A US federal judge on Monday struck down a California law that would have prohibited federal immigration agents from covering their faces during operations but upheld a requirement that they display identification.
The so-called “No Secret Police Act” was aimed at some heavily armed, unidentified US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers deployed under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Their use of masks has drawn criticism from local leaders in Democratic-run cities.
US District Judge Christina Snyder ruled the law was discriminatory because it did not apply to state law enforcement officers. “The proposed ban unlawfully discriminates against federal officers,” she wrote.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the decision as a victory for the Trump administration’s law-and-order agenda. “We will continue fighting and winning in court for President Trump’s law-and-order agenda — and we will ALWAYS have the backs of our great federal law enforcement officers,” she posted on social media.
California Governor Gavin Newsom framed the court’s decision upholding the identification requirement as a partial success. “A federal court just upheld California’s law REQUIRING federal agents to identify themselves. California will keep standing up for civil rights and our democracy,” he wrote on X.
Judge Snyder noted that the face-covering ban might be constitutional if extended to include state officers. Following the ruling, Democratic State Senator Scott Wiener, co-author of the legislation, announced plans to amend the law.
“Now that the Court has made clear that state officers must be included, I am immediately introducing new legislation to include state officers,” Wiener said. “I will do everything in my power to expedite passage of this adjustment to the No Secret Police Act.”
