On Tuesday, L.A. County supervisors advanced an ordinance to ban ICE agents from wearing masks or shielding their identities. The ordinance would also require local, state and federal law enforcement officers to wear identification.
It’s not totally clear if this ordinance could be enforced on federal agents as the Trump administration continues to push ahead with its deportation efforts. But it speaks to the pushback ICE agents have received for masking their identities while making arrests on public streets and in front of businesses.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently claimed that assaults against ICE officers increased by more than 1,150% compared to last year, citing reported cases of “hitting, spitting, kicking and biting during arrests.”
Federal officials have used the statistic to justify agents wearing masks and concealing their identities.
But a recent Times story by my colleagues James Queally and Brittny Mejia shows there’s more to this claim than meets the eye.
Three ways the 1,150% increase statistic doesn’t quite hold water
1. The increase in reported assaults on officers comes with a surge in ICE raids and protests in L.A.
Los Angeles saw the first influx of immigration raids over the summer, with thousands of undocumented immigrants, among others, being arrested. The raids prompted massive protests in downtown L.A., involving altercations between protesters and federal agents.
Prior to the raids and protests, contact between ICE agents and citizens was more limited.
Former director of ICE under President Obama, John Sandweg, explained that this increase in assaults is not surprising considering the uptick in activity.
“When you shift those tactics and have agents out there…