America using secret police against citizens

I haven’t seen a post about this yet.

I read in the news recently that America has been using secret police against its citizens.

These officers do not have badges, you cannot see who they work for or what their agenda and role is. They are arresting people without telling them what they are being arrested for, not telling them their rights, and there is no way to report them for unlawful behavior.

Here are some headlines: New York Times, Washington Post, NPR

I live in Europe, secret police were used during nazi Germany and they were here during communism. Countries where secret police operate are dictatorships in which the government controls its citizens by any means necessary. You lose your rights, you lose your freedoms. Of course, some people may not mind, as long as it doesn’t personally affect them. There were certainly people where I live who thrived under the communist regime, and were not bothered by the use of secret police.

Does America’s use of secret police worry anyone who lives there? Do you think it is the beginning (or middle) of an undemocratic path?

Edited to add article headlines