WASHINGTON — Michigan U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin introduced a bill with other Democrats requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to unmask and identify themselves that got President Donald Trump to sound off Friday.
Slotkin, a Democrat from Holly, said, “Law enforcement should be required to identify that they’re law enforcement while enforcing our immigration laws…In recent months, we have seen police, wearing hoodies and masks, make arrests that look more like kidnappings in an authoritarian country.”
The Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement, or VISIBLE Act, would require immigration enforcement officers to display, “clearly legible identification, including their agency name or initials and either their name or badge number, in a manner that remains visible and unobscured by tactical gear or clothing.”
President Trump, in an appearance on Fox News, said, “They wouldn’t be saying that if they didn’t hate our country, and they obviously do.”
Trump said on Fox News Friday, July 11, about Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), the lawmakers who introduced the legislation with Slotkin this week, “These officers are doing a tremendous job. They’re great patriots. If you expose them because of statements like have been made by Democrats and others on the left, usually mostly, I think, probably exclusively, you put them in great danger, tremendous danger.”
The bill would also require the Department of Homeland Security to establish disciplinary procedures for violations, report annually to Congress on compliance and investigate complaints through its office for civil rights and civil liberties.