ICE Agents Won’t Comply With California’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Face Mask Ban: DHS

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Sept. 22 that it will defy California’s new law banning federal immigration agents and other law enforcement personnel from wearing face masks while on duty.

“To be clear: We will NOT comply with Gavin Newsom’s unconstitutional mask ban,” DHS said in a social media post.

DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom of “fanning the flames of division, hatred, and dehumanization of our law enforcement” by signing the ban.

Newsom signed the measure on Sept. 20, making California the first state to prohibit most officers from covering their faces during official duties. The move followed criticism of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducting operations, which Newsom described as resembling a “dystopian sci-fi movie.”

“Unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing,” Newsom said. “No due process, no rights, no right in a democracy where we have rights.”

Trump administration officials have defended the masks as essential for agent safety at a time when immigration enforcement has grown politically explosive, in some cases drawing violent anti-ICE protests.

“At a time that ICE law enforcement faces a 1,000 percent increase in assaults and their family members are being doxxed and targeted, the sitting Governor of California signs unconstitutional legislation that strips law enforcement of protections in a disgusting, diabolical fundraising and PR stunt,” McLaughlin said.

DHS said that ICE agents “clearly” identify themselves during operations, wearing vests marked with ICE/ERO or Homeland Security and using vehicles with obvious insignia. The masks, the agency said, protect officers from being targeted by “highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists.”

The new law bans facial coverings such as neck gaiters and ski masks for local and federal officers—including immigration agents—while on duty. Exceptions allow motorcycle helmets, SWAT masks, N-95 respirators, undercover disguises, and tactical gear. The restrictions do not apply to state police.

Newsom’s office said the law responds directly to federal agents’ use of masks during immigration operations, including those in Los Angeles and Southern California that sparked protests this summer. “No one should be afraid that unidentified masked men will disappear your family members in broad daylight,” the governor’s office said.

Before being signed into law, the mask ban was approved by the California Senate by a two-thirds majority, and the Assembly passed it by a simple majority.

Legal experts are divided on whether the law will stand. The Supreme Court ruled in Arizona v. United States that states cannot regulate federal immigration enforcement. While California’s measure does not mention immigration specifically, it applies broadly to all local and federal law enforcement activity.

UC Berkeley constitutional scholar Erwin Chemerinsky has defended the legislation, arguing federal employees must follow general state laws unless compliance would significantly interfere with their duties.

Acting U.S. Attorney for Southern California Bill Essayli said that the measure is unconstitutional and unenforceable against federal officers.

“The State of California has no jurisdiction over the federal government,” Essayli said in a post on X. “If Newsom wants to regulate our agents, he must go through Congress,” Essayli continued, adding that he directed federal agents to “continue to protect their identities” and that the California mask ban “has no effect on our operations.”

The dispute is expected to head to federal court, where precedent strongly favors the supremacy of federal law over state law.