Masked Men Are Detaining People. When Will Washington's Leaders Protect Us?

Sitting in a café in the small beach town of Bahía de Kino, Sonora, Mexico, near where I was born, I keep seeing headlines about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in plainclothes and various types of masks arresting people. A media report from earlier this month involves disguised agents sowing confusion in White Center after they detained the "food lady," leaving the neighborhood reeling, unsure of whether the street vendor had been taken by ICE or by unidentified bounty hunters. This scary phenomenon has been happening all over the country.

There are apparently hundreds of men who work for the Department of Homeland Security and specifically, ICE, who are too cowardly, or ashamed, to show their face when they detain someone. I can't say I blame them. I'd be ashamed, too, if my primary job was profiling and arresting brown people.

It's as if we're supposed to assume any masked men who tackle immigrants are legit and work for the federal government. I don't know about you, but if a masked man came at me, I'd fight back.

In response to these detainments, leaders in various states have been pushing back, saying what should be obvious to anyone: ICE agents should — at the very least — always wear clear identification when arresting someone.

U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey, for example, have introduced a bill requiring that agents display their name or badge number and the agency they work for. The proposal would prohibit non-medical face coverings such as masks or balaclavas that obscure an officer's identity.

City Councilmembers in Los Angeles have tried to take action, asking that the city's police department verify the identities of anyone claiming to be law enforcement, including those from federal agencies such as ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Here in Washington, our leaders have yet to sound the alarm on these masked detainments and meet the moment with proposed laws. Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray signed a letter addressed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons that called the mask wearing "a clear attempt to compound that fear and chaos — and to avoid accountability for agents' actions." Gov. Bob Ferguson has said his team is "exploring possible legislation" to prohibit the use of masks. "It is shocking and deeply un-American to have masked agents taking people off the streets," Ferguson said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) has been documenting instances of cloaked men snatching people in unmarked vehicles with license plates from different states, including some plates from Mexico. The network has also received reports of ICE agents identifying as police. In at least half a dozen instances — in cities across Washington state — the network's rapid response team has answered calls for help when agents in plainclothes attempted to detain someone.

I asked the Seattle Police Department about these detainments and if they were aware of reports ICE agents had impersonated them.

"I cannot speak to the policies that govern Immigration and Customs Enforcement," responded SPD spokesperson Sgt. Patrick Michaud. "If anyone finds themselves in a situation where they think they may be dealing with a person they believe is NOT law enforcement, please call 911 and a uniformed officer will respond." He added that at this time, SPD had not received any confirmed reports of people masquerading as ICE. 

There have, however, been confirmed reports of people impersonating ICE agents in other parts of the country. A man in North Carolina allegedly raped a woman after threatening to deport her if she didn't have sex with him.

Brenda Rodríguez López, executive director of WAISN, said elected officials at the city, county, and state level should also "work closely with immigrant-led organizations to identify solutions to address these fear tactics, as it creates opportunities for bad actors to use unmarked cars and plain clothes to further prey and terrorize immigrants and People of Color."

Recognizing the growing panic in the community, the Spokane Police Department recently established official guidelines on what officers should do when masked men claim to be federal immigration agents. Community members may "be legally armed and believe there is an abduction," wrote Kevin Hall, the chief of police, in the memo. Officers in Spokane have been instructed to ask masked men for credentials and collect evidence of any alleged criminal behavior.

Mayor Bruce Harrell, who is up for reelection, said in a statement that he "is vehemently opposed to ICE's disturbing practice of using masked, non-uniformed officers to carry out the Trump administration's cruel policy of mass deportations." Harrell's office said they are in contact with mayors from other major cities facing this same issue to look for potential local policy solutions.

Even so, we don't know if new local legislation that attempts to curb federal agents' behavior would stick. "The courts have limited state and local ability to directly regulate federal agents and officers," said Vanessa Hernandez of the ACLU of Washington. Hernandez said federal law does not currently prevent ICE agents from wearing masks, though officers do have to identify themselves as immigration officers and state the reason for the arrest — with no specific name or badge number required.

Federal officials have cited an increase in assaults and the doxxing of ICE agents as the reasoning behind the disguises. I'm not sympathetic. With the annual budget of ICE spiking from about $8 billion to roughly $28 billion, as many as 10,000 new agents could be hired. I suggest anyone not willing to take the heat that comes with the job find another line of work. 

But simply unmasking the agents won't suddenly transform the culture of the agency, as Angélica Cházaro, a law professor at the University of Washington, points out.

"Even unmasked, well-identified officers can (and do) cause great harm to immigrant communities. These legislative proposals remind me of the push for body cameras, and other accountability reforms in the criminal justice reform space," she said. "I can imagine that any 'successful' unmasking bill would ultimately end up being an instruction guide used by officers to justify masking in any scenario, and would not stop a single arrest or deportation." 

She's got a point. But why aren't more local and state leaders outraged at masked men running around detaining people? Are immigrant grassroots organizations and activists the only ones we can count on? And what are we supposed to do if unidentified masked men jump out of a vehicle and attempt to arrest us? Lawmakers in Washington need to do more to protect us.

Lilly Ana Fowler is a contributing columnist for the Emerald. Her stories have appeared on NPR, The Seattle Times, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. She was born in Mexico, grew up on the border, and is currently based in Seattle.