The Latina border patrol officer who was thrown into the spotlight after she was pictured with Vice President Mike Pence has been revealed as a registered Democrat from Texas.
Kiara Cervante was dubbed ‘Ice Bae’ on social media as photos emerged of the officer, and her new Twitter account set up on Sunday night gained nearly 23,000 followers in around 24 hours.
Her account has now attracted almost 50,000 follows in three days.
The female officer registered as a Democrat in 2011, although voter records show she did not exercise her right to vote in the 2016 presidential election. She last voted in March 2014.
The Latina border patrol officer who was thrown into the spotlight after she was pictured with Vice President Mike Pence has been revealed as a registered Democrat from Texas
Kiara Cervante, aka #IceBae, created a Twitter account to respond to all the attention. The Latina customs officer posted a photo of herself in uniform
Cervante created a Twitter account with this photo of her in a pink top as her profile picture
The US Customs and Border Protection agency confirmed Cervante was free to use social media for her own personal use, as long as she complied with the CBP’s code of conduct.
‘CBP does not restrict employees from participating in social media for personal use,’ a CBP official told the New York Post in an email.
‘As we have previously said, CBP employees are held to the highest expectation of conduct, both on and off duty and must adhere to CBP’s standards of conduct.’
A selfie posted by Cervante in her CBP uniform was removed from the internet, possibly because it was not in line with the Border Protection standard of conduct.
However, she has since posted two more videos to her Twitter account, under the username @kiarace24.
#IceBae: Adoring fans on social media shared the viral photo of the pretty officer at a Texas detention center
Admirers on Twitter joked that the female customs officer should arrest them so they could get closer to her
Some people sprung to Cervante’s defense, calling her a ‘Latina hero’ and thanking her for her service
She told her 48,000 followers she wants something positive to come out of her newfound fame, advising young girls to ‘work hard and get an education’.
She implored people to be ‘respectful, kind and humble’.
‘I am a very respectful person, a very kind person, I don’t let the negativity get to me.’
‘Even in this day and age of social media, it’s crazy, you have people tagging you from everywhere and somehow still I just don’t let it… it doesn’t faze me.’
The officer faced backlash after some deemed her nickname inappropriate for a guard at a detention center and were incensed by her proud response to the overnight fame.
Images of the 26-year-old went viral after she was pictured outside an overcrowded holding cell while Pence visited the McAllen, Texas detention center last Friday.
Cervante on Monday posted an 18-second video of herself wearing a low-cut grey T-shirt and a high ponytail on Instagram and Twitter to prove she was real, saying: ‘So I literally just woke up, went to get something to eat and saw that I needed to make a video so you all could believe that it’s me.
‘It’s me, I’m a customs officer based in Texas and yeah I don’t know what else to say.’
Cervante also later posted a message, saying she was ‘in awe’ of all the attention.
‘WOW I am in awe. Thank you all for the support! My job is so hectic at this moment but I am grateful. I love protecting my country! And I love my supporters!’ she wrote.
Her first ever Twitter post said: ‘Soooo it’s crazy…. but here I am. I’m hearing something about a viral picture.
‘I would like to say i was just doing my job.. providing security for the visit of @VP.
‘It was an honor and I take a lot of pride in my job!’
The Latina sent adoring fans into a frenzy on social media, with one person writing: ‘#IceBae I’ve surrendered bae. Arrest me now’.
Cervante posted that she was ‘in awe’ by all the attention she was receiving — some of which has been negative
Many social media users decried the nickname #IceBae for an officer at a facility where nearly 400 Central American men are packed in cages
Many social media users slammed Cervante for working for a detention facility (pictured on Friday during Mike Pence’s visit)
Another wrote: ‘If she works for ICE she’s gonna melt the place.’
‘Keeping America safe and looking good doing it,’ wrote one user, whose profile picture shows him wearing a red ‘Make America Great Again’ hat.
‘#IceBae could detain me for however long she wants,’ someone else commented alongside the photo of the female officer that made her famous.
But the nickname is divisive, and many social media users are decrying the use of it for an officer at a facility where nearly 400 Central American men are packed in cages.
One person wrote: ‘This country is a mess, we are praising and trending #IceBae when she is literally a guard at a CONCENTRATION CAMP, guarding CHILDREN IN CAGES, RIPPING FAMILIES APART AT THE BORDER. you’re all sick, honestly.’
‘#IceBae is such a cute name for someone who puts black and brown children in cages,’ someone else commented.
Some people sprung to Cervante’s defense, calling her a ‘Latina hero’ and thanking her for her service, saying she ‘understands the factual dangers of letting in illegals’.
Cervante posted a video of herself ‘so you all could believe that it’s me’
Cervante answered questions from both fans and people incensed by her newfound fame.
Responding to a person who said she was ‘litteral scum [sic]’ and her parents would ‘disown’ her for being ‘Hispanic working for ice’, she tweeted: ‘I think that’s really rude and naive of you to say.
‘You have no idea who my parents are and no idea what goes into my job on a daily basis… before speaking on something you know nothing about…. DONT.
‘Regardless I’m blessed and thankful for the career I have.’
She said she had created a Twitter account because ‘I felt I had to…. I didn’t even have twitter but was getting notified by friends and family.
‘I don’t like people to speak ill on my name. I am a very nice person with a big heart…. I always treat everyone I come in contact with at work with respect.’
Responding to a comment calling the holding facility a ‘concentration camp’, the officer said: ‘… this station in particular isn’t meant to be a holding facility hence the overpopulation of aliens.
‘We are doing our best but some people won’t ever understand.
‘They don’t know the daily of what my job consists of.. But thank you for seeing how difficult my job can be…
‘Not only because I am Latina but just in general the mass amount of people crossing ILLEGALLY daily and the processing can take a toll on anyone of any gender and any race.’
Some people sprung to Cervante’s defense, referring to her as a ‘Latina hero.’
‘#IceBae is a latina hero that knows about the factual dangers of letting in illegals. Democrats hate seeing minorities that have escaped their ways of thinking. Thank You for your service,’ someone tweeted.
Although the hashtag #IceBae references the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Cervante actually works for Customs and Border Protection.