Federal Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-Brooklyn/Manhattan) joined immigrant defenders against the ICE office and the Immigration Court in Lower Manhattan to demand the approval of federal legislation that prohibits ICE agents to use masks during arrests.
Velázquez was accompanied by Congressman Jerold Nadler (D-Manhattan), community organizations and residents that carried banners with messages such as “dissenting is patriotic” and “unmasking Ice already”, in front of the federal building Jacob K. Javits, in the 26th of Federal Plaza.
The legislative proposal, known as law no more masks for ICE, would prohibit the agents for immigration and customs control (ICE) to cover their faces during arrests and would require that they carry their name and affiliation visible. It is similar to another project recently presented by the congressmen Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn/Manhattan) and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), called Law against the Secret Police.
According to Velázquez, the presence of hooded agents has become common in the Lower Manhattan immigration court and throughout the country, generating fear in immigrant communities.
“This is anti -state. Immigrant communities are terrified,” said Velázquez. “Witnesses believe they are witnessing a kidnapping. People lose all confidence in the system.”
He added that his proposal already has significant support, which was invited to speak in Los Angeles and expects a complementary version of the project to be presented in the Senate.
“We need to return accountability to the application of immigration laws,” said Velázquez. “That begins to take off the masks. That is exactly what my project would do.”
Nadler, a member of the Judicial Immigration Subcommittee of the Chamber, also criticized the arrests in civil clothes.
“These tactics are designed to sow fear,” he said. “This project would end these intimidation strategies.”
Immigration lawyers argued that arrests without identification and without explanation violate due process.
“They stop them in the street, in courts of courts, in public spaces. They do not know who is stopping them,” said Deborah Lee, main lawyer of the Legal Aid Society Immigration Unit. “They are dressed as a civilian, sometimes completely covered, they only see their eyes. Anyone can say that it is ICE.”
Other community leaders pointed out that these practices force immigrants to hide even more, even those who try to comply with the law.
“They want to push our communities more towards the shadows,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. “This is supposed to be a place to seek justice, not to face injustices.”
When asked if identifying the agents could put them at risk, Velázquez warned that the lack of clear identification can also cause dangerous reactions.
“Criminals are going through ICE agents, stealing and assaulting immigrants,” he said. “People can no longer distinguish difference.”
Nadler went further, noting that these tactics are not to protect legal immigration, but to attack immigrants.
“The message of this administration is clear: they do not want people to come to the US legally,” he said. “They want to make sure that immigrants cannot reach the American dream.”
Velázquez also denounced that, despite having authority as a federal official, he has denied access to inspect ICE detention centers, while the agency insists that its installation is only for processing.
“We are in this fight together, and we will not stop until we achieve true supervision and responsibility in the application of immigration laws,” he concluded.
