Enouh With the Masked Men; State / federal lawmakers pushing back against terrorizing federal agents who hide

https://www.americaamerica.news/p/snapshot-enough-with-the-masked-men?

State and federal lawmakers are pushing back against terrorizing federal agents who hide behind masks
Steven Beschloss
Dec 15, 2025

Over the weekend, in sub-zero weather, masked men wearing ICE vests tried to arrest two workers at a home construction site near Minneapolis. These masked men did not identify themselves or show a warrant. Hours later, after protestors gathered to defend the freezing workers, the supposed federal agents gave up and left the scene. One of the workers—after suffering the freezing cold—was taken away in an ambulance.

While it’s inspiring to learn of this community’s solidarity, there are tragically thousands of instances in which such unidentified masked men succeed at taking people away in unmarked cars without due process, also leaving us to wonder how many were not actually federal agents. Fueled by the mad $170 billion appropriation for immigration enforcement, we have every reason to expect that this terrorizing, gestapo-style campaign will expand exponentially as Trump’s federal police state continues to widen its pursuit.

Yet lawmakers are fighting back. In two weeks, on Jan. 1, the “No Secret Police Act” (SB627) takes effect in California. The first of its kind, the new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September bans “local, federal and out-of-state law enforcement officers, or anyone acting on behalf of a federal officer, from wearing facial coverings that conceal their identity while in the performance of their duties.” (SWAT teams and approved undercover operations are among the exempt.) Officers who “willfully” continued to wear masks and commit “assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, abuse of process, or malicious prosecution” would face either criminal or civil penalties.

Here’s how the new law’s lead author, State Sen. Scott Wiener, vividly described the reason for the legislation:

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