Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in a call for Congress to enact new restrictions on how federal immigration agents operate, particularly criticizing the use of masks and unmarked vehicles by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. The coalition issued a collective letter today demanding legislation that would ban federal agents from obscuring their identities and require them to clearly display agency identification in the field.
Raoul and his counterparts highlighted a troubling rise in incidents involving ICE agents carrying out detentions while masked, in plain clothes, and using unmarked vehicles. According to the letter, these opaque tactics have played out not only on public streets but also at homes, workplaces, and courthouses. The coalition argues this approach is a stark departure from the transparency that has long characterized traditional American law enforcement.
The letter warns that such tactics heighten the risks to public and officer safety. Without visible identification and clear insignia, individuals may not recognize ICE agents as authorized federal officers, which could lead to dangerous misunderstandings, bystander intervention, or even the misallocation of local police resources. The attorneys general further caution that these circumstances have enabled imposters to exploit and harm community members by pretending to be federal agents.
“Law enforcement agencies – whether at the federal, state or local level – should operate transparently and with integrity on behalf of those they serve,” Raoul said. “When law enforcement activities involve the widespread use of unidentified agents, community distrust increases as well as the potential for violence that could harm bystanders and officers.”
While acknowledging that limited protective measures may be justified for specific federal agent operations, the coalition asserts that the current broad and unchecked use of concealed tactics is undermining democratic values, eroding public trust, and risking civil rights abuses. They are now urging swift congressional action to establish clear operational guidelines that would preserve accountability and foster transparency.
Attorney General Raoul’s letter is co-signed by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
Border Czar Tom Homan told MSNBC “The masks, I think, are important. How do we get rid of the masks? Stop the hateful rhetoric.” Homan attributed the rhetoric to “members of Congress”. He argued that comparisons of ICE agents to Nazis emboldened some individuals on the “far left” to take action against ICE personnel.
Like the Gestapo, Germany’s Secret State Police, masked ICE operatives often conceal their faces and sometimes wear plain clothes or operate from unmarked vehicles. The Gestapo routinely arrested individuals without judicial warrants or legal recourse, often based on political or ethnic targeting.
People in various communities across the United States have taken action to protect community members from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since Trump took office in Jan. 2025.
ICE agents frequently use administrative, not judicial, warrants, which do not give them legal authority to forcibly enter homes or remove people without consent. Many residents act to ensure that friends and neighbors are aware of their right to remain silent and refuse entry without a warrant signed by a judge. Community members often monitor ICE actions to verify that legal procedures are followed and to intervene when rights are potentially being violated.
Acts of protection, such as alerting neighbors, forming human chains, or supplying basic needs during ICE encounters, are rooted in longstanding traditions of mutual aid. Residents, including many who are not themselves at risk, step up to support people they may have known for years.
There is widespread concern about deceptive tactics used by ICE, such as arriving in unmarked vehicles, wearing plain clothes, or misrepresenting the nature of their warrants. Communities fear that such tactics make it easier for imposters or bad actors to pose as federal agents, increasing the risk of fraud, abuse, and civil rights violations.
By documenting ICE actions, physically intervening, or simply ensuring that neighbors know their rights, residents hope to keep families together.
