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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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People publicly identifying federal law enforcement officers could face up to five years in prison, under new legislation proposed by Senator Marsha Blackburn.
"Blue city mayors are doing everything they can to obstruct the Trump administration's efforts to deport criminal illegal aliens," the Republican from Tennessee said in a press release on Wednesday.
The Protecting Law Enforcement From Doxxing Act proposes punishments including fines and up to five years in prison for those who publicly identify an officer "with the intent to obstruct a criminal investigation or immigration enforcement operation."
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Why It Matters
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions have become a flashpoint in the national political debate, especially as the White House ramps up deportation efforts.
President Donald Trump vowed to remove millions of immigrants without legal status as part of a hard-line mass deportation policy. ICE agents have been granted expanded authority to conduct raids.
Trump's planned heavy approach to immigration polled extremely well when he took office, but since he has implemented some of his policies the issue has seen some fluctuation in surveys.
What To Know
The move from Blackburn comes after Democratic Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell's office began tracking incidents between federal immigration authorities and local officials.
O'Connell argued this was a move toward greater transparency. His team published details of an interaction, including the names of federal agents, on a city website. Some of the names were later removed by local officials.
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Democrats and immigration rights advocates have criticized ICE agents for wearing masks, likening them to enforcers from fascist and communist regimes.
"This is America. This is not the Soviet Union," Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a press briefing on June 3.
"We're not behind the Iron Curtain. This is not the 1930s. And every single one of them, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, will of course be identified."
The Trump administration has maintained that masks are critical, amid an increase in attacks on ICE agents.
The Department of Homeland Security has said there has been a 413-percent increase in assaults against immigration agents.
"I think everyone knows the reasons for the masks. Every agent knows they would be doxxed [publicly identified] as would their families," Scott Mechkowski, a retired ICE agent who worked for the agency from the mid-1990s until 2019, told Newsweek.
Meanwhile, posters revealing the names, photos, and phone numbers of ICE agents appeared in a Southern California neighborhood in February.
Multiple federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that individuals opposing ICE operations in Los Angeles were distributing flyers containing personal information about ICE and Homeland Security Investigations officers in the area.
What People Are Saying
Senator Marsha Blackburn said in a press release: "Just last week, Nashville Mayor O'Connell and his office doxxed federal law enforcement officers after the Trump administration worked with Tennessee Highway Patrol to arrest criminal illegal aliens. My Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act would make this illegal and hold blue city mayors accountable for obstructing enforcement of our immigration laws by putting law enforcement officers in harm's way."
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said at a press conference: "I'm sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I'm not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line, because people don't like what immigration enforcement is"
California state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, a Republican, previously told Newsweek: "Whenever anyone—politicians, members of the public, or criminals themselves—interferes with law enforcement's actions, it creates serious risks and dangers for everyone involved."
What Happens Next
The bill would have to pass the Senate and House, both under Republican control, and then be signed by Trump to become law.
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