Michigan House Democrats have introduced legislation that would make it a crime for law enforcement officers to wear masks while on duty, a move that targets federal immigration officials who have taken to wearing the face coverings to protect their identities.
A violation of the proposed law would be “a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000,” according to Michigan Live.
The proposed law mandates that law enforcement officers, while interacting with a member of the public during their duties, must display their name or badge number as well as the full name or initials of their law enforcement agency.
Any wearing of a mask or attempt at identity concealment would violate this provision.
The mask prohibition would reportedly not apply to undercover operations or efforts to to protect themselves from airborne diseases or toxins.
As Fox News points out, the Michigan Democrats’ anti-mask effort comes five years after they all “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 Democrats’ new aversion to mask-wearing comes as liberal activists and even Democrat office holders continue to dox Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, subjecting them and their families to threats and harassment.
Multiple organizations are now dedicated to doxing federal officers, according to the Department of Homeland Security, including Antifa-affiliated groups based in Portland called “Rose City Counter-Info” and “The Crustian Daily.”
Both groups have allegedly published the names, pictures, and personal address of ICE officers on their websites.
Criminals have posted fliers in officers’ neighborhoods, that includes their name, address, pictures of them and their families. These fliers threaten officers with text that says, “NO PEACE FOR ICE” and “CHINGA LA MIGRA” (translation: F**K immigration services).
According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE officials have faced an 830 percent increase in assaults from January 21st to July 14th compared with the same period in 2024.
Michigan Democrats however contend wearing masks are “secret police” practices that “generate fear, remove accountability and create an unnecessary risk for the community and other law enforcement,” Michigan Live reported.
State Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City), the bill’s sponsor, said “justice needs no masks.”
“For the average person, these incidents look like violent kidnappings,” Coffia said. “With this new federal tactic of wearing masks with no identification, there is no way for the public, the people being accosted or grabbed or even local law enforcement and local, state elected leaders to know who these folks are.”
Coffia’s bill is similar to legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier this month by Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin. That legislation would prohibit immigration enforcement officers, including ICE, Border Patrol and others, from wearing non-medical face coverings and require they display identification of their agency and name or badge number.
In Michigan, the Democrat Party controls the upper chamber, while the Republican Party controls the lower chamber of the state legislature.
The Democrat Party also controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has reportedly thrown 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.
Nessel also joined an amicus brief earlier this month in support of 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.
Responding to a request for comment on the state legislation, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement:
“These are repulsive messaging bills that stoke dangerous anti-ice rhetoric for cheap political points and fundraising emails. While ICE officers face an 830% increase in assaults, sanctuary politicians are trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted. When our heroic law enforcement officers conduct operations, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement while wearing masks to protect themselves from being targeted by highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists. The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line every day to arrest violent criminal illegal aliens to protect and defend the lives of American citizens. Make no mistake, if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Kalamazoo, told Fox News that Coffia’s bill will not make it to Whitmer’s desk, calling it “dead on arrival.”
“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.”