Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., have proposed legislation banning federal immigration agents from wearing face coverings and requiring they display information identifying themselves as federal enforcement officials.
"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, Axios reported.
The senator added the legislation, titled the VISIBLE Act, will "restore transparency and ensure impersonators can't exploit the panic" during ICE raids.
The bill, if passed, will require Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to display a legible identification including their agency's name or acronym, but include information on their names or badge numbers.
The legislation does allow exceptions for environmental hazards and covert operations for the masks. Still, it prohibits non-medical face coverings such as masks or balaclavas that obscure agents' identities or do not allow their faces to be seen.
The bill further requires the Department of Homeland Security to investigate complaints through its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, report annually to Congress, and establish disciplinary procedures in the event of violations.
At this time, ICE agents are allowed to cover their faces, arrive in unmarked cars, are not required to provide badge numbers or otherwise identify themselves, and do not need a warrant from a judge to detain people, Axios reported.
The Trump administration has said the masks are needed to protect ICE agents from doxing.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS News in a recent interview the masks are "for the safety of those individuals or the work that they're doing as far as protecting their identity so they can continue to do investigative work."
Padilla was removed from a press conference being held by Noem in June after he was ranting and rushing the podium and fighting to get past security.
Meanwhile, two Democrat state senators in California introduced legislation in June seeking to block enforcement officers in the state from wearing face masks while on the job.
The legislation, Senate Bill 627, was introduced by state Sens. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Jesse Arreguin of Oakland. Arreguin is a former Berkeley mayor.
"We're seeing the rise of secret police — masked, no identifying info, even wearing army fatigues — grabbing & disappearing people," Wiener posted on X. "It's antithetical to democracy & harms communities. The No Secret Police Act can help end the fear & chaos this behavior creates in communities."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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