A Los Angeles judge Wednesday heard arguments but made no immediate ruling in the Trump administration’s bid to overturn new laws banning federal agents from wearing masks and requiring them to show identification while conducting operations in California.
The laws, passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, came in the wake of the Trump administration’s illegal immigration raids in Southern California in the summer, during which masked, unidentified federal officers detained people as part of the president’s mass deportation program.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the state laws were unconstitutional and endanger federal officers.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued California, Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta in September, challenging what the federal government claims is an “unconstitutional” attempt to impede federal law enforcement by imposing the mask ban and identification requirement on officers.
The laws made California the first state in the nation to prohibit federal law enforcement, including agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, from hiding their identities, and requiring non-uniformed federal law enforcement to visibly display identification information, including agency, name or badge number during enforcement duties.
Senior U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder, a nominee of President Bill Clinton, heard the DOJ’s arguments for a preliminary injunction that aims to pause the ordinance.
The laws took effect Jan. 1, but are not being enforced while their constitutionality is challenged in court.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, alleges that the No Secret Police Act and the No Vigilantes Act threaten the safety of officers facing harassment, doxing and violence while carrying out enforcement duties. The DOJ also says the laws violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, under which states have no power to control the operations of the federal government.
“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties,” Bondi said in a statement. “California’s anti-law enforcement policies discriminate against the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”
The complaint states that the federal government does not intend to comply with the challenged laws.
“Assaults against federal agents have exploded over the last few months, thanks in part to (reckless) political rhetoric aiming to de-legitimize our brave agents,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California said when the suit was filed.
“Unconstitutional laws such as this one further endanger our brave men and women protecting our community. Our immigration enforcement will continue unabated and unhindered by unconstitutional state laws enacted by irresponsible politicians.”