U.S. Rep. Grace Meng has introduced legislation that would require United States Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents to visibly display their badge, badge number and law enforcement affiliation when carrying out arrests or questioning individuals.
Meng’s legislation, introduced on July 9, seeks to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with updates to identification requirements for ICE agents amid ongoing debate and controversy about masked ICE agents carrying out arrests and detentions.
On July 20, ICE acting Director Toddy Lyons told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that ICE agents can continue to wear masks while on duty, despite criticism that such measures limit identification of personnel.
Lyons said he is “not a proponent” of officers wearing masks but said the measure helps protect agents, adding that some ICE agents have been “severely doxed.”
“I’ve said it publicly before, I’m not a proponent of the masks. However, if that’s a tool that the men and women of ICE to keep themselves and their family safe, then I will allow it,” Lyons told Face the Nation.
The practice has been sharply criticized, with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stating that ICE raids and arrests feel like “violent kidnappings” for average citizens.
Meng, meanwhile, said she believes ICE agents should have to wear badges like any other law enforcement agency in the country.
Meng told QNS on July 21 that her legislation would help keep constituents and officers safe.
“NYPD officers have badges with identification numbers, as do IRS agents, as do FBI agents. And so we’re simply asking them to have a mechanism of badge that identifies themselves,” Meng said.
In a statement issued on July 9, Meng said the legislation would ensure a “level of transparency” between the public and federal law enforcement.
She said she introduced the legislation in response to an “alarming trend” of ICE agents conducting immigration enforcement without identifying themselves, adding that the legislation was a “commonsense” solution.
Meanwhile, New York lawmakers are introducing legislation that, if passed, would ban ICE and other federal enforcement agents from using face coverings while carrying out civil immigration actions in New York State.
The Mandating End of Lawless Tactics (MELT) Act, co-sponsored by Albany State Sen. Patricia Fahy and Manhattan Assembly Member Tony Simone, would prohibit state, local and federal law enforcement officers from using masks or other disguises. It would also require officers to display their name and badge number on their uniform.
There bill includes some exceptions for the use of masks, including medical purposes such as preventing airborne disease transmission, according to Gothamist. Exceptions also include protective gear for water rescues, fires, chemical exposure and cold weather.
Fahy accused immigration agents of operating like “masked militias”, describing ICE as akin to a “paramilitary secret force.”
“his goes beyond immigration enforcement; it’s intimidation and it echoes authoritarian regimes, not the United States of America,” Fahy said in a statement announcing the legislation. “While I have long supported comprehensive immigration reform at the national level, I’m introducing the MELT Act to restore transparency, accountability, and the rule of law before these tactics and the fear they create in our communities become normalized.”
Simone added that communities have been “living in fear” of ICE raids since President Donald Trump took office in January, regardless of whether they were immigrant communities or not.
“Masked agents acting under the direction of Donald Trump are entering our workplaces, courthouses, and communities. They are disappearing people to extranational prisons with no due process,” Simone said.
“What is to stop vigilantes from taking up these same tactics? This is flat out un-American. The MELT Act will restore accountability.”
