A new House bill from immigrant rights leader and Democratic Rep. Nydia Velázquez would stop ICE agents from identifying themselves as police when sweeping up undocumented immigrants at their homes, a shady practice that “has long been criticized by immigration attorneys, who say the practice is unethical and sometimes illegal:”
Velázquez argues that the practice is “deceptive” and could discourage people from reporting crime to their local police because of fears they’ll be reported to federal authorities for deportation.
“It could trick families into opening their doors to agents from ICE without a warrant,” Velázquez told The Washington Post. “There’s not going to be a lot of trust between the police and the communities.”
An ICE spokesperson claimed that immigration agents only use “police” because it is “the universally recognized term for law enforcement,” but because immigration agents can’t enter a home without a warrant, “they sometimes describe themselves as police officers to get people to let them in the door.” Unethical, indeed. This practice has consistently been a thorn in the side of local law enforcement officers, who say ICE’s antics actually make their jobs harder:
“All law enforcement officials, not acting in an undercover capacity, working in our community should be readily identified by the agencies that they represent,” Hartford Police Chief James Rovella said in a statement. “ICE agents should not identify as local police as it is misleading and can damage the important relationship with our local communities.”
It wasn’t that long ago when Donald Trump proclaimed that “police are the most mistreated people in this country,” but expect him and his Justice Department to ignore any sort of pleas from police if it also means making life a little bit easier for immigrants.
