Mike German, an ex-FBI agent, said immigration agents hiding their identities ‘highlights the illegitimacy of actions’
Some wear balaclavas. Some wear neck gators, sunglasses and hats. Some wear masks and casual clothes.
Across the country, armed federal immigration officers have increasingly hidden their identities while carrying out immigration raids, arresting protesters and roughing up prominent Democratic critics.
It’s a trend that has sparked alarm among civil rights and law enforcement experts alike.
Mike German, a former FBI agent, said officers’ widespread use of masks was unprecedented in US law enforcement and a sign of a rapidly eroding democracy. “Masking symbolizes the drift of law enforcement away from democratic controls,” he said.
This trend didn’t started with ICE officers hiding their face but with the police patrols with “ghost marks”. I remember from years ago seeing memes of those patrol cars compared with European ones, that are full of bright colors, the message of each one as “I’m here hidden to catch you vs I’m here calling your attention to help you*”
* Obligatory All Cops, even the hot Sweeden and Italian cops, Are Bastards.