Two California lawmakers are pushing legislation that would prevent law enforcement from covering their faces when making arrests in the state.
The “No Secret Police Act,” introduced by two Democrats in the California Senate, is a reaction to immigration sweeps across the country by masked agents in plainclothes, who are increasingly refusing to identify themselves by name or the agency they work for.
“The recent federal operations in California have created an environment of profound terror,” Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said in a statement. “If we want the public to trust law enforcement, we cannot allow them to behave like secret police in an authoritarian state.”
A now-widespread protest movement against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement was ignited in Los Angeles in early June, when street protests turned violent. California lawmakers have been among President Donald Trump’s most vocal opponents.
The bill, co-sponsored by Jesse Arreguin, D-Berkeley, would also require officers be identifiable by their uniform. It would exempt SWAT teams and permit the use of medical-grade masks and those used to protect workers during emergencies like wildfires.
“This bill will ensure that law enforcement are easily identifiable, maintaining that trust and accountability,” Arreguin said in a statement.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a June 20 post on the social media site X that ICE agents have experienced “a 500% increase in assaults.”
She didn’t provide the total number of assaults or a time frame for the increase. But videos circulating online have showed increasingly violent confrontations between masked federal agents and civilians seeking to document or prevent arrests.
“These are the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to arrest violent criminals and gang members,” she said.
Local police officers typically wear uniforms with a nameplate and carry a badge. U.S. Border Patrol agents wear an olive green uniform with a name tag and agency patches. FBI agents also typically show a badge when engaging with subjects or civilians.
ICE agents, however, are rarely uniformed.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lawmakers propose banning ICE, law enforcement from wearing masks
