Safeguarding Civil Liberties 2.0: How Blue States can Fight Back Against Trump’s Immigration Crackdown and Secret Policing

What’s Happening?

Over the last six months, we’ve witnessed an alarming rise in disappearances, surveillance, and secretive operations targeting immigrants, international students, researchers, leaders of organizations, protestors, and even elected officials—often under the guise of federal law enforcement. Across the country, individuals have reportedly been abducted by masked, unidentified officers, taken without notice, and detained without immediate access to lawyers or families. In many cases, those targeted have not been accused of a crime, only of participating in protests, speaking out about U.S. foreign policy, or simply being present at immigrant-heavy protests and institutions like universities. In other cases, they are alleged to have obstructed or assaulted law enforcement, even when video evidence contradicts those claims.

This is part of a deliberate and escalating federal strategy under the Trump Administration to supercharge his anti-immigrant agenda by using fear, surveillance, and unchecked enforcement to target immigrant communities, dismantle protections, and send a message that no one, not even lawful residents or visa holders, is safe. This crackdown is especially aggressive in Democratic states and sanctuary cities that have chosen to welcome and protect immigrants, directly challenging local values and governance. 

California legislators just introduced a groundbreaking bill—SB 627, the No Secret Police Act—to prohibit law enforcement officers from hiding their identities behind masks and anonymous uniforms during public operations. The law would require visible identification for all law enforcement, including federal agents operating within the state. And it couldn’t come at a more urgent time. This is the kind of effort we need to be seeing across the country.