Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are drawing sharp criticism, with a former border agent claiming they wear masks because they know they’re “violating the Constitution,” according to a new Mother Jones investigation.
The outlet explored whether it’s legal for ICE officers to cover their faces — and found that it’s murky territory. “There isn’t any federal law regulating the practice,” wrote Senior Reporter Samantha Michaels.
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Justin Nix, associate professor at the University of Nebraska, told Mother Jones, “Citizens don’t have a constitutional right to know an officer’s identity.”
Law enforcement officers have long worn face coverings during undercover missions, SWAT operations, and more recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Mother Jones noted the lack of hard data on whether masking has increased among federal agents or if the public is simply paying more attention now.
“The experts I spoke with said it’s unclear whether we’re seeing a true increase in masking by federal authorities over Trump’s first term, or merely an increase in attention paid to the issue,” Michaels explained.
At a May congressional hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended agents’ use of masks. “Oftentimes because that agent has been involved in undercover operations or needs to be able to continue the investigative work that they do on a day-to-day basis,” she said.
But during protests in Los Angeles, former border patrol agent and immigrant rights activist Jenn Budd expressed doubt. She told Mother Jones, “They know they are following orders that are violating the Constitution and their oath. That’s why they mask.”
Michaels, digging into the history and precedent of masked officers, came across a telling 2009 post on a police forum. It quoted a belief from a different era of policing.
According to Budd, “Their department allowed helmets and protective eyewear that partially obscured their face during raids, but we had an old school sheriff who once said, ‘Only bad guys wear a mask to work.’”
