ICE Boss Thinks Journalists Shouldn’t Be Asking About Masked Officers Disappearing People
So powerful. And yet, sooooo sensitive. Washington Post columnist Philip Bump asked a simple question: why are so many ICE agents covering their faces when disappearing people from US city streets? Pointing to the extremely disturbing arrest of Turkish PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk over her criticism of her university for its Israel-Palestine conflict stance, Bump went on to ask experts in the law enforcement field why federal officers had decided it was ok to carry out enforcement actions in plainclothes and masks.
Ozturk was arrested in Somerville, Massachusetts, after walking down a public street into a web of waiting plainclothes federal agents. At least one agent produced a badge only once she was detained; several were shown on video wearing or pulling up face coverings with the effect of concealing their identities.
In the weeks since her arrest, similar scenes have become commonplace. Reports and social media posts from across the country document federal agents seizing targeted individuals (and likely some number of non-targeted ones) while wearing plainclothes and face coverings.
The conclusion was obvious: this isn’t about officer safety. This is about shielding themselves from accountability.
Why would federal law enforcement need to take steps to muddy accountability or mask their identities?
As in the case of Rumeysa Ozturk, the answer is obvious: if there is reason their actions would need to be held to account.
That assertion was apparently so unacceptable that acting ICE head Todd Lyons asked for (and received) op-ed space in the same paper that employs Bump. His response is as idiotic as it is useless.
It’s unfortunate that Post columnist Philip Bump published his online op-ed “Is that guy with a gun an ICE officer — or just a guy with a gun?” during National Police Week, which honors the heroes who keep America safe in our communities and homes.
The use of plainclothes officers is a long-standing law enforcement practice. And while one of Bump’s sources acknowledges in passing that “officers are worried about being targeted,” Bump himself moved quickly past this concern to assert that police officers wearing face coverings choose to do so only to avoid accountability.
First, the fact that it was National Police Week probably went unnoticed by Bump just as surely as it went unnoticed by 95% of Americans. I’m sure Lyons would have felt just as compelled to complain if this had been published during Black History Month. Or on the Cinco de Mayo.
Second, the use of plainclothes officers is a thing. We get that. What we’re having trouble comprehending is why ICE and co-opted forces feel compelled to completely hide their identities, along with the identity of the agency they work for. This isn’t about officer safety. It’s about shielding officers from the consequences of their own actions — actions, it must be pointed out, that look an awful lot like regular-ass unlawful kidnappings performed by armed men driving similarly unmarked vehicles.
Avoiding accountability may not be the only reason these officers are doing these things dressed this way. But it’s incredibly asinine to pretend that it’s not an important part of the equation.
Lyons tries to buttress his laughable claims with this supposedly horrifying statistic:
Since President Donald Trump returned to office, ICE officers have seen a staggering 413 percent increase in assaults against them.
Wow. That’s a lot. I mean… it’s a lot of percents. There’s no denying that. The link provided by Lyons directs readers wondering about this stat to… a social media post by the DHS similarly decrying criticism of ICE and its tactics.
Searching the internet for the source of this stat keeps leading back to the same place: the DHS and its press office. Here it is again, dropped into a long post… complaining about criticism from political leaders, journalists, and rights advocates. Bonus: this post also thinks it’s wrong to complain about law enforcement during Cop Week.
“Even during National Police Week, the media, members of Congress, and sanctuary politicians have demonized ICE and CBP officers who bravely serve their country,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Attacks and smears against ICE have resulted in officers facing a 413% increase in assaults. We are setting the facts straight and reassuring America that President Trump and Secretary Noem will continue to support ICE and CBP in their efforts to make America safe again.
The number is meaningless. There’s no link to any supporting study or stat or oversight report or anything. It’s just a number that sounds big but doesn’t have any relation to anything. 413% since when? Last week? Last month? The past decade? Since the formation of the agency?
Who knows? Definitely not ICE and its PR front-runners. No one has any context to add, presumably because doing so would either show the number is just made up or that any increase in assaults isn’t linked to recent criticism of the agency. It’s just noise — the sort of thing that rouses the rabble but fails to impress anyone but those already inclined to be impressed.
To sum up: fuck ICE and Todd Lyons. Do your job honestly or get whatever’s coming to you. If you’re seeing an increase in assaults, it’s probably because people are fighting back against masked assailants who are attempting to kidnap them. And they’re not wrong to believe it. Just because you’ve got a badge in the drawer back at the office doesn’t mean you should be given a free pass for engaging in acts that look unlawful to everyone but the people perpetrating them.