Legal advocates and attorneys general argue practice poses accountability issues and contributes to a climate of fear

The head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) said on Sunday that he will continue allowing the controversial practice of his officers wearing masks over their faces during their arrest raids.

As Donald Trump has ramped up his unprecedented effort to deport immigrants around the country, Ice officers have become notorious for wearing masks to approach and detain people, often with force. Legal advocates and attorneys general have argued that it poses accountability issues and contributes to a climate of fear.

On Sunday, Todd Lyons, the agency’s acting director, was asked on CBS Face the Nation about imposters exploiting the practice by posing as immigration officers. “That’s one of our biggest concerns. And I’ve said it publicly before, I’m not a proponent of the masks,” Lyons said.

    • JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Psychologists call it selective autoasphyxiation. It’s quite a common thing in facist regimes, particularly amongst the political and enforcement classes.

  • Jollyllama@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    The Attorneys said “Wearing masks poses accountability issues and contributed to a climate of fear”

    DEA Chief said: “Correct.” or “So you get why we need them?”

  • TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com
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    5 days ago

    What about taking the license plates off of their vehicles ?

    Is that still legal ? Because vandalizing their cars is a way of dealing with that.

    And I’ve read that glitter-splashing is another way of dealing with their masks.

      • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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        4 days ago

        Even run flats aren’t going to take you very far if they’re missing their valve core, which is easily accessible from the outside of the vehicle

  • mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca
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    4 days ago

    “ICE chief says he wants agents to get killed attempting to illegally kidnap people”

  • MuskyMelon@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Here’s a thought. Everyone should wear masks again like it was the pandemic. Then ICE can’t easily identify you.

    • kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      Everyone didn’t wear masks during COVID! And we all know who most of the ones that didn’t are. All this would do is put a target on anyone wearing a mask that isn’t in camo.

    • TuffNutzes@lemmy.world
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      Which is exactly what the sociopaths in power want. So they have an excuse to ramp up enforcement and implement martial law so they can inflict more violence.

  • BMW_stick@lemmy.world
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    Pussy snowflakes are embarrassed about what they do. They fear people might treat them and their families the same way they’re treating brown families.

  • greenfire@lemmings.world
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    Videos have flooded social media showing Ice agents wearing masks over their faces, detaining people without immediately identifying themselves, refusing to answer questions or explaining why people are being detained, and pushing them into unmarked cars with tinted windows.

    As well as the tens of thousands of arrests, there have been several reported cases of masked criminals posing as Ice officers, such as a man in Raleigh, North Carolina accused in January of kidnapping and raping a woman, threatening to deport her if she didn’t comply, or a man in Brooklyn attempting in February to rape a 51-year-old woman. In April 2025, a Florida woman posed as an immigration officer to briefly kidnap her ex-boyfriend’s wife from her job.

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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    4 days ago

    Law enforcement that truly believes they have the law on their side can police out in the open.