The California Legislature on Thursday approved a bill that would bar most law enforcement officers from covering their faces while on duty, a measure driven by protests over recent immigration enforcement operations in the Los Angeles area. The bill now heads to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has roughly a month to sign it into law.
Under the measure, local and state officers — and federal agents carrying out official business in the state — would be prohibited from wearing neck gaiters, ski masks and other facial coverings designed to obscure identity. The proposal includes exceptions for undercover personnel, medical masks such as N95 respirators and authorized tactical gear.
Supporters said the bill is a direct response to recent immigration raids in Southern California in which some federal agents concealed their faces, creating fear among residents and complicating interactions at workplaces and other locations. The vote followed a Supreme Court decision earlier in the week that lifted temporary limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Los Angeles, clearing the way for expanded federal raids that critics say could allow agents to target migrants based on factors such as race, language or presence at certain locations.
Assemblymember Juan Carrillo, a Democrat who backed the bill, said the Supreme Court ruling "is effectively allowing federal agents to stop suspects based solely on their race, language, or job." He added that masked agents can look indistinguishable from people committing crimes. "How is anyone supposed to reasonably believe that they are law enforcement officers and not masked individuals trying to kidnap you?" Carrillo said.
Legal scholars who supported the bill argued that while states cannot directly regulate the federal government, federal employees are not exempt from state rules unless compliance would significantly interfere with their duties. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, wrote in an opinion piece that a state cannot "directly regulate the federal government," but that does not mean federal employees can ignore state laws absent a substantial duty conflict.
Opponents, including some Republican lawmakers and law enforcement unions, argued the ban could endanger officers. Republican state Sen. Kelly Seyarto said, "Bad guys wear masks because they don't want to get caught. Good guys wear masks because they don't want to get killed." Federal officials have defended the use of face coverings in some operations, saying agents have faced increased harassment in public and online.
The dispute follows months of contentious immigration enforcement activity in Southern California. Federal agents began conducting targeted arrests in the region in June, prompting protests and the federal deployment of National Guard and Marine personnel at points of operation. Advocates for immigrant communities say masked, unbadged agents have sown fear and impeded public trust.
Legislators noted that California's proposal is the first of its kind to pass a state legislature, though similar bills have been introduced in several other states including Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Democrats in Congress have also proposed a federal ban on face coverings for law enforcement officers.
Legal analysts said the bill could face court challenges if signed, particularly over questions of federal preemption and whether the law could be enforced against federal agents. Newsom has publicly criticized the use of masks by federal agents in past statements but also raised questions about the state's authority to police federal personnel.
If Newsom signs the measure, California officials and affected federal agencies could see new litigation over enforcement and scope. Until then, the lawmaking body has sent a clear signal about state concerns over identity concealment by officers in the wake of the Supreme Court decision and a summer marked by contentious immigration enforcement operations.
