Petition demands Congress require transparency as ICE agents raid communities

An online petition is gaining momentum demanding Congress pass legislation requiring all ICE agents to clearly display their agency or badge number.

Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents have been filmed ignoring requests for information while taking people into custody. Most of the agents are wearing plain clothes, and the practice has already led to some bad actors impersonating agents.

Estimates are that more than 250 people in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County have been taken by ICE agents part of an effort to supposedly detain and deport the “worst of the worst.”

Agents have made more than 4,000 arrests throughout the state in the first seven months this year, which is nearly triple the total from all 12 months in 2024.

Data from a Freedom of Information Act request found that most of the people arrested in Virginia had no criminal record; less than 30 percent had prior convictions and less than 16 percent had pending charges, according to reporting from Virginia Mercury.

The Visible Act may not slow the arrests but it could help prevent people impersonating ICE officers. The proposed legislation would require immigration enforcement officers to display legible identification, prohibit non-medical face coverings and establish punishment for agents who ignore the law.

The petition has gathered more than 100,000 signatures and aims to let elected officials know that people want agents to operate with more transparency.

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ICYMI

• Unmasking ICE: ‘Our communities need safety and trust, not terror and chaos’
• Unmask ICE: Democrats demand federal agents quit hiding behind masks
• Harrisonburg: Immigrants rounded up by ICE were covered in dirt, appeared scared
• Plain clothes, masks, unmarked vehicles: ICE agents target immigrants in Virginia

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The MoveOn petition reads in part:

“ICE agents—without identification—are detaining people in plain clothes and wearing masks—stoking widespread fear, confusion and distrust. This is not normal. And it’s not only cowardly, it’s dangerous.

“Alarming news reports have already surfaced of bad actors impersonating ICE across the country — kidnapping, assaulting and scamming people. When ICE agents operate in plain clothes and without visible ID, it creates the perfect cover for abuse. The increased anonymity of ICE agents increases this kind of danger and recklessly endangers everyone.

“The Trump administration is giving ICE free rein to terrorize communities anonymously, violating our fundamental rights and putting the entire country at risk.

“It’s the responsibility of Congress to make sure federal agencies operate with transparency.”

The “Unmask ICE” petition is available online.