"A few days after President Donald Trump took office, I got an invitation from ICE officials to observe the administration's new "surge operations" in New York City. They told me to show up at 4 a.m. at the downtown federal building where the agency has its holding cells. Officers in body armor huddled in the basement parking garage, then headed to the Bronx in a caravan of unmarked cars."
"ICE officials were flustered that morning because Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, had shown up to join them, along with a CBS News crew. Noem began posting videos about arresting "dirtbags" before the sun was up. ICE officials had always insisted to reporters that social-media posts or any mention of ongoing operations would blow their cover and put officers in danger."
"Looking back at the photos I took that day, one thing stands out. The ICE officers weren't wearing masks. The face coverings and neck gaiters went up soon after. In March, ICE grabbed the Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk-whose visa was revoked for co-writing an op-ed about Gaza-and surveillance footage showed her surrounded by agents in plain clothes, some with hoods, who yanked up their masks as they dragged her away."
An early-morning ICE operation in New York City produced a single arrest and involved officers in body armor traveling in unmarked cars to the Bronx. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared with a CBS News crew and posted videos about arresting "dirtbags," despite ICE warnings that publicity could compromise safety. Within weeks face coverings and neck gaiters became common among ICE officers. Viral footage showed masked agents hauling a man away and officers surrounding Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk after her visa was revoked, with some agents wearing hoods and pulling up masks as they detained her. The masked appearance conveyed anonymity and an authoritarian aesthetic.
Read at The Atlantic
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