Citing “civil unrest” in American cities, the Department of Homeland Security has accelerated new regulations meant to expand the powers of a little-known federal police force.
The new rules drew scant notice when they were first proposed during the twilight of the Biden administration. Now, using language about “rioters” at federal facilities, the Trump administration is fast-tracking the rule changes — which critics say DHS could use as a pretext to go after protesters wearing frog costumes or making a racket on the streets of Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
The new regulations could empower the Federal Protective Service, a little-known police force under DHS tasked with securing federal facilities, to pursue more arrests outside of federal property itself. The Federal Protective Service has played has played an outsized role in Trump’s crackdown on Democratic-majority cities, where protests against U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement have turned into scenes of brutal crowd dispersal and arrests.
“It is clear that DHS sees what is in this regulation as a go-ahead to operate well off federal property.”
“It is clear that DHS sees what is in this regulation as a go-ahead to operate well off federal property, including potentially in private homes and businesses and the like,” said Spencer Reynolds, a former Homeland Security lawyer turned critic. “We are seeing that play out on U.S. streets. Federal agents are taking a really aggressive hand to protesters who are largely peaceful.”
Among the new rules was the criminalization of protesters wearing masks. The mask ban ostensibly applies only to those trying to conceal their identity during a crime, but the Trump administration has taken an expansive view of criminal behavior in protests that includes an array of First Amendment-protected activity.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a written filing Tuesday that it was bypassing the standard notice process and moving up the effective date of the new rules by two months to address a “cascade of violence, which is threatening the lives of federal law enforcement officers and the safety of federal property on a daily basis.” On Wednesday, the agency announced the expedited changes.
“Under President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem, we will not tolerate violence perpetuated by Antifa and other domestic extremists who are targeting federal property and law enforcement. Law and order will prevail,” Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in the announcement.
The Federal Protective Service has the power to deputize agents from Customs and Border Protection and ICE to enforce the regulations, which carry the force of law.
Rushed Rule Change
When the Department of Homeland Security proposed the new regulations on January 15, five days before Trump’s inauguration, they drew little attention. Only a single person submitted a comment to the rule-making docket.
Perhaps that was because the Federal Protective Service has long flown under the radar. With roughly 900 officers, the agency is charged with protecting thousands of federal buildings and their grounds.