Some Democrats in California are supporting a new bill in Congress that would prevent federal immigration officers from hiding their faces during raids, in response to an increase in arrests by armed, masked agents in unmarked vehicles.
Rep. Nydia Vel zquez (D-New York) presented the No Masks for ICE Act, which more than a dozen Democrats co-sponsored. It would prohibit federal officials from covering their faces when enforcing immigration laws unless it was necessary for their health or safety.
During arrests and enforcement actions, the law would also mandate that agents wear clothing that prominently displays their name and agency affiliation.
The bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank), stated on Tuesday that it would hold federal agents to the same standard of accountability as California’s uniformed police, who have been legally required to display their name or badge number for over thirty years.
According to Friedman, accountability is impossible when agents are anonymous and wearing masks. Democracy does not operate that way. Our nation does not operate that way.
California
The location of the federal enforcement measures is often unknown to local police. Local police officers have occasionally been confused for federal agents, undermining years of efforts to build police trust in immigrant neighborhoods.
The Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would be required by the bill to establish disciplinary measures for noncompliant agents and submit an annual report to Congress on those figures.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by a DHS spokesperson. The government has previously issued warnings about an increase in harassment and threats directed against immigration officers.
The mask bill has little chance of receiving a hearing in the GOP-controlled House since it lacks Republican co-sponsors.
According to Friedman, there are likely Republicans out there who share my constituents’ sentiments: “I don’t like the idea of people jumping out of a truck, carrying very large guns, with masks over their faces, and I have no idea who they are.”
Friedman expressed her hope that the bill will also have support from Republicans who are worried about government overreach and the so-called deep state—the notion that there is a clandestine, well-coordinated network within the government.
California
In a letter to Trump, six Republicans from California urged him to concentrate on pursuing dangerous offenders, claiming that extensive ICE sweeps are causing terror in their communities and forcing workers out of vital businesses.
Following weeks of immigration raids in Southern California by disguised federal agents wearing camouflage fatigues or street clothes, driving unmarked cars, and failing to reveal their names, badge numbers, or agency affiliations, the proposition was made. Videos of agents brutally detaining people, such as yanking a taco stand vendor by her arm and throwing smoke bombs into a crowd of witnesses, have been widely shared on social media.
An surge in people posing as federal immigration agents has coincided with the raids. A Huntington Park man who was posing as a Border Patrol agent and driving a Dodge Durango SUV with red-and-blue lights was taken into custody by authorities last week.
A 37-year-old man in Raleigh, North Carolina, was charged with rape, kidnapping, and impersonating a law enforcement official after police claimed he broke into a Motel 6 and threatened to deport a lady if she didn’t have sex with him while posing as an immigration officer.
Additionally, police in Houston detained a man who they claim halted the vehicle of another driver, posed as an ICE agent, carried out a fictitious traffic stop, and took the man’s money and documents.
On Tuesday, Burbank Mayor Nikki Perez reported that citizens had asked municipal officials questions such as, “How can I tell if the masked man detaining me is ICE or a kidnapper?” And if a man with a gun doesn’t want to be identified, who can defend me?
Perez claimed that last Saturday, when a guy confronted a woman at the Mystic Museum in Burbank, demanded to see her documents, and attempted to pose as a federal immigration agent, those problems reached a breaking point. According to Perez, although employees and customers helped out, the experience created a renewed sense of uncertainty and terror.
Why do we hold federal immigration police to a far lower standard than our local law enforcement, who risk their lives every day? Perez stated.
Although it’s unclear if states may legally control the conduct or clothing of federal agents, the House bill is identical to one presented last month in Sacramento by state senator Scott Wiener that would prohibit immigration agents from wearing masks.
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