ICE Agents Forced to Wear Visible ID Under New Bill
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Democratic lawmakers have proposed a bill that would force federal immigration agents to wear visible identification during public enforcement operations.
The VISIBLE Act would require agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to wear legible ID, including the agency name or acronym. The agents would also be banned from wearing most face coverings.
The proposed bill, unveiled on Tuesday, was introduced by Democratic Senators Alex Padilla and Cory Booker.
Immigration enforcement agents outside the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey, on June 12.
Immigration enforcement agents outside the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey, on June 12.
Olga Fedorova/AP
Why It Matters
There has been growing criticism of ICE in recent months for allowing its agents to carry out targeted enforcement operations across the U.S. in plain clothes and face coverings. Some of the raids carried out by ICE have detained people with proper documentation.
It comes as the Trump administration has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.
What To Know
Under the proposed bill, the immigration agents would be required to show either their names or badge numbers.
The rules would also extend to federal agents involved in immigration enforcement, along with state and local officers authorized to assist in the operations.
Senator Padilla told Newsweek in a statement: "When federal immigration agents show up and pull someone off the street in plainclothes with their face obscured and no visible identification, it only escalates tensions and spreads fear while shielding federal agents from basic accountability.
"Immigration agents should be required to display their agency and name or badge number — just like police and other local law enforcement agencies. The VISIBLE Act's commonsense requirements will restore transparency and ensure impersonators can't exploit the panic and confusion caused by unidentifiable federal immigration enforcement agents."
This is a developing story. More to follow.
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