NY vs ICE: Bill to ban officers from wearing masks on duty draws some bipartisan criticism
The Mandating End of Lawless Tactics Act — aka the MELT Act — would prohibit all law enforcement officers from wearing masks or disguises while "interacting with the public" in New York State.
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State legislation to ban law enforcement officers from masking or disguising themselves is gaining steam, with Gov. Kathy Hochul recently coming out in support of it. But the bill is drawing criticism from law enforcement agencies.
Some opponents told News 12 on Wednesday that they might support the bill if a certain change is made to it.
The Mandating End of Lawless Tactics Act — aka the MELT Act — would prohibit all law enforcement officers from wearing masks or disguises while "interacting with the public" in New York State.
It was inspired mainly by events nationwide involving federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who have worn masks and/or refused to identify themselves.
Republican Assemblyman AJ Beephan, of East Fishkill, said there must be an exception for local officers who work undercover, namely members of the Dutchess County Drug Task Force, a unit that includes officers from agencies around the county.
Some undercover officers might use makeup, prosthetics or even fake mustaches during investigations.
"There are specific instances, like with the drug task force, that need to be included for me to consider supporting the bill," Beephan said Wednesday in a Zoom interview.
The bill's cosponsor, Democratic Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg of Ossining, said that since there are exceptions for officers to mask up when at a fire, dealing with chemicals or during extremely cold weather, perhaps there can be an exception carved out for undercover operations, too.
"I'm sure it will be tweaked," she said on Wednesday over Zoom. "It's important that undercover officers to do their job in a way that's effective. I don't think that's what's happening with ICE right now."
Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi, also a Democrat, said the language is ambiguous and could negatively affect drug investigations.
He is concerned that evidence from undercover investigations might be contested, even thrown out, if the language that all officers "shall not wear any mask or personal disguise while interacting with the public in the performance of their duties" were to remain in a version of the bill that passes.
"We can and should pursue transparency," he wrote Wednesday in an emailed statement, "but legislation in this space must be precise."
Immigrant rights advocate Xaver Candler, of the non-profit For The Many, said he would not fight adjustments to the bill to account for undercover operations as long as the lawmakers stay true to the spirit of the law "which is really to stop ICE from being able to come into our community with impunity, not be accountable to the people in this community, and as a result, kidnap and terrorize our communities."
Levenberg said that even after public input and changes to the legislation, she believes the bill can pass this year and get a signature from Hochul, who just recently announced her approval of a set of bills, including the MELT Act.
If it were to become law, ICE agents in the field would not follow it, the agency said.
"Sanctuary politicians attempting to ban our federal law enforcement from wearing masks is despicable and a flagrant attempt to endanger our officers," an ICE spokesperson wrote late Wednesday in an email. "To be crystal clear: we will not abide by this unconstitutional ban. The Supremacy Clause makes it clear that New York’s sanctuary politicians do not control federal law enforcement."
