TIME TO BAN FACE MASKS FOR ICE: VOTO LATINO APPLAUDS DEMOCRAT BILL TO REIN IN ICE
Washington, D.C. — Voto Latino strongly supports the introduction of The VISIBLE Act by Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ)—a critical and urgent response to the dangerous escalation of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. This bill would require federal immigration agents to wear visible identification and ban the use of face coverings during public operations, directly challenging the alarming and undemocratic trend of masked, unidentified officers detaining people in our communities.
Voto Latino President and Co-Founder Maria Teresa Kumar issued the following statement:
“The Trump Administration has gone too far, wielding unfathomable and unchecked power. Across the country, we are witnessing citizens and noncitizens swept up in raids conducted by masked, unmarked, heavily armed agents, often without warrants or any transparency whatsoever.
“This chaos has opened the door to real harm. There have already been multiple documented incidents of individuals impersonating ICE agents to rob and intimidate people. When government agents operate in secret, they not only instill fear—they create conditions ripe for abuse and lawlessness.
“Let’s be abundantly clear: This is no longer about enforcing immigration law. It is about using state power to intimidate and terrorize communities. Hardworking and law abiding immigrant families are simply trying to provide for their families and contribute to our nation.
“We commend Senators Padilla and Booker for their leadership in standing up to this abuse. We urge every member of the Senate to support this legislation and defend the civil rights and human dignity of all people, regardless of immigration status.
“In the Trump administration’s second term, ICE has ramped up aggressive, secretive operations that feel more like a police state than lawful enforcement. When federal agents hide their faces and refuse to identify themselves, they strip people of their dignity, their safety, and their rights. These are tactics of fear—not justice.
“Voters did not ask for this. Americans wanted common sense solutions—not the militarization of cities and widespread fear. This type of level of theatrical abuse of power is unprecedented. Voto Latino will continue fighting to protect immigrant communities and to expose and resist the Trump administration’s dangerous use of immigration enforcement as a political weapon.”
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Voto Latino is a civic advocacy organization dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation of Latino voters while working to build a more inclusive and representative democracy. Since its founding, Voto Latino has registered nearly two million voters. In 2024, the organization took legal action to protect voting rights, filing multiple lawsuits in Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina to safeguard access to the ballot ahead of the elections.