ICE lawyers are hiding their names

“Spineless creeps”: ICE lawyers are hiding their names in court
Legal experts say concealing the identity of someone in open court is unheard of and cause for concern

By Cheyenne McNeill
National Affairs Fellow
Published July 15, 2025 5:09PM (EDT)


(Salon) People working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aren’t just hiding their faces on the streets of American cities. They’re also remaining anonymous in court.

According to a new report from The Intercept, judges are declining to identify attorneys working for ICE during deportation proceedings spurred on by the agency. At one hearing, the oulet noted that the judge stated her own name, the name of the immigrants facing deportation, and the name of their attorneys, but failed to identify the ICE attorney.

“We’re not really doing names publicly,” an immigration judge in New York City, ShaSha Xu, said during a hearing in June.

....(snip)....

Elissa Steglich, a law professor and co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin, told The Intercept that concealing identities in the courtroom is an oddity.

“I’ve never heard of someone in open court not being identified,” Steglich said. “Part of the court’s ethical obligation is transparency, including clear identification of the parties. Not identifying an attorney for the government means if there are unethical or professional concerns regarding [the Department of Homeland Security], the individual cannot be held accountable. And it makes the judge appear partial to the government.” ..............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/07/15/spineless-creeps-ice-lawyers-are-hiding-their-names-in-court/