Trump Sues California Law Banning Officials From Wearing Masks New California law bans federal agents from wearing masks in response to immigration raids

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A series of attacks immigration California in 2025 had one thing in common: most of the federal agents who pulled people over wore masks covering their faces.

In January, the state of California and its largest county will ban law enforcement officers from wearing face masks, with some exceptions, putting local and state police at odds with masked immigration agents.

state law offers officers a choice: if they cover their faces, they lose the ability to refer “qualified immunity” the doctrine which protects law enforcement officers from individual liability for his actions. That means they can be sued for assault, battery, unlawful imprisonment, wrongful arrest or malicious prosecution, and the law adds a clause that says the minimum penalty for committing those crimes while wearing a mask is $10,000.

Rep. Mark Gonzalez, a Los Angeles Democrat who co-authored the law, said it needed to be limited anonymous federal agents.

“At first we realized they were only targeting non-citizens,” Gonzalez said, “and then as time goes on you realize they don’t care who you are, they attack you no matter what, without due process.”

The Trump administration has been suing to block the bill for more than a century federal jurisprudence supports her. 1890 Supreme Court Case provides that a state may not prosecute a federal law enforcement officer in the performance of his or her duties.

This was announced by the Trump administration in his writing in the United States District Court for the Central District of California that forcing employees to reveal their identities would put them at risk.

During Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “actions,” “individuals can be heard threatening to reveal personal information and find out who the agents and their family members are and where they live,” administration attorneys said in a Nov. 17 briefing. “There are even public websites that seek out and post personal information about ICE agents and other federal agents to harass and threaten them and their families.”

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, said the issue may not be as clear-cut as one or two Supreme Court cases. He mentioned a 2001 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals it allowed the case of a federal sniper who killed a woman during the 1992 standoff in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, to go to trial.

“It basically says that a federal agent can be prosecuted for unreasonable actions,” Chemerinsky said. “Federal agents, because they are federal agents, do not enjoy immunity from all state civil and criminal laws.”

Brian Marvel, president of an organization that represents police unions in California, said the law would make life difficult for local police officers and county sheriff’s deputies. Organizations representing police chiefs, sheriffs, agents of the Attorney General’s Office and California Highway Patrol employees also opposed the law.

“I think the state has put us in a precarious position with this battle that they’re having with the Trump administration,” said Marvell of the California Peace Officer Research Association. “We don’t want to be in the middle of that fight. But unfortunately, with the desire for more recognition and to win elections in 2026, they’ve decided to create things that are much more political and not directed at legitimate public safety issues.”

Marvell said another flaw of the law is giving “a false sense of hope to California’s immigrant community” that the law will force federal agents out of the state.

Los Angeles County Supervisors, too They approved a local ban on the use of masks by law enforcement agencies in unincorporated areas of the county, a measure that will take effect in mid-January unless a court order comes sooner.

Gonzalez noted that masks played an important role in California’s recent history. First, during the pandemic California has temporarily mandated the use of masks in society and at work. A few years later, a series of violent robberies became more difficult to solve because all the suspects were wearing masks . California is now in its third tug-of-war over the wearing of masks.

The law provides exemptions for the use of N-95 or medical-grade masks to prevent the transmission of infection and allows undercover officers to wear masks.

“It’s specifically aimed at federal agents because we have to somehow combat these kidnappings,” Gonzalez said, “and that was our way.”