The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS) by Fallon Roth
The city of Philadelphia The city of Philadelphia Democratic officials are attempting to communicate with ICE in a straightforward manner.
With signs reading “No Secret Police” or “Spot the difference, burglar, bandit, ICE,” state lawmakers, immigration activists, and District Attorney Larry Krasner stood outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Philadelphia field office in Center City on a hot Thursday morning. They stated that ICE needs greater accountability and transparency as the agency implements President Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations.
That is exactly what Democratic State Senators Nikil Saval and Amanda Cappelletti said at a press conference Thursday regarding their upcoming legislation. One of the numerous legislative initiatives across the country in response to allegations and photos of ICE agents masking during raids is the bill, No Secret Police: Unmask ICE, which would forbid law enforcement officials or ICE agents from donning facial coverings.
Saval, who represents portions of Philadelphia, stated that everyone has the right to safety, dignity, and due process. Our communities are terrorized and these fundamental rights are violated when highly armed, masked, and unidentifiable strangers patrol our public areas, workplaces, and residential neighborhoods, robbing people of their freedom and vanishing our neighbors.
Agents have been conducting ICE raids in the Philadelphia area in recent months, targeting people in their communities, at courthouses, or at their places of employment.
However, Saval stated that since there is no federal legislation controlling the usage of face coverings in police enforcement, it is up to the individual states. According to a report sent to Pennsylvania Senate members on July 24, the law also attempts to discourage anyone from posing as officers or agents.
Saval and Cappelletti’s measure has a corresponding piece of legislation in the Pennsylvania House. Similar laws are being worked on in other places, such as California, and Democrats in the US Congress have presented a bill titled “No Secret Police.”
According to Krasner, who said he had never witnessed this in the city before, he has witnessed two instances of someone posing as ICE officials in order to commit really serious crimes. A man was caught by police in June after he allegedly zip-tied a woman and pretended to be an ICE agent during a robbery in Mayfair. Three people were accused of impersonating ICE on the Temple University campus in February.
Noting that Saval and Cappelletti’s bill is definitely necessary, Krasner stated, “We know this is a terrible idea to create confusion between law enforcement and criminals.”
Outside of Pennsylvania, a man is accused of killing State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband and assaulting State Senator John Hoffman and his spouse after officials claim he impersonated a law enforcement official in Minnesota.
This case was one of the grounds given by Pennsylvania lawmakers for requiring ICE and other law enforcement officials to function more transparently.
The measure would mandate that police or agents wear a department-issued uniform and prominently display a badge bearing their name, number, and department or agency while performing their duties. They would not be allowed to conceal their faces, use masks, or wear clothing that would make it difficult to identify themselves.
Agents or officers working undercover may be exempt. If a doctor or a general health emergency declaration determined that it was required, people could also wear a surgical mask or a N95 respirator.
According to the document, failure to comply with these policies may lead to civil or criminal action.
“The reality we find ourselves in was once unthinkable and is now completely unacceptable,” said Cappelletti, who represents portions of Delaware and Montgomery Counties, one of the many reasons he is here today.
Similar sentiments were voiced by Erika Guadalupe Nuez, executive director of Juntos, an advocacy group for immigrant rights, who said she had seen things that have startled her.
Guadalupe Nuez claimed that ICE is functioning without any oversight, with finances and resources equivalent to entire armies, and with a fascist agenda.
Although the Pennsylvania Senate is controlled by Republicans, which implies that the proposal may have a difficult time passing, Saval stated on Thursday that they think there is widespread public support for it, which should encourage their colleagues to support it as well.
The companion measure to Saval and Cappelletti’s is sponsored by Democratic Representative Rick Krajewski of Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania state House. He stated on Thursday that this struggle would take place in Harrisburg, City Hall, and on our streets.
One of those conflicts might arise because Philadelphia is on the Trump administration’s list of “sanctuary jurisdictions,” which means the city may be singled out for refusing to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
“Know that we have your back, my immigrant neighbors,” Krajewski stated. We’re with you here. We will protect one another because we stand with you.
Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, 2025. Go to the Inquirer website. Tribune Content Agency, LLC is the distributor.
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