BOSTON—It’s a tough time to be a federal immigration agent in Massachusetts — unless you enjoy being followed, filmed, and featured on Instagram without your permission.

The bill

While ICE rounds up convicted felons, domestic abusers, and child predators, a Democrat on Beacon Hill is focused on something else entirely: making sure those agents can’t wear masks.

The bill, filed by Rep. Jim Hawkins (D‑Attleboro), would make it a misdemeanor for any law enforcement officer — including ICE — to wear a face covering during operations. As reported by WCVB, the only exceptions would be surgical or N95 masks and gear required for hazardous conditions.

The numbers

The timing isn’t subtle. In May alone, ICE arrested nearly 1,500 people across Massachusetts — and more than half had criminal convictions or pending charges.

These weren’t shoplifters.

ICE says one arrest involved a Brazilian national convicted of homicide, picked up in Marlboro. Another was a Dominican fugitive wanted for murder, located in Boston. A third was a Salvadoran man found living illegally in Lynn despite prior violent charges.

According to ICE’s Boston field office, more than 790 of those arrested had “significant criminal histories,” including sex crimes, domestic violence, and child exploitation.

Why anyone would want to make it easier to identify the agents removing people like this is beyond us.

The activists

But on Beacon Hill, the focus seems to be on the agents — not the criminals.

The proposed law comes as activist groups like Latinos Unidos en Massachusetts (LUMA), led by Lucy Pineda, continue tracking ICE activity across the state. The Boston Globe recently profiled the group’s network of over 2,500 “volunteers” who monitor neighborhoods, record ICE operations, and post identifying details online.

In one viral video, Pineda confronts a black SUV she believes belongs to ICE, pounding on the window and shouting in Spanish. The footage, posted to social media, includes the vehicle’s license plate and ends with the SUV fleeing the scene.

Law enforcement calls it doxxing. Pineda calls it “community defense.”

The family connection

What many of her supporters don’t mention is that her brother, Emelio Neftaly Pineda, was arrested by ICE on June 12. He’s a twice-deported Salvadoran national with convictions for DUI, domestic assault, and violating restraining orders. He remains in federal custody.

The bill — filed shortly after his arrest — would make it illegal for any ICE agent serving a warrant on someone like him to wear a mask while doing it.

The bottom line

So while federal officers are out arresting fugitives, rapists, and child predators, Massachusetts lawmakers are working to make sure they’re more visible to the crowd with the iPhones.

You can’t make this up.

BAMW is the Chief Political Correspondent at Mass Daily News.