SAN FRANCISCO — A federal district court in Los Angeles ruled Feb. 9 that California can prohibit masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as long as the law is revised to include law enforcement officers at all levels of government, according to the Sacramento Bee.
The article explains that the California Legislature should immediately revise the No Secret Police Act to do exactly this. This, however, would be unnecessary if congressional Democrats succeed in their effort to have federal law prohibit masked ICE agents as a condition for passing a budget in the Department of Homeland Security.
However, this effort is limited by the strong opposition of President Donald Trump to such a restriction. This means California should not wait for the federal government but instead act quickly to revise its law to make it constitutional.
The No Secret Police Act went into effect Jan. 1, 2026, in California. The law prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing a facial covering while performing their duties.
The law does have a number of common-sense exceptions, including for SWAT teams, active undercover officers, tactical operations where protective gear is required for physical safety, and situations where it is needed for health and safety. It applies to local police officers, officers from other states and federal law enforcement officers.
It is well established in constitutional law that a state can require federal officers to comply with general laws unless doing so would impose an undue burden on the federal government.
For example, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents must comply with state traffic laws except in situations where compliance would unduly limit their ability to perform their duties. However, a state cannot discriminate against the federal government.
According to the article, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder explained that federal and state law enforcement officers are similarly situated in their tasks, but the No Secret Police Act treats them differently.
She stated, “The court finds that the United States is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the facial covering prohibition of the No Secret Police Act unlawfully discriminates against the federal government in violation of the intergovernmental immunity doctrine.”
However, Snyder made clear that the law would be constitutional if it applied to law enforcement officers at all levels of government. She rejected the argument that masking ICE agents is necessary to protect their safety or for effective enforcement.
She stated, “The court finds that the United States has not met its burden to show that enforcement of the challenged provisions, which prohibit law enforcement officers in California from wearing masks and require law enforcement officers in California to have visible identification, would interfere with or take control of federal law enforcement operations.”
The article noted that Snyder also upheld another California law, the No Vigilantes Act, which requires any law enforcement officer operating in California to visibly display identification while performing enforcement duties.
Since the No Secret Police Act was adopted, the actions of ICE agents in Minnesota have drawn widespread scrutiny, underscoring the urgency of state regulation of their conduct.
ICE agents wear masks to intimidate, not for any safety or law enforcement purpose.
ICE, and any police in this country, for that matter, have never felt the need for masking, and it remains unnecessary now.
In fact, masked police are common in foreign countries with authoritarian governments, where officers seek to hide their identities to avoid being held accountable for misconduct.
Through times like these, masked police should not exist in countries that operate under the rule of law, including the United States.
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