Americans Will Never Abide Masked Federal Agents (COLUMN)

Past and present.

COLUMN: The halls of the Capitol are currently echoing with a debate that sounds more like a scene from a 19th-century printing shop than a modern budget hearing. As Chuck Schumer and Senate Republicans lock horns over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, a specific “line in the sand” has been drawn: the masks.

Democrats are demanding that as a condition for funding, ICE and Border Patrol agents must unmask, display clear identification, and wear body cameras. Republicans argue this exposes agents to “doxing” and danger.

But if we consult the ghosts of our greatest writers and publishers—men who understood that the ink of authority must always be traceable to a hand—the verdict is clear. A masked agent is not a civil servant; they are a shadow, and shadows have no place in a republic.