Masked anti-ICE agitators are in for a rude awakening as new DHS policy goes into effect

Federal officers have been met with a range of resistance from protesters, most notably in blue sanctuary cities like Portland and Chicago. Now, however, the Department of Homeland Security has announced the implementation of new rules that should give officers an advantage as they continue to do their already dangerous jobs.

Early this week, the Department of Homeland Security updated its list of prohibited and restricted conduct on federal property, and those wearing face-coverings should take note.

Those rules will be enforced 'on federal property or in areas outside federal property, that affects, threatens, or endangers federal property or persons on the federal property.'

"Wearing a mask, hood, disguise, or device that conceals the identity of the wearer when attempting to avoid detection or identification while violating any federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation" is forbidden, the rules say.

Those rules will be enforced "on federal property or in areas outside federal property, that affects, threatens, or endangers federal property or persons on the federal property," the rules state.

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Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images

Investigative journalist Katie Daviscourt reported that this rule change is a "game changer" because it will give federal agents greater jurisdiction in making arrests at and near the federal facility in Portland, where local police previously had jurisdiction.

DHS officers at the Portland facility announced Wednesday that they had begun enforcing the new policy, Daviscourt said, though it was originally supposed to go into effect in January 2026.

Violation of the rules "can be a federal criminal offense punishable by incarceration up to 30 days and a $5,000.00 fine," DHS noted.

The greater latitude granted by this rule change may allow federal officers to operate more efficiently as they work to deport illegal aliens from America.

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