From concealed identities to sanctioned violence, the echoes between ICE raids and Klan terror are too loud to ignore…
Masked, armed law enforcement agents who regularly violate the law and strip people of their constitutional rights is nothing new in America. They have, in fact, a long and well-documented history, including states — after years of abuse by masked men — passing laws specifically to prevent them from concealing their identities when performing law enforcement operations.
In this era, we call them Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents; during the late 19th and early- to mid-20th centuries they called themselves the Ku Klux Klan. They often operated with the blessing of both federal and state governments, often deputized and given badges and guns, and “enforced the law” while wearing their famous white hoods to conceal their individual identities.