LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Republican lawmakers are speaking out against a bill that would ban law enforcement from wearing face masks and require them to show identification.
Michigan House Democrats introduced legislation known as the “Justice Needs No Mask” bill July 29. In addition to prohibiting the use of masks, this bill would require law enforcement to wear “appropriate identification,” with certain exceptions.
Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) said Democrats are “wasting time pushing radical legislation that attacks law enforcement.”
“Their latest scheme would put a target on the faces of the very people working to keep our communities safe by prohibiting them from wearing masks,” Runestad said in a statement. “Earlier this month, 10 gunmen stormed an ICE facility in Texas with the goal of killing ICE agents. And now Democrats want to make it even easier for violent extremists to identify and hunt down officers working to detain illegal criminal immigrants.”
Minority Leader of the Michigan Senate Aric Nesbitt said the bill endangers ICE workers.
“Democrats in Lansing are actively trying to put ICE agents in harms way with this legislation,” Nesbitt said in a post on X.
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) introduced similar legislation at the national level. The Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement (VISIBLE) Act would prohibit the use of face coverings and require federal agents to show identification.