No one should be forced to guess whether the person detaining them is a real government agent—or just someone in tactical gear with a badge they bought online. And yet that’s exactly where we are.
Trump’s deportation machine is running at full tilt, with ICE agents conducting mass arrests in plainclothes, unmarked uniforms, and face coverings. No name. No badge number. No agency. Just fear.
The VISIBLE Act (S.2212) offers a simple and vital fix: require ICE, CBP, and deputized officers to display clear identification and refrain from obscuring their faces during public operations, except in covert or hazardous situations.
This isn’t radical. This is basic law enforcement protocol. And it’s not just civil rights groups calling for this—it’s former DHS and ICE leaders themselves.
Scott Shuchart, a former DHS official and ICE lawyer, supports the bill, saying:
“Masked, plainclothes officers create an unreasonable risk of escalating violence and unnerve everyone who sees them… having government agents dressed like paramilitaries is un-American.”
Jason Houser, former ICE Chief of Staff under the Biden administration, has also condemned Trump’s tactics, warning that operating without visible ID “undermines officer safety and public trust.”
The current chaos isn’t just frightening—it’s dangerous. Impersonation cases are spiking, with people in multiple states pretending to be ICE agents and detaining Latinos at gunpoint. In L.A., police have had to verify ICE agents’ identities on-site after terrified bystanders reported kidnappings. That’s how bad it’s gotten.
The VISIBLE Act includes clear limits: it doesn’t restrict enforcement authority, interfere with covert ops, or compromise officer safety. It brings immigration enforcement in line with every other agency that’s required to show who they are and who they work for.
Speaker Johnson says the bill is “absurd.” But there’s nothing absurd about the public’s right to know who is exercising government power in their communities.
Cosponsor and pass the VISIBLE Act. Because transparency isn’t a threat to law enforcement—it’s the foundation of it.
First sent on July 10 by Jennifer
