In Massachusetts, federal immigration agents are pulling people off the street with no names, no badges, and their faces fully covered.

That’s exactly what happened to Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts graduate student and Fulbright scholar. She was detained in Somerville by masked ICE agents driving unmarked cars with out-of-state plates. They gave no names and wore no identifying uniforms. She was taken to a detention center in Louisiana—miles from home, with no explanation. A federal judge ordered her release, but only after public pressure and legal action.

This isn’t how law enforcement should work in a democracy.

State Rep. Jim Hawkins has introduced a bill to ban federal immigration officers and other law enforcement from wearing masks during non-violent operations in Massachusetts. These secretive detentions erode public trust and silence dissent.

ICE claims masks are for officer safety. But when agents operate anonymously in our neighborhoods, people disappear without answers. That’s not public safety—it’s fear.

We’re calling on the Massachusetts Legislature to pass this bill. Every person—citizen or not—deserves to know who is detaining them, and why.

Sign if you believe law enforcement must be visible, identifiable, and accountable on our streets.

[Photo Credit: David Zalubowski)/Yuki Iwamura/Olga Fedorova/AP]