A prominent Republican lawmaker is urging President Donald Trump to require federal immigration agents to stop wearing masks during operations — a key demand pushed by Democrats in response to aggressive immigration enforcement that has left cities like Minneapolis in turmoil.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said, “They need body cameras. They need to remove masks. They need proper training. They need to be conducting operations that are consistent with their mission.”
“You should not have Border Patrol agents from McAllen, Texas, put inside an inner-city doing crowd control,” added Fitzpatrick, a vulnerable lawmaker from a heavily targeted district who is known for trying to strike deals with Democrats. “That’s not their mission, that’s not their training. They don’t know how to do it.”
The extensive use of masks by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to conceal their identities has sparked outrage from good-government advocates, who argue that it effectively turns them into secret police with no accountability. One federal judge even compared masked ICE agents to Klan hoods.
Negotiations are expected to continue over the next two weeks on reforms to immigration enforcement, which are planned to be included in a yearlong Department of Homeland Security funding bill. After it became clear the government risked a shutdown, Republicans, with Trump’s support, agreed to separate DHS funding from the rest of the government and pass a two-week stopgap to allow talks to continue.
However, the White House and Trump’s allies in Congress appear resistant to several Democratic proposals, including a requirement for ICE and Border Patrol agents to obtain judicial warrants for searches and arrests. “If we have to get a search warrant to get 15 million people out, Schumer’s telling me he doesn’t want them out,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to reporters earlier this week.
