Progressive Politics

Despite their proclivity for wearing masks, the Department of Homeland Security denies that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents refuse to identify themselves in the field. “I’ve been on a number of these operations,” Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said last month. “They are wearing vests that say ICE or ERO, which is the enforcement arm of ICE or Homeland Security Investigations. They clearly verbally identify themselves.”

But video from a confrontation in a New York state town that was reviewed by The Intercept contradicts her claims.

In the footage, Juan Fonseca Tapia, the co-founder and organizer of the Connecticut-based immigrant advocacy group Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants, questions a man dressed as a construction worker.

“What agency are you with?” asks Fonseca Tapia, filming through his car window.

“I’m not going to tell you,” responds the man, who is wearing a high-visibility construction vest, an orange helmet, and glasses, with a camouflage mask covering most of his face. “It’s none of your business.”