In San Francisco, ICE has requested journalists blur officers’ faces after a San Francisco Standard reporter took cellphone images of arrests outside immigration court and published those images.
Critics have been quick to point out what they say is hypocrisy surrounding ICE officers’ tendency to wear masks.
On June 8, President Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that protesters should not be allowed to wear masks, asking, “What do these people have to hide, and why?”
His administration has also criticized student protesters for wearing masks while protesting the war in Gaza.
Masked immigration officers can create a lot of “confusion,” the state lawmakers behind the new bill said.
“It is critically important that people know who they’re interacting with and that they’re interacting with actual law enforcement officers,” Wiener said.
Meanwhile, a federal bill introduced in Congress this month by Rep. Mike Thompson (D–St. Helena) would prohibit immigration officers from wearing clothing that bears the word “police.”
According to the National Immigrant Justice Center, immigration enforcement will often introduce themselves as police officers even though they are not legally considered to be so. That can confuse immigrant communities and sour the relationship with local police, Thompson argued.
News of the California bill also followed what authorities have labeled a political assassination in Minnesota by a man posing as a police officer.
Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of targeting two politicians, fatally shooting Democratic Rep. Melissa Holtman and her husband, Mark. Boelter currently faces federal murder charges for the attacks.
Some critics have raised concerns that immigration officers operating in masks and unmarked vehicles could sow distrust and make it easier for bad actors to pose as law enforcement.
