Naming ICE Agents Could Land You in Prison Under New Senate Bill
A Republican-backed law aims to criminalize identifying ICE agents, escalating tensions between the Trump administration and “blue city” leaders.
WASHINGTON — If you say their names, you could go to prison. That’s the core premise of the Protecting Law Enforcement From Doxxing Act, a new Trump-era proposal introduced Wednesday by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Under the bill, anyone who “publicly identifies” federal immigration officers — with the alleged intent to obstruct enforcement — could face up to five years behind bars.
Blackburn’s bill is barely two pages, room enough to protect the secrecy of state violence with criminality for naming ICE agents.
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legal experts warned in press freedom group chats where Blackburn’s effort would create a federal offense for posting the names of ICE agents, whether online, in flyers, or in official city records. It’s a direct response to a series of escalating conflicts between America’s mayors and the Trump administration’s now supercharged deportation machine. Protecting the secrecy of state violence is a priority
The Masked State
ICE agents are increasingly showing up to immigrant homes, schools, and workplaces in masks — a practice that has drawn comparisons to authoritarian regimes. Activists and Democratic lawmakers say the face coverings strip federal agents of accountability while making them indistinguishable from paramilitary enforcers.
“This is America. This is not the Soviet Union,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a press conference on June 3. “We’re not behind the Iron Curtain. This is not the 1930s. And every single one of them... will of course be identified.”
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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell apparently agreed. His office began tracking incidents between ICE agents and local officials — and briefly posted agents’ names on a public city website, arguing it was part of a transparency effort. Some of the names were later removed. But it was enough to trigger Blackburn’s bill, which targets “blue city mayors” directly in its text.
Blackburn accused O’Connell of “obstructing enforcement” and “putting law enforcement officers in harm’s way” by “doxxing” federal agents. She claimed her bill would hold mayors accountable and “protect those on the front lines.”
ICE, meanwhile, maintains that anonymity is necessary. The Department of Homeland Security claims assaults on immigration agents have risen 413% — though it has not provided verifiable public data. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons defended the masks: “I’m not going to let my officers go out there and put their lives on the line… because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is.”
But what is it, exactly?
In February, activists in Los Angeles circulated flyers with ICE agents’ names and photos after a string of raids in immigrant neighborhoods. The flyers were condemned by officials and cited in conservative media as examples of so-called doxxing. But activists say this was simply documentation — an act of community self-defense.
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Transparency as a Threat
The bill, like many others in this new Trump term, fuses law-and-order rhetoric with escalating hostility toward local governments that oppose federal immigration policy. It criminalizes intent — requiring prosecutors to prove that someone named an agent with the goal of interfering in an investigation or operation.
Legal experts warn the vague standard could be weaponized against journalists, city officials, or even social media users sharing screenshots of public records.
The Republican-controlled House and Senate make passage likely. If signed into law, the bill would mark one of the most aggressive federal efforts to restrict transparency around immigration enforcement since ICE’s founding in 2003.
For immigrant communities, the message is clear: Don’t speak. Don’t document. Don’t name what’s happening.
But as masked agents knock on doors in the early morning, some say the silence will only make the noise louder.