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Senior Trump administration officials defended the use of masks and other facial coverings by federal immigration enforcement officers, citing a sharp increase in assaults and violent threats against agents amid the administration’s hard-line immigration crackdown.
White House border czar Tom Homan on Sunday defended the use of masks and other facial coverings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as necessary to protect agents from a rise in assaults and violent threats reported by the Department of Homeland Security.
“I don’t like the masks, either,” Homan said in an interview Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” Still, he said, “these men and women have to protect themselves.”
His remarks come as Democrats in Congress have sharply criticized ICE agents’ actions in recent months, including the deployment of officers to major U.S. cities — Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis — as part of Trump’s broader immigration enforcement effort.
MINNESOTA DRAGS TRUMP’S ICE TO COURT IN EFFORT TO PAUSE IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, speaks at the border with Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Nogales, Ariz. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged Republicans earlier this month to order the unmasking of ICE agents, describing the step as one of many “guardrails” needed to protect the public and earn their support in resolving the DHS shutdown.
Jeffries last week told reporters in the Capitol that unmasking federal agents is a “hard red line” for Democrats as Congress debated funding for DHS and ultimately failed to come to an agreement, the Associated Press reported.
The Trump administration has cited concerns about the number and severity of threats against ICE officers and has vowed to aggressively prosecute individuals who target agents or solicit violence.
Homan pointed to…
