By Cassie Semyon – 07/29/25 / 7:05 PM EST
As ICE agents carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown across the country, it’s not uncommon to see many of them wearing masks.
The growing use of face masks by federal immigration agents has touched off a furious debate about the propriety of the facial coverings, but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has given them her stamp of approval.
“It’s for the safety of those individuals or the work that they’re doing as far as protecting their identity so they can continue to do investigative work,” she said last month during an appearance on Face the Nation.
Critics said the face coverings create a climate of fear and make it difficult to identify ICE agents who commit wrongdoing, creating a lack of accountability. The raids have already set communities on edge, and masks could make it easier for imposters to operate.
“My concern is the distrust that will maybe result from these ICE raids between community and law enforcement,” said Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif.
But President Trump has suggested that Democrats who oppose agents hiding their identities are hypocrites.
“It’s sort of funny when people picket in front of Columbia, in front of Harvard and they have masks on — more than masks, I mean, you can’t see anything — nobody complains about that,” he reasoned.
But a group of Democratic lawmakers said enough is enough.
“I think it is important that if you are working for the government, that you identify yourself. I identify myself every single day that I come to work, and I think the same should be expected and demanded of these ICE agents,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif.
The Los Angeles congresswoman has teamed up with Reps. Judy Chu, D-Calif., Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, and Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, to introduce the Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement or VISIBLE Act, which would bar agents from wearing a mask during public facing missions. It would require agents to display a name or badge number throughout the operation and prohibit non-medical face coverings that obscure identity or facial visibility, with exceptions for environmental hazards or covert operations. However, it does not apply to covert or non-public facing operations.
“I think it’s important that people have trust in their government. And right now across Los Angeles, we have seen masked individuals who are not showing identification, who are not even showing warrants, judicial warrants with names on them coming into communities and snatching folks,” said Kamlager-Dove.
In a statement announcing the bill, Chu was critical of the Trump administration’s immigration crack down, saying they “have indiscriminately targeted entire communities, undermined every person’s right to due process, and greenlighted ICE agents and immigration enforcement to act with impunity.”
“All Americans deserve to know who is exercising federal immigration authority in their communities. Immigrant communities and their rights deserve to be upheld and protected, not decimated,” she said.
The bill would also require DHS to establish disciplinary procedures for violations and report annually to Congress on compliance, in addition to investigating complaints through its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. A companion bill was introduced in the upper chamber by Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Cory Booker, D-N.J.
In response to the legislation, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Spectrum News in a statement that there has been an “830% increase in assaults” on ICE agents, and that “these sanctuary politicians are trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted.”
McLaughlin also said that during ICE operations, officers verbally identify themselves, wear vests that say ICE/ERO or Homeland Security, and are flanked by vehicles that also say the name of the department.
“Our heroic law enforcement officers are targeting highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers and rapists who attempt to go after the officers and their families,” she said of the reasoning behind agents trying to conceal their identity.
Spectrum News reached out to the National ICE Officers Association for comment on the proposed legislation, but the inquiry was not answered in time for publication.