Bill Seeking to Ban Federal Agents Hiding Identity Opens Interesting 2A Arguments

The Second Amendment exists not so much to allow us to protect ourselves from crime, nor is it about hunting or target shooting. It's about fighting back against tyranny.

Unfortunately, a lot of people figure that since technology has advanced and we've tolerated restrictions for so long that keep us from having that same technology, there's no reason to take the Second Amendment's purpose seriously.

After all, they argue, how can you stand up to the government without jet fighters?

However, a Democrat just introduced a bill that, while it has nothing to do with guns, raises some interesting Second Amendment-related questions.

Since Donald Trump took office for a second time, masked federal agents are wreaking havoc and making arrests of immigrants and even some U.S. citizens. Two lawmakers in Congress say they have a plan to stop the “secret” policing that has become a feature of this administration.

Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, both Democrats of New York, introduced the “No Secret Police Act of 2025” on Thursday. If passed, the legislation would forbid law enforcement officers and agents for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from hiding their faces or concealing their identity when making arrests. Agents would also be required to display or wear certain insignia, and provide identification when they are making arrests or attempting to detain someone.

Homemade, non-tactical masks are also banned under the proposed legislation.

“Across the country, plain-clothed federal agents in homemade face coverings are lying in wait outside immigration courts to snatch law-abiding, non-violent immigrants going through our legal system the right way. This isn’t about protecting law enforcement, it’s about terrorizing immigrant communities,” Goldman said. “The United States is not a dictatorship, and I’m proud to introduce this commonsense legislation ensuring that our federal government’s laws are enforced by identifiable human beings, not anonymous, secret agents of the state.”

Now, why would it be important to identify federal agents in order to prevent this dictatorship that Goldman is warning against?

I'm just going to mention that I absolutely hate when these people use the term "immigrant" when they're talking about illegal immigrants just to conflate those who came here lawfully with those who didn't.

But again, why is their identity so important? Why are ICE agents hiding that identity?

The reason is simple. If you know who someone is, you know who needs to be punished for crossing the line.

Granted, ICE agents are doing no such thing, but there are people who definitely want to hurt them and their families, which makes it harder for them to do their jobs. Goldman and Espaillat know this, and that's why they want to bar them from using masks.

Yet this is the United States government.

If acts of tyranny can be thwarted because of the potential risk to law enforcement officers enforcing supposedly tyrannical laws, then why would I need jet fighters to oppose the United States government that is acting tyrannically?

None of the people threatening ICE agents have jet fighters. None of them have rocket launchers, so far as I'm aware. They don't have tanks or armored personnel carriers. They don't have surface-to-surface missile launchers or modern heavy artillery.

At most, they've got some semi-automatic rifles and some handguns. 

So why would knowing their identities be valuable? Because you don't need fighter aircraft or close air support in order to make a tyrannical government beg for mercy. You just need to make it costly for anyone to follow orders.

Now, I'm not saying that anyone is doing anything wrong in the federal government on this. The ICE agents are arresting people who are in this country unlawfully. While I'd prefer them to focus mostly on violent illegal immigrants, I'm not going to cry over the non-violent illegals being deported. That's just me. You're welcome to whatever opinion on the matter you want.

My point, though, is that it's pretty clear that members of the party that usually pushes gun control understand that threats to the people who implement enforcement of laws can deter them from carrying out their orders. If there's enough threat, they're just not going to do it. That's why they want to ban them from wearing masks, to try and ramp up the threat for ICE agents.

But that same rationale is why the Second Amendment still matters, even if we can't buy a fleet of F-15s.