up." podcast. (Light. Tan. Up. with Tan Mom & Adam Barta)
"As we're walking out, the ICE people stopped me and they asked me, 'Am I an American citizen?'" Krentcil recalled. "And I'm like, 'Yes.' You know, like it blew my mind."
But according to the longtime bronzing enthusiast, the encounter nearly took a turn even darker than her tan.
"Because I was so tan, they were about to handcuff me ... and take me away. God knows where," she alleged.
Krentcil, whose unusually bronzed complexion has attracted national attention for more than a decade, claimed she feared being detained and transported to an unknown location.
An exterior view of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) administrative office and processing center on June 28, 2025. (Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
"Once you get in those trucks, you don't know where you're going anymore," she said. "I was scared, but I held my own and I got out of the situation."
The tanning enthusiast also accused immigration authorities of discriminatory behavior, saying, "But they're very racist about color and nationalities and stuff like that."
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Krentcil rose to notoriety in the 2010s for her trademark deep bronzed tan. (iStock)
She also described the alleged ordeal as "terrifying."
Krentcil did not specify when or where the encounter allegedly occurred, and Fox News Digital has not independently verified her account.
Krentcil first shot to national notoriety in 2012 after authorities accused her of bringing her then-5-year-old daughter into a tanning bed at a New Jersey salon.
She was arrested and charged with second-degree child endangerment after her daughter reportedly arrived at school with sunburns, sparking a media frenzy over Krentcil's extreme tanning habits and parenting.
The case ultimately ended without an indictment. An Essex County grand jury declined to indict Krentcil in February 2013, and the charges were dropped.
Krentcil has since traded New Jersey for Florida, where the woman whose famously deep tan made her a tabloid sensation continues to embrace life in the Sunshine State.
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ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the alleged incident.
Jasmine Baehr is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, legal debates surrounding life and family policy, as well as faith and culture.
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