The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that federal law enforcement officers (LEOs) will stop wearing camouflage clothing that is normally associated with the military. This decision comes after LEOs were criticized for looking too much like troops.

Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli addressed senators during his Tuesday testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He said the agents would transition away from military uniforms beginning with the remaining federal agents stationed in Portland Ore.

“To address concerns about the military-like appearance of some of Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) officers’ uniforms, which are the normal uniforms used by some CBP teams in the course of regular duty, we are moving rapidly to replace those uniforms for those [sic] personnel,” Secretary Cuccinelli said.

Some of the criticism for federal LEOs wearing military-style uniforms came from the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Mark Esper expressed concern over police looking too much like military troops when responding to protests and riots. 

“We want a system where people can tell the difference,” Esper said to reporters a few weeks ago during a press conference.

“They need to stop this charade and stop pretending they’re the military. They need to put their ICE [Immgraton and Customs Enforcement] uniforms and CBP uniforms back on,” Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) a Marine Corps veteran and a member of the House Armed Services Committee said to the Washington Post. 

Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, who commanded the military’s and Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, also strongly opposed the practice of LEOs wearing military garb.

He said in late July that the uniforms were being used to make the agents “look like warriors.” Honoré added that they were being used “as an instrument of protest suppression.”