A handful of elected officials touted the MELT ICE bill on Wednesday, which would force Feds to unmask; however, its implementation inside immigration court remains murky.
Assemblymember Tony Simone, sponsor of the Mandating End of Lawless Tactics or (MELT) bill, along with Comptroller Brad Lander, Borough President Mark Levine, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simone, and Assemblymember Grace Lee, gathered outside of 26 Federal Plaza on July 9 to officially unveiled the legislation, which would force federal officers to unmask and have their identification clearly displayed.
“I have a message to the fascists in the White House and Mr. Homan, whatever his name is, so-called border czar who thinks he is a tough guy: We will come up with every creative tool in the state legislature. We will do everything, every bone in our body, to fight for the America we believe in,” Simone said.
Heavily-armed ICE agents have infamously been donning masks to conceal their identities as they detain immigrants attending legally mandated court hearings, separating families and sowing fear. On Tuesday, a mother and her 6-year-old daughter were separated from the patriarch of the family after he was cuffed during a court hearing, leaving the child to ask: “Where is daddy?”
This was just one of many heart-wrenching stories emerging from the Lower Manhattan courts that also include mistaken detainments and even the arrest of an elected official. On June 17, Lander was arrested by ICE while escorting immigrants out of their hearings. He says that due to their masks and failure to show identification, he still does not know their identities.
“I say this as someone who was arrested and detained by masked Federal officers who I believe did not have the authority to arrest me, and whose identities I still don’t know, and that is utterly unacceptable,” Lander said. “The consequences are real for all of us.”
While the politicians charge that this legislation would greatly aid transparency and prevent lawless operations, the immigration court is a federal building, leaving it unclear if ICE would have to abide by the law once on its grounds.
“I’m confident that it’ll hold up in court. Civil liberties must be protected, and the New York State does have jurisdiction. In the end, the courts will probably have to decide as they’ve decided so far, some, you know, in a good way, and some in a bad way,” Simone said.
The timeline for the bill is also not exactly clear. In the meantime, ICE continues to operate with impunity and tearing families asunder without due process.
“This is a strategy of fear and intimidation for our immigrant communities, and we cannot stand for this,” Assemblymember Lee said, who herself witnessed ICE detainments last week.
