A group of Democratic senators introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face masks while on duty, including during raids and the arrest of undocumented migrants.
The legislation follows the release of video footage showing ICE agents arresting migrants while concealing their identities, often wearing plainclothes with no visible indication they were federal officials, The Guardian reported.
That said, agents have begun shielding their identities because Democrats and Dem-aligned groups have either doxxed them and their families or have threatened to do so.
Introduced by Democratic Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Alex Padilla of California, the bill would require immigration agents to clearly display their agency affiliation—such as ICE or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—as well as either their name or badge number. It would also prohibit agents from wearing face masks unless medically necessary.
“Members of the public often have no way to confirm whether they are interacting with legitimate government officials,” Padilla, who was physically detained briefly after attempting to rush DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference in L.A. last month, said in a statement.
“This lack of transparency endangers public safety by causing confusion, fear, and mistrust, especially in communities already subjected to heightened immigration scrutiny,” he claimed without any mention of the danger his bill would put ICE agents in if it were to pass.
“It also increases risks for law enforcement personnel by creating uncertainty in high-stress situations, particularly when individuals cannot distinguish real officers from impersonators,” he continued.
ICE has not publicly responded to the proposed legislation, but acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has previously resisted changing the agency’s mask policy, citing concerns about agents being doxxed.
“We ran an operation where ICE officers were doxxed,” Lyons said. “People are out there taking photos of the names and their faces and posting them online with death threats to their family and themselves, so I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line and their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is.”
The bill comes amid growing calls from Trump administration officials for Democrats to dial back their anti-ICE rhetoric, following two recent shootings targeting ICE facilities in Texas over the past week.
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, border czar Tom Homan called out Democrats over their rhetoric and reminded viewers he predicted the escalation in violence against federal immigration enforcers, such as two recent shooting incidents in Texas.
“I said over two months ago, I said on your network, numerous networks, I do a lot of interviews, I said over two months ago, if the rhetoric continues against ICE agents and Border Patrol agents about being compared to terrorists, like Congresswoman [Pramila] Jayapal did, being compared to Nazis and racists, that it’s going to end with a use of force that either a criminal is going to die or an officer is going to die. I’ve seen this recipe before. I knew it was coming and I don’t think it’s over,” he told host Martha MacCallum.
“This is a well-planned attack. And it’s because of the rhetoric. These nuts that want to take it beyond protesting to criminal activity, they’re getting rhetoric from the members of Congress, the senators who compare ICE to the Nazis, and Congresswoman Jayapal compared to the terrorist organizations,” he continued.
“So these people, these fringe groups, feel emboldened. If a member of Congress can attack ICE, why can’t we? So in response to this, ICE facilities, the security protocol has been heightened to the highest levels, along with Border Patrol facilities,” Homan said, adding that the threats won’t slow down immigration enforcement.