ICE Agents Are Dressing For Anonymity—But the Clothes They Wear Still Tell Us Plenty

According to Jillian Snider, a retired NYPD officer, adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute, the use of plainclothes agents in traditional law enforcement usually serves a purpose. “Historically, sending in plainclothes officers kind of gives officers the upper hand for that moment before anyone realizes who they are,” she says. “Does that mean that it doesn’t contribute to an erosion of community trust? Absolutely not.”