Masks emerge as symbol of Trump's ICE crackdown and a flashpoint in Congress

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Beyond the car windows being smashed, people tackled on city streets — or even a little child with a floppy bunny ears snowcap detained — the images of masked federal officers has become a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations.

Not in recent U.S. memory has an American policing operation so consistently masked its thousands of officers from the public, a development that the Department of Homeland Security believes is important to safeguard employees from online harassment. But experts warn masking serves another purpose, inciting fear in communities, and risks shattering norms, accountability and trust between the police and its citizenry.

Whether to ban the masks — or allow the masking to continue — has emerged as a central question in the debate in Congress over funding Homeland Security ahead of Friday’s midnight deadline, when it faces a partial agency shutdown.

“Humans read each other’s faces — that’s how we communicate,” said Justin Smith, a former Colorado sheriff who is executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs’ Association. “When you have a number of federal agents involved in these operations, and they can’t be identified, you can’t see their face, it just tends to make people uncomfortable,” he said. “That’s bringing up some questions.”

https://apnews.com/article/ice-masks-congress-homeland-security-shutdown-funding-3c5b2050286aab930d8c81eb9cb1e03e

[Midnight Writer]

1. How would Republicans in Congress react if all the Capitol police wore masks and covered their badges?

How would a Republican in Congress react if they were pulled over by an unmarked car and a masked man with a semi-auto rifle ran up to their car, aimed their rifle at them, and started screaming unintelligible orders?

How would a Republican in Congress react if masked men with semi-auto rifles breached their front door, refused to identify themselves or show a warrant, and grabbed their spouse or child and took them to an undisclosed location?

[2naSalit]

2. Guess someof them...

Might need to go through some things to be able to 'get it'.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Should the gestapo wear masks or not?

Just abolish ICE and then it's not a question.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Masked agents are at odds with the American tradition, Americans' attitudes and the standards of every other official in

Masked agents are at odds with the American tradition, Americans’ attitudes and the standards of every other official in American law enforcement

The question Republicans still don’t know how to answer: Why should ICE agents wear masks? - MS NOW

apple.news/ACa0qld2KTKS...

— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2026-02-10T22:54:25.729Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/the-question-republicans-still-dont-know-how-to-answer-why-should-ice-agents-wear-masks

Every day, in communities nationwide, police officers do their jobs with a high degree of transparency: The public can see the officers’ faces, badge numbers, rank and, in most instances, even their surnames featured on uniforms. Though many cops are forced to deal with threats and violence, there isn’t a police department in the United States that allows officers to wear masks or hide their identities while they carry out day-to-day duties.

Indeed, that’s the American norm across agencies, departments and jurisdictions. State troopers don’t wear masks. Neither do FBI agents. U.S. marshals don’t wear masks; sheriffs don’t wear masks; judges and prosecutors don’t wear masks; and Secret Service agents don’t wear masks.....

By and large, Republican policymakers don’t seem to care, though they keep struggling with the same obvious question: Why should ICE agents have the kind of secrecy that’s at odds with the American tradition, Americans’ attitudes and the standards of every other person who works in American law enforcement?

REP. STEIL: Some Dems demands put at risk the safety of members of law enforcement

CNBC: You mean like taking off their masks and having a badge that shows who they are?

STEIL: Well, they're known to their supervisors

CNBC: No other law enforcement officials in the US are allowed to wear masks

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-02-09T13:32:42.812Z

....Pressed on why ICE agents are receiving special dispensation, Steil added that immigration agents are subject to a unique threat environment that includes being doxxed.

That might sound vaguely compelling, but the details matter. MS NOW contributor Philip Bump explained:

What the Department of Homeland Security has long argued is that this is dangerous for the officers. Assaults against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents surged in 2025, we have been told. Agents must protect their identities in order to keep themselves safe from this uptick in hostility and violence.

A review of DHS and ICE press releases since January 2025, though, indicates that this theoretical scenario has never actually occurred. At no point in time has an officer been seen conducting his work, identified and subsequently attacked. While there have been threats issued against agents and incidents of off-duty harassment, there are no known incidents in which an officer was assaulted while off-duty because he was identified as a federal agent.

But while GOP officials continue to search for a talking point that stands up to scrutiny, spare a thought for appointed Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, who suggested some federal immigration agents are wearing masks for warmth.

FOX NEWS: When it comes to masks & federal agents, is that something Republicans will stand firm on?

HUSTED: That's something for the president, and Tom Homan, & DHS to determine what's safe. It's been below 0 in Mpls. If you're going to be doing work outside, having a mask on is a practical issue

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-02-10T14:32:17.050Z

“It’s been below zero in Minneapolis,” he told Fox News on Tuesday morning. “If you’re going to be doing work outside, having a mask on is sort of a practical issue.”

It’s the sort of comment that makes one wonder: If Democrats proposed banning masks on agents starting in June, would Husted and his GOP colleagues consider it?