As a youngster, I would sit in front of our 12” black and white Zenith television watching the Lone Ranger perform heroic acts of derring-do to save another small town or damsel in distress in the West.  At the end of each of episode, I can recall various townspeople asking one another: “Who was that masked man?”

Today, news coverage of illegal aliens being taken into custody and carted away around the United States has me asking a similar question: “Who are those people in the masks?”  I assume they are Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, but since they wear no discernible uniform and cover their faces it is hard to say for certain.  Police officers generally wear blue uniforms … Border Patrol wear green … even the FBI will often don raid jackets when taking enforcement action … but who are these guys?

I doubt I am alone in wondering how I might react if accosted by a masked individual attired in randomly-assembled civilian clothes … should I obey their orders?  My instincts tell me to resist … should I?  If I were to comply, would I be putting myself at risk?  And more to the point, how, in this country, have societal norms disintegrated to the point where law-abiding citizens, like me, should have to weigh those sorts of questions?

As a retired police officer, I know that the important work being performed by ICE is complicated, difficult and dangerous, and I am steadfast in acknowledging the importance of officer safety.  In carrying out those duties, though, there is no rational reason for ICE officers to wear masks and, in fact, it could be argued that doing so makes their jobs even more hazardous.  In my view, when law enforcement officers conceal their identify while carrying out their lawful duties citizens and police, alike, are on perilous terrain.

Mike German, a former FBI agent and a fellow at the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, puts it this way:

Masking symbolizes the drift of law enforcement away from democratic controls.  When it’s hard to tell who a masked individual is working for, it’s hard to accept that it is a legitimate use of authority.