The Real Reason ICE Agents Wear Masks [View all]

[Nevilledog]

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/masks-ice-immigration/685834/

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https://archive.li/0LNh8

Masked men with guns are swarming through American cities. They are doing so in the name of enforcing immigration law. There is no justification, however, for federal agents to hide their identity from the public that pays for their weapons.

In an interview with CNN, Thom Tillis, the Republican senator from North Carolina, who has become an occasional Trump critic, said that he didn’t have a problem with federal agents wearing masks. “I’ve seen people dox me. I’ve seen people take pictures and identify law-enforcement officers and then put their families at risk,” Tillis said. Requiring agents to take off, or even pull down, their mask, he suggested, would endanger their safety—“I think that’s a step too far.”

Doxxing—which traditionally means the public exposure of an ordinary person’s identity and home address, and threats that harassment or even violence will follow that exposure—is a common technique in online bullying. Although exposing someone’s home address is clearly menacing, the concept of “doxxing” cannot apply to simply knowing the identity of public-facing government employees, especially not those empowered to use force.

Tillis’s logic illustrates how distorted the American approach to law enforcement has become. Police officers are civilians; they are public servants, not above the public. It is part of the job of police—and, for that matter, politicians—to be identifiable, because of the profound authority bestowed upon them. The ability to use force is a weighty responsibility, requiring high standards of conduct, and it can and should be revoked when abused. It is not “doxxing” federal agents for the public to know who they are. We are supposed to know who they are, because that is how we hold them accountable. This is why police officers wear visible badge numbers and name tags. The responsibilities they are given are not compatible with anonymity.

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