Immigration law enforcement officers would be required to identify themselves and the agency they’re affiliated with while carrying out public operations under a new bill introduced by Democratic senators on Tuesday.
In an effort to increase transparency between the public and federal law enforcement officers during the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, Senators Alex Padilla of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey are introducing the Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement (VISIBLE) Act.
The long-shot act would require officers in the Department of Homeland Security, such as personnel in Customs and Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as local officers deputized to assist in federal immigration enforcement, to clearly display their name or badge number and agency affiliation.
Those immigration-related enforcement personnel would also be prohibited from wearing non-medical face coverings that obscure their identity or facial visibility – with exceptions for environmental hazards or covert operations.
It has become increasingly common for law enforcement personnel to cloak their identities while carrying out immigration raids or individual confrontations. In several instances, officers have worn plainclothes when approaching individuals to detain them.
Padilla and Booker say that practices cause unnecessary confusion, fear, and mistrust in communities and raise tensions between civilians and enforcement officers.
“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,” Padilla said in a statement.
“Immigration agents should be required to display their agency and name or badge number — just like police and other local law enforcement agencies,” he added.
Booker agreed in a statement saying, “The lack of visible identification and uniform standards for immigration enforcement officers has created confusion, stoked fear, and undermined public trust in law enforcement.”
The two also warn that allowing for face concealment increases the opportunity for people to impersonate law enforcement.
ICE Director Todd Lyons has previously defended agents’ use of facial coverings, saying it was a way to protect their identities.
“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, their family on the line, because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is,” Lyons said at a news conference in June.
In a statement to The Independent, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for DHS, said, “Senator Padilla and Senator Booker have clearly never been on an ICE operation because they would see our officers verbally identify themselves, wear vests that say ICE/ERO or Homeland Security, and are flanked by vehicles that also say the name of the department.”
“When our heroic law enforcement officers conduct operations, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement. These arguments are getting a little desperate,” McLaughlin said.
Padilla and Booker emphasized that the bill would not prohibit face coverings when necessary for officer safety and would not limit their enforcement ability.
Scott Shuchart, a former ICE and DHS official, said he supports the VISIBLE Act for reducing instances of violence and fear
“As much as the cop in blues is a staple of American life, the masked bandit is a symbol of fear, and having government agents dressed like paramilitaries is un-American. Based on my experience in government, the VISIBLE Act makes good sense and would be straightforward for DHS officials to implement,” Shuchart said in a statement.
The act would also require DHS to investigate complaints against officers through its Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, establish disciplinary procedures for personnel who violate rules, and provide an annual report to Congress on compliance.
McLaughlin said masks protect ICE or border patrol personnel from being doxed, targeted by “known and suspected terrorists,” and “attacked” by rioters. She referenced a border patrol agent who was shot on Monday as one of those examples.
“Not only is our ICE law enforcement facing a nearly 700 percent increase in assaults against them, but we’ve also seen thugs launch websites to reveal ICE officers’ identity and even their families and children be doxed and targeted,” McLaughlin added.
