Nessel Leads Coalition Of AGs Urging Passage Of Legislation To Curb ‘Unscrupulous' ICE Tactics

Michigan Advance

July 15, 2025

An effort is being co-led by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to urge passage of legislation that seeks to generally prohibit federal immigration agents from wearing masks to conceal their identity and require them to show their identification and agency-identifying insignia.

The coalition of 21 attorneys general sent a letter Tuesday to members of Congress, expressing concern over escalating incidents involving masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers dressed in plainclothes and driving unmarked vehicles detaining people on streets and at homes, workplaces, and courthouses.

“We have watched these detentions with alarm, as the imagery evokes comparisons to repressive tactics that have no place in a free country,” the letter says. “ICE officers’ now routine practice of carrying out arrests in public spaces through masked agents who do not identify themselves as law enforcement has the effect of terrorizing communities rather than protecting them.”

The legislation the coalition is supporting includes the Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement, or VISIBLE, Act of 2025, co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin.

In a video, Nessel addressed the dangers of immigration enforcement being conducted by agents without identification.

“We’ve already seen cases where bad actors are simulating this behavior to apprehend whomever they want and it’s only a matter of time before an officer is seriously hurt by a good guy attempting to stop what appears to be a kidnapping right before their own eyes,” Nessel said

In a press release, Nessel also noted that the current ICE tactics contradict Michigan’s resisting and obstructing statute, in which a person is only guilty of those crimes if they knew, or had reason to know, that the individual issuing a command was a police officer. Similarly, officers executing home search warrants are typically required to announce their presence to prevent unnecessary escalation and ensure the safety of both citizens and law enforcement.

While the coalition acknowledged that there may be certain limited instances in which it might be appropriate for federal agents to conceal their identities, they warn in the letter that “widespread, unchecked use of masks and plainclothes enforcement undermines democratic principles, erodes public trust, and invites civil rights abuses.”

Joining Attorney General Nessel in signing the letter were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

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