Carrie Hoke, Associate Member, Immigration and Human Rights Law Review
I. Introduction
Federal immigration agents increasingly operate behind masks and without clear identification measures, undermining core principles of due process and equal protection, creating an environment of fear and mistrust that blurs the line between legitimate law enforcement and abuse of power.[1] Since January 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have increasingly arrested noncitizens while wearing masks and plain clothes, often without providing agency-identifying information.[2] This raises serious constitutional and legal concerns placing the United States at odds with its international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).[3] While some government officials justify these practices as necessary to protect agents from doxing or retaliation, such rationales do not outweigh the constitutional and human rights at stake.[4]
This Blog examines the constitutional and human rights implications of ICE’s masking and concealment practices in its arrests of noncitizens. It analyzes the issue within the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, the ICCPR, and domestic case law. It concludes by considering how courts and legislatures can ensure transparency and accountability in immigration enforcement.
II. Background
The current Trump Administration has significantly altered the reality of immigration enforcement since taking office in January 2025.[5] Increasingly, ICE agents are using masks and other concealment tactics during the arrests of noncitizens to avoid identification.[6] These practices undermine public safety, erode community trust, and raise serious questions about accountability and due process.[7] A critical inspection of the fundamental constitutional safeguards that are afforded to all persons within the United States is therefore required to analyze how these practices are a departure from democratic ideals.
A. Constitutional Protections
Non-citizens within the United States are entitled to certain constitutional protections that safeguard against government overreach and ensure fairness is afforded to all.[8] Among these, the Fourth and Fifth Amendments play a vital role in determining the scope of government authority and the guarantee of due process and equal protection.
The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures.[9] Although the Supreme Court has not made an explicit ruling on the issue, Chief Justice Rehnquist acknowledged in the United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez opinion that a majority of Justices ruling in INS v. Lopez-Mendoza assumed that Fourth Amendment protections extend to noncitizens[10] Where the Supreme Court has offered non-binding dicta on this issue, some lower courts explicitly recognize that Fourth Amendment protections extend to noncitizens on U.S. soil. The Second Circuit affirmed that these protections apply equally to citizens and noncitizens alike.[11] Similarly, the Eighth Circuit emphasized that noncitizens are entitled to the same degree of Fourth Amendment protections as citizens.[12]
Further, the Fifth Amendment ensures that the federal government cannot deprive an individual of their life, liberty or property without due process of law.[13] In Reno v. Flores, a class action was filed in response to the detention and release of unaccompanied minors.[14] In reaching its conclusion, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that due process protections extend to noncitizens, even in immigration contexts.[15]
In addition to the right to due process, the Fifth Amendment certifies the right to equal protection under the law.[16] While ICE agents’ concealment practices are not facially unconstitutional, they disproportionately harm immigrant and minority communities.[17] In Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, the ACLU alleged that immigration officers have stopped individuals based merely on their perceived race or ethnicity.[18] The lawsuit claimed that immigration officers relied on improper factors when making arrests, including: (1) apparent race or ethnicity; (2) speaking Spanish or English with an accent; (3) presence at locations such as bus stops, car washes, or agricultural sites; and (4) employment in certain industries, such as landscaping or construction.[19] In July 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted a temporary restraining order to halt these practices and guarantee access to counsel.[20] The Supreme Court later stayed the order in September, lifting the District Court’s ban on these practices and allowing discriminatory stops to continue.[21]
Beyond recognizing the constitutional rights of non-citizens, the government also has a responsibility to give clear notice of who is exercising state power to allow for adequate notice and accountability.[22] When ICE agents conceal their identity, detainees cannot verify the legitimacy of their arrest, challenge misconduct, or pursue remedies. Recognizing this, federal regulations require ICE agents to identify themselves when it is “safe and practical” to do so.[23] However, recent administrative changes have led to a marked shift in immigration enforcement practices, leading to an increase in concealment practices.
B. Rise of Obscured Identities in Immigration Enforcement
On July 4, 2025, Congress passed H.R.1, becoming public law.[24] This legislation enacted sweeping changes to the daily operation of immigration enforcement. Notably, Congress approved a new $76.5 billion budget for ICE, nearly ten times its previous annual budget.[25] As part of this increased budget, the Trump Administration aims to hire 10,000 new ICE agents to achieve the Administration’s goal of deporting 1 million people per year.[26] Prior to the passage of H.R. 1, agents had already been relocated from at least five other federal agencies to help achieve this goal, though it is unknown if these transfers are permanent.[27]
The influx of ICE agents has fueled a surge in arrests across the United States, with a projected 240,000 arrests to be made in 2025, more than double that made in 2024.[28] In cities such as Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington D.C., ICE raids increasingly involve agents wearing masks, using unmarked vehicles, and lacking agency-identifying information.[29] ICE is targeting these cities, among others, because of their large immigrant populations, and according to President Trump, to combat the “Democrat Power Center.”[30]
According to Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, the agency’s use of concealment tactics is in response to efforts to dox and threaten the lives of ICE agents and their families.[31] Since the beginning months of 2025, presumably in correlation with the increase in arrests of suspected unlawful citizens, Lyons says there has been a rise in efforts to upload photos and names of agents online, exposing their private and personal information to the public.[32] However, lawmakers and public officials across the country warn that current concealment practices used to counteract these concerns undermine public trust and safety within communities.[33] Without visible identification, mechanisms for accountability collapse, as misconduct cannot be traced to individual agents, leaving victims of abuse without remedies.[34]
III. Discussion
The deployment of masked and unidentifiable ICE agents, combined with other aggressive enforcement tactics, directly challenges fundamental constitutional rights, particularly the right to due process.[35] Federal agents’ lack of transparency and accountability undermines the rule of law and frequently results in agents’ abuse of power. These practices not only violate established constitutional and international legal protections but also deepen existing inequities in immigration enforcement.
A. Concealment Practices as a Violation of Constitutional and International Protections
Democratic senators across the country have criticized the concealment practices utilized by ICE, arguing that it creates confusion, fear, and mistrust within communities.[36] In turn, it is increasingly difficult to discern legitimate officers from impersonators. Ill-intentioned criminal wrongdoers have exploited this confusion: in Florida, a man impersonated an ICE agent, targeting immigrants after he performed a traffic stop and requested identification information from the individuals.[37] In North Carolina, a man sexually assaulted a woman after posing as an immigration enforcement officer and threatening deportation if she did not comply with his requests.[38] These, and many other similar situations, have led members of immigrant communities to now fear mundane activities, such as sending their children to school, going to the grocery, or playing sports on the weekends.[39] Continuing to allow these practices in spite of the negative consequences appears to be an effort to evade accountability and decrease transparency in the midst of allegations of government overreach and constitutional violations.[40]
By operating without providing personal or agency identification, masked ICE agents hinder individuals’ Fifth Amendment right to meaningful notice of government action and an opportunity to contest it.[41] When individuals cannot discern who is detaining them, they cannot verify the legality of the arrest, or identify the agent for legal recourse.[42]
Recent incidents across the United States have illustrated how these concealment practices have increasingly complicated and, in many cases, compromised the Fifth Amendment rights of those subjected to immigration enforcement. ProPublica has documented over 50 cases since 2025 in which ICE agents smashed car windows to make concealed arrests, compared to only eight such cases in the previous decade.[43] In Massachusetts, Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk was arrested by masked agents who failed to identify themselves before handcuffing her and placing her in an unmarked vehicle.[44] Öztürk was then escorted to an unmarked vehicle and held in a federal facility for six weeks.[45] Such practices sever the connection between state action and accountability.
The Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures is also compromised when ICE agents conduct concealed arrests. Courts have repeatedly held that agents cannot rely on race, language, or occupation alone to establish reasonable suspicion of unlawful presence.[46] However, ICE’s current concealment practices not only blur the legal basis for the stop but also eliminate the possibility of challenging whether the seizure violated constitutional standards.
Even existing authority requiring immigration officers to identify themselves during an arrest when it is safe and practical to do so is being disregarded.[47] Although this provision has been interpreted to allow officers to withhold identification in emergency situations, there is no clear guidance on what qualifies as an emergency or how that determination is made in practice. ICE has also failed to acknowledge whether the concealment practices utilized by its agents are consistent with this policy.[48]
Internationally, ICE’s concealment practices also conflict with Article 9 of the ICCPR, a treaty ratified by the United States that affirmed fundamental human rights applicable to all individuals within states that are party to the agreement.[49] Specifically, Article 9 protects the right to liberty and security of person, prohibiting arbitrary arrest or detention.[50] Detentions are arbitrary when they are unjust, unpredictable, or discriminatory.[51] The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention classifies a deprivation of liberty as arbitrary when it falls within one of five categories, one of which includes discrimination on the basis of birth, national, ethnic, or social origin, or language. [52] ICE’s concealment techniques, coupled with their arrests targeting people based solely on their race, spoken language, or accents directly implicates the principles of injustice, unpredictability, and discrimination that Article 9 protects against.[53] When individuals are seized in these situations, they are left without critical information, as the concealment tactics make it nearly impossible to confirm who is exercising power over them, in what official capacity, or for what reason.
B. Disproportionate Harm to Minority Communities and Denial of Remedies
The harmful consequences of concealment practices fall disproportionately on immigrant and minority communities. These groups are already more likely to be targeted by ICE raids because of their perceived race, language, or job; concealment compounds these harms by stripping away avenues for accountability.[54]
In July 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a temporary restraining order barring ICE from conducting indiscriminate raids in Los Angeles, finding that such tactics constituted racial profiling.[55] When these aggressive and unconstitutional raids are paired with agent anonymity, the harm intensifies: victims cannot file complaints, misconduct cannot be traced, and community trust collapses.
Concealment also enables impersonation.[56] PBS has reported at least six cases where criminals exploited ICE’s concealment practices by impersonating officers and committing robberies, sexual assaults, and kidnappings.[57] These crimes evidence how current concealment techniques create an environment that is apt for exploitation, particularly in already vulnerable communities. The fear generated by these current practices ripples outward. Noncitizens may avoid reporting crimes, seeking legal recourse, or cooperating with local law enforcement.
C. Legislative and Judicial Solutions
To combat the rising use of concealment practices by ICE agents and the subsequent disproportionate discriminatory effects on minority and immigrant communities, the U.S. must turn to decisive legislative bans and clear judicial decisions, as internal policy adjustments have proven inadequate to curb agents’ concealment practices.[58] Legislatively, Congress must enact specific statutory prohibitions against masking and concealment tactics, aligning with current proposals aimed at banning ICE agents from wearing masks during arrests.[59] Additionally, the judiciary must strengthen constitutional protections by strictly enforcing and expanding Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections afforded to non-citizens. These proposed solutions require rigorous judicial enforcement and legislation aimed at prohibiting stops based solely on perceived race, language, or occupation of being permitted.[60] Moreover, there must be clearer guidelines around the standards already in place, with a focus on defining the point at which it is safe and practical for ICE agents to identify themselves, and therefore must do so.[61] Without an expansion and clarification of these mechanisms, concealment practices will continue to undermine fundamental rights, erode public trust, and leave victims of government overreach without adequate remedies.
IV. Conclusion
ICE agents’ masking and concealment practices undermine due process and equal protection by preventing individuals from verifying the legitimacy of arrests and pursuing remedies for abuse. These practices violate longstanding domestic constitutional principles and international human rights obligations, including protections against arbitrary detention under the ICCPR.[62] Furthermore, these concealment methods disproportionately affect minority and immigrant communities, creating fertile ground for exploitation for criminals and deepening mistrust of law enforcement.[63]
Therefore, as these practices cannot be addressed by internal policy adjustments alone, legislative bans and judicial decisions are essential to restoring transparency, safeguarding due process, and reaffirming the rule of law in immigration enforcement.
[1] Lisa Desjardins & Andrew Corkery, Rise of ICE agents wearing masks creates opportunity for imposters to conduct crimes, PBS News Weekend, PBS News Hour, (July 27, 2025), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/rise-of-ice-agents-wearing-masks-creates-opportunity-for-imposters-to-conduct-crimes [https://perma.cc/PBC4-9S23].
[2] Id.
[3] G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 9 (Dec. 16, 1966) [hereinafter ICCPR]; Desjardins & Corkery, supra note 1.
[4] Statement on Wearing of Masks by ICE Agents, N.Y.C. Bar Ass’n (June 20, 2025) [https://perma.cc/66JX-9H9Z] [hereinafter Wearing of Masks].
[5] Mass Deportation: Analyzing the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Immigrants, Democracy, and America, Am. Immigr. Council (July 23 2025), https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/report/mass-deportation-trump-democracy/ [https://perma.cc/BT6C-4FHS].
[6]Allie Preston, Masked and Unidentifiable: The Risks of Federal Law Enforcement Operating Without Identification, Ctr. for Am. Progress (Aug. 28, 2025), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/masked-and-unidentifiable-the-risks-of-federal-law-enforcement- operating-without-identification/ [https://perma.cc/3ECS-3XC8].
[7] Id.
[8] Erica Bryant, What Does “Due Process” Mean for Immigrants and Why Is It Important? Vera Inst. of Just. (June 4, 2025), https://www.vera.org/news/what-does-due-process-mean-for-immigrants-and-why-is-it-important [https://perma.cc/4CZD-A35H].
[9] U.S. Const. amend. IV.
[10] United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259, 272 (1990).
[11] Cotzojay v. Holder, 725 F.3d 172, 181 (2d Cir. 2013).
[12] Carcamo v. Holder, 713 F.3d 916, 921 (8th Cir. 2013).
[13] U.S. Const. amend. V.
[14] Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292 (1993).
[15] Id.; The Japanese Immigrant Case, 189 U. S. 86, 100-101 (1903).
[16] U.S. Const. amend. V.
[17] George Chidi, Democratic senators introduce bill to prohibit Ice agents from wearing masks, The Guardian (July 8, 2025), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/ice-agents-masks-bill-democrats [https://perma.cc/R5XE-JSPQ].
[18] Perdomo v. Noem, No. 2:25-cv-05605-MEMF-SP, 2025 LX 223393 (C.D. Cal. July 11, 2025).
[19] Adrian Florido, Federal judge orders stop to indiscriminate immigration raids in Los Angeles, NPR (July 11, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/07/11/nx-s1-5462618/federal-judge-orders-stop-to-indiscriminate-immigration-raids-in-los-angeles [https://perma.cc/9FTV-VVEJ].
[20] Attorney General Bonta Celebrates Court Order Blocking Federal Agents from Violating Angelenos’ Civil Rights During Immigration Raids, Rob Bonta Att’y Gen. (July 11, 2025), https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-celebrates-court-order-blocking-federal-agents-violating [https://perma.cc/V95B-UCEG].
[21] Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, No. 25A169, 2025 LX 343798 (Sept. 8, 2025); see U.S. Supreme Court Grants Stay in L.A. Raids Case, ACLU of S. Cal. (Sept. 8, 2025), https://www.aclusocal.org/en/press-releases/us-supreme-court-grants-stay-la-raids-case [https://perma.cc/S66L-BELV].
[22] 42 U.S.C. § 14141.
[23] 8 C.F.R. § 278.8(c)(2)(iii).
[24] One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Pub. L. No. 119-21, 139 Stat. 72 (2025).
[25] Ximena Bustillo, Retired Federal Workers Get ICE Recruitment Emails, NPR (Aug. 1, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/08/01/g-s1-80636/trump-immigration-ice-federal-workers [https://perma.cc/X3XE-UM47].
[26] Id. These efforts are currently being led by the Department of Homeland Security.
[27] Mass Deportation, supra note 5.
[28] Maria Sacchetti, ‘One million.’ The private goal driving Trump’s push for mass deportations., Wash. Post (Apr.
12, 2025) https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/12/one-million-deportations-goal/ [https://perma.cc/26NY-P6UP].
[29] Preston, supra note 6.
[30] Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Social (June 15, 2025, at 08:43 ET) [https://perma.cc/F265-RPBX].
[31] Jacyln Diaz, What ICE agents can and cannot legally do during arrests, NPR (Sept. 19, 2025) https://www.npr.org/2025/09/05/nx-s1-5517998/ice-arrest-rules-explained [https://perma.cc/FC4J-MAPU].
[32] Martin Kaste, As courts review military in LA, immigration enforcement accelerates, NPR (June 19, 2025) https://www.npr.org/2025/06/19/g-s1-73569/as-courts-review-military-in-l-a-immigration-enforcement-accelerates [https://perma.cc/SPF6-ERAG].
[33] Preston, supra note 6.
[34] Id.
[35] Wearing of Masks, supra note 4.
[36] Id.
[37] Cassandra Garcia, Indiantown man arrested for impersonating ICE agent during fake traffic stop, WPTV (April 3, 2025), https://www.wptv.com/news/region-martin-county/indiantown/indiantown-man-arrested-for-impersonating-ice-agent-during-fake-traffic-stop [https://perma.cc/H8QS-MYZZ].
[38] Aaron Thomas, Police arrest Raleigh man accused of impersonating ICE officer and sexually assaulting woman,WRAL News (Jan. 27, 2025), https://www.wral.com/news/local/raleigh-police-arrest-man-impersonating-officer-sexual-assault-jan-2025/ [https://perma.cc/F7BC-WCP3].
[39] Naomi Bethune, ICE Impersonations Proliferate Amid the Agency’s Undercover Tactics, Am. Prospect (June 24, 2025), https://prospect.org/justice/2025-06-24-ice-impersonations-proliferate-agencys-undercover-tactics [https://perma.cc/M2NN-9GZZ].
[40] Wearing of Masks, supra note 4.
[41] Bryant, supra note 8.
[42] Preston, supra note 6.
[43] Nicole Foy & McKenzie Funk, Trump ICE Smashed Windows Deportation Arrests, ProPublica (July 31, 2025), https://projects.propublica.org/trump-ice-smashed-windows-deportation-arrests/ [https://perma.cc/GES8-ZB3B].
[44] Bethune, supra note 45.
[45] Id.
[46] Perdomo v. Noem, No. 2:25-cv-05605-MEMF-SP, 2025 LX 223393 (C.D. Cal. July 11, 2025).
[47] 8 C.F.R. § 278.8(c)(2)(iii).
[48] Diaz, supra note 37.
[49] ICCPR, supra note 3.
[50] Id.
[51] About Arbitrary Detention, U.N. Off. of the High Comm’r for Hum. Rts., https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/wg-arbitrary-detention [https://perma.cc/2KT3-HAC3] (last visited Oct. 17, 2025).
[52] The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is a special procedure of the Human Rights Council established to investigate cases of deprivation of liberty imposed in violation of international human rights standards. The Group issues opinions on individual cases, conducts country visits, and provides interpretive guidance on applying Article 9 of the ICCPR. See id.
[53] Perdomo v. Noem, No. 2:25-cv-05605-MEMF-SP, 2025 LX 223393 (C.D. Cal. July 11, 2025).
[54] Chidi, supra note 22.
[55] Wendy Fry & Sergio Olmos, Judge says immigration agents must stop ‘roving patrols’ that have upended Southern California, CalMatters (July 11, 2025), https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/07/la-immigration-restraining-order/ [https://perma.cc/Y525-4J9H].
[56] Desjardins, supra note 2.
[57] Id.
[58] 8 C.F.R. § 278.8(c)(2)(iii).
[59] Chidi, supra note 22.
[60] Florido, supra note 24.
[61] 8 C.F.R. § 278.8(c)(2)(iii).
[62] Preston, supra note 6.
[63] Id.
