CHICAGO (WLS) — State and federal lawmakers are leading efforts to force Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to reveal their identities during operations.

Agents with face coverings are raising concerns about transparency, accountability, and public safety.

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Now, nearly a dozen federal lawmakers from Illinois have signed on to a bill in Congress aimed at forcing federal agents to unmask.

What started as a rallying cry in some states across the country has now become full-blow state legislation.

On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a newly passed law banning face coverings for state and federal law enforcement officers.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin slammed the new law saying in a statement, in part, “This stunt comes as our ICE officers are facing a more than 1000% increase in assaults.”

ABC7 Police Affairs consultant Bill Kushner agrees.

“As a lifelong law enforcement. I have to agree with them that the identities of the ICE agents need to be protected, and if wearing masks is what they need to do for their safety and the safety of their families, then, so be it,” he said.

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With hundreds of masked agents swarming the Chicago area for the so-called Operation Midway Blitz enforcement, and protesters and agents violently clashing outside a suburban immigration detention center, Illinois state lawmakers are trying, in vain, to pass a similar law forcing the unmasking of agents.

“They’re seeing the fear a lot of people are not identifying themselves,” said Democratic Illinois State Rep. Barbara Hernandez, who represents a large Latino population in the Aurora area.

She is leading the charge in Illinois, which she describes as challenging. She said, “You start noticing there’s a lot of complex issues, such as the federal government. Can we legislate on federal government, even if they’re in our state?”

Legal mandates for federal agents to bare their face and display identification would have to come from Congress.

“You don’t know who is stopping you. It could be a federal agent. It could be someone who just went and bought a face covering on Amazon. It could be a federal agent or someone that bought that same t-shirt on Amazon, which, we’ve seen this happen over and over,” said Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez, who represents Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District.

On Capitol Hill, Ramirez and nine other Illinois representatives are backing federal legislation for the “No Secret Police Act of 2025.”

“I’ll be honest with you, I think that very little is passing these days in Congress, but I think it’s important that we continue to ask the question, ‘Who is going to hold these agents accountable?'” Ramirez said.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined nearly two dozen other state attorneys general who are pressing congress to pass a federal face mask ban for immigration agents.

DHS officials maintain masks are necessary for agents’ safety. They claim officers’ addresses are being made public and the officers and their families can be at risk.