Authority Unchecked: Masked Feds Stalk American Streets
ICE’s masked operations is becoming a flashpoint in a broader conversation about unchecked federal power.
WASHINGTON — The sight of masked federal agents rounding up residents has become a chilling new normal in parts of the country, as President Donald Trump’s second-term immigration crackdown intensifies. But a new legislative push is drawing attention to the secretive nature of these operations — and the justification for them.
On July 8, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced legislation to prohibit federal immigration officers, including those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), from wearing non-medical face coverings during arrests, detentions, or public operations.
The proposal responds to growing concerns about federal agents operating without clear identification — a trend ICE claims is necessary due to rising threats against its personnel.
The agency insists the masks help shield officers from retaliation or attacks at home. However, critics argue the practice undermines transparency, accountability, and public trust — all while lacking hard evidence.
Columnist Philip Bump of The Washington Post recently scrutinized ICE’s rationale and found a notable absence of data to back it up. While ICE has made vague references to “assaults” against agents, it does not publish statistics detailing these incidents or their severity.
Compounding the skepticism, ICE has previously characterized even nonviolent acts — such as New York City Comptroller Brad Lander briefly linking arms with a detainee during a protest — as “assault.”
In contrast, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which shares similar duties but operates with more transparency, publicly reports assault data — and those numbers are trending downward. Assaults on CBP officers have declined steadily since 2022, continuing that trend into 2025.
ICE, for its part, does maintain a somber online tribute to agents who have died in the line of duty. Yet of the 19 deaths listed over the past five years, 15 were attributed to COVID-19, three to cancer from the 9/11 aftermath, and only one to a violent incident — an accidental firearm discharge.
“If violence during detentions is the concern, it’s unclear how a mask helps prevent that,” Bump wrote, noting that ICE was unable to offer a single example of an officer being identified, targeted, and attacked outside the context of an enforcement action.
Nonetheless, Trump-era officials remain defiant. Appearing Friday on Fox News, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan defended aggressive tactics and downplayed constitutional concerns.
“People need to understand, ICE officers and Border Patrol don’t need probable cause to walk up to somebody, briefly detain them, and question them,” Homan declared on Fox & Friends.
Legal advocates disagree. The American Civil Liberties Union has accused ICE agents of stopping people in Los Angeles simply because they appeared Latino — often questioning U.S. citizens under the presumption of undocumented status. These claims are part of ongoing litigation asserting that racial profiling, not national security, is driving enforcement strategies.
As the Senate weighs the new legislation, the debate over ICE’s masked operations is becoming a flashpoint in a broader conversation about unchecked federal power, civil liberties, and what exactly is being concealed — and from whom.
“This is not just about policy,” Sen. Padilla said. “It’s about the fundamental right of the public to know who’s enforcing the law — and how.
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