U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike have been outraged at abuses by masked federal agents who have concealed their identities when racially profiling immigrants for arrest and detention in California. In response, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Corey Booker have filed the Visible Act, which requires agents to reveal their identities and forbids them from concealing their faces.
It’s an important act that should be supported by the New Hampshire congressional delegation because these abuses are also occurring in our state. Numerous incidents have been reported in New Hampshire in which people who appear to be of Latino descent have been grabbed by agents. Examples include a February 10 raid in Concord, a February 24 raid in Peterborough, a June 19 raid in Milford, and a July 1 raid in Portsmouth. As in California, agents in New Hampshire reportedly were masked and/or failed to display identification in at least some of these incidents. (Photographic evidence confirms masking in one local case.)
Most undocumented immigrants are not criminals but simply want to live and work peacefully in the U.S. Most such people want nothing more than to seek legal status. Raids are made terrifying and potentially dangerous when agents are masked and/or display no identification. I ask Senators Shaheen and Hassan to loudly denounce this practice and to cosponsor the Visible Act.
Judith Elliott
Canterbury