New York City, Sep 20 (EFE).-
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Saturday prohibiting most law enforcement officers from concealing their identity in the state.
The legislation aims to combat fear caused by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in California and will take effect in January.
In Los Angeles, a city emblematic of indiscriminate ICE raids, Newsom signed a legislative package that includes the so-called No Secret Police Act and other measures that limit immigration agents’ access to schools and hospitals.
At the signing, Newsom said that this is the first law in the US to ban masked ICE agents.
The governor said officers in immigration raids have been “hidden from accountability, any transparency, any oversight. That’s Trump’s America but that’s not the America we’ve grown up in. And so we are pushing back,” he said.
“ICE, unmask. What are you afraid of?” Newsom asked. “You’re going to go out, you’re gonna do enforcement. Provide us ID, tell us which agency you represent, provide us basic information that all local law enforcement is required to provide. Have the decency not to threaten people as they go to school.”
Other laws signed Saturday, which took immediate effect, included one that would require law enforcement to clearly display their name or badge number while on duty, another requiring schools to notify parents and staff when ICE is on site; and others prohibiting schools and healthcare facilities from allowing ICE agents on their grounds without warrants.
Since this summer, numerous ICE agents deployed in the Trump administration’s arrest and deportation campaign have been seen taking people off the streets without identifying themselves, which has sparked criticism about the ethical and legal procedures from immigrant advocacy organizations. EFE
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