ICE Agents Are Wearing Masks — and the Public Should Be Alarmed

 It has come to public attention that ICE agents are now wearing masks to conceal their identities during enforcement operations.

According to ICE and DHS officials, this practice protects agents from retaliation. They cite threats of doxxing, harassment, and even physical targeting of agents and their families following immigration raids. ICE Director Todd Lyons defends the policy, claiming it shields agents from harassment and violence.

But there’s a serious problem with this logic.

ICE enforces civil immigration law—not criminal law—in public spaces, often without affording immigrants even a baseline concern for safety, privacy, or dignity.

People are detained in front of children, coworkers, and neighbors. Families are torn apart with no warning. If safety is truly paramount, why does it only apply to those wearing badges, not to those being handcuffed and deported?

And if the threat is real, use real words. Don’t hide behind internet slang like “doxxing” when lives, liberties and the pursuit of happiness are at stake.

ICE routinely collects personal data, including fingerprints, addresses, and contact info, and shares it with local law enforcement or even foreign governments. Yet its agents won’t show their faces or wear name tags.

There is little public evidence of ICE agents facing systemic violence. By contrast, there’s overwhelming documentation of trauma inflicted on detainees: medical neglect, sexual abuse, family separation, indefinite detention, and even in-custody death.

ICE agents are public servants, wielding the authority of the state. That comes with accountability. Police officers, judges, and mayors don’t get to cover their faces to avoid scrutiny. Why should ICE?

Even former ICE assistant director Scott Shuchart has confirmed that masking wasn’t standard practice during the Biden administration—it only became routine in Trump’s second term. The implication is clear: this isn’t about safety. It’s about intimidation, suppressing oversight, and hiding.

We’re told these masks are for “officer safety.” But many of us suspect another reason.

It’s entirely possible these aren’t just ICE agents, they’re repurposed Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, or January 6th rioters, now outfitted with government authority. And they’re not hiding from criminals—they’re hiding from journalists, watchdogs, and their reputations.

They stormed the Capitol in 2021. Now, under a new administration, they’re storming homes and neighborhoods with badges instead of flags.

And let’s be honest—we’ve seen masked men like this before.

In the American South, there was once another group that terrorized communities in the name of “law and order.” They wore masks too. They claimed to be protecting a way of life, too. And they did unspeakable things under the guise of public virtue.

If ICE is going to adopt the tactics of the Ku Klux Klan, then let’s stop pretending. Take off the COVID-era namby-pamby masks and bring back the sheets and pillowcases.

... I'm just saying.