The Trump administration is challenging California’s law banning ICE agent masks

The Trump administration on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging California’s law that bans federal immigration agents from wearing face masks to conceal their identities, arguing the measure is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit claims the state does not have the authority to restrict federal agents.

Governor of California Gavin Newsom signed the No Secret Police Act and the No Vigilantes Act in September. Under the bills, most law enforcement agencies, including federal agents, would be prohibited from wearing masks while on the job and non-uniformed officers would be required to visibly display identification while performing their duties.

Exceptions to the mask ban would be allowed for undercover officers, for those using medical masks such as N95 respirators or as part of tactical equipment.

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Newsom said federal immigration officials would no longer be “hidden from liability” while conducting operations in California.

“That’s not the America we grew up in. And so we’re pushing back,” he said before signing the bills.

Federal agents have been conducting immigration raids in Southern California since June, targeting migrant workers at local businesses that sparked protests and the subsequent federal deployment of the National Guard and Marines. During the raids, some federal agents wore masks and concealed their identities.

The government urged the court to find the laws a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and issue a preliminary injunction blocking California from enforcing the laws.

The Supremacy Clause establishes that federal law is the “supreme law of the land,” which overrides state law.

The California Legislature passes a bill banning law enforcement from wearing face masks to protect identities

The lawsuit also argues that California’s laws violate Article 5, Section 301 of the U.S. Code, which states that agency heads “may prescribe regulations to the government of his department.” [and] the behavior of its employees.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that California’s laws “discriminate against the federal government and are intended to create risks for our officers.”

After Newsom signed the measures, state officials ordered ICE agents to ignore California laws.

The Department of Homeland Security said on September 22 that it “WILL NOT comply with Gavin Newsom’s unconstitutional mask ban,” pointing to an increase in threats against ICE officers.

The lawsuit also states that California’s laws would “recklessly endanger the lives of federal agents and their family members and jeopardize the operational effectiveness of federal law enforcement activities.”

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But mask advocates are in favor immigration agents saying the use of face coverings is causing fear among the public and must be stopped.

Newsom’s office said California officials were “deleting the [DOJ] in court.”

“If the Trump administration cared half as much about public safety as it does about pardoning police officers, violating people’s rights and detaining American citizens and their children, our communities would be much safer,” spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo said in a statement to The Hill, referring to President Donald Trump pardoning more than 1,000 people who participated in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots.