New Orleans        Ironically, as much as some on the right abhorred people wearing masks only short years ago in the time of Covid, they seem to be of two minds about the issue of masks in the time of Trump.

It’s impossible to find anything good to say about the current immigration raids, happening around the country, but masks are one of the more disturbing features of the raids.  Too many of these ICE and federal agencies of one stripe or another are wearing baklavas.  It’s not about the weather in Los Angeles or elsewhere this hot summer.  It’s about concealing their identity.

Once accosted in the street or at work, too often there is absolutely no identification on these agents as they throw people into vans  or pull them off the street.  One could as easily believe you were being robbed or kidnapped as being asked for your visa or proof of citizenship.  Often kitted out like military, and sometimes, as we know, actually military, there are few to no badges giving victims a clue.  What used to be routine in the streets and television was the t-shirt or jacket indicating the agency, like the FBI, and a lanyard with identification or a nameplate for the individual.  Now, these masks seem to be standard operating procedure, designed to protect the individual from accountability and to cover the potential illegality of the entire affair.  This is dirty business.

The Times points out masking is an outlier in democracies, and more characteristic of Russia and other autocracies.  Homeland Security argues they are doing so to prevent doxxing, but that sounds thin, as I just argued.  This practice is also counter to where we are going with police, who are much more likely to be identifiable in their home communities than ICE agents who are helicoptered in for these deeds.  As they report,

There are good reasons vigilantes wear masks and police officers don’t. Policing experts argue that masking by law enforcement is wrong because officers are public servants and are supposed to be accountable to the public. Hiding behind a mask makes that harder. Yes, officers’ jobs can be dangerous, but being publicly identifiable goes along with having the right to wield a deadly weapon on behalf of the state. In recent years in the United States, trends in law enforcement were moving in the opposite direction. Many police departments now use body cameras and require that the officer’s badge, with name and number, be visible.

This is just wrong and should stop now.

There’s a further irony where the Trump administration reveals exactly what it is doing and why masks are so important.  In their campaign against universities and protestors favoring Palestinian land and human rights, one thing they demand of the universities is that they outlaw students wearing masks in demonstrations.  A Times interview with the head of the Anti-Defamation League, the well-known antisemitism group, was explicit about this contradiction.  He railed against students wearing masks and the fear inspired among Jewish people that helped trigger their charges of antisemitism.

Trump and others want the masks off students in order to hold them accountable and to further their fight against the universities.  On the opposite side of the coin, the Trump team enables ICE and similar masking because they resist accountability and want to inspire fear among immigrants in order to advance their political interests.

The hypocrisy should end:  masks should be banned across the board.