WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine are pressing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to follow U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations requiring law enforcement to properly identify themselves and limit use of face coverings during official operations. This letter comes following repeated instances of unidentified ICE agents making arrests across the country, including in Virginia, causing panic and danger during arrests. 

“Across the country and in Virginia, masked ICE officers and agents without clearly visible identification as law enforcement have been arresting individuals on the streets and in sensitive locations, such as courthouses. Such actions put everyone at risk – the targeted individuals, the ICE officers and agents, and bystanders who may misunderstand what is happening and may attempt to intervene,” wrote the senators.

The senators highlighted that the current alarming trend of ICE agents carrying out arrests while obscuring their faces and failing to identify themselves has increased risk to both officers and the general public alike.

They continued, “The failure of ICE officers and agents to promptly and clearly identify who they are and the authority under which they are acting has led witnesses of immigration enforcement operations to justifiably question the law enforcement status, authority, and constitutionality of ICE officers and agents and their operations. Such actions compromise the safety of law enforcement officers and agents conducting the operation, the individual(s) being apprehended, bystanders, and other law enforcement who may be called to the scene to respond to a suspected crime.”

As part of their letter, the senators are requesting DHS and ICE provide policies, guidance, memoranda, legal advice, training materials, and all other relevant documents produced by ICE and DHS that discuss when and how to use face coverings, organizational clothing, or reveal officer and agent identities during immigration enforcement operations.

Earlier this year, Sen. Warner questioned DHS and ICE regarding their enforcement practices, specifically highlighting a March 5th incident where a U.S. citizen and Virginia resident was stopped and interrogated by ICE. Sens. Warner and Kaine also demanded answers from DHS regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father who was living legally under protected status in Maryland with his family until he was wrongfully deported without due process by the Trump Administration.

A copy of letter is available here and text is below.

Dear Secretary Noem, Mr. Homan, Acting Director Lyons, and Director Hott:

We are steadfast in our desire to protect the safety of law enforcement and uphold public safety for every person, regardless of their immigration status, when interacting with law enforcement. The two are inexorably interconnected. The public and law enforcement must both be safe during immigration enforcement actions.

Accordingly, we write to you today regarding ICE’s recent immigration enforcement operations that have taken an alarming and dangerous turn. Across the country and in Virginia, masked ICE officers and agents without clearly visible identification as law enforcement have been arresting individuals on the streets and in sensitive locations, such as courthouses.   Such actions put everyone at risk – the targeted individuals, the ICE officers and agents, and bystanders who may misunderstand what is happening and may attempt to intervene.  

We urge you to direct ICE officers and agents to promptly and clearly identify themselves as law enforcement officers conducting law enforcement actions when arresting subjects, and limit the use of face coverings during arrests and other enforcement actions to avoid intimidation and reduce safety risks to the public.

The American public encounters federal, state, local, territorial, campus, and other law enforcement regularly. In the overwhelming majority of these law enforcement encounters, law enforcement officers reveal their faces and identities while in the commission of their duties. There are likely associated risks to doing so, yet the trooper pulling over a driver at night or the officer standing watch at the courthouse as suspected criminals enter manage those risks to their own and the public’s safety in a transparent and accountable fashion.

The Department of Homeland Security’s regulations provide that, at the time of an arrest, immigration officers must identify themselves if it is practical and safe to do so, and inform the individual of the reason for the arrest.  Additionally, under DHS policy, following a warrantless arrest, ICE officers must submit a write-up documenting the facts and circumstances surrounding the arrest, including a statement of how “at the time of arrest, the immigration officer [did], as soon as it [was] practical and safe to do so, identif[ied] himself or herself as an immigration officer who is authorized to execute an arrest; and state[d] that the person is under arrest and the reason for the arrest.” 

Under the Trump administration, there has been an increase in reported instances of ICE officers and agents apprehending individuals while concealing their faces with masks, balaclavas, or other face coverings, often without clearly displaying their law enforcement credentials through identification, organizational uniform, or insignia.  Historically, the use of face coverings by ICE had been reserved for undercover or sensitive operations, but press reports and public videos indicate that ICE officers and agents have broadened this practice to the arrests of nonviolent individuals without a prior criminal history.  Anecdotally, the increased use of face coverings has been described as a means to conceal ICE officer and agent identities to avoid identification and accountability, particularly as the public has taken to filming immigration enforcement encounters. 

The International Association of Chiefs of Police warns that, “members of the general public may be intimidated or fearful of officers wearing a face covering, which may heighten their defensive reactions.”  The failure of ICE officers and agents to promptly and clearly identify who they are and the authority under which they are acting has led witnesses of immigration enforcement operations to justifiably question the law enforcement status, authority, and constitutionality of ICE officers and agents and their operations.  Such actions compromise the safety of law enforcement officers and agents conducting the operation, the individual(s) being apprehended, bystanders, and other law enforcement who may be called to the scene to respond to a suspected crime. We remain deeply concerned that ICE’s lack of transparency will lead the public to intercede in enforcement efforts, escalating an already tense interaction, and risking an entirely avoidable violent situation. 

Increased use of face coverings and lack of prompt and clear identification by ICE officers and agents in public is also having unintended consequences. Criminals are taking advantage of ICE’s anonymity and impersonating law enforcement officers and ICE agents.   Recently, this resulted in several criminal acts including harassment, theft, extortion, assault, battery, sexual assault, and kidnapping.  The uptick in ICE officers and agents concealing their identities and ICE affiliation blurs the public’s understanding of what ICE officers and agents look like and do while lawfully conducting their mission.  Bad actors have and will continue to take advantage of ICE’s lack of transparency to perpetrate crimes on the most vulnerable in our society.

We strongly urge you to take swift action to ensure the safety of the public and your officers and agents during the performance of their duties by reducing unnecessary intimidation tactics that escalate defensive reactions.  Additionally, we ask you to provide us with copies of any policies, guidance, memoranda, legal advice, training materials, and all other relevant documents produced by ICE and DHS that discuss when and how to use face coverings, organizational clothing, or reveal officer and agent identities during immigration enforcement operations by June 6, 2025.

Sincerely,

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