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The Trump administration filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging California’s law banning federal immigration agents from wearing face masks to hide their identities, arguing that the measure is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit claims that the state does not have the authority to restrict federal agents.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the No Secret Police Act and the No Vigilantes Act into law in September. Under the bills, most law enforcement, including federal agents, would be barred from wearing masks on the job and non-uniformed officers would be required to visibly display identification during their duties.
Exceptions to the mask ban would be permitted for undercover agents, for those using medical masks like N95 respirators or as part of tactical gear.
NEWSOM BANS LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM WEARING MASKS, TAUNTS ICE AGENTS: ‘WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?’
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit challenging California’s law banning federal immigration officers from wearing face masks. (Getty Images)
Newsom said that federal immigration officers would no longer be “hidden from accountability” while performing operations in California.
“That’s not the America we’ve grown up in. And so we are pushing back,” he said ahead of the bill signings.
Federal agents have conducted 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 hid their identities.
The administration urged the court to deem 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,” overriding state law.
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL PROHIBITING LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM WEARING FACE MASKS TO SHIELD…
