San Jose continues to strengthen protections for its immigrant communities by prohibiting federal immigration agents from hiding their identity and advancing plans to prevent ICE from using city-owned properties for enforcement.
The San Jose City Council voted unanimously for both policies on Tuesday. The city attorney created an unmasking policy that prohibits all law enforcement from wearing face masks except to prevent transmitting disease or to protect from fire and toxins. It also requires them to wear visible identification. In addition, federal immigration agents must give the San Jose Police Department advanced notice if they conduct operations in the city that require masking.
SJPD will be required to inform the city manager when officers respond to incidents involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The department will also establish protocols to look into incidents where people impersonate law enforcement officers and create a specialized unit to investigate. This follows an ICE agent impersonating a police officer to remove a man from the day worker center in September…