Enforcement of California’s ICE Mask Ban Blocked by Judge (1)

California may not enforce its mask ban against federal immigration agents, a Los Angeles federal judge ruled Monday, though she left intact other provisions in new state laws requiring officers to identify themselves.

Judge Christina Snyder of the US District Court for the Central District of California partially granted the federal government’s request for a preliminary injunction Monday. The ban on facial coverings in California’s No Secret Police Act (SB 627) likely unlawfully discriminates against federal officers because it doesn’t apply to state police, Snyder said.

However, she didn’t find that law or one that requires officers to display their agency and name or badge number, known as the No Vigilantes Act (SB 805), otherwise improperly burdens federal officers. SB 805 doesn’t carve out state officers. The laws were passed as part of a 2025 package to fight the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

The laws are “analogous to traffic laws that, in a similar sense, dictate how a federal officer may operate a vehicle on state roads but are nonetheless enforceable against federal officers, subject to immunities,” Snyder said.

The federal government hasn’t shown its current masking and identification practices are “essential to federal law enforcement operations” and untouchable by state law, Snyder said. She noted that doxxing and stalking officers are already prohibited by California law.

Recording officers and “otherwise communicating about the public presence of a law enforcement officer” is largely protected by the First Amendment, Snyder said.

“Security concerns exist for federal law enforcement officers with and without masks,” Snyder said. “If anything, the Court finds that the presence of masked and unidentifiable individuals, including law enforcement, is more likely to heighten the sense of insecurity for all.”

The state says the unmasking is needed to ensure accountability for federal agents engaging in immigration raids, and says otherwise civilians can easily pose as agents. The federal government says agents must be able to mask to avoid having their identities exposed and risking harassment.

The hearing on the Trump administration’s request for a preliminary injunction took place about a week after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis.

“Absent a finding that the facial covering prohibition likely unconstitutionally discriminates against the United States, the Court would conclude that the United States has not established sufficient irreparable injury to justify injunctive relief,” Snyder said.

Snyder during the hearing asked if it would be easy for the California legislature to amend SB 627 to apply to all officers.

“At the hearing, counsel for the United States acknowledged that the No Secret Police Act would not be unlawfully discriminatory if it was amended to apply to all law enforcement officers,” Snyder said.

The laws were set to take effect Jan. 1, but the parties agreed not to enforce them until Snyder ruled on the preliminary injunction request. Snyder on Monday also paused the effect her order until February 19 at the request of the federal government.

The case is USA v. California, C.D. Cal., No. 2:25-cv-10999, 2/9/26.