Michigan Democrats have introduced a state bill that would open up Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who wear a face covering while on duty to prosecution, just years after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order that would fine citizens $500 for refusing to wear a mask in public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
🚨Michigan Democrats propose law to jail and fine ICE agents for wearing masks….🤔
— Magamotion (@maga_motion) July 29, 2025
But weren’t we all forced to wear masks for 2 years — or get fined, fired, or worse?
Turns out masks are only OK when it’s about controlling YOU, not when it protects law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/EktpXK02Qf
According to Fox News, State Rep. Betsy Coffia, the lead sponsor of the bill, claimed Friday that ICE agents who wear masks to protect themselves “mirror the tactics of secret police in authoritarian regimes.” She argued that such measures deviate from what she considers the norms of “legitimate” law enforcement.
State Rep. Noah Arbit, who became a co-sponsor of the bill, said that when people are unable to determine whether the person apprehending them is a government agent or not, it "shreds the rule of law," adding "that is why the Trump administration and the Republican Party are the most pro-crime administration and political party that we have ever seen."
But this kind of rhetoric has real-world consequences: assaults on ICE agents have surged by more than 800 percent. That’s exactly why agents are now taking extra steps to conceal their identities, because activist websites have begun targeting them by name, creating serious fears for their safety and the safety of their families. Not to mention that masks were not only encouraged under Governor Whitmer and the Democrat run city council, but civilians faced fines for not complying with executive orders signed by the governor. If there were no danger in ICE agents performing their duties, there would be no reason for them to conceal their identity.