A Border Patrol agent on horseback monitors the area near where the U.S.-Mexico border fence meets the Pacific Ocean on Nov. 7, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
"It's insane to create a policy. You're pandering to people that cannot even vote for you. You know, you're protecting illegal immigrants that have no right to be in this country, and you're sacrificing honorable law enforcement officers," he continued, saying that agents are being tasked to enforce laws that Congress enacted to begin with.
"Our agents are never gonna be afraid. They know the job that they signed up for. But what they don't appreciate, what we don't want is targeting," he said.
ICE agents have seen a 700% increase in assaults from the same time in 2024, and recent protests and riots have drawn serious concerns about the safety of law enforcement as they ramp up deportation and other immigration operations.
Sen. Alex Padilla is pushed out of the room as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference regarding the protests in Los Angeles on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
"Immigration agents should be required to display their agency and name or badge number – just like police and other local law enforcement agencies. The VISIBLE Act’s commonsense requirements will restore transparency and ensure impersonators can’t exploit the panic and confusion caused by unidentifiable federal immigration enforcement agents," the Democrat continued.
At the state level, the debate over whether agents should mask comes as discussions about how lower-level authorities should coordinate with the federal government, and to what extent.
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"Well, I'll leave that to Congress to decide," Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs told Fox News Digital at a press conference in Phoenix on Thursday when asked her stance on the federal bill.
"I can tell you I've had conversations, and I understand people's concerns about agents being masked. But I've had conversations with leadership here at [Arizona Department of Public Safety] and there certainly are circumstances where for officer safety, they might have officers masked in a situation. And so I don't think there's a cut and dry ‘yes or no,’ ‘this should happen or not.’ I trust our state leadership to make the right decisions in those circumstances," Hobbs added.
Other states, like Massachusetts and California, have had lawmakers pitch similar ideas but would likely face constitutional barriers, as it would regulate federal authorities.
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-patrol-union-chief-blasts-anti-masking-proposal-tone-deaf-politics