<\/p>\n
Following a pair<\/span> of deadly shootings<\/a> by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, the division of the agency responsible for street arrests and deportations issued a new policy mandating a dress code for field operations.<\/p>\n The nationwide policy, shared with The Intercept by a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower and confirmed by multiple ICE officers, details a new set of appearance standards aimed at making it easier for the public and fellow law enforcement officials to recognize ICE officers in the field.<\/p>\n \u201cLaw enforcement officers performing field operations shall wear readily identifiable ICE attire, including a ballistic vest during high-visibility operations,\u201d says a guidance memo signed by Acting ICE Director David Venturella<\/a>. \u201cAppropriate field attire includes khaki or coyote brown tactical type pants, paired with an ICE polo, or dark blue or black polo.\u201d<\/p>\n The memo adds, \u201cClothing such as jeans, sweatshirts, hoodies, non-collared shirts, or apparel displaying graphics or screen prints is not authorized during field operations.\u201d<\/p>\n The new directives for ICE\u2019s Employee Code of Conduct came in the wake of a botched arrest last week in Las Vegas by two ICE officers wearing hooded sweatshirts, with one attempting to pull a hood down over his face as onlookers recorded video. (ICE did not respond to a request for comment.)<\/p>\n The officer attempting to make the arrest \u201clooked like a kidnapper,\u201d said one ICE official who spoke to The Intercept on the condition of anonymity to protect their livelihood.<\/p>\n \u201cEnding the era of ICE agents making arrests in hoodies and unbranded street clothes is a long-overdue admission that unidentifiable immigration enforcement is dangerous, instills fear, and erodes public trust,\u201d Nick Wilson, the senior director of public safety policy at Center for American Progress, told The Intercept. \u201cReal public safety requires holding federal agents to the exact same standards of visibility, training, state and local oversight, and independent investigations of civil rights violations as local law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEnding the era of ICE agents making arrests in hoodies and unbranded street clothes is a long-overdue admission that unidentifiable immigration enforcement is dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Along with the use of masks<\/a>, ICE officers\u2019 failure to clearly identify themselves amid arrests and other enforcement actions have drawn criticisms from the public and raised the ire of elected officials. Attorneys general have pleaded with Congress<\/a> to pass legislation requiring that ICE officers wear identifying insignia, and members of Congress have themselves urged<\/a> ICE to require officers better identify themselves to the public.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The new dress code, two ICE officials told The Intercept, came in direct response to the recent fatal ICE shootings<\/a> in Texas and Maine<\/a> and the botched arrest attempt by two plainclothes ICE officers on July 13 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s because of the incident that happened in Las Vegas,\u201d said the ICE official.<\/p>\n Video of the Las Vegas airport incident, recorded by a bystander, shows two people in hooded sweatshirts tackling a man in the middle of a busy terminal. After passersby draw near, the officers abandoned the arrest but left the man handcuffed on one hand. The man tackled in the video, later identified as Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old Australian national who allegedly overstayed his visa, was arrested by ICE the following day at Los Angeles International Airport.<\/p>\n \u201cIt blew all our minds,\u201d the ICE official said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t look professional. They didn\u2019t present a badge when they initiated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Botched Las Vegas Arrest<\/strong><\/h2>\n