Connecticut Democratic senators have voiced their support for the “No Masks for ICE” Act. They sent a letter to Congress on Tuesday.
New York Congresswoman Nyda Velázquez (D-NY) introduced the proposed bill in June. The bill would prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings when interacting with the public and require them to wear clothing that clearly displays their name and affiliation with ICE.
Both Velazquez and the Connecticut Democratic state senators cited increased incidents across the country of ICE agents making arrests with no identification, including one in New Haven, where a mother was taken in front of her children. They say it creates intimidation and fear with the public, and confusion with police when ICE agents operate with masks in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles.
“When ICE agents hide their faces and badges, it spreads fear and removes any accountability. It makes it harder to report abuse, harder to hold agents responsible, and more likely that arrests spiral into chaos,” Velázquez said in a statement.
“That is the hallmark of an authoritarian government, not a democracy,” said Senate Democrats in their letter. “It is of the utmost importance to our democracy, to the future of this country, and to the welfare of our citizens that this unprecedented use of intimidation tactics be severely curtailed immediately."
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) said this kind of behavior doesn’t reflect the America he grew up in.
“We have seen masked agents in our country for the last six months, and something frankly that many of us read about in history classes. We never thought we would see something like this here in the United States of America,” Duff said.
He said passing the bill could be a struggle since the “Republicans in Congress [are] capitulating everything that the man in the Oval Office is doing.”
The House is expected to reconvene on Sept. 2.
