California Bars ICE Agents From Wearing Masks in the State

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed legislation on Saturday that would prevent federal immigration agents from wearing masks in the state, a direct response to President Trump’s deportation crackdown in the Los Angeles region.

The new law is believed to be the first such ban in the nation, though it is likely to be challenged in court before it can go into effect in January because it is unclear whether California can enforce such restrictions on federal law enforcement. The bill also applies to local law enforcement.

In recent months, videos have spread across social media showing masked and armed immigration agents handcuffing immigrants in Southern California, drawing protests and criticism in the state.

Democratic leaders and immigration activists have suggested that agents have acted with impunity, knowing that their identities were cloaked and that it would be harder to hold them accountable.

“The impact of these policies all across this city, our state and nation are terrifying. It’s like a dystopian sci-fi movie — unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing,” Mr. Newsom said at a signing event on Saturday afternoon at a Los Angeles high school. “This is a disgrace. This is an outrage, what we’ve allowed to happen in this country.”

It is extremely rare for police officers to wear masks in democratic nations. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began wearing balaclavas and neck gaiters this year, in what might have been the first example of American law enforcement officers wearing masks.

Before this year, state and local leaders had been passing more laws moving in the direction of greater transparency, such as requiring officers to wear body cameras at all times to record footage that could be used in court and seen by the public.

But this week, Department of Homeland Security officials urged Mr. Newsom to veto the bill, which they said would increase harassment and assaults on officers.

“Comparing them to ‘secret police’ — likening them to the Gestapo — is despicable,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the department, said in a statement. “Once again, sanctuary politicians are trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers.”

California’s law was opposed by numerous law enforcement agencies, who argued that officers must have the choice to cover their faces to protect themselves and their families from retaliation. Limiting the ways officers can keep themselves safe will make it harder to recruit people to work in law enforcement, they said.

But a number of Democratic-led states have proposed restricting masking by immigration agents. Lawmakers have introduced such bills in New York, Illinois and Massachusetts, among other states, though California is believed to be the only state where such a law has been passed and signed.

California’s measure would bar law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings, such as ski masks, balaclavas and neck gaiters, that shield their identities. It does not apply to medical masks, clear plastic face shields, respirators, eye protection or other safety devices.

Any violation of the law would be a misdemeanor.

Legal experts agreed that California can require local officers to unmask on the job. But it’s a trickier question when it comes to federal agents operating in the state.

A state can’t directly regulate the federal government, but it can require that federal agents follow general state laws, such as requiring officers to follow speed limits or abide by stop signs, as long as doing so does not interfere with their ability to do their job.

Aya Gruber, a constitutional law professor at the University of Southern California, said that the mask law was likely to be immediately challenged along jurisdictional lines, and that the federal government would most likely seek an injunction to prevent the law from going into effect.

“It will definitely be challenged — 100 percent,” Ms. Gruber said, adding that she expected it to eventually be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. “I don’t foresee this particular iteration of the Supreme Court taking the state’s side on this one, so this may be more of a symbolic piece of legislation.”

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, wrote a letter last week that urged Mr. Newsom to sign the legislation, which Mr. Chemerinsky said he believed was constitutional because it does not limit the federal government’s authority to perform its duties. Mr. Chemerinsky, a well-known constitutional scholar, said that even if a federal challenge was forthcoming, the state needed to make a forceful declaration against what he said was a practice intended to “terrorize” people.

“It’s important that the state take a stand,” Mr. Chemerinsky said in an interview. “It’s obviously not a slam dunk because there are arguments on both sides, but that’s often the case with the law.”

Brian R. Marvel, the president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California, which represents over 87,000 public safety officers, said he was outraged by the passage of the law.

He said in a statement that he believed that California did not have the authority to regulate federal agents, so it would ultimately apply only to local law enforcement officers, which he called a “troubling betrayal that California’s local law enforcement community will not soon forget.” He said that limiting face coverings and opening officers up to prosecution would most likely hurt recruitment and drive officers from the state.

“This bill makes local officers collateral damage. It is a political stunt by all parties involved, plain and simple,” he said. “This bill will have a chilling effect on our profession.”

Mr. Newsom on Saturday signed four other bills aimed at restricting ICE activity in California.

One bill prevents immigration agents from entering schools without a warrant. Another requires schools and higher education institutions to notify parents when immigration enforcement is on campus.

Federal agents in April tried to enter two Los Angeles elementary schools, saying they wanted to conduct welfare checks on students they said were undocumented. The Los Angeles Unified School District did not allow the agents to enter, and school officials were outraged that students could be vulnerable to raids.

Another bill bars immigration agents from entering hospitals without a warrant. Undocumented immigrants are allowed to receive emergency care at hospitals under federal law, and California leaders fear that the threat of enforcement may deter people from seeking medical attention.

Before signing the bills, Mr. Newsom posted on X that Kristi Noem, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, was “going to have a bad day today,” adding, “You’re welcome, America.”

In response, Bill Essayli, the acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, posted on X, “We have zero tolerance for direct or implicit threats against government officials.” He said he had referred the matter to the Secret Service for a threat assessment.

When asked about the exchange, Mr. Newsom referenced Ms. Noem, saying: “The laws that we just advanced today run in complete contrast to what she’s asserting, and what she’s pushing.”