Despite their proclivity for wearing masks, the Department of Homeland Security denies that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents refuse to identify themselves in the field. “I’ve been on a number of these operations,” Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said last month. “They are wearing vests that say ICE or ERO, which is the enforcement arm of ICE or Homeland Security Investigations. They clearly verbally identify themselves.”
But video from a confrontation in a New York state town that was reviewed by The Intercept contradicts her claims.
In the footage, Juan Fonseca Tapia, the co-founder and organizer of the Connecticut-based immigrant advocacy group Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants, questions a man dressed as a construction worker.
“What agency are you with?” asks Fonseca Tapia, filming through his car window.
“I’m not going to tell you,” responds the man, who is wearing a high-visibility construction vest, an orange helmet, and glasses, with a camouflage mask covering most of his face. “It’s none of your business.”
100% this. Most of the news stories are from states where you’re much less likely to run into a armed civilian. Even a bystander might step up when masked men in plain clothes and shades grab someone and they’re screaming.
ICE should have a standard easily identifiable uniform. This isn’t an undercover operation. Hell you can meet it halfway and have a plain clothes initiator with the rest in uniform.
ICE is picking up illegals and “doing their job” but the lack of professionalism, transparency, ethics and morals is the serious problem here.
What happened to aiming for criminals? What about the gangsters, rapists and murderers?
Stop going after fast food workers, farmers, construction workers and people trying to just live.
Picking up people inside a immigration court is complete bullshit. They’re literally trying to do the right thing and being targeted…
At this point, most of them are documented, legal immigrants. Many are even permanent residents. Occasionally, they even kidnap US citizens.