State Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday led a national coalition of 21 attorneys general calling on Congress to pass legislation banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from wearing masks to conceal their identities and requiring them to “clearly identify themselves and their agency during civil enforcement actions.”
The Tuesday letter, which the attorneys general sent to all members of Congress, James and her peers raised concern with “ICE’s opaque conduct” in recent weeks, referring to the spike in immigration raids by masked agents, many of which have taken place in New York City.
“The images of masked, armed men and women, dressed in plainclothes and traveling in unmarked vehicles, snatching people from streets, homes, workplaces, and courthouses has become common in recent weeks and are now emblazoned in the public consciousness,” the attorneys general wrote. “We have watched these detentions with alarm, as the imagery evokes comparisons to repressive tactics that have no place in a free country.”
Masked ICE agents spark alarm
Local elected officials and several members of Congress have sounded the alarm over the recent spike in aggressive ICE tactics.
In New York City, ICE agents have conducted frequent raids at immigration courthouses, arresting individuals leaving routine hearings and separating families. ICE arrested City Comptroller Brad Lander at 26 Federal Plaza last month as he was observing immigration proceedings as a “friend of the court” and attempting to escort a man out of the building.
The letter comes to Congress as state politicians push legislation to hold ICE officers to greater accountability with the MELT ICE bill and argues that the wearing of identity-concealing masks by ICE agents “limits the ability of individuals to challenge unlawful government acts, stripping our citizens of their basic rights to hold government actors accountable.”
The attorneys general also raise concerns with a potential “vigilante problem” arising from the tactic.
“Individuals who are unsure whether they are being detained by legitimate law enforcement or are being kidnapped may understandably choose not to obey commands and instead resist law enforcement efforts,” the letter reads. “These tactics have also reportedly given rise to horrific incidents of impersonation of officers, where individuals seeking to extort or do harm have posed as immigration officials to victimize others.”
The attorneys general, urging members of the House and the Senate to prioritize legislation banning such identity-concealing tactics, wrote that “if the federal authorities are confident that their practices are lawful and just, they should not fear identifying themselves.”
“This Administration is willing to tout its arrests and tactics in press releases, social media posts, and speeches, but refuses to take ownership or accountability for their policies on the ground in our communities,” the letter reads. “As a routine practice, this is inconsistent with democratic values and the rule of law.”
The letter is also signed by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
