Talk about an encounter that went well beyond the pale.
New Jersey’s infamous “Tan Mom” says federal immigration agents nearly handcuffed her after questioning whether she was a U.S. citizen—a moment she believes may have been linked to the intensely dark tan that turned her into a tabloid celebrity.
Patricia Krentcil described the alleged incident while appearing on the “Light. Tan. Up.” podcast with actor Tom Arnold. She said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped her as she was leaving a restaurant with several friends.
Patricia Krentcil, widely known as “Tan Mom,” says 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, it blew my mind.”
According to Krentcil, the encounter nearly became far more serious than a simple question about her citizenship—and even darker than her trademark tan.
“Because I was so tan, they were about to handcuff me … and take me away. God knows where,” she alleged.
Krentcil’s deeply bronzed appearance has drawn national attention for more than a decade. She said she feared being detained and taken 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)
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“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 longtime tanning enthusiast also accused immigration authorities of treating people differently based on race and nationality. “But they’re very racist about color and nationalities and stuff like that,” she said.
Krentcil became a national sensation in the 2010s because of her signature deep bronze tan. (iStock)
She called the alleged encounter “terrifying.”
Krentcil did not say when or where the incident allegedly took place. News Media has not independently confirmed her account.
Krentcil first gained widespread attention in 2012, when authorities accused her of taking 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. The case fueled intense media coverage of Krentcil’s tanning habits and parenting.
The case ultimately ended without an indictment. An Essex County grand jury declined to indict Krentcil in February 2013, and prosecutors dropped the charges.
Krentcil later left New Jersey for Florida, where the woman whose famously dark tan made her a tabloid fixture continues to embrace life in the Sunshine State.
ICE had not immediately responded to News Media’s request for comment about the alleged encounter.