Masked, Armed ICE Agents Making Arrests are Perpetuating a Culture of Fear & Unaccountability
THE REALITY: In communities across the United States, masked, armed agents are relentlessly pursuing non-citizens, arresting them, and transporting them to detention centers to await deportation. Many of the people being arrested by agents in plainclothes and masks have no criminal record.
Sometimes, these masks cover everything but the agents’ eyes. Other times, they wear hats, sweatshirts, jeans, and other clothing that can make it difficult to identify them as federal officers. Imagine the terror of being seized by a masked stranger as you’re walking on a sidewalk or headed into work. This has become a reality for so many.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is operating with secrecy and violence, wielding fear as a weapon. They are pulling people off the streets, many of whom likely don’t even realize they are being detained by ICE until after they’ve been physically restrained.
Knowing an officer’s identity is a critical first step to seeking accountability for their actions. ICE agents’ use of masks and other identity-masking practices are an affront to accountability and transparency. After all, law enforcement officers across the country generally work while uniformed and maskless. Moreover, masking makes it incredibly difficult for individuals who may be harmed during enforcement activities to identify the officer who caused them harm and seek justice.
THE FALSE NARRATIVE: In June, U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson seemed to bizarrely equate the public’s use of N95 and other masks to halt the spread of COVID-19 to ICE agents wearing masks to obscure their identities as they arrest and take people to detention centers. Johnson also suggested that ICE agents — who are targeting and detaining perceived migrants across America at unprecedented rates and with unprecedented funding — are the ones actually at risk of being targeted.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed earlier this month that there was a 690% increase in assaults on ICE officers, and has also insisted that agents need to use masks for their protection, since threats against them have increased since the beginning of the Trump administration. However, DHS has not provided a clear explanation about how wearing masks would prevent assaults. Moreover, the use of percentages about assaults is misleading: Across thousands more detentions, there have been 69 more assaults on ICE agents. It is unclear what led up to the assaults, including whether ICE officers may have escalated incidents that potentially induced people to defend themselves.
Officers should be identifiable when conducting these types of enforcement activities. It’s as simple as that.
WHY IT’S DANGEROUS: The videos and images speak for themselves. America is being inundated with terrifying incidents of faceless, armed individuals aiming to arrest neighbors, friends, and family members. And unidentifiable officers are unaccountable officers. The use of masks and identity-obscuring attire creates another barrier for those who seek justice through filing a complaint or lawsuit against officers, given that this attire renders ICE agents incredibly difficult to identify.
Furthermore, a recent string of ICE impersonators further lays bare the potential harm engendered by normalizing this type of secretive, oppressive enforcement.
POINTS OF ADVOCACY: U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Alex Padilla have introduced a bill prohibiting ICE agents and other Homeland Security agents from wearing most face-coverings. The bill also requires these agents to have visible identification. In other jurisdictions, such as New York City and Massachusetts, legislators have introduced bills to limit the use of masks for ICE and other federal law enforcement officers.