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Friend, Masked men abducting people off the street feels like something out of the darkest pages of history, but it’s happening right here in California and across the country. ICE officers, wearing masks, have been showing up at workplaces and homes nationwide, forcefully detaining law-abiding people and ripping families apart.(1) In response to these authoritarian tactics, California legislators have introduced a bill that bans all law enforcement officials from using masks and requires ICE to provide clear identification on their uniforms during arrests. But federal policy is needed to ensure there is comprehensive enforcement and accountability.(2) California U.S. Senator Alex Padilla has introduced a bill that would require immigration enforcement officers to display clearly visible identification during public-facing enforcement actions.(3) We need to make sure this bill becomes law.
Masked police officers disappearing people off the street is a familiar sight in many totalitarian dictatorships. These masked police units carry out the regime's will with little to no accountability. Unmasking a police force gives the public an accountability mechanism, forcing the ICE officials to put their faces next to their actions and allowing for identification and legal action in the case of violence. It also lessens the possibility that unauthorized people will pretend to be ICE officers to further terrorize our communities. Ultimately, we want ICE out of our neighborhoods, but unmasking all ICE agents is an essential first step to making that a reality. States like California are leading the way in demanding that ICE agents show their faces -- it's time for Congress to join them! Sign the petition: Demand that Congress take up the national legislation unmasking ICE agents. Thank you for being in the fight! –Irene, along with Annie, Angela, Isidra, Cecilia, Jen, and Lindsay (the Courage team)
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