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Los Angeles Times
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Lawmakers are right to try to bar ICE agents from hiding their identities
The images are jarring. Across the country, federal law enforcement officers in plain clothes and wearing ski masks and balaclavas are seizing and detaining protesters, students and even elected officials. These scenes evoke images of government thugs in violent regimes disappearing opponents. This is not how policing should look in a democratic society. Which is why everyone — regardless of political affiliation or stance on immigration enforcement — should support bills being introduced in Congress to address this growing problem. Three pieces of legislation — under consideration or expected soon — would prohibit masking by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, including one Thursday from Reps. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and one expected Friday from Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). These are obvious, common-sense measures that shouldn't need to be codified into law — but given the reality today, and what's being done on streets across the country, they clearly do. In the United States, those tasked with enforcing the law are public servants, answerable to the people through their elected representatives. Wearing uniforms and insignia, and publicly identifying themselves, are what make clear an officer's authority and enable public accountability. That is why U.S. policing agencies generally have policies requiring officers to wear a badge or other identifier that includes their name or another unique mark, like a badge number. That is why — not so long ago — one of us wrote a letter on behalf of the Justice Department to the police chief in Ferguson, Mo., to ensure that officers were readily identifiable during protests. This letter was sent by the federal government, in the middle of the federal civil rights investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, because ensuring this 'basic component of transparency and accountability' was deemed too important to hold off raising until the end of the investigation. Exceptions have long been made for scenarios such as undercover work — but it has long been understood that, as a general rule, American law enforcement officers will identify themselves and show their faces. This foundational democratic norm is now at risk. In February, masked ICE officers in riot gear raided an apartment complex in Denver, one of the first times Americans saw agents hide their faces on the job. In March, the practice came to widespread attention when Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk was snatched by plainclothes ICE officers, one of them masked, while walking down a street in Somerville, Mass. Throughout the spring, bystanders captured videos of masked or plainclothes ICE enforcement actions from coast to coast, in small towns and big cities. ICE says it allows this so officers can protect themselves from being recognized and harassed or even assaulted. ICE's arguments just won't wash. Its claims about how many officers have been assaulted are subject to serious question. Even if they were not, though, masked law enforcement is simply unacceptable. At the most basic level, masked, anonymous officers present a safety concern for both the individuals being arrested and the agents. People are understandably far more likely to disregard instructions or even fight back when they think they're being abducted by someone who is not a law enforcement officer. If the goal is to obtain compliance, masks are counterproductive. It's far safer to encourage cooperation by appealing to one's authority as a law enforcement officer — which almost always works. Related, there is a very real and growing threat of law enforcement impersonation. There has been a disturbing uptick in reported incidents of 'ICE impersonations,' in which private individuals dress as ICE or law enforcement officials to exploit the trust and authority invested in law enforcement. Just this month, the assailant in the recent assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker was posing as a police officer. Other examples are abounding across the country. As Princeton University noted in a recent advisory, when law enforcement officers are not clearly identifying themselves, it becomes even easier for impostors to pose as law enforcement. Replicas of ICE jackets have become a bestseller on Amazon. Most fundamentally, masked detentions undermine law enforcement legitimacy. Government agencies' legitimacy is essential for effective policing, and legitimacy requires transparency and accountability. When officers hide their identities, it sends the clear message that they do not value those principles, and in fact view them as a threat. Federal law currently requires certain clear accountability measures by federal immigration enforcement officials, including that officers must identify themselves as officers and state that the person under arrest is, in fact, under arrest as well as the reason. That should sound familiar and be a relief to those of us who are grateful not to live in a secret police state. But those words are cold comfort if you are confronted by someone in street clothes and a ski mask — with no way to know if they are who they say or whom to hold accountable if they violate your rights. ICE officials cannot be allowed to continue to enforce our laws while concealing their identities. Transparency and accountability are what separate democracy from authoritarianism and legitimate law enforcement from the secret police in antidemocratic regimes. The images we are seeing are unrecognizable for the United States, and should not be tolerable for anyone. Barry Friedman is a professor of law at New York University and author of 'Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission.' Christy Lopez is a professor from practice at Georgetown University School of Law. She led the police practices unit in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice from 2010-2017.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats Want To Ban Masked ICE Agents
Since Donald Trump took office for a second time, masked federal agents are wreaking havoc and making arrests of immigrants and even some U.S. citizens. Two lawmakers in Congress say they have a plan to stop the 'secret' policing that has become a feature of this administration. Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, both Democrats of New York, introduced the 'No Secret Police Act of 2025' on Thursday. If passed, the legislation would forbid law enforcement officers and agents for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from hiding their faces or concealing their identity when making arrests. Agents would also be required to display or wear certain insignia, and provide identification when they are making arrests or attempting to detain someone. Homemade, non-tactical masks are also banned under the proposed legislation. 'Across the country, plain-clothed federal agents in homemade face coverings are lying in wait outside immigration courts to snatch law-abiding, non-violent immigrants going through our legal system the right way. This isn't about protecting law enforcement, it's about terrorizing immigrant communities,' Goldman said. 'The United States is not a dictatorship, and I'm proud to introduce this commonsense legislation ensuring that our federal government's laws are enforced by identifiable human beings, not anonymous, secret agents of the state.' Last week, New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by masked men inside of a federal immigration court in downtown Manhattan where raids have been occurring with some frequency. Lander said he was there to observe immigration proceedings and escort people out of the building in a bid to ensure no one was arrested without a judicial warrant. Though he had done this in the past, this time, Lander was roughly detained by multiple masked agents. Only one man wore a vest that appeared to be part of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations division. Though the Department of Homeland Security accused Lander of assaulting an officer and detained him for hours, no charges were filed. Some 37 Democratic lawmakers have already thrown their support behind the bill, according to a statement from Goldman. The bill out of the House of Representatives comes after similar bills barring face coverings have been introduced by others, like one from state lawmakers in California. Immigration raids have continued to ramp up there in recent weeks just like in New York. Masked federal agents without clear identification have been seen in California communities — and caught on camera — detaining people in parks, courthouses, apartment buildings, during traffic stops and at their workplaces. When California state Sen. Sasha Renee Perez (D) introduced the 'No Vigilantes Act' in Pasadena on Monday, she told reporters during a press conference that people simply shouldn't be asked to assume that arrests are being made by Homeland Security or ICE agents. 'The truth is unless these individuals provide proper identification, we don't know,' she said. Goldman and Espaillat's bill is likely to face serious headwinds in the Republican-controlled House. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) blanched at the idea of ICE agents being forced to identify themselves when he appeared on Fox News earlier this month. Raising concerns about the assault and doxxing of ICE agents, Johnson compared bans on face coverings for law enforcement officers to mask-wearing measures people were asked to take when the coronavirus first started ripping through the U.S. 'From the people who mandated mask-wearing for years in America, it's absurd. They need to back off of ICE and respect our agents and stop protesting against them,' Johnson said on June 9. Johnson did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. The finger-wagging was reiterated by Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday during a Justice Department budget hearing in the Senate. When asked whether she was aware that masked agents were making arrests and failing to identify themselves, Bondi said it was 'the first time the issue has come to me' before claiming that federal agents were being doxxed and threatened. Mask-wearing by agents, according to an analysis by CNN, seemed to start in earnest around March when men in plain clothes without badges, visible insignia or ID started cracking down on protests of Israel unfolding at college campuses. 'The hodgepodge of federal agencies Trump is getting to execute his war on immigrants are terrorizing immigrant communities,' Natalia Aristizabal, the deputy director of Make the Road New York, said in a statement Thursday. 'They blatantly disregard people's rights and take people from their jobs, homes and streets, all while masked and unidentified. This must stop. ICE must answer to the people, and must identify themselves and the agencies they work for.' The White House did not respond to a request for comment. According to the New York City Bar Association, the concealment of agents' faces is a public safety issue that needs to be addressed immediately. In a lengthy June 20 statement, the legal organization emphasized that current federal code requires immigration officers to identify themselves 'as soon as it is practical and safe to do so,' when making an arrest, just like typical police officers are routinely required to when they make arrests. Currently, there is no federal policy regulating how or when agents should cover their face. It is usually reserved for undercover agents. Department of Homeland Security policy, however, does state that after warrantless arrests, ICE officers must submit a full write-up documenting the circumstances of the arrest, including specific details about how, at the time of the arrest, the agent identified themselves as an immigration officer. (In May, Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) reminded officials at the Department of Homeland Security about this policy as masked arrests unfolded in Virginia.) Since 2020, the International Association of Chiefs of Police has warned that face coverings for police only raise tensions, put law enforcement officers in danger and make people 'heighten their defensive reactions.' Masking and concealment by law enforcement officers breeds confusion for the public and opens the door to bad actors who want to take advantage of the anonymity. Impersonation is also a serious concern: two Minnesota state legislators and their spouses were shot at their homes last week by a man impersonating a police officer. 'If you are upholding the law, you should not be anonymous, and our bill aims to safeguard from tyranny while upholding the values of our nation,' Rep. Espaillat said in a statement Thursday. Shocking Video Shows Father Of Marines Battered By ICE Agents Mike Johnson Offers Bizarre Justification For ICE Masks. Backlash Follows. Woman Says She Was 'Blindsided' After ICE Detained Her Trump-Supporting Husband
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congress members denied entry to Manhattan ICE facility, claim overcrowding, unsanitary conditions
Two members of Congress were blocked Sunday from entering an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Manhattan after trying to inspect it amid widespread detainments and claims of unbearable heat and overcrowding — including detainees being forced to sleep on bathroom floors. New York Democrat Representatives Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velazquez tried to perform a drop-in check at a temporary detainment facility at 26 Federal Plaza in Tribeca Sunday afternoon, but said they were illegally denied entry by an official from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The pair argued that as elected officials, they have the legal right to inspect the facility unannounced. 'This is not Russia,' Rep. Velazquez said. 'This is the United States of America where we have three branches of government. The president of the United States is not a king. And we, as members of Congress, have the duly constitutional responsibility to exercise oversight in a place like this. What is it that they are hiding?' The congressional reps tried inspecting the facility — where hundreds of immigrants are reportedly being held after being swept up in recent ICE raids — after receiving reports of unbearable heat and overcrowding to the point that detainees have been forced to sleep on bathroom floors, according to the New York Immigration Coalition. ADVERTISEMENT 'We are members or Congress, duly elected. Our constitutional right and our constitutional duty is to have oversight over these agencies and to ensure that we supervise and ascertain whether the conditions in these facilities are just or not, whether they're inhumane or not,' Rep. Espailllat said. 'Today ICE violated all of our rights because as an extension, we are here to defend your rights, the rights of the American people to have access and oversight to the federal buildings to ensure that everything is done correctly and in accordance to the law,' he said. 'We were denied that right today, a basic civil right, a constitutional right, that we as members of congress are here to uphold. So we will continue to come back. 'We will continue to come back until we are allowed to have access to the 10th floor.'
New York Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
2 New York Representatives Are Denied Access to ICE Facility
Federal officials prevented two members of Congress on Sunday from entering an immigration detention facility in Manhattan where the representatives were seeking to investigate reports of overcrowding, stifling heat and migrants sleeping on bathroom floors. The representatives, Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velázquez, both Democrats from New York, said officials at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building had denied them access to the 10th-floor detention area because it was a 'sensitive facility.' The building, at 26 Federal Plaza, a few blocks from City Hall, has been the site of recent protests against the transport of migrants there by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. It also houses immigration courts where ICE has been making arrests in recent weeks. Members of Congress are allowed special access to any Department of Homeland Security facility, including those operated by ICE, as long as they give at least 24 hours' advance notice, according to visitation guidelines. 'Today, ICE violated all of our rights,' Representative Espaillat said at a news conference on Sunday after being turned away. 'We deserve to know what's going on on the 10th floor.' He added, 'If there's nothing wrong, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to go in to see it.' Representative Velázquez said she was outraged about being turned away. 'Our duty is to supervise any federal building,' she said. 'This is not Russia; this is the United States of America,' she added. 'The president of the United States is not a king.' A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, said Sunday evening that the lawmakers had shown up unannounced. ICE officials had told them, she said, that they 'would be happy to give them a tour with a little more notice, when it would not disrupt ongoing law enforcement activities and sensitive law enforcement items could be put away.' The representatives arrived a day after dozens of protesters at the complex tried to block ICE vehicles carrying migrants. Many held up signs, including some that said 'Stop Deportations!' and 'To Get Our Neighbors You Have To Get Through Us!' That demonstration erupted in a clash with police officers, some of whom blasted protesters with pepper spray. The police said 22 people were taken into custody. Most were issued summonses or asked to return to court at a later date, according to a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney. 'This is the nightmare scenario we've been taught to fear since childhood,' said John Mark Rozendaal, 64, of Manhattan, who has protested at the building over the last three weeks. We need to 'stand up to the repression that's coming into our nation,' he added. Santiago Castro, 28, a student who is from Colombia, said he had come to the demonstration for a personal reason: ICE agents arrested his father in Manhattan on Tuesday. Mr. Castro said he was demonstrating 'for my family.'
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congress members denied entry to Manhattan ICE facility, claim overcrowding, unsanitary conditions
Two members of Congress were blocked Sunday from entering an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Manhattan after trying to inspect it amid widespread detainments and claims of unbearable heat and overcrowding — including detainees being forced to sleep on bathroom floors. New York Democrat Representatives Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velazquez tried to perform a drop-in check at a temporary detainment facility at 26 Federal Plaza in Tribeca Sunday afternoon, but said they were illegally denied entry by an official from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The pair argued that as elected officials, they have the legal right to inspect the facility unannounced. 'This is not Russia,' Rep. Velazquez said. 'This is the United States of America where we have three branches of government. The president of the United States is not a king. And we, as members of Congress, have the duly constitutional responsibility to exercise oversight in a place like this. What is it that they are hiding?' The congressional reps tried inspecting the facility — where hundreds of immigrants are reportedly being held after being swept up in recent ICE raids — after receiving reports of unbearable heat and overcrowding to the point that detainees have been forced to sleep on bathroom floors, according to the New York Immigration Coalition. 'We are members or Congress, duly elected. Our constitutional right and our constitutional duty is to have oversight over these agencies and to ensure that we supervise and ascertain whether the conditions in these facilities are just or not, whether they're inhumane or not,' Rep. Espailllat said. 'Today ICE violated all of our rights because as an extension, we are here to defend your rights, the rights of the American people to have access and oversight to the federal buildings to ensure that everything is done correctly and in accordance to the law,' he said. 'We were denied that right today, a basic civil right, a constitutional right, that we as members of congress are here to uphold. So we will continue to come back. 'We will continue to come back until we are allowed to have access to the 10th floor.'
