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Right-wing media’s claims that ICE agents need to be masked for safety fall apart

Right-wing media have argued for months that immigration officers and their families are in danger of being doxed, assaulted, and even murdered if agents don’t wear masks

Written by Reed McMaster & Isabella Sherk

Published

Right-wing media have claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents are in danger of being “doxed” and even murdered if they are unable to conceal their identity. New reporting shows that working in immigration enforcement is actually safer than being a civilian, and there are no recorded incidents of agents being doxed.

  • Statistics and records suggest ICE and CBP agents wearing masks is unnecessary

    • ICE and CBP is statistically a very safe job, with 2025 being the second safest year on record for both agencies. Libertarian think tank the Cato institute reported, “The chance of an ICE or Border Patrol agent being murdered in the line of duty is about one in 94,549 per year, about 5.5 times less likely than a civilian being murdered.” [Cato Institute, 1/14/26]
    • The Trump administration’s claims that assaults on immigration officers increased by more than 1,000% are false. NPR reported in October that charges filed for assault against federal agents increased about 25%, not 1000%. They noted, “As operations and protests have increased, it's not surprising that the number of charges for assault against federal agents have climbed at least 25% this year.” The Los Angeles Times reported that the majority of these alleged assaults resulted in no injuries, highlighting a case where a federal prosecutor claimed a less than one-pound umbrella was “used as a sword” to assault an officer. [NPR, 10/10/25, Los Angeles Times, 12/1/25]
    • There are apparently no recorded incidents of ICE agents being doxed throughout the entire first year of the Trump administration. As former Washington Post writer Philip Bump noted, “A review of DHS and ICE press releases since January 2025, though, indicates that this theoretical scenario has never actually occurred. At no point in time has an officer been seen conducting his work, identified and subsequently attacked.” [pbump.net, 1/29/26] 
    • The usage of masks might do more to help agents skirt the law, with CBP agents committing more crime per capita than undocumented immigrants. As journalist Garrett Graff noted, “Criminality is so rampant inside CBP that it has seen one of its own agents or officers arrested every 24 to 36 hours since 2005.” He later added, “Indeed, for much of the 2010s and likely before and since, it appears the crime rate of CBP agents and offices was higher PER CAPITA than the crime rate of undocumented immigrants in the United States.” [Chicago Tribune, 1/30/26; Doomsday Scenario, 2/1/26]
    • Since the adoption of masking during immigration raids, criminals are impersonating ICE officers. The Guardian's Jose Olivares noted multiple such cases, including an incident last year in which, “a man in South Carolina was arrested and charged with kidnapping and impersonating an officer, after allegedly presenting himself as an ICE officer and detaining a group of Latino men.” [The Guardian, 5/28/25]

  • Right-wing media insist masking is necessary to stop agents from being doxed, murdered, or having their families targeted

    • Fox News legal contributor Jonathan Turley claimed ICE had to wear masks because attacks on officers have “gone through the roof.” Turley stated, “The whole narrative is that the whole country has to oppose these ICE officers. And keep in mind, it was just a few weeks ago that you had a sniper trying to shoot some of these officers. And these attacks have gone through the roof. That's why many of these ICE officers are wearing masks, to protect themselves and their family.” [Fox News, America Reports, 10/22/25]
    • Podcaster Joe Rogan said that immigration officers wear masks because “they dox them.” In the aftermath of Alex Pretti’s killing by CBP agents in Minneapolis, Rogan defended immigration officers, “These people are getting harassed outside of any hotel they're at. People blow horns. They try to smash into the hotel. … They dox them, it’s why they’re wearing masks. It’s a coordinated effort.” [YouTube, Joe Rogan Experience, 1/28/26]
    • YouTuber Brandon Tatum insisted ICE agents wear masks because “they're getting doxed, and people are trying to kill them.” He told podcaster Jillian Michaels, “It's not like this is a new regime that they're just deploying. All of the deployment is in the Constitution of the United States of America. They're getting doxed, and people are trying to kill them. That's the reason why they wear masks.” [Keeping it Real with Jillian Michaels, 11/19/25]
    • Responding to co-host Jessica Tarlov's call for agents to display identification, Fox host Greg Gutfeld said that the reason people want federal officers to unmask is “so you can dox them, too. And you can put a target on their back and get somebody to shoot them.” [Fox News, The Five, 1/14/26]

  • From the January 14, 2026, edition of Fox News' The Five

    • Washington Times reporter Alex Swoyer said, “When you have children and families being targeted, I do — I understand not wanting to expose your face.” [Newsmax, The Right Squad, 2/7/26]
    • Infowars host Alex Jones argued ICE agents wear masks because people have been “doxing them” and “trying to kill them.” He claimed, “The reason ICE wears the mask is you guys have been doxing them day one, and shooting at them, and ramming them and trying to kill them, and saying they're Nazis. And so, you can get their units they're in. You can get all that stuff through simply filing a paperwork, which they do, and then they dox where they live and where their homes are. So they're just trying to make it a little harder with all the apps and all the stalker groups and all the Democrats and the task forces by the governors and mayors to stalk and harass ICE, while they do their 100% constitutional lawful duty with court orders and arrest warrants.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 1/12/26]
    • Fox contributor Guy Benson said that ICE agents need to wear masks “unless Democrats can call off their dogs.” He said, “Masks are a different story because of these almost paramilitary mobs that are stalking and doxing these officers. Unless the Democrats can call off their dogs and put an end to that, there's a reason why these officers are shielding their identities.” [Fox News, Outnumbered, 1/29/26]
    • The National Review editorial board argued ICE is only masking up because “they are facing violent resistance.” They wrote, “ICE agents are simply doing their job, which is a function of the legitimate power of the federal government to regulate immigration and to expel those with no legal right to live or work in this country. ICE officers only take steps to protect their identity because they are facing violent resistance. They, obviously, are nothing like the Gestapo.” [National Review, 8/6/25]
    • While arguing with his guest, Newsmax host Rob Schmitt defended agents wearing masks, claiming immigration agents are “worried that their kids are going to get shot and killed.” Responding to his guest, who noted ICE gets compared to the Gestapo in part because of the masking, Schmitt said, “They’re being doxed — the protesters are these doxing people. They’re worried that their kids are going to get shot and killed.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 1/27/26]  

  • From the January 27, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Rob Schmitt Tonight

    • Fox host Brian Kilmeade said of ICE and CBP, “You continue to vilify these people and then you want them to take their mask down and put their names on their shirts. Are you crazy? Do you want to get their families killed?” Kilmeade also said that requiring agents to wear masks is “never going to happen.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/2/26] 
    • Podcaster Dave Rubin argued that ICE agents mask to protect themselves and their families, calling it “superhero 101.” He said, “As I have pointed out many times, there is a reason these people, antifa — the ICE people mask. The reason they mask is not to protect themselves. It's to protect their families. This is superhero 101.” [The Rubin Report, 10/14/25]

  • From the October 14, 2025, edition of The Rubin Report streamed on YouTube