New Jersey lawmakers are behind a push to ban federal and local law enforcement from wearing masks on the job, a move Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill has said she supports.
Sen. Benjie Wimberly (D-Passaic) said that as the number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids has escalated in the last 10 months, he's concerned both about the fear masked agents have instilled in communities with undocumented residents and the danger of criminals using masks to impersonate ICE agents.
SIGN UP HERE to get PhillyVoice's free newsletters delivered to your inbox
"I'm sure somebody is working on a scheme right now about how they can rob some place, posed as ICE agents," said Wimberly. "It's very scary times."
Since President Donald Trump took office and executed his campaign promise of mass detention and deportation, some immigration agents have shown up at schools, businesses, and courts with their faces covered and wearing no identification. It's a tactic lawmakers said they haven't seen under previous administrations.
Wimberly's bill, introduced earlier this month, would bar any law enforcement officer who is interacting with the public from wearing a mask or disguise. Officers who are working undercover, wearing a shield that does not conceal their face, or wearing a medical mask would not be subject to the bill.
Officers who violate the provisions would face fines of $500 to $1,000, prison for up to six months, or both.
Sherrill, a Democrat, said during her campaign for the state's top job this year that she supports banning police from wearing masks and requiring that they identify themselves during enforcement operations. A Sherrill spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the bill.
She's told stories of ICE agents looking like they're "dressed for Afghanistan" who refuse to identify themselves, calling it "unacceptable."
"We need to know who is on our streets here in New Jersey," she said at a campaign stop in Newark last month.
California passed a bill in September that bars law enforcement officers from wearing most masks while carrying out their duties. The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state over the law last week, calling it an unconstitutional attempt to regulate federal agents.
Lawmakers in several other states, including Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, have introduced similar legislation.
The Trump administration has defended ICE agents for masking, claiming agents who show their faces during enforcement operations are harassed and doxed online. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on ICE's mask policy, though a spokeswoman has previously said it would "not abide by a state's unconstitutional ban."
Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Mercer), prime sponsor of the bill in the lower chamber, said the measure protects law enforcement officers by "honoring the person behind the uniform and the badge."
"We want people to trust police officers. Police officers are supposed to be trusted people in the community," she said. "You can't do that if others are coming in under the cloak of protection and they're really just undermining people's basic human rights."
While the bill would also prevent state, county, and local law enforcement from obstructing their faces while interacting with the public, lawmakers agree they're more focused on getting ICE agents to stop masking.
Ron Chen, a professor of law and former dean of Rutgers Law School, told the New Jersey Monitor last month that a state law banning ICE agents from wearing masks would likely be struck down by courts because states are barred from regulating the federal government.
Wimberly conceded that a court challenge against the measure would be likely if it is signed into law.
"My hope is that, for where we're at in America, I think we can create a template that should go across every state in America," Wimberly said.
New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.com.