President Donald Trump lambasted Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Alex Padilla of California on Wednesday after their introduction of the “VISIBLE Act.”
The bill would force CBP and ICE officers to display visible ID and ban them from wearing face coverings during public enforcement actions.
During a high-level meeting with African leaders in the White House State Dining Room, a reporter asked the president whether he would consider signing the legislation if it came across his desk.
“Well, they wouldn’t be saying that if they didn’t hate our country, and they obviously do,” he stated.
“These officers are doing a tremendous job. They’re great patriots,” Trump continued.
President Trump is asked about Democrat Senators Cory Booker and Alex Padilla having put out a new bill requiring CBP and ICE officers to have legible IDs and no facial coverings.
“Well, they wouldn't be saying that if they didn't hate our country. And they obviously do.” pic.twitter.com/5CXDOgD0hC
— DeVory Darkins (@devorydarkins) July 9, 2025
“If you expose them, because of… statements like have been made by Democrats and others on the left… I think probably exclusively, you put them in great danger, tremendous danger.”
The president pointed out what he views as hypocrisy among Democrats, noting that while leftist protesters regularly conceal their identities, progressive lawmakers want to strip the same protection from ICE and Border Patrol agents.
“And it’s sort of funny, when people picket in front of Columbia, in front of Harvard, and they have masks on—more than masks, I mean, you can’t see anything—nobody complains about that,” Trump said.
“But when a patriot who works for ICE or Border Patrol puts a mask on so that they won’t recognize him and his family… there’s a problem with that.”
He added that Democrats “have a lot of bad things going on in their heads” and “have become somewhat deranged.”
The bill introduced by Booker and Padilla would apply only to operations where agents are interacting directly with the public, according to Booker’s office. Covert actions or non-public engagements would be exempt.
The push to prohibit mask-wearing by immigration officers is also being echoed at the state level.
Massachusetts Rep. Jim Hawkins filed legislation this week seeking to ban law enforcement and immigration officials from concealing their identities while on duty.
Hawkins cited the March arrest of Tufts grad student Rumeysa Ozturk by masked ICE agents in Somerville as the catalyst.
The bill, which exempts surgical masks used for medical or safety reasons, would make violations a misdemeanor.
In California, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom accused ICE officers of using face coverings to stoke fear.
“Why are they masked? What are you afraid of?” Newsom asked. “It’s to increase stress, it’s to increase anxiety… masked men, disproportionately men, in unmarked cars without identifying themselves… that’s not America.”
Newsom claimed individuals are being taken by agents and tossed into unmarked vehicles with no clear understanding of who is arresting them.
“That’s not what our founding fathers lived and died for,” he said.
Border czar Tom Homan raised the alarm in May over rising assaults on ICE personnel, blaming it on the “doxxing” of officers.
“It’s hit an all-time high,” Homan told reporters, explaining that masks are necessary to protect agents and their families.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons echoed that view last month. “I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is.”
Meanwhile, Trump reaffirmed on Tuesday that there would be “no amnesty” for illegal immigrants working in agriculture or service industries.
He made the clarification after previously hinting at the idea of offering protections for migrant laborers in the farming sector.
“There’s no amnesty,” Trump said. “What we’re doing is we’re getting rid of criminals, but we are doing a work program.”
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “There is NO Amnesty. We are getting rid of criminals. We are not talking amnesty.”
pic.twitter.com/0Ji8kEhjrT— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 8, 2025
Agricultural groups have reportedly warned the White House about economic disruptions if the migrant labor force is expelled. But Trump officials pushed back hard this week.
“There will be no amnesty, the mass deportations continue but in a strategic way,” said Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins at a Tuesday press conference.
“Ultimately, the answer on this is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure.”
