ICE Agents in Philadelphia — Fox News
Nothing alarms me more than the executive branch using cruelty as a political instrument—both at home and abroad. As someone who spent three decades as a police officer protecting people from bullies and dangerous individuals, I REFUSE TO FEAR! Police Officers, you should, too!
Yet today, nothing is more troubling than a government agency—ICE—deploying agents in civilian clothes, wearing masks, and refusing to identify themselves during arrests of undocumented neighbors. This is state-sponsored terrorism, plain and simple.
We must call it what it is: a modern-day government-sponsored Ku Klux Klan. We’ve tried to suppress and ignore this part of our history. But there’s nothing more dangerous to a free society than officials who can detain people—citizens included—without transparency, accountability, due process, or rule of law.
Examples of ICE’s Masked Cruelty
- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with 20 other state AGs, recently urged Congress to ban ICE agents from masking up during arrests and mandated clear identification—plain clothes, unmarked vehicles, and refusal to identify themselves only serve to stoke terror Jacksonville Journal-Courier+1Times Union+1.
- In Saratoga Springs, masked ICE agents secretly detained at least eight individuals using unmarked vans, prompting outraged city council calls for investigation and local police non-cooperation Times Union.
- Most disturbingly, American citizens are not exempt—like Julio Noriega, a man with a learning disability who was handcuffed, detained 10 hours with no food, water, or bathroom break, then dumped on the street at midnight. ICE later claimed it had “no records” of the arrest Wikipedia.
This Must End—And Local Police Must Say So!
To my fellow local police leaders: we cannot stand silent while fear is weaponized in our communities. I urge you to say:
“Not in my hometown. Never! Stay out of our city! We will not comply or assist you—and we will even physically prevent you from harming those who live among us.”
Your voices matter. Your badge carries authority. Let’s stand together for justice.
Why This Matters
- Transparency is fundamental and essential to democratic policing. Masked arrests in civilian clothes destroy trust. Once lost, trust is difficult to re-establish. It is trust that makes policing in a free society effective. The more trust police have, the less force is needed. When trust is lost, force increases.
- Fear-based tactics tear at the social fabric of neighborhoods, making communities less safe for everyone.
- Targeting based on identity alone breaches moral and legal limits—we should have learned this from race-based “stop and frisk” tactics.”
Call to Action
We must hold our government to account. We need:
- Federal legislation prohibiting masked ICE agents and mandating identification.
- Local resolutions from police chiefs and sheriffs refusing cooperation with these operations.
- Communities united to protect neighbors—not cower in fear.
If we don’t stop this now, we risk sliding into authoritarianism where unmarked agents can snatch people from the streets—with no oversight, no transparency, no anchor to our democratic rules or values.
Improving Police: A Necessary Conversation 
Unfortunately, fear is embedded in American culture/society where parents and bosses use it to control their families and workers for nearly 250 years. Many cops stated that they miss the old days where the public show respect to the police based out of fear.
LikeLike