There's A New Proposed Law That Could Ban All Law Enforcement From Wearing Face Coverings, And People Are NOT Holding Back Their Feelings

Yahoo

6 hours ago

With deportation raids continuing across the country, ICE agents and other immigration enforcement have shown a particular fondness for hiding their faces with gaiter- and ski mask-style face coverings. It's caused an uproar on the internet, with many people calling out the hypocrisy of President Donald Trump being adamantly against protesters wearing face masks while rallying behind police officers who do the same.
ICE agents presumably cover their faces to conceal their identities on camera, but the Department of Homeland Security says it's to "protect themselves from being targeted by known and suspected gang members, murders, and rapists."
This debate made its way over to Reddit's r/politics recently. User Aggravating_Money992 started the conversation with a Newsweek article about the "No Secret Police Act," a new bill proposed last week in the California State Senate that would ban law enforcement, including ICE, from covering their faces on duty.
Newsweek reported that bill co-author Scott Wiener wrote in a press release that, "The recent federal operations in California have created an environment of profound terror. If we want the public to trust law enforcement, we cannot allow them to behave like secret police in an authoritarian state."
Here's what some of the 16,000+ commenters had to say:
1."How about they start announcing themselves as law enforcement, too, instead of just wearing plain clothes and pushing people into unmarked vans. Or maybe, how about this, they provide due processes as well, so people are not deported to Salvadoran death camps without due process."
"Or maybe, they stop rounding people up at immigration hearings, when those people are just trying to follow the process to becoming legal."
—FreshRest4945
2."In California, when a cop pulls you over, the first thing they have to do is tell you why you're being pulled over. It's a fucking game-changer."
"No more, 'Do you know why I pulled you over?' No more mind games to start off the conversation, no more escalations from the get-go in the hopes that they can rack up some charges, and if they're really lucky, punch you in the face because 'they feared for their life' when they confused and frustrated you.
Law enforcement everywhere should be required to be professional. Simple as that."
—oddmanout
3."Yeah, but think about these poor, poor ICE officers. How else are they going to get their KGB cosplay on? The Gestapo and NKVD/MVD at least had the courtesy of wearing military style uniforms, before shoving you into a van or truck to who knows where."
—The_Shitty_Admiral
4."ICE agents lack qualified immunity. That's why they are wearing masks, and that's why the DOJ is relentlessly pretending to arrest anyone who opposes them (who they then have to immediately release without charges)."
"This is all a sham, and the masks are there to protect them from future prosecution and civil liability. If we can get the masks off, their behavior will change drastically."
—CherryLongjump1989
5."Fun fact, we don't actually know for certain that people haven't been thrown into vans by people who aren't actually ICE officers and had god knows what happen to them."
—soapinthepeehole
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6."Amazing double standard when Trump wants to ban masks for protestors."
—SereneFrost72
7."DHS policy already requires that agents wear ID, but of course, Homeland Secretary Puppy Shooter refuses to enforce her agency's own requirements."
—AcadiaLivid2582
8."I cannot believe this has to be a law...of course they shouldn't wear masks."
—TintedApostle
9."I genuinely think they know that morale/zealotry will drop if ICE agents have to be identifiable. These guys like being cruel bullies if they get to hide behind their mask, but if you see their face, they'll wilt."
—justprettymuchdone
10."Some of these are 'fallen officers' — dismissed or criminal. Obviously not a job an upright cop would do, given the tactics and bounty-pressure from Trump. I mean they're rounding up and rendering working people dropping off kids at school, off menial jobs on farms, in slaughterhouses, and such. Hardly the pinnacle of a crime-fighter's fantasy."
"And they know ICE is being filmed for Trump's 'Bad Boys' PR — I guess they might get recognized, or aren't willing to get filmed in such shameful situations."
—XSinTrick6666
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11."Question: If an ICE agent is wearing a mask, refusing to show ID or a badge, and with no paper warrant is then shot by a terrified homeowner during one of their no-knock raids, does the homeowner have any sort of legal Castle defense, or does the fact that these invaders seem to be law enforcement officers negate that?"
"How is a person supposed to differentiate between ICE and a different bad guy home invasion in the heat of the moment?"
—TheRealTinfoil666
12."They should be required to wear uniforms, too. A redcoat to show support for their king would be appropriate."
—Practical-Bit9905
13."If someone looks like they're posing as a federal or state police, FBI, ICE, etc., I will assume they are bad actors. Especially after the assassinations! Show your face, show your warrant, your badge, or I show you me defending myself and the people around me."
—RevolutionaryCard512
14."And they must wear their correct name tags…we must be able to face our accusers. Video provides accountability."
"Body cameras on 100% of the time, except in locker rooms/bathrooms with a reasonable expectation of privacy. (Don't abuse this privilege by dragging folks into bathrooms/locker rooms to beat them off camera; you know when you're crossing the line most of the time.) Most normal police are good. Start turning in the bad ones. Stop shielding their bad behavior."
—infamous_merkin
15."But...but...but then they won't be able to hide their identities during the kidnappings!"
—phosdick
16."There's only one reason to wear a mask as a law enforcement officer. You're doing something that will bring harm to you or your loved ones if you are identified. In South American countries, you see drug task force officers wearing masks for fear of the safety of their loved ones should they be identified by the cartels/gangs. That isn't the case here; these guys aren't concerned about violence against them. They're wanting anonymity so if and when the tables turn, they can't be positively identified and held accountable for their heinous actions."
"They don't want their communities knowing they're modern-day brownshirts. They don't want to be put in a position where they have to utter those infamous words: 'I was just following orders.' It's the same reason they're trying to criminalize doxxing them. Their power lies in their ability to operate with anonymity. It's disgusting."
—Apoc220
17."I feel like we've reached a point where passing a law won't do much of anything since nobody will enforce it."
—Bloodyfish
18."I'm confused. I thought these were the same people who said they couldn't wear masks during COVID because they couldn't breathe?"
—Notgreygoddess
19."As it stands we are expected to SUBMIT to any Tom, Dick, or Harry who pounds on our door wearing a mask. We are not able to verify who the fuck they are and they are not required to prove anything to anyone as they often say they 'are not permitted to' disclose their own identity. How is this not going to be abused? Look what happened in Minnesota, where law-abiding legislators opened their door to someone they believed was law enforcement, only to be executed."
"The reasoning for our Miranda rights goes beyond the rights themselves; it is not possible for society to function otherwise. These rights are structural to all procedures, and it is pure dysfunction to remove them. We will see much more abuse, not to mention that the 'official' ICE agents are already a sign of extreme dysfunction."
—Friendo_Marx
20."ICE agents SHOULD be banned from wearing masks. Period. Don't forget that you pay their salaries. Shouldn't we know who our employees are?!"
—CoyoteExcellent1042
21."It's gonna take some masked asshole, pretending to be an ICE agent attacking or killing lawmakers before we do anything. Oh, wait, we are already there."
"If they refuse to show their badge or remove their mask, they are not law enforcement! Call 911 and report an armed man or woman impersonating an officer. They will respond."
—OptimisticSkeleton
22."I see zero reason why they should be allowed to hide their faces. If you're doing your job properly, why do you need to hide your face to protect yourself from lawsuits? If you're the 'good guys,' why do you need to hide your face at all? Why all the secrecy? Kind of hard to abuse your power when people know who you are, I guess."
"'It's for their safety!' Right, why do police officers usually not cover their faces, but people who kidnap people do? Weird..."
—CharlesB43
23."Watch Republicans argue that it's illegal to stop police from having the choice to wear a mask or not."
—SquarebobSpongepants
What do you think? Sound off in the comments.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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