For many Angelins, the wonder of armed federal agents—the face hidden behind the neck gait and Balaclavas—jumped out of the unmarked van and robbed the people on the streets, posing a clear threat to public safety.
As federal immigration agents have stepped up law enforcement attacks, arresting and detaining anyone they suspect of violating immigration laws, critics warn them of their cover-up strategies, especially when wearing ordinary clothes and no visible identity markers, they spread fear and panic in the community, across communities, as well as dangerous citizens and immigrants without legal status.
“It’s very dangerous,” said Scott Shuchart, who served as assistant director of regulatory affairs and assistant director of policy advisor from 2022 to January, working for U.S. immigration and customs enforcement.
“If someone comes to you with a mask and a T-shirt without a badge, why would you think they exercise legitimate authority rather than becoming a violent criminal trying to hurt you? “You know you have to resist arrest, not resist arrests that may survive an encounter,” Shuchart said. ”
But defenders of federal immigration agents also use safety as a reason for cover-up.
They raise a threat to public safety to immigrants without legal documents, even if Most people arrested in Los Angeles in early June have no criminal records. They also believe that masking is necessary because the convergence of factors (pressurized political rhetoric, more complex facial recognition technology, and the threat of joining on social media) makes this work even more dangerous for agents in the field.
“We have a lot of agents' faces on social media platforms all over the country,” said Mathew Silverman, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. “We have politicians now saying, 'We'll find federal agents wearing masks. We'll expose them.' It's just creating an era in law enforcement, and it's getting harder to try to do law enforcement.”
Critics of law enforcement strategies say cover-up doesn’t make officers safer, but only escalates tension. Some believe that federal agents have no greater threatening action than local officials.
“It's not safe to see the face every day, the badge numbers are visible, and people in public can use their identities,” said Stuart Schrader, a history professor at John Hopkins University.
“I think it's clear that agencies are working to create a certain spectacle of intimidation and lack of democratic control,” he said. “Through anonymization, they show that they are not responsible for any public.”
Federal immigration agents stepped on stage at E Avenue in June.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Need to cover it up?
As the Trump administration sets a new goal every day to arrest 3,000 unauthorized immigrants a day, officials said they did not propose any new policies requiring agents to cover up their identities.
“The rules for masks have not changed,” Department of Homeland Security spokesman Tricia McLaughlin told the Times.
Last week, our atty. General Pam Bondi suggested at a Senate subcommittee hearing that she was unaware that Agent Prapensei had covered their faces during the arrest. But Bondy also seems to justify masking, saying officials and their families are threatened and threatened.
“I can assure you that if they cover up their faces now, it's protecting themselves,” she said. “But they want to protect all citizens, too.”
Is covering up legal?
The U.S. Constitution does not prohibit concealment, and there is no federal law prohibiting federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks.
“It’s totally legal,” said Edward Obayashi, deputy sheriff of Northern California, special prosecutor and mandatory use expert.
DHS Regulations Immigration officials are asked to identify themselves during the arrest “once practical and safe,” during the arrest.
California law It is more specific, requiring uniformly dressed officials to “wear badges, nameplates or other equipment that clearly stick to the official's identity number or name.”
“In California, we don't hide ourselves,” Obayasi said. “We don't hide our identity, especially when it comes to patrols. We wear uniforms. It's just common sense.”
What do Trump administration officials comment on masks?
Acting Icefield Director Todd Lyons defended federal officials who covered up their identity.
“I'm sorry if people were wearing masks offended them,” he said in early June. “But I wouldn't have my officers and agents there, put their lives online, their families online because people don't like immigration enforcement.”
In an interview Fox News“It is incorrect to be called a modern Nazi,” Lyon said.
The Department of Homeland Security recently said attacks by ice officers and federal agents conducting law enforcement operations increased by 700%. Federal agencies rejected the New York Times’ request for original figures and details of the attacks targeting Icefield agents; Fox News It is reported that ICE has recorded 10 “attacks” in the same time frame this year from January 21, 2024 to June 30, 2024.
The agent is Doxxed?
Some believe that in recent years, federal agents have been frightened because the threat of doxxing has been amplified not only to them, but also to their families.
“Citizens John Q. are shooting videos of the agency and posting it on social media,” Silverman said. “The image posted by the agency and then posting their address. It's 'go to this house and protesting in front of this person's house.” “Oh, this person has a 15-year-old son. … It's very scary for these agencies.”
Silverman said federal agents are still wearing masks to prevent secret operations that endanger futures. He believes that if a large number of agents conduct street operations without covering up the street operations, their faces can be captured on camera and played on the internet to make them vulnerable to criminals in the coming years.
“There is facial recognition now, and criminals are using it,” Silverman said. “So now they put my face there and five to ten years on the way, they brought me to a place where facial recognition and prosperity!'Wait, this guy is a law enforcement officer.'”
What are the precedents of our adoption of widely covered federal agents?
Most experts believe that a long-standing American custom is that law enforcement officers wear uniforms and recognizable badges.
Silverman said immigration agents have long used masks to protect their identities in sensitive covert operations, such as directed raids against dangerous drug rooms or cartels. But generally, they are not used in regular patrols or in any widespread way.
The FBI SWAT team took a photo at the 1994 World Cup football game in Sesous, New Jersey.
(Remi Benali/Getty Images)
For years, individual law enforcement officers have frequently pushed the boundaries of what people think are acceptable legal standards practices.
He said the FBI's counterintelligence program in the 1950s and 1960s was considered a special black mark for federal law enforcement because of its secret and illegal activities, such as infringement of people's constitutional rights, engaging in violence and conducting covert operations for political reasons.
“The biggest difference here is that it's all happening in broad daylight,” Schrader said. “It's totally public.”
How does law enforcement cover-up change the relationship between citizens and law enforcement?
Many citizen leaders in the Metropolitan Metropolis say the masked federal agents’ practices confusing their communities.
“We are receiving things like ‘How do I know if the masked man is detaining me is ice or a kidnapper?’ And, “If a masked man with a gun refuses to identify himself, who can protect me? “Burban Mayor Nicky Perez explain recent.
Perez said in Burbank, fear of adventurers became a reality when two masked men stopped a woman outside the Mystery Museum in Magnolia Park.
The men took off from the white SUV, stopped a woman and mimicked the federal immigration agent, asking her to provide the paper, according to the Burbank Police Department. Perez said thanks to witnesses, the woman was able to leave without further harassment, or worse, kidnapping.
“But no matter their immigration status, our community hasn’t left our community, or our residents have a new sense of safety for everyone in our community,” Perez said.
Can lawmakers ask federal agents to wear masks?
Some MPs are pushing No mask ice bill, , , , , A federal bill that would prohibit the use of facial coverings during operationin addition to specific safety reasons. It also requires the agent to wear a visible identity, clearly showing their name and agency affiliation.
But Republican co-sponsors have not joined yet. Until then, it had little motivation in Republican-controlled houses.
In Sacramento, Democratic lawmakers have introduced the No Secret Police Act, which requires officers operating in California to provide clear identification and prohibit them from covering up.
But state law cannot control the behavior of federal officials, said David Levine, a law professor at the University of California, San Francisco. “Even if California passes, it won't affect the immediate issue of what Ice chooses to do,” he said.
Some experts defending the mask say they believe every federal agent should show a clear proof of identity for everyone's safety.
“Absolutely, 100% of the badges need to be visible,” Silverman said, adding that he would support federal requirements for agents to show identification. “Tag the same thing…what agents can you identify in any agency.”
In an era when anyone can order a DEA patch or FBI hat, Silverman says that agents are identifiable.
“I'm afraid that someone would think the federal agent is imitating, but it's going to be a real agent,” he said. “And vice versa.”
What happens if there is a conflict with the masked federal agent?
Levine said he hopes to meet Bondi, a top U.S. government attorney, takes the issue of identification seriously and writes a letter of consultation to federal agents through clear badges, uniforms and cover-up guidelines.
“Someone will make mistakes because of this,” Levin said. “Someone will be shot or killed – most likely an officer.”
Levine said if someone pulls out a weapon, it would be easy to say, “I feel threatened” – especially in a state where concealed carrying and having “legislatively on your part” laws.
“They could say, 'I thought I was attacked. I didn't know they were policemen. They jumped out of an unmarked vehicle. No one had a badge. No one was wearing a uniform.'”
If a masked officer without a uniform or identity certificate is injured or even killed, someone in the fight, California officials will not be able to file a criminal charge.
“No state prosecutor can file a lawsuit against federal officials,” Obayasi said. “They can’t even file state charges for excessive force.”
