‘No Secret Police’: Assembly Democrats Demand Trump’s ICE Agents Clearly Identify Themselves

SACRAMENTO—  California Assembly Democrats are taking action against President Trump’s reckless ICE raids, which are tearing families apart and hurting the state’s businesses, workers, and economy.

Today, lawmakers in the Assembly Public Safety Committee advanced legislation that holds Trump’s ICE, Border Patrol and HSI agents accountable, requiring them to clearly identify themselves.

Several Democratic lawmakers also called for an end to the “secret police” that are indiscriminately targeting and detaining immigrants and people of color, and for federal agents to provide stronger identification.

Under Trump’s orders, immigration officers have operated unconstitutionally, taking people into custody without identifying themselves and refusing to show a badge or ID, which has created even more fear in communities. 

One bill heard by Public Safety on Tuesday is The No Vigilantes Act, authored by state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, which would require federal agents to clearly identify themselves while also prohibiting bounty hunters from engaging in immigration enforcement.

On July 11, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against many of the tactics ICE is using in California, including stopping people based on race, speaking with an accent or engaging in particular work. That order is being appealed, and does not expressly prohibit immigration officers from failing to identify themselves.

Last week, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla of California partnered with fellow Senator Cory Booker to introduce a bill in Congress that also requires ICE to clearly identify itself. Padilla is also leading a group of Senators who sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security requesting more information about how ICE uses plain-clothes and unidentified agents.

What Speaker Robert Rivas Says

“California will never allow secret police on our streets. If you're enforcing the law in our state, you must clearly identify yourself. Everyone has seen the horrifying videos of masked, armed agents grabbing men, women, and children off our streets, disappearing them into detention and deportation without due process. That’s not public safety. That's a threat to you, to me, and to our democracy.” 

What Latino Caucus Vice-Chair Assemblymember Liz Ortega Says

“Trump’s ICE agents are violently attacking our communities and kidnapping and disappearing individuals, all without identifying themselves. This is not normal. As a state legislator, I have to show ID. Local police have to show IDs. AB 805 just says ICE has to show identification, too.”

What Latino Caucus Vice-Chair Assemblymember Juan Carrillo Says

“The recent raids in my district have created mistrust with local law enforcement. We’ve all seen the federal agents in unmarked uniforms, unmarked vehicles, and this needs to stop.”

What AAPI Caucus Chair Assembly Member Mike Fong Says

“As the Chair of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus and a member representing the San Gabriel Valley, I have seen the unprecedented fear and trauma experienced by our community.  Individuals jump out of unmarked cars with masks on and sometimes with weapons drawn to detain people without identifying themselves.  People from our community are afraid to go to work, go to the doctor, or go to the grocery store.  It is time we put a stop to it.  SB 805 and SB 627 are reasonable transparency measures to keep our community safe.  It is a matter of public safety.”

What Public Safety Committee Member and Assemblymember Mark González Says

“There is no place for secret police in California. No one enforcing the law should get to hide from the people they are sworn to protect. When masked ICE agents storm our neighborhoods in military gear without badges or name tags, it’s not justice—it’s fear. That’s not what it means to protect and serve. SB 805 and SB 627 are about transparency, accountability, and restoring trust. Because public safety depends on public trust, and our communities deserve to see the faces of those wielding power in their name.”

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For more information, follow Speaker Robert Rivas at the following social media channels:

Instagram: @caspeakerrivas

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CASpeakerRivas/