Call masked ICE agents arresting immigrants what they are: secret police | Opinion
If the people being seized were suspected members of a drug cartel or a violent gang, the masks might make sense. But that's not what is happening.
EJ Montini- Masked federal agents are arresting asylum seekers who have followed immigration court procedures.
- The acting ICE director defends the use of masks by agents, citing safety concerns.
- Critics argue the masks are used to avoid accountability for potentially illegal actions and create an environment of fear.
When it happened in Phoenix in late May, we almost looked at it as an anomaly. Masked federal agents outside immigration court taking into custody asylum seekers who had followed the rules for that process.
Those being arrested were not identified as criminals or gang members. They were showing up for scheduled court appearances.
Since then, arrests like this have escalated all over the country, making it even more important to press the issue. To ask: Why the masks?
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons defended the practice at a press conference on June 2, saying, “So, I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line and their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is.”
We must call masked ICE agents what they are
If the people being seized were suspected members of a drug cartel or a violent gang, the masks might make sense. But that’s not what is happening.
Agents with face coverings, ski masks and facial bandanas have arrested individuals in regular work places. They’ve arrested women with small children.
In an essay published on the website of the conservative Cato Institute, Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the institute, wrote, “For the Trump administration, turning masked raids into standard practice fits into a wider effort to dodge accountability for potentially illegal and unconstitutional actions.”
We must start calling the masked enforcers what they are.
Robbers are impersonating masked federal agents
After masked officers detained two men outside a courthouse in Virginia, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia issued a statement saying, “With no official identification, no demonstration of legal authority, and no stated cause for arrest, this incident is indistinguishable from a kidnapping.”
Judges, prosecutors, police and other professions related to law enforcement face risks as part of their official duties. They don’t wear masks.
We’ve also now seen more than a few instances across the nation in which criminals have geared up and masked up like the federal agents — something that’s easy to do — in order to rob businesses or commit other crimes.
What Trump said about protesters applies to his police
Meantime, in a letter to Harvard University related to student protests, the Trump administration wrote that “Harvard must implement a comprehensive mask ban with serious and immediate penalties for violation, not less than suspension.”
Trump himself on June 8 wrote on Truth Social, “ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!”
The day before that he posted, “Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why???"
Two excellent questions … for his secret police.
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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