\u201cWe have a lot of agents whose faces are being put on social media platforms across the country,\u201d said Mathew Silverman, national president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Assn. \u201cWe have politicians right now that are saying, \u2018We will find these federal agents who have masks on. We will expose them.\u2019 It\u2019s just creating an era in law enforcement where trying to do the jobs of law enforcement is becoming more and more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Critics of law enforcement tactics say masking does not make officers safer and only escalates tension. Some argue federal agents operate under no greater threat than local officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegular police officers operate every day with their faces uncovered and their badge numbers visible, and it\u2019s not considered unsafe for their identities to be available to people in the public,\u201d said Stuart Schrader, a history professor at John Hopkins University.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s clear that agents are trying to create a certain spectacle of intimidation and lack of democratic control,\u201d he said. \u201cBy anonymizing themselves, they\u2019re indicating that they are not accountable to any sort of public.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Federal immigration agents stage outside Gate E of Dodger Stadium in June. <\/p>\n
(Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Is masking required?<\/p>\n
As the Trump administration has set a new goal of arresting 3,000 unauthorized immigrants a day, officials say they have not introduced any new policy requiring agents to obscure their identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cRules haven\u2019t changed on masks,\u201d Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Times.<\/p>\n
Last week, U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi suggested at a Senate subcommittee hearing that she did not know plainclothed agents were concealing their faces while conducting arrests. But Bondi also seemed to justify masking, saying that officers, and their families, were being threatened and doxxed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can assure you that if they\u2019re covering their faces now, it\u2019s to protect themselves,\u201d she said. \u201cBut they also want to protect all citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is masking legal?<\/p>\n
The U.S. Constitution has no prohibition against masking and no federal law forbids federal law enforcement personnel from wearing masks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s perfectly legal,\u201d said Edward Obayashi, a Northern California deputy sheriff, special prosecutor and use-of-force expert.<\/p>\n
DHS regulations<\/a> require immigration officers to identify themselves during an arrest \u201cas soon as it is practical and safe to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n California state law<\/a> is more specific, requiring uniformed officers to \u201cwear a badge, nameplate, or other device which bears clearly on its face the identification number or name of the officer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn California, we are not going to mask ourselves,\u201d Obayashi said. \u201cWe don\u2019t mask our identities, particularly on patrol. We\u2019re in uniform. It\u2019s just common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n What have Trump administration officials said about masks?<\/p>\n Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has defended the practice of federal officers concealing their identity.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks,\u201d he said in early June. \u201cBut I\u2019m 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\u2019t like what immigration enforcement is.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with Fox News<\/a>, Lyons said it was \u201cnot right for agents to be demonized, called modern day Nazis.\u201d <\/p>\n DHS recently stated that ICE officers and federal agents conducting enforcement operations had experienced a 700% increase in assaults. The federal agency declined requests from The Times for raw numbers and details of assaults against ICE agents; Fox News<\/a> reported ICE had recorded 10 \u201cassault events\u201d from Jan. 21, 2024, to June 30, 2024 versus 79 \u201cassault events\u201d over the same time span this year.<\/p>\n Are agents being dox<\/b>x<\/b>ed?<\/b><\/p>\n Some argue that federal agents have become spooked in recent years as the threat of doxxing \u2014 not just to them, but their families \u2014 has magnified.<\/p>\n \u201cJohn Q. Citizen out there is taking videos of this agent and posting it on social media,\u201d Silverman said. \u201cThe picture of this agent\u2019s posted, then their address is posted. It\u2019s \u2018go over to this house and protest in front of this person\u2019s house.\u2019 \u2018Oh, this person has a 15-year-old son. That son goes to this school.\u2019 … That\u2019s extremely scary for these agents.\u201d<\/p>\n Federal agents were also donning masks to prevent jeopardizing future undercover operations, Silverman said. If a mass of agents conducted street operations without covering up, he argued, their faces could be captured on camera and broadcast on the internet in a way that could make them vulnerable to criminals for years to come.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is facial recognition now that criminals are using as well,\u201d Silverman said. \u201cSo now they get my face on there, and five or 10 years down the line, they pull me onto facial recognition and boom! \u2018Wait, this guy was a law enforcement officer.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n What precedents are there for U.S. federal agents adopting widespread masking?<\/p>\n Most experts agree that the longstanding custom in the U.S. is for law enforcement officers to wear uniforms and recognizable insignia.<\/p>\n Masks have long been used by immigration agents to protect their identities during sensitive undercover operations, such as a directed raid on a dangerous drug house or cartel, Silverman said. But typically they were not used in regular patrols or in any widespread manner.<\/p>\n An FBI SWAT Team poses for a photo at the 1994 World Cup in Secaucus, New Jersey.<\/p>\n (Remi Benali\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Over the years, individual law enforcement officers have frequently pushed the boundaries of what people might consider acceptable legal standard practice, Schrader said.<\/p>\n The FBI\u2019s Counter Intelligence Program of the 1950s and 1960s, he said, was considered a particular black mark on federal law enforcement because of its covert and illegal activities, such as violating people\u2019s constitutional rights, engaging in violence and conducting secretive operations for political reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big difference here is that this is all happening in broad daylight,\u201d Schrader said. \u201cThis is happening totally in the open.\u201d<\/p>\n How does law enforcement masking change the relationship between citizens and law enforcement?<\/p>\n Many civic leaders across metro L.A. say the practice of masked federal agents has sowed confusion in their communities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are receiving questions like, \u2018How can I know if the masked man detaining me is ICE or a kidnapper?\u2019 And, \u2018Who can protect me if a masked man with a gun refuses to identify himself?\u2019\u201d Burbank Mayor Nikki Perez said<\/a> recently. <\/p>\n In Burbank, fears of imposters turned into reality when two masked men stopped a woman outside the Mystic Museum in Magnolia Park, Perez said. <\/p>\n According to the Burbank Police Department, the men got out of a white SUV, stopped a woman and, impersonating federal immigration agents, asked her for her papers. Thanks to witnesses, Perez said, the woman was able to leave without further harassment or, worse, kidnapping.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did not leave our community, though, or our residents, is a newfound sense of fear and uncertainty of safety for everyone in our community, regardless of their immigration status,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n Could lawmakers require federal agents to wear masks?<\/p>\n Some members of Congress are pushing the No Masks for ICE Act<\/a>, a federal bill that would prohibit ICE agents from using face coverings during operations<\/a>, except for specific safety reasons. It would also require agents to wear visible identification that clearly displayed their name and agency affiliation.<\/p>\n But a Republican co-sponsor has yet to get on board. Until that happens, it has little momentum in the GOP-controlled House.<\/p>\n In Sacramento, Democratic legislators have introduced the No Secret Police Act, a bill that would require officers operating in California to provide clear identification and prohibit them from masking.<\/p>\n But a state law could not control the behavior of federal officers, said David Levine, a professor of law at the UC San Francisco. \u201cEven if California passed that,\u201d he said, \u201cit wouldn\u2019t affect the immediate issue of what ICE chooses to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Some experts who defend masking say they think every federal agent should display clear identification for everyone\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely, 100%, a badge needs to be visible,\u201d Silverman said, adding he would support federal requirements for agents to show identification. \u201cSame thing with marking\u2026 It doesn\u2019t matter what agency you\u2019re in, you should be able to be identifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n In an age when anyone can order a DEA patch or FBI hat, Silverman said it is vital that agents are identifiable.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m scared of is somebody\u2019s gonna think that a federal agent is impersonating, but it\u2019s gonna be a real agent,\u201d he said. \u201cOr vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n What could happen if there was a clash with a masked federal agent?<\/p>\n Levine said he would like to see Bondi, the nation\u2019s top government lawyer, treat the matter of identification seriously and write an advisory letter to federal agents with clear guidelines on badges, uniforms and masking.<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody is going to make a mistake because of this,\u201d Levine said. \u201cSomebody\u2019s gonna get shot or killed \u2014 and it may well be an officer.\u201d<\/p>\n If someone were to pull out their weapon, Levine said, it would be pretty easy to say, \u2018I felt threatened\u2019 \u2014 particularly in a state that allows concealed carry and has a \u201cStand Your Ground\u201d law.<\/p>\n \u201cThey could say, \u2018I thought I was under attack. I had no idea they were the police. They jumped out of an unmarked vehicle. Nobody had a badge on. Nobody was wearing a uniform.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n If a masked officer with no uniform or identification were to injure, or even kill, someone in a struggle, California officials would not be able to bring criminal charges.<\/p>\n \u201cNo state prosecutor can bring charges against a federal officer,\u201d Obayashi said. \u201cThey can\u2019t even bring state charges for excessive force.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n