The "Big Beautiful Bill" allocated $170 billion to support ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). This amount is unprecedented in U.S. history. And the presence of ICE agents in all corners of the United States has been a hotly controversial issue, to be understated. The news stories go on and on. The fact is that the current administration seems to be under the impression that a core problem in the United States today is found in the high number of undocumented immigrants living in the country.

This post is not an argument for or against whether this is a warranted trend. All kinds of data are available on rates of crime caused by undocumented immigrants, effects on businesses that often rely on undocumented immigrants, healthcare resources allocated toward these individuals, and so forth. A great, fact-filled summary of these data, by the way, is found in Bernie Sanders' book, Fight Oligarchy (for those who are interested).

Here, I focus on a particular issue: the fact that, in many cases, ICE agents, who are charged with collecting undocumented immigrants and removing them from the United States, are often masked. The identities of these agents are often hidden.

As an evolutionary psychologist, I have to say that I find this practice deeply concerning. And here's why.

One of the strongest and most replicable findings in the field of social psychology is quite simple: When people's identities are downplayed, their likelihood of engaging in antisocial behavior—behavior that hurts others—increases. In a deep dive into this issue (in his book The Lucifer Effect), renowned late........

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