ICE, Immigrants and Customs Enforcement, the guys on the front lines of enforcing the Trump administration’s mass deportations, obviously don’t want people to know who they are, which is the explanation for the masks.
Little-known fact: Homeland Security regulations require federal law enforcement to identify themselves during official operations.
There’s a good reason for the regs.
“Across the country and in Virginia, masked ICE officers and agents without clearly visible identification as law enforcement have been arresting individuals on the streets and in sensitive locations, such as courthouses. Such actions put everyone at risk – the targeted individuals, the ICE officers and agents, and bystanders who may misunderstand what is happening and may attempt to intervene,” U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, D-Va., wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The senators are requesting DHS and ICE provide policies, guidance, memoranda, legal advice, training materials and all other relevant documents produced by ICE and DHS that discuss when and how to use face coverings, organizational clothing, and reveal officer and agent identities during immigration enforcement operations.
“The failure of ICE officers and agents to promptly and clearly identify who they are and the authority under which they are acting has led witnesses of immigration enforcement operations to justifiably question the law enforcement status, authority, and constitutionality of ICE officers and agents and their operations. Such actions compromise the safety of law enforcement officers and agents conducting the operation, the individual(s) being apprehended, bystanders, and other law enforcement who may be called to the scene to respond to a suspected crime,” the senators wrote.
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Chris Graham
