New York State considers action to bar ICE agents from wearing masks during immigration raids

ALBANY — A new statewide proposal is gaining support that would unmask federal immigration agents conducting raids in New York State.

A bill introduced this month in the State Senate and Assembly challenges the constitutionality of federal agents wearing masks and plainclothes in raids that supporters of the measure say have terrorized immigrants who entered the country illegally or are living here without legal permission, immigrants who are in the United States legally, and broader communities in which they live.

Supporters of the bill say the masked agents are violating the constitutional rights of the people to see their accusers by hiding the agents’ identities in arrests.

"When agents of the federal government are operating like masked militias, we’ve crossed a dangerous line by turning immigration enforcement into a paramilitary secret police force that should shock the nation’s collective conscience," said State Sen. Patricia Fahy (D-Albany), who sponsors the bill in the Senate. "It echoes authoritarian regimes." 

"This is flat out un-American," Fahy said in a statement.

The bill would prohibit federal, state and local law enforcement from wearing "masks and disguises ... while interacting with the public in the performance of their duties, except for medical-grade masks" required by circumstances such as fires, pandemics and chemical spills, or protection gear worn by special weapons and tactics squads.

"All law enforcement officers shall be clearly identified by their name or badge number on their uniforms," the bill states.

Officers who violate the bill, should it become law, could be charged with a misdemeanor.

Deportation sweeps

The raids are part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation of immigrants believed to be in the country illegally, including convicted criminals or wanted suspects, but also those who have lived and worked in the country for years without arrests. Agents have mounted raids in American communities at stores where immigrants are shopping, farms where they are working, and courtrooms where they are complying with immigration appointments.

Trump is assisted by allies including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who adjusted a county mask ban to allow immigration agents to cover their faces and identities. The constitutionality of the county law is being challenged in court.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is reviewing the new state bill just months after the Democratic governor and the Democrat-led legislature enacted a state law that sought to strike a compromise between helping police and allowing people to exercise their rights to protest under the Constitution. Her measure in place now creates a misdemeanor for wearing a mask to conceal identity when committing a more serious crime or fleeing from police.

The mask misdemeanor, however, can only be lodged as a "secondary charge" to a more serious charge such as assault.

The law replaced an 1845 mask ban created to help police crack down on tenant riots.

Hochul said she has no view yet on the pending proposal, but she has a personal one on masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

"I find it abhorrent," Hochul told reporters.

"I was told that this is to protect themselves and their families," Hochul said. "I pointed out that I also have, you know, thousands of state police officers. We have tens of thousands of local police officers. We have about 32,000 members of the NYPD who are often in harm's way themselves, and can be recognized by defendants."

Nassau debate

In Nassau, Blakeman created a county mask ban for the public, but later exempted police officers for certain investigations. 

He and Republicans in Washington and Albany over the last two years have sought a ban on masks after pro-Palestinian demonstrations at colleges and in communities. Blakeman and other Republicans have described the protests as an antisemitic threat to all who follow the Jewish religion.

The county law that Blakeman signed in August 2024 created a misdemeanor for wearing a face covering to hide identity except for health or religious reasons, with a penalty of up to a year in jail.

This month, Blakeman signed an executive order that authorizes federal, local and state law enforcement agents to wear masks in immigration enforcement, as well as for drug and gang cases. The order allows all state, local and federal law enforcement to wear facial covering that they deem "necessary to protect their personal safety, the personal safety of their families or the integrity of the operation."

"What I find very troubling is the very same people that criticized our mask law are the same people that are saying law enforcement officers in the performance of their duty, can't wear a mask to protect their identity if they're involved in a sensitive investigation," Blakeman said July 11 when he signed the order.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.