The Trump administration sued California in federal court Monday over a pair of newly-passed state laws prohibiting federal officers including ICE agents from wearing masks while conducting their duties.
The lawsuit, which also named Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) as defendants, seeks a court order declaring the laws unconstitutional and blocking their enforcement.
The No Secret Police Act (SB 627) and No Vigilantes Act (SB 805), signed into law by Newsom in September, came as a response to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration across the country that has come with footage of masked and unidentifiable ICE agents conducting arrests in public.
The laws are set to take effect the first day of 2026. Under the No Secret Police Act, federal law enforcement officers could face criminal penalties for wearing masks while conducting operations, and under the No Vigilantes Act, non-uniformed federal officers must display their name and agency.
The laws were part of California’s broader legislative package to fight the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Among them include bills prohibiting schools from allowing immigration offices on campus, and blocking officers from entering restricted areas of a health facility.
The administration’s lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles-based US District Court for the Central District of California said the laws violate the constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which prohibits state laws that overtake the power of the federal government.
The state laws violate the intergovernmental immunity doctrine as well because California is seeking to directly regulate and discriminate against the federal government, the suit said.
The Justice Department said the anti-mask laws create a safety hazard for federal law enforcement officers.
“Assaults against federal agents have exploded over the last few months, thanks in part to recklessness political rhetoric aiming to delegitimize our brave agents,” said Bill Essayli, the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California.
Newsom’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The case is United States of America v. State of California, C.D. Cal., No. 2:25-cv-10999, 11/17/25.
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