After the deal between Paragon and Homeland Security’s investigations unit was frozen, the first signs that Trump wants spyware emerged, sparking concerns amid a growing arsenal of digital tools

The contract between the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Israeli spyware company Paragon has been reactivated, in what some say is the first sign of a shift in the current administration’s policies towards offensive cyber.

Last year, a $2 million contract was signed between Paragon and ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit. However, it was frozen a month later amid the Biden administration’s policy to clamp down on the offensive cyber industry, which sells technologies that allow states access to encrypted smartphones and has been misused across the globe over the past decade.

That policy included pressuring Israel to rein in its spyware exports, and also sanctions on Israeli companies like NSO and Candiru, which are regulated by Israel, as well as harsher personal sanctions against the owners and executives of Intellexa, which operated outside Israel’s regulatory oversight.

The temporary suspension of the Paragon contract stemmed from concerns it could violate Biden’s 2023 executive order restricting the purchase of foreign spyware by U.S. agencies, if those had been used to undermine U.S. national security or had been implicated in misuse.

Its renewal, announced with little fanfare this Saturday on an official U.S. procurement data website, is seen by some as an early signal of a potential shift in the Trump administration’s policy toward the offensive cyber industry. The contract renewal was first published by Jack Poulson, an independent journalist, on his Substack.

Paragon, the procurement documents details, will provide a “proprietary solution” to ICE via the HSI, an investigative arm that combats illegal immigration, human and arms trafficking, international crime, cyber threats, and more. It was founded by former Unit 8200 commander Ehud Schneorson and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and developed a spyware called Graphite.

It has been sold to intelligence and law enforcement agencies in Israel, Europe, the United States and Singapore. Infection with the spyware gives operators full access to a victim’s mobile phone, including files, photos, and contacts, as well as the ability to eavesdrop on calls and read encrypted messages. Earlier this year, Paragon was for the first time embroiled in a scandal regarding misuse of its tech in Italy, where the country’s intelligence service turned the spyware against activists and journalists.

Digital rights groups fear that Trump’s policies, coupled with the renewal of the Paragon contract, signal that the United States may roll back its efforts to regulate the spyware industry and could even emerge as a state that abuses these advanced tools.

According to U.S. media reports, the administration has budgeted $170 billion for enforcing Trump’s immigration policy, setting a daily target of 3,000 arrests for the authorities. To meet this goal, ICE is recruiting 10,000 agents, offering signing bonuses of $50,000.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has flooded the streets of Washington, Los Angeles, and other cities with immigration agents, ramping up arrests and deportations of undocumented migrants, as well as enforcing strict new policing measures.

“It is deeply concerning that the U.S. government and DHS are acquiring highly invasive spyware at a time of unprecedented crackdowns on students, protesters, and migrants,” said Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab, which monitors technologies that violate human and civil rights. “Time and again, such tools have ultimately been found to be abused to target journalists and government critics.”

DHS-affiliated bodies have numerous ties to Israeli surveillance and intelligence companies: Cognyte provided various technologies to the Secret Service last year and this year reported a $20 million deal with a leading U.S. security organization; Cellebrite supplies law enforcement agencies, including ICE and the Secret Service, with phone-hacking technology for seized devices.

ICE also has access to intelligence technologies from companies like Palantir and Babel Street, Ó Cearbhaill explained. A Haaretz investigation last year revealed how Babel Street sells software that allows surveillance and tracking of individuals using advertising data collected online. According to him, the addition of Paragon’s spyware to the authorities’ surveillance toolkit increases the risk of unlawful and arbitrary arrests, investigations, visa revocations, and deportations, “in significant violation of numerous human rights.”

Late last year, Paragon was sold to the American private equity firm AE Industrial Partners, considered close to the U.S. defense establishment. The sale caused tension and criticism within Israel’s offensive cyber industry.

An investigation by Israeli television uncovered an intelligence community document that warned that the sale of Paragon posed a “potential danger” to national security, due to concerns about American influence over a “strategic sector” for Israel and the leakage of sensitive knowledge abroad. Similar concerns were exposed in 2022 when the American defense contractor L3Harris attempted to purchase NSO and relocate it to the United States.

Following the acquisition, Paragon’s U.S. branch joined REDLattice, a cyber-intelligence company also owned by the U.S. fund. Reporting on the contract renewal, journalist Poulson revealed the two firms’ deep ties to the U.S. intelligence community. According to Poulson’s substack, former CIA deputy director John “Finbar” Fleming was appointed head of Paragon’s U.S. branch.

ICE Gains Access to Israeli Spyware Maker Paragon’s Tool

After the deal between Paragon and Homeland Security’s investigations unit was frozen, the first signs that Trump wants spyware emerged, sparking concerns amid a growing arsenal of digital tools

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ice-regains-access-to-israeli-spyware-maker-paragon-s-tool/ar-AA1LNpsh

‘Who Is Telling You To Do This?’: Sen. Angus King Confronts Racist Pete Hegseth On Renaming Army Bases To Honor Slavery During Hearing

During a recent hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Angus King (I-ME) confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on why he is renaming army bases after Confederate soldiers, traitors who rebelled against the Union to uphold slavery.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/who-is-telling-you-to-do-this-sen-angus-king-confronts-racist-pete-hegseth-on-renaming-army-bases-to-honor-slavery-during-hearing/vi-AA1LMV8s

A Guatemala-born woman who has lived in the U.S. since age 9 was nearly deported by ICE after a routine traffic stop in Phoenix, despite three decades of residence and three U.S.-citizen children. Knewz.com has learned that a federal judge later blocked her fast-track removal and ordered her case to be shifted into standard deportation proceedings.

Routine traffic stop escalates to ICE detention

According to court documents, Mirta Amarilis Co Tupul, 38, was pulled over by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer while driving to work at a laundromat in a Latino neighborhood in Phoenix. Her lawyers argued that the stop violated her constitutional rights because officers lacked reasonable suspicion. Following the stop, Co Tupul was transferred first to the Florence Processing Center and then to the Eloy Detention Center, which is about 65 miles from Phoenix. Within days, her attorneys were informed that she had been placed in expedited removal proceedings and could be deported in as little as one to three weeks.

District court judge blocks expedited deportation

The detainee’s legal team submitted vaccination records, affidavits and other evidence to prove her nearly 30 years of continuous presence in the U.S. They also argued that expedited removal did not legally apply to her and that bypassing a court hearing violated her due process rights. Earlier this month, a U.S. district court judge granted an emergency request blocking her deportation. The government agreed in writing not to pursue expedited removal again and moved her into standard removal proceedings, where she will have the opportunity to make her case before an immigration judge.

Attorneys celebrate ruling

Eric Lee, one of Co Tupul’s attorneys, wrote on X, “Good news: Our demand that the court halt Trump from deporting Ms. Co Tupul without due process was just GRANTED by U.S. Dist. Ct. for District of Arizona!” However, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons defended enforcement actions more broadly on Fox News, saying, “I don’t think the American public as a whole realizes just exactly who ICE is going after every day.”

Co Tupul’s case raises concerns

The Donald Trump administration expanded expedited removal in January, allowing immigration officials to apply the process nationwide to undocumented people unable to prove two years of continuous residence. Originally, the procedure was designed for recent arrivals encountered near the border. In Co Tupul’s case, her lawyers said that a deportation officer told her that ICE had a “new policy” to apply expedited removal at an immigrant’s first contact with the agency, even if that person had lived in the U.S. for decades. Attorneys said that this interpretation goes far beyond what federal law permits. Co Tupul’s case underscores concerns from civil rights groups that long-term residents risk being deported without hearings when expedited removal is used aggressively. Advocates warn that immigrants without lawyers may be particularly vulnerable. Co Tupul currently remains in custody at the Eloy Detention Center while her case proceeds.

ICE nabs woman in U.S. for nearly 3 decades in routine traffic stop

A Guatemala-born woman who has lived in the U.S. since age 9 was nearly deported by ICE after a routine traffic stop in Phoenix.

https://knewz.com/ice-nabs-woman-in-us-for-nearly-three-decades-in-routine-traffic-stop

President Donald Trump was blocked by a federal appeals court from using an 18th-century wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to deport Venezuelan migrants his administration says belong to the criminal gang Tren de Aragua.

Newsweek contacted the White House for comment by email after office hours.

Why It Matters

Trump has, through executive order, invoked the Alien Enemies Act by arguing that there is an invasion of the U.S. by foreign criminal gangs that his administration has now designated as terrorist groups.

The court decision bars deportations from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

What To Know

The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that there was not an “invasion or predatory incursion” by a foreign power as required by the 1798 statute to justify its invocation in the case of this group of migrants.

The Alien Enemies Act is a wartime law passed in 1798 as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts under President John Adams. It grants the U.S. president the authority to detain, restrict or deport foreign nationals from a country that is at war with the United States.

Unlike other provisions in the Alien and Sedition Acts, which expired or were repealed, the Alien Enemies Act remains in effect today.

The act was only used three times before in U.S. history, all during declared wars: in the War of 1812 and the two World Wars.

On April 19, the Supreme Court instructed the Trump administration to pause the deportation of a number of Venezuelan men in custody using the 1798 law.

The Trump administration unsuccessfully argued that courts cannot second-guess the president’s determination that Tren de Aragua was connected to Venezuela’s government and represented a danger to the United States, meriting use of the act.

In the majority were U.S. Circuit Judges Leslie Southwick, a George W. Bush appointee, and Irma Carrillo Ramirez, a Joe Biden appointee. Andrew Oldham, a Trump appointee, dissented.

“A country encouraging its residents and citizens to enter this country illegally is not the modern-day equivalent of sending an armed, organized force to occupy, to disrupt, or to otherwise harm the United States,” the judges wrote.

In a lengthy dissent, Oldham complained his two colleagues were second-guessing Trump’s conduct of foreign affairs and national security, realms where courts usually give the president great deference.

What People Are Saying

Lee Gelernt, who argued the case for the American Civil Liberties Union, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying: “The Trump administration’s use of a wartime statute during peacetime to regulate immigration was rightly shut down by the court. This is a critically important decision reining in the administration’s view that it can simply declare an emergency without any oversight by the courts.”

What Happens Next

The case appears set to return to the Supreme Court in what is shaping up to be a decisive battle over Mr. Trump’s ability to use the Alien Enemies Act, the New York Times reported.

Donald Trump suffers big legal blow over migrant deportations

The Alien Enemies Act was only used three times before in U.S. history, all during declared wars—in the War of 1812 and the two World Wars.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-legal-blow-deportation-migrants-alien-enemies-act-2123573

An unnamed former staff member at Alligator Alcatraz, President Donald Trump’s controversial US immigrant detention center, has revealed what it’s really like inside the ‘prison.’ The worker called the conditions ‘inhumane’ for both staff and detainees, and shared that things got so bad, he quit after three weeks. He called his experience at the 3,000-bed facility, which costs a reported $450 million a year to run, ’emotionally and mentally draining’.

During his three-week stint, the worker said detainee numbers went from approximately 2,700 to just 35. Now, it appears the center is closing down for good. The Department of Homeland Security says detainees are being moved from the facility in compliance with a district judge’s order after ruling that it violated federal environmental law. The judge ordered it to close within 60 days last month. The camp was built deep in the Florida Everglades; the surrounding swampland is brimming with alligators, pythons and mosquitoes. It’s thought this location was picked to repel detainees from escaping.

Last month, Metro reported that when the first journalists were allowed onto the site, they described thousands of detainees being crammed into cages and fed limited rations. The former worker backed these claims up, revealing that inmates were only allowed to shower every three days. They also noted this was the only time they were allowed to leave their cells. In addition, the ‘prisoners’ were also refused vital medication, such as blood, seizure, or heart medication.

‘I heard a nurse say she didn’t have to give someone medicine if she didn’t want to,’ the former worker said, adding that they saw ‘a lot of guys who weren’t getting treated for four to five days’. He recalled a person who had an infected leg who collapsed and had to be stretchered out due to a lack of treatment. ‘I tried to help someone, I was reminded they were detainees and not to help them’.

The correction officer expanded: ‘These guys would be in their cell for three days with no sunlight. They were allowed to be outside for 25 minutes every three days, and that was when they showered. They were treated like prisoners of war, most of those guys in there were working citizens – people who had their own businesses. They would only let the prisoners shower every three days, which is inhumane. Even in state penitentiaries, you get a shower every day’ .

The former worker also explained that detainees were classified. Those with a red band meant they had a criminal record, orange meant they had a misdemeanor, and yellow meant they had no criminal past. They specifically noted that the majority of inmates they interacted with had yellow bands. And still, staff ‘were expected to be a certain level of mean’ to the detainees. ‘I would look at them, and I just couldn’t do it’.

It wasn’t just detainees treated badly, either, according to the staff member. Workers were also treated poorly and ‘unfairly.’ Staff were required to live on site, and correctional officers were reportedly not allowed to leave their rooms unless they were on shift. ‘By the end of my time there, they were treating us like the detainees. We weren’t allowed out of our room unless we were working’.

A spokesperson for Kevin Guthrie, Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director, has disputed the claims. They said: ‘Detainees receive three meals per day, have access to indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, 24/7 access to a fully staffed medical facility – which has a pharmacy on site, as well as clean, working facilities for hygiene’. 

https://metro.co.uk/galleries/officer-who-worked-at-alligator-alcatraz-reveals-inhumane-living-conditions-24048847

Experts warn that Trump’s strange public blunders have once again sparked concerns about his mental acuity

President Donald Trump seems to have made a major error in a Truth Social post on Sunday while thanking American workers on Labor Day.

The post, which featured the president shaking hands with workers, had the caption “celebrating 250 years of the American worker.” It also included the words “Happy Labor Day.” While it may be correct at first glance, it should be known that the U.S. is only 249 years old, with its 250th birthday next year on July 4, 2026.

Experts warn that Trump’s strange public blunders, including his unprompted tirade over windmills during his recent trip to the UK and his incorrect claim this month that his uncle knew the Unabomber, have once again sparked concerns about his mental acuity. It seems even Trump’s mystery bruises have a simple explanation.

The 79-year-old has been acting strangely throughout press conferences, interviews, campaign events, and his impromptu comments for over a year.

The president frequently veers off subject, as evidenced by his 15-minute discussion about décor during a cabinet meeting last month. He also seems to forget basic details about his past and his administration.

Trump was among the many who conjectured about Joe Biden’s mental clarity during his presidency. Due to criticism of his fitness following his dismal debate performance in June 2024, in which he constantly faltered, Biden ultimately decided not to run for reelection.

However, despite instances of bewilderment and odd conduct that have persisted during his second term and were clearly seen during his most recent trip to the UK, Trump has mainly been spared the same scrutiny.

Trump was elected on his promises to fight for workers and neglected Americans, a promise he has made time and time again. However, some labor activists claim that Trump has continuously prioritized corporate interests during his second term, as seen by the scores of acts he has taken that harm workers, frequently by lowering wages or making their employment riskier.

Trump stopped enforcing a rule that shields miners from a crippling, frequently fatal lung illness, despite his promise to support coal miners.

In order to shield workers from businesses’ unlawful anti-union practices, he dismissed the head of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which left the US’s leading labor watchdog without an adequate number of members. Trump’s destruction of union contracts and deprivation of collective bargaining rights for one million federal employees infuriated labor groups.

“It’s a big betrayal,” Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the main US labor federation, told the Guardian. “We knew it would be bad, but we had no idea how rapidly he would be doing these things. He is stripping away regulations that protect workers. His attacks on unions are coming fast and furious. He talks a good game of being for working people, but he’s doing the absolute opposite.”

“This is a government that is by, and for, the CEOs and billionaires,” Shuler added.

https://www.irishstar.com/news/politics/trump-gaffe-thanking-american-workers-35829790

Former MSNBC anchor Joy Reid has raised concerns regarding the integrity of the upcoming midterm elections, believing President Donald Trump may aim to retain power indefinitely. Reid argued that Trump’s actions, along with those of several Republican lawmakers, have undermined the fairness of future elections.

Reid’s speculation follows her dismissal from MSNBC earlier this year, which she has attributed to her criticism of Trump and other controversial topics.

Reid said, “The way Trump is behaving, he’s not acting like somebody who worries that his party will lose power or that even if somehow we had normal elections and Democrats took control of either the House or the Senate — he’s not acting like somebody who’s worried about the consequences of that.”

…

Reid criticized Trump’s perceived increase in authoritarian behavior. She expressed doubts about the likelihood of normal elections and called for an extraordinary movement to drive meaningful political change.

Reid said, “I don’t think Trump intends to leave office.” She added, “I’ve been very clear about that. I think he intends to stay in office like Putin until he dies.”

Reid stated, “Whenever Democrats say to me, ‘this is the reason we have to coalesce for 2026,’ I always add to the end of their sentence, ‘Yeah, assuming we actually have free and fair elections.’”

Democratic strategist James Carville also expressed similar fears, warning that Trump could resort to extraordinary measures. He stated, “I don’t put anything past him — nothing — to try to call the election off, to do anything he can.”

And a little humor at the end:

A White House spokesman stated, “President Trump has taken more action to restore the integrity of our elections on behalf of the American people than any president in modern history. According to the Democrats, voter fraud doesn’t exist – but clearly they are already searching for copouts preparing to lose big again in the midterms.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-msnbc-host-predicts-trump-won-t-leave-office/ss-AA1LIbIL

President Donald Trump is scheduled to make an unspecified announcement on Tuesday afternoon following days of rumors about his health.

The president will make “an announcement” from the Oval Office at 2 p.m. ET, according to the daily guidance and press schedule issued by the White House on Monday night.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Newsweek: “The President will be making an exciting announcement related to the Department of Defense.”

Why It Matters

False rumors that Trump had died began circulating on social media on Friday, after some noted he had not been seen in public for several days after attending a Cabinet meeting on August 26. He also had no public events over the Labor Day weekend.

Thousands of posts were shared on X, featuring hashtags including #whereistrump and #TRUMPDIED. Posts speculating about Trump’s possible demise had acquired over 1.3 million user engagements as of Saturday morning, according to Grok, X’s AI-powered chatbot.

Some 158,000 X posts including the phrase ‘TRUMP IS DEAD’ and 42,000 stating ‘TRUMP DIED’ had been made as of 7:48 a.m. ET on Saturday, according to the platform’s analytics. Some continued posting about the rumor, though engagement dropped after Trump was pictured heading to his golf course in Virginia on Saturday. Photos of Trump departing the White House on Labor Day were also circulated by Getty Images.

What To Know

According to the schedule issued by the White House, the presidential press pool will be in attendance during the president’s announcement.

The pool on Tuesday includes television crews from Fox and Gray TV, meaning the announcement will likely be broadcast or streamed live.

But the lack of detail in the schedule prior to Leavitt’s statement had prompted speculation on social media. Despite Trump addressing rumors about his health on Sunday night, some continued to question the nature of the announcement, with some suggesting it could be related to a possible resignation.

“NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, in response to a post from a MAGA influencer who claimed the “media freaks out” if he disappears for 24 hours.

Questions about the president’s health were also spurred by new photos showing bruising on his hand. In July, the White House said Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which his physician described as “benign and common.”

Days earlier, Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with USA Today that he was “very confident the President of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term and do great things for the American people.”

“And if, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days,” he added.

What People Are Saying

Political commentator Keith Olbermann wrote on X: “BREAKING: Oh nothing. Just a president who talks compulsively but has not spoken publicly in a week scheduling ‘an announcement’ at 2 PM tomorrow, per Trump official WH schedule.”

The Republicans against Trump account wrote on X: “Is he resigning?”

Spectrum News reporter Taylor Popielarz wrote on X that Tuesday’s announcement will be Trump’s “first open press event since last Tuesday’s cabinet meeting — the longest stretch of Trump’s second term without one. The president spoke with @reaganreese_ for nearly an hour last Friday for an off-camera interview with the @DailyCaller, but he otherwise has not interacted with the press in seven days.”

Charlotte Clymer, a writer and activist, wrote on Bluesky: The only important thing about tomorrow’s press conference is whether Trump can dispel the serious concerns over his health. Can he convince the public he’s not experiencing severe medical issues? Get up there, do announcement, take questions, and act normal. It shouldn’t be difficult, and yet…”

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-announcement-health-speculation-2122977

A federal immigration officer was attacked and injured while trying to take a man into custody in Florida, according to local authorities.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the incident unfolded Tuesday morning in Lakeland.

Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had followed Denis Corea Miranda, 21, because he had a warrant for deportation, according to the sheriff’s office.

Authorities said Miranda was in a vehicle with two other people, who were also allegedly in the country illegally. Miranda was in the passenger seat of the vehicle.

An ICE officer walked to the passenger side of the car and informed Miranda that they were going to take him into custody. It was at that point that a fight began, Judd said.

“I’m told that the fight lasted about five minutes,” he said, later emphasizing that five minutes is a “very long tussle.”

Officials said Miranda was on top of the ICE officer when the second officer sprayed Miranda with pepper spray. Miranda then ran into the woods, according to Judd.

The ICE officers chased after Miranda but said they lost him in the woods. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office was then called to assist, launching a helicopter, drones and sending out K-9 teams.

“They were just overwhelmed. The issue is ICE needs help,” Judd said, explaining that the officers were also monitoring the two other people in the car.

The ICE officer who got into a fight with Miranda was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for a shoulder injury and is expected to recover.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had an ICE agent injured in the line of duty, and he was significantly injured, he had to go to the hospital,” Judd said.

An employee at a nearby business eventually encountered Miranda hiding among several steel drums, according to officials. Judd said Miranda asked the employee for water, but the employee felt something was off.

The employee went inside and called 911, alerting law enforcement officers to Miranda’s location. Authorities said Miranda was arrested soon after.

An employee at another nearby business told NewsNation affiliate WFLA she saw deputies with their guns drawn.

“You could tell that it was kind of like a manhunt situation,” she said. “So my first response, honestly, was like we need to lock the doors.”

Judd referenced a photo showing deputies taking Miranda, who was smiling, into custody.

“We have him under arrest. He’s smiling,” the sheriff said. “I bet we’ve wiped the smile off his face.”

According to the sheriff’s office, Miranda faces a slew of charges, which all have been upgraded to more serious felonies due to Florida’s recently passed immigration legislation.

The charges include battery of a law enforcement officer, resisting with violence, resisting without violence, false imprisonment, and burglary of an occupied structure.

Judd said the two other people who were in the car with Miranda cooperated with law enforcement and were taken into ICE custody.

The employee said she is glad the situation wasn’t worse, and also glad Miranda didn’t come into her business.

“That’s scary to think about because he chose violence with cops. If I wouldn’t have let him in or if he came in before we lock the doors, what would happen, you know?” she said.

According to officials, Miranda, who is from Nicaragua, is believed to have entered the country in 2021. Judd said he was stopped by Border Patrol and was later released with a court date.

Miranda was arrested in July 2024 in Galveston, Texas, for DUI, but was released and never showed up for court, according to authorities.

“This guy just wanted to get away, and he was going to do whatever he needed to do to get away,” Judd said.

Resist!

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/ice-officer-attacked-florida-arrest

As the Oregon legislature convened for a special session Sunday, two lawmakers were already planning ahead for next year’s short session and announced their intent to introduce a bill to ban “secret police” in the state.

Reps. Tom Anderson, a Democrat, and Cyrus Javadi, a Republican, both co-sponsors of the bill, stated that it would enable Oregon voters to amend the state constitution to prohibit law enforcement from wearing masks or being unidentifiable.

It would further require them to wear official uniforms detailing names and badge numbers. However, there would be exceptions made in the case of SWAT teams and undercover operations.

In a statement, Anderson said the impetus for the bill came with the increased presence of unidentified Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the state brought on by Trump administration policies, which he referred to as “malignant forces.”

“This is no longer just some Donald Trump fever dream. It’s happening right now — unidentified
federal ICE officers are using violence and the threat of violence in our communities to replace
normal law enforcement,” he said. “When I see masked, anonymous quasi-law enforcement ICE employees on our streets, making violent, warrantless arrests, I am aghast and angry. We are becoming a nation of clandestine bounty hunters. Simply put, secret police have no place in a free and democratic society because public trust in government erodes when you don’t know who’s enforcing the law.”

Javadi echoed this sentiment, noting “Oregonians shouldn’t have to wonder who’s knocking on their door in the middle of the night.”

“In a free society, the people who enforce the law should never be faceless or unaccountable,” he added. “This amendment isn’t about partisanship, it’s about protecting the rule of law itself. The Oregon Constitution already safeguards us from unreasonable searches and seizures. This proposal makes sure we also safeguard the principle that law enforcement must be visible, identifiable, and responsible to the people they serve.”

For the bill to pass, it would require a majority vote in both the House and Senate during the 2026 short legislative session beginning in January.

If passed, it will then be placed on the ballot for a public vote in the November 2026 general election.

If approved by Oregon voters, the amendment will be added to the state constitution.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/oregon-lawmakers-secret-police-ban-masks