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Trump turns debate over masked ICE agents into a ridiculous patriotism test [View all]
Two Democratic senators unveiled a bill to unmask ICE agents. The president responded by insisting that the lawmakers “hate our country.”
Rump's definition of Patriotism starts and ends with a salute to his mirror.
— Richard, Democratic activist, âŒðŸ‘‘ (@resist4747.bsky.social) 2025-07-11T06:53:57.968Z
Trump turns debate over masked ICE agents into a ridiculous patriotism test www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo... via @msnbc
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-turns-debate-masked-ice-agents-ridiculous-patriotism-test-rcna217961
At Donald Trump’s latest White House event, the president was asked whether he’d sign a bill to require immigration agents to do their jobs without masks. He could’ve said he’d veto such a measure, and he could’ve tried to defend the practice of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents covering their faces.
But the Republican instead responded in a deeply ugly way.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:aunpu65mdrhwfie7ynymlzeh/post/3ltkfeck7l22w
Referring to Senate Democratic sponsors of a proposal on the practice, Trump said, “Well, they wouldn’t be saying that if they didn’t hate our country — and they obviously do.”....
With this in mind, two Democratic senators — New Jersey’s Cory Booker and California’s Alex Padilla — this week introduced new legislation called the Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement Act (or VISIBLE Act). The point of the bill is simple: It would, if approved, require immigration enforcement officers to display clearly visible identification, while remaining unmasked, when executing their public duties.
“When federal immigration agents show up and pull someone off the street in plainclothes with their face obscured and no visible identification, it only escalates tensions and spreads fear while shielding federal agents from basic accountability,” Padilla, whose recent history is highly relevant, said in a statement. “Immigration agents should be required to display their agency and name or badge number — just like police and other local law enforcement agencies. The VISIBLE Act’s commonsense requirements will restore transparency and ensure impersonators can’t exploit the panic and confusion caused by unidentifiable federal immigration enforcement agents.”
If the president wants to say he’d veto such a bill, fine. If he wants to make a substantive case against it, great. But when asked about the legislative effort, Trump instead argued that Booker and Padilla “hate” the United States, which is offensive and insane.
In the American tradition, law enforcement personnel have always been identifiable and unmasked. The proposal from Padilla and Booker isn’t some radical reform; it’s an endorsement of routine practices that have existed in this country for generations.
For Trump to argue that it’s somehow unpatriotic to endorse an American norm offers a peek into a deeply twisted perspective.
But the Republican instead responded in a deeply ugly way.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:aunpu65mdrhwfie7ynymlzeh/post/3ltkfeck7l22w
Link to tweet
Referring to Senate Democratic sponsors of a proposal on the practice, Trump said, “Well, they wouldn’t be saying that if they didn’t hate our country — and they obviously do.”....
With this in mind, two Democratic senators — New Jersey’s Cory Booker and California’s Alex Padilla — this week introduced new legislation called the Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement Act (or VISIBLE Act). The point of the bill is simple: It would, if approved, require immigration enforcement officers to display clearly visible identification, while remaining unmasked, when executing their public duties.
“When federal immigration agents show up and pull someone off the street in plainclothes with their face obscured and no visible identification, it only escalates tensions and spreads fear while shielding federal agents from basic accountability,” Padilla, whose recent history is highly relevant, said in a statement. “Immigration agents should be required to display their agency and name or badge number — just like police and other local law enforcement agencies. The VISIBLE Act’s commonsense requirements will restore transparency and ensure impersonators can’t exploit the panic and confusion caused by unidentifiable federal immigration enforcement agents.”
If the president wants to say he’d veto such a bill, fine. If he wants to make a substantive case against it, great. But when asked about the legislative effort, Trump instead argued that Booker and Padilla “hate” the United States, which is offensive and insane.
In the American tradition, law enforcement personnel have always been identifiable and unmasked. The proposal from Padilla and Booker isn’t some radical reform; it’s an endorsement of routine practices that have existed in this country for generations.
For Trump to argue that it’s somehow unpatriotic to endorse an American norm offers a peek into a deeply twisted perspective.
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