A masked ICE agent grabs a person as he leaves ICE immigration court docket in Decrease Manhattan on June 26, 2025.
Picture by Dean Moses
US Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-Brooklyn/Manhattan) rallied with advocates outdoors the ICE workplace and immigration court docket in Decrease Manhattan on Saturday pushing for passage of federal laws to forestall ICE brokers from carrying masks throughout arrests.
Velázquez was joined by US Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and varied organizations outdoors the Jacob Ok. Javits Federal Constructing, at 26 Federal Plaza, and residents with indicators saying “Dissent is Patriotic” and “Unmask ICE now.”
Laws referred to as “The No Mask for ICE Act” would prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brokers from carrying face coverings throughout arrests and require them to obviously show their identify and company affiliation. It’s much like one other invoice that New York lawmakers have proposed, the “No Secret Police Act,” which US Reps. Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn/Manhattan) and Adriano Espaillat launched into Congress final week.
Masked ICE brokers have develop into a standard sight at Decrease Manhattan immigration court docket and across the nation — one which has left immigrant communities regionally and nationally terrified, based on Velázquez.
“This is un-American. Immigrant communities are terrified,” Velázquez stated. “Bystanders often think they are witnessing a kidnapping. People are left with no trust in the system.”
US Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-Brooklyn/Manhattan) rallied with advocates outdoors the ICE workplace and immigration court docket in Decrease Manhattan on Saturday pushing for passage of federal laws to forestall ICE brokers from carrying masks throughout arrests.Picture by Claude Solnik
She stated her invoice had already received appreciable help, that she had been invited to talk in Los Angeles, and that she expects a companion invoice to be launched within the U.S. Senate.
“We need to bring basic accountability back to immigration enforcement,” Velázquez stated. “That starts with taking off the masks. That is exactly what my bill would do.”
Nadler, a member of the Home Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, additionally believes plainclothes arrests are problematic.
“These tactics are designed to instill fear,” he stated. “This bill would put an end to those intimidation tactics.”
Immigration attorneys stated arrests of individuals with out figuring out marks and no clarification violate the due means of regulation.
“They’re being picked up off the street, in court hallways, in public spaces. They don’t know who’s detaining them,” stated Deborah Lee, legal professional in command of the immigration regulation unit of the Authorized Support Society. “People are in plain clothes, fully masked sometimes, where you can only see their eyes. Anybody can say they are ICE.”
Others stated immigrants are being additional pushed underground, together with these searching for to adjust to legal guidelines.
“They want our communities to go further into the shadows,” stated Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition. “This is supposed to be where you come to seek justice, not be faced with injustice.”
When requested whether or not figuring out marks might expose brokers to hazard, Velázquez stated immigrants with no affirmation as to who’s detaining them would possibly resort to violence.
“Criminals are impersonating ICE agents, robbing, and assaulting immigrants,” Velázquez added. “People cannot tell the difference anymore.”
Nadler doesn’t view the arrests as an effort to help authorized immigration, however somewhat motion in opposition to immigrants.
“The message from this administration is clear. They don’t want people to come to America the right way,” he stated. “They want to make sure there is no way for immigrants to experience the American dream.”
Velázquez stated she and different federal officers have been denied the suitable to examine federal detention services, regardless of oversight rights as federal officers. ICE contends that its location is used for processing.
“We are in this fight together, and we are not going to stop until we bring real oversight and accountability to immigration enforcement,” Velázquez stated.
