MI Dems seek to prosecute mask-wearing ICE, after state instituted $500 fine for being maskless during COVID

A Michigan Democratic effort would open up ICE agents to state prosecution if they conduct immigration enforcement operations while wearing masks that conceal their identity.

The effort comes five years after Michigan Democrats supported Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order outlining $500 fines for civilians who, conversely, defied her executive order to wear masks in public during the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, said Friday ICE’s masking-up “mirror the tactics of secret police in authoritarian regimes and strays from the norms that define legitimate local law enforcement.”

“It confuses and frightens communities,” she said. “Those who protect and serve our community should not do so behind a concealed identity.”

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A banner on the dais from which Coffia announced the bill read, “Justice needs no masks.”

State Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, added his name as a co-sponsor and said in a statement when a person is unable to discern whether someone apprehending them is a government authority or not, it “shreds the rule of law.”

“That is why the Trump administration and the Republican Party are the most pro-crime administration and political party that we have ever seen,” Arbit said.

Attorney General Dana Nessel, who was one of several state prosecutors to demand Congress pass similar legislation at the federal level, also threw her support behind the bill.

“Imagine a set of circumstances where somebody might be a witness to a serious crime and that defendant has some friends go out and literally just mask up and go apprehend somebody at a courthouse,” Nessel told the Traverse City NBC affiliate.

However, during the coronavirus pandemic, Whitmer issued an executive order in June 2020 that mandated people “wear a face covering whenever they are in an indoor public space.”

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“It also requires the use of face coverings in crowded outdoor spaces. Most significantly, the order requires any business that is open to the public to refuse entry or service to people who refuse to wear a face covering. No shirts, no shoes, no mask—no service,” the order read.

Violators who refused to wear masks in such situations, excluding houses of worship, were subject to $500 penalties, according to WXYZ.

Nessel, at the time, had praised the Michigan Claims Court for acting quickly to clarify the legality of Whitmer’s prior executive orders related to COVID-19, including the stay-at-home edict.

“With this clarity, it’s my hope that our public officials and residents can move forward with confidence that the Governor has acted in accordance with the authority provided to her under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act,” she said in a statement.

“It’s time for us all to focus on the health and safety of the people in this state rather than fighting against each other in unnecessary legal battles in our courts.” 

Nessel also lent her name to an amicus brief this month supporting a case brought against ICE over tactics used during its raids in Los Angeles.

“When masked, heavily armed federal agents operate with no identification, they threaten public safety and erode public trust,” Nessel said in the brief.

Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Kalamazoo, told Fox News Digital he doesn’t see Coffia’s bill making it to Whitmer’s desk, calling it an “attack on law enforcement.”

“The people want these dangerous criminal aliens off our street, and we are doing everything we can to partner with the Trump administration and put an end to illegal immigration,” he said Monday, adding that Democrats “will do everything they can to get in the way of local police and ICE because they’ve always cared more about criminals than victims.

“But that ends here,” he added. “This ridiculous bill is dead on arrival.”

When asked about the bill and the apparent COVID-related hypocrisy, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said it shows “power-hungry politicians” are continuing to “push disgusting smears against our brave officers, who are simply enforcing the law, in a repulsive effort to score cheap political points.”

“State Rep. Coffia has clearly never been on an ICE operation because she would see our officers verbally identify themselves, wear vests that say ICE/ERO or Homeland Security, and are flanked by vehicles that also say the name of the department.”

McLaughlin said the masks are vital to prevent officers from being targeted by “highly sophisticated gangs” like Tren de Aragua and MS-13.

“These arguments are getting a little desperate,” she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Nessel, Whitmer and Coffia for further comment.