Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin on Wednesday backed a House Republican’s call for bipartisan legislation to increase penalties for protesters who publicly disclose the identities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.
ICE officers, especially if they are unmasked, have been frequently doxed as they conduct immigration enforcement operations. This pattern reemerged at Delaney Hall in New Jersey last week when an anti-ICE protester threatened to kill an officer and his family.
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Mullin supported the idea of strengthened criminal penalties for violent protesters if federal officers are prohibited from wearing masks in certain jurisdictions.
“If we want to eliminate the officers from having to wear masks, then increase the penalties,” he told lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee. “If they dox them, they threaten them in any way whatsoever, it should be a very stiff penalty to get all their attention. And then those that are funding the protest should also be held accountable the same way.”
The man who threatened the ICE officer, along with his wife and children, outside the Newark detention center was identified as Nicholas Matthew Scelfo, a 27-year-old from Brooklyn. He was arrested and subsequently charged with threatening to assault and murder an ICE officer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Mullin said the threats were unwarranted and touted his department’s ability to track down protesters who dox officers and their families on social media.
“This officer that was threatened didn’t have a mask on, but he does have a family,” he said. “What’s interesting is they knew his family because they’re very sophisticated. These aren’t just peaceful rioters or peaceful protesters out there. They’re well funded, and they have technology.”
The secretary’s response came after Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) suggested a bill to enhance the penalties for doxing, intimidating, or otherwise threatening federal officers. The congressman then vowed that it is “exactly what I’m going to do,” and asked his Democratic colleagues on the committee for their support.
After the hearing was briefly disrupted by Democrats saying the legislation should include federal judges and elected officials as well, Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) asked Pfluger to direct his questions to the head witness.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment on whether Mullin would back an ICE mask-wearing policy change if he backs stronger penalties for doxing.
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There is no federal legislation banning ICE officers from wearing masks, but Democrats may pursue that if Republicans push a doxing-related bill that covers ICE personnel.
A growing list of blue states — including California, New Jersey, New York, Washington, and Oregon — have laws in place that restrict ICE’s mask-wearing policy. The federal government is challenging a mask ban adopted by New Jersey, and in California, a federal judge effectively blocked enforcement of the state’s mask ban.
