U.S. attorney, DHS say ICE won't comply with California's new mask ban

Kate Wolffe, The Sacramento Bee on Sep 22, 2025

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Federal authorities said they would not comply with California’s new ban on law enforcement agents wearing masks while conducting operations.

Former California state lawmaker and acting Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Monday morning on “Fox & Friends” that the California law would not be enforceable when it comes to federal immigration agents.

“We’re very confident the state of California does not and cannot have jurisdiction,” he said. “If you had every state trying to regulate the federal government, you would have complete chaos.”

On Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 627, called the “No Secret Police Act," into law along with a host of other restrictions on immigration enforcement. It is slated to go into effect in January.

The governor said he believes the law is enforceable, comparing it to traffic laws that federal agents must comply with in various states.

“The supremacy clause basically asserts that we cannot interfere in federal operations. Well, federal operations have been conducted for decades and decades without masks. It’s never been necessary,” he said.

In response to the signing, Essayli posted on X that he had directed federal agents that the law would not affect them.

“If Newsom wants to regulate our agents, he must go through Congress,” he said on X. Essayli has not filed a legal challenge to the new policy, though he mused on the cable news channel Monday that Newsom might file a legal challenge and get a judge to issue an injunction.

“You know what this is about,” he told host Lawrence B. Johnson. “This is to inflame the public.”

The mask question has been a central debate since immigration officials began ramping up enforcement in the state. The Department of Homeland Security contends the officers should be allowed to mask to protect themselves from online doxing and targeting by gangs.

In a news release issued Monday afternoon, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the agency wouldn’t be following the new law, and asserted “ICE law enforcement faces a 1,000% increase in assaults.”

Newsom on Saturday asked for proof of that claim, and encouraged federal officials to pursue criminal charges for people who dox their officers online.

“Do judges then start getting masks? Do elected officials start masking themselves? Does anyone that’s on the receiving end of modern-day bullying, um, as it relates to online activity? That’s why we have laws. Enforce the laws,” he said.

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