Support H.R. 4004 to Require ICE Agents Display Visible Identification

I am writing to urge you to support H.R. 4004, the No Anonymity in Immigration Enforcement Act, introduced by Rep. Nydia Velázquez. This legislation would require immigration officers to display visible identification during enforcement activities, addressing a growing public safety crisis. In recent months, ICE agents have increasingly concealed their identities during operations by wearing masks and plain clothes, using unmarked vehicles, and refusing to identify themselves or their agency affiliation. These masked abductions have included high-profile incidents such as the kidnapping of graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk and the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. This anonymity has broken public trust in law enforcement and created dangerous confusion about who is conducting these operations. The consequences extend beyond civil liberties concerns. Several people across the country have been charged with impersonating ICE agents to commit crimes including demanding money, soliciting sexual favors, kidnapping, and terrorizing vulnerable communities. The murder of Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband by someone posing as a police officer demonstrates how the lines have blurred between legitimate enforcement and criminal impersonation. When real agents refuse to identify themselves, they make it impossible for the public to distinguish between lawful authority and dangerous imposters. Militarized ICE raids are already chaotic and dangerous enough without adding the element of anonymous enforcement. H.R. 4004 would bring basic transparency and accountability to immigration enforcement by requiring agents to display proper identification before detaining individuals. This is a common-sense public safety measure that protects both community members and the integrity of law enforcement itself. I ask that you cosponsor and vote in favor of H.R. 4004. Law enforcement officers in every other context are required to identify themselves. Immigration enforcement should be no exception.