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2.0

ICE personnel regularly mask their faces during enforcement operations

  1. Original Date Announced

    June 2, 2025

    At a press conference, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons defended ICE officers who wear masks over their faces to hide their identities during enforcement operations. John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE under President Obama, said he never saw anyone wearing masks during his tenure, and he believes the practice began in March 2025.

    Trump 2.0 [ID #1866]

    2025.06.02 Reported: ICE director explains why agents wear masks during immigration raids - CBS Boston 2025.06.21 Reported: Masked ICE officers: The new calling card of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown - CNN
  2. Subsequent Trump and Court Action

    July 18, 2025

    2025.07.18 Reported: ICE head says he won't block agents from wearing masks - CBS News

    ICE Acting Director Lyons tells CBS News that he is not a "proponent" of wearing masks, but he confirmed that he will allow ICE personnel to continue doing so.

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  3. Subsequent Trump and Court Action

    September 30, 2025

    2025.09.30. Order - American Association of University Professors v. Rubio

    Judge William G. Young issued an order in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio, which challenges the separate administration policy of deporting students engaged in pro-Palestinian protests or activities, stating: "ICE goes masked for a single reason -- to terrorize Americans into quiescence. . . . To us, masks are associated with cowardly desperados and the despised Ku Klux Klan. In all our history we have never tolerated an armed masked secret police. Carrying on in this fashion, ICE brings indelible obloquy to this administration and everyone who works in it." Judge Young deferred ordering a remedy to a future order.

    **Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**

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Current Status

None

Original Trump Policy Status

Status: Final/Actual
Trump Administration Action: Change in Practice
Subject Matter: Interior Enforcement
Agencies Affected: ICE

Commentary

  • 2025.07.07 Senator Padilla - Letter to ICE Acting Director Lyons re: masks

    Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), with 13 other senators, sent a letter to ICE Acting Director Lyons about ICE law-enforcement personnel wearing masks and no identifying uniforms during enforcement operations.

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