In the middle of the night on June 8, President Donald Trump announced via Truth Social that protesters will no longer be permitted to wear masks during demonstrations, pointedly asking, “What do these people have to hide, and why?”
The declaration, made via Truth Social comes amid escalating protests against federal immigration raids and the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to the city.
Yet, in a striking juxtaposition, ICE agents conducting the very raids that sparked the protests are themselves routinely wearing masks, often obscuring their identities completely. This practice, now common across the country, has drawn sharp criticism from civil liberties advocates and lawmakers, who argue it undermines transparency and public trust.
ICE officials, including acting director Todd Lyons, have defended the use of masks, citing threats, harassment, and “doxxing”, the online publication of personal information, as justification. Lyons explained that agents have been targeted, with their families’ identities and locations posted online, sometimes accompanied by death threats.
New York Congressman Dan Goldman told The Point, “ Why are you wearing masks? I was a federal prosecutor for 10 years. I worked with ICE agents, I worked with law enforcement agents. I never saw any of them wear masks. This is brand new. And the question is, if everything is legitimate and proper, why are you wearing masks to hide your face.”
“Well, you know, it’s sort of interesting to me that they would be wearing masks. Now, The stated reason from Homeland Security is that they’re afraid of being docs. In other words, that people would reveal personal information about them on the internet. But to me, it seems ironic that, on the one hand, the Trump administration is going after people on college campuses for wearing masks, but then says it’s okay if its own ICE agents wear masks. Can you talk about that?
“It’s the height of hypocrisy. Now look, I think protesters wearing masks creates a more dangerous situation, and I think it’s a legitimate issue, but you can’t require Columbia University to ban masks in order to get federal funding, while you turn around and you have government, federal government, law enforcement agents wearing masks.
“It is the height of hypocrisy, but it also really reflects something underneath, which is the cruelty and the fear and the terror and the anti foreigner sentiment that this administration is moving forward with, and they know that it’s not favored by many, which is why they’re worried about being seen.”
