KEY POINTS:
• Democrat-led state legislatures in California, New York and Massachusetts are discussing or have introduced bills that would ban federal agents from wearing masks in most operations, according to Axios on July 19, 2025
• Under the proposed federal VISIBLE Act unveiled Tuesday, Homeland Security agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be required to display a legible ID that includes the agency name or acronym, according to Axios on July 8, 2025
• A California bill banning law enforcement agents from wearing masks while on duty has advanced after it was approved by a legislative committee on Tuesday, Newsweek reported on July 16, 2025
A growing number of Democratic-leaning states and cities are weighing proposals to ban federal immigration agents from wearing masks and require them to display IDs when making arrests, Axios reported on July 19, 2025. Images of masked, armed agents snatching people off the streets and taking them away in unmarked cars have shocked many Americans, according to Axios on July 8, 2025.
Federal Legislative Efforts
Federal immigration agents would be banned from wearing most face coverings but be required to wear visible ID during public enforcement operations, according to a proposal from Democratic U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), Axios reported on July 8, 2025. Under the proposed bill unveiled Tuesday, Homeland Security agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be required to display a legible ID that includes the agency name or acronym, according to Axios on July 8, 2025.
“When federal immigration agents show up and pull someone off the street in plainclothes with their face obscured and no visible identification, it only escalates tensions and spreads fear while shielding federal agents from basic accountability,” Padilla said, according to Axios on July 8, 2025. Padilla said the VISIBLE Act would “restore transparency and ensure impersonators can’t exploit the panic” during raids, Axios reported on July 8, 2025.
Members of Congress, including seven Illinois House representatives, introduced a bill late last month banning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face masks, Block Club Chicago reported on July 7, 2025. The proposal, known as the No Secret Police Act of 2025, would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the law that outlines the Department of Homeland Security’s functions and authorities, according to Block Club Chicago.
Illinois Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Delia Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson, Danny Davis, Sean Casten, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Janice Schakowsky co-sponsored the bill, Block Club Chicago reported on July 7, 2025.
State-Level Initiatives
Democrat-led state legislatures in California, New York and Massachusetts are discussing or have introduced bills that would ban federal agents from wearing masks in most operations, Axios reported on July 19, 2025.
California
A California bill banning law enforcement agents from wearing masks while on duty has advanced after it was approved by a legislative committee on Tuesday, Newsweek reported on July 16, 2025. The “No Secret Police Act,” introduced by state Senator Scott Wiener, would prohibit law enforcement at all levels from concealing their identities, according to Newsweek.
On Tuesday, the bill was introduced to the legislative committee for the first time and secured the five votes required to advance from the Assembly Public Safety Committee to the Appropriations Committee, Newsweek reported on July 16, 2025. Under Senate Bill 627, federal agents who conceal their faces while performing official duties could be charged with a misdemeanor, according to Newsweek.
“The recent federal operations in California have created an environment of profound terror. If we want the public to trust law enforcement, we cannot allow them to behave like secret police in an authoritarian state,” Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener said in a statement, according to Newsweek on July 16, 2025.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts legislation targeting masked ICE agents joins similar Democratic proposals at the federal level, Fox News reported on July 12, 2025. “A violation of this section shall be punishable as a misdemeanor,” the bill, which was co-sponsored by another 10 Democratic state representatives, said, according to Fox News.
New York
New York lawmakers are proposing the MELT Act, which would require law enforcement agents to be clearly identifiable and display a name, badge number, or other visible marker on their uniforms, News10 reported on July 11, 2025. The proposed legislation is called the Mandating End to Lawless Tactics, or MELT, Act, CBS New York reported on July 9, 2025.
Local Government Actions
Meanwhile, local leaders in Chicago, Albuquerque and several towns in Southern California are considering proposals to ban masks and require federal agents to wear IDs, Axios reported on July 19, 2025.
In Chicago, members of the 12th police district council have also called for local measures banning agents from wearing face masks while working in the city, Block Club Chicago reported on July 7, 2025. Locally, the district council members representing the Near West police district are calling on the city to ban federal agents from wearing masks and enforcing “identification standards” for anyone operating as law enforcement, according to a letter sent to Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling June 24, Block Club Chicago reported.
The California proposal would require local, state and federal officers in California to reveal their identities — via name tags, badge numbers, or other visible markers — and prohibit face coverings, Axios reported on July 19, 2025.
Current ICE Practices and Justification
ICE agents are currently not required to provide badge numbers or ID themselves, Axios reported on July 8, 2025. ICE agents are not required to wear body cameras, and they are permitted to use unmarked vehicles and to cover their faces, Newsweek reported on July 16, 2025.
ICE officials and border czar Tom Homan have said agents are masked to protect their identities and their families from “doxxing,” according to Reuters, as reported by Block Club Chicago on July 7, 2025. Officials maintain that masks are necessary to protect agents’ identities and shield their families from death threats, Newsweek reported on July 16, 2025.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told NPR that agents are covering their faces to protect themselves from doxing and increasing threats, NPR reported on July 10, 2025. “These are men and women who [are] being doxed online. We know that people take video of the operations as they’re ongoing. Law enforcement. Their families have been targeted. Their personal addresses and information have been put on sites like Reddit and other online chat forums for people to target them,” McLaughlin said, according to NPR.
Opposition and Support
Trump administration says masks are necessary for agents’ security during immigration raids, Axios reported on July 19, 2025. GOP state Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones previously told Newsweek: “At a time when federal agents are literally under attack in our state, California’s leaders should be rallying behind law enforcement, not seeking to score political brownie-points by putting them and their families at risk with legislation to publicly expose their identities,” Newsweek reported on July 16, 2025.
“As a former federal prosecutor for ten years, I have worked alongside ICE and DHS agents to get violent criminals off our streets – and none of them ever wore masks,” Congressman Dan Goldman said, according to Rep. Goldman’s press release reported by Block Club Chicago on July 7, 2025.
There are no federal rules or laws banning law enforcement officials from wearing masks, a former ICE special agent in charge told Reuters, Block Club Chicago reported on July 7, 2025.
Community Impact
The call comes as masked federal agents have been seen making arrests at immigration courts, during routine immigration check-ins and in raids in the city, a trend seen nationwide, Block Club Chicago reported on July 7, 2025. Even before this apparent mask policy went into effect, a rise in crimes perpetrated by individuals impersonating ICE agents and other law enforcement officers – including harassment, theft, extortion, assault, battery, sexual assault, and kidnapping – was being reported, the NYC Bar Association stated on July 4, 2025.
“It is, as the assemblymember made clear, done for the purpose of striking fear into asylum seekers and immigrants, with the hopes that they will be terrorized by masked gangs who seek to grab and abduct them,” Lander said, according to CBS New York on July 9, 2025.
Outlook
The bill is likely to pass in a Democratic-controlled legislature in the state of California, Newsweek reported on July 16, 2025. As it stands, the legislation is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled Congress, Newsweek reported on June 26, 2025.
A coalition of 21 Democratic state attorneys general also has urged Congress to pass a ban on federal immigration agents from wearing masks or plainclothes during enforcement operations, Axios reported on July 19, 2025.
