D.C. sees masked agents in unmarked cars — why feds can hide identities
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Protest posters seen last month in Shaw. Photo: Andrew Leyden/Getty Images
Masked agents operating in unmarked vehicles across the District under President Trump's federal crackdown have sparked concern and fear among locals worried about the legality and accountability of such tactics.
The big picture: Mayor Muriel Bowser on Tuesday asked federal agents to not wear masks, to provide ID and to identify their agencies during arrests.
- She also called out the use of "masked ICE agents" during a press conference last month, using them as an example of "what's not working" under Trump's takeover — which she's otherwise largely cooperated with.
- The mayor referenced "a break in trust between police and community" as federal agents work alongside D.C. police.
Meanwhile, the anti-Trump group Home of the Brave called on federal agents to unmask by plastering posters and sidewalk decals around town.
- And horrified locals have posted social media videos of masked agents detaining people via unmarked vehicles, such as the recent Chevy Chase D.C. detainment of two men. ICE confirmed to Fox 5 they arrested the men, who the agency said were undocumented immigrants.
What they're saying: The White House confirmed to Axios that federal officers are driving unmarked vehicles and wearing masks.
- The strategy allows federal agents to "successfully make targeted arrests of dangerous criminals," a White House official told Axios, and "ultimately make our communities safer" while protecting their identities.
- Many of the people arrested under the crackdown had prior criminal histories, per a White House status report.
- The White House declined to comment on which agencies are using masks and unmarked vehicles and where detainments are occurring.
And while some D.C. police are operating unmarked cars, says MPD spokesperson Tom Lynch, he stressed this was common practice even before the crackdown.
- But D.C. police do not wear masks and have to identify themselves in public, per city law, says Lynch.
Between the lines: "At the federal level, there are no guidelines or requirements that federal agents show their faces or remain unmasked when approaching a person or making an arrest," says Insha Rahman of the Vera Institute of Justice. The same applies to unmarked vehicles, she says.
- "[It] is legal under the law," says Rahman. "Is it acceptable? Does it feel like it goes along with our norms of what law enforcement should do? I think most people would say no."
Zoom in: Several Democratic lawmakers this summer introduced the VISIBLE Act, which would require immigration agents to display identification during public encounters and ban masks.
- Beyond covering their faces and using unmarked cars, ICE agents also don't have to provide badge numbers or identify themselves, and they don't need a warrant from a judge to detain someone, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
Amy Fischer of D.C. Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network says that half of the reports of detainment sent to the group have pertained to unmarked vehicles.
- Fischer alleged most people have been detained using racial profiling and that even detainees who show evidence of being in the U.S. legally have been held for several days.
The other side: "This is an uneducated allegation lacking any basis in reality meant to smear law enforcement officers," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios in response to the allegations of racial profiling.
- She added that many of the undocumented people arrested have outstanding warrants or prior criminal convictions.
Go deeper: Axios Explains: Inside ICE's superpowers.