Take off the mask Nazi...

Trump admin pleads for Newsom to veto ‘despicable’ immigration law

By Anabel Sosa

At a Los Angeles Home Depot parking lot in August, masked U.S. federal immigration enforcement officers burst out of a Penske moving truck and then chased down and handcuffed 16 people, some of whom were reportedly living in the U.S. without legal permission. Masked officers like these have become the face of the Donald Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, but they could soon be banned in California, if Gov. Gavin Newsom wants them to be. 

Last week, the California Legislature passed the No Secret Police Act, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, which would ban the use of masks for federal and local law enforcement. It’s now up to the governor to sign the bill into law. Newsom’s decision will have implications on the way raids are conducted in California, as the Trump administration continues conducting the operations.

“Law enforcement should never be easily confused with the guy in the ski mask robbing a liquor store, yet that’s what’s happening with ICE’s extreme masking,” Wiener said in a statement Thursday after the passage of his bill. “… This bill makes sure that when officers cover their faces, it is only for genuine health, safety, or tactical reasons – not to hide abuse or escape accountability.”

Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for the governor, declined to say if Newsom will sign the bill but said he has until Oct. 13 to make his decision. Newsom previously called the repeated use of masks “insane” but has also said he understands that in some cases officers need to shield their identities.

The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday released a statement calling for Newsom to veto the bill, defending the use of masks as a protective measure for officers, who would otherwise be forced to show their full faces and could be targeted by “vicious criminals.” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the bill “despicable.” 

Newsom’s decisions on what bills he signs into law in California are increasingly coming under a microscope as he openly considers running for president in 2028. He has previously vetoed bills that appear too progressive, a category that Wiener’s mask ban on law enforcement could fall into. Although, national polls conducted over the summer found that Americans oppose Trump’s deportation surge, and even Republican voters have softened their views on immigration. 

Law enforcement officers across the country have been covering their faces with ski masks, balaclavas and neck gaiters — and in some instances, concealing the agency they work for — during ICE raids. Trump and his officials have defended the use of masks, saying that federal officers have a right to conceal their identities, since they are putting their “lives on the line,” acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons told Fox News in June. Both Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, have also justified the use of masks, expressing the dangers of officers and their families being doxxed, an intimidation tactic that entails publishing a person’s private information online, including their home address or phone number.

The legislation would ban the use of helmets, headgear and other face coverings by federal officers from ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who have been carrying out the raids, as well as local law enforcement agencies, who are by law prohibited from enforcing immigration laws, with certain exceptions. California Highway Patrol, the state police under the control of the governor, is exempt from the ban. 

The California State Sheriffs’ Association, which opposed the legislation, said that only federal officers enforce immigration, and that sheriffs and other local agencies are getting “wrapped into” the issue. Cory Salzillo, the group’s legislative director, told SFGATE that local law enforcement does not have the “resources, authority or desire” to conduct raids.

Democratic lawmakers argue that the use of masks leaves communities confused about whether people are being approached by officers or are being scammed. There have reportedly been an increasing number of incidents involving impersonators who claim to be ICE officers, which have stirred anxiety in communities across the country. 

It’s unclear how many fraudulent ICE raids have taken place nationally, but they have caught the attention of Democratic congressional and state leaders from New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan, as well as cities such as Chicago and Albuquerque, which have proposed their own bills to ban law enforcement’s use of masks.

Some officials, including Burbank Mayor Nikki Perez, argued that without knowing the facial identity of an officer, a person may not know if they’re being detained or kidnapped. Perez referred to an incident in her city where a man, who was not a federal officer, confronted a woman asking to see her personal documents.

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a Democrat from Los Angeles and a co-author of the bill, told SFGATE that the masking bill is just one of many efforts lawmakers have made to protect against targeted immigrant communities. He did not say whether he thinks the governor will sign the bill. 

“I can’t speak for the governor, but I know there’s likely nobody across the country who has more directly taken on the Trump admin than he has,” Bryan said in a phone call. 

Similarly, Wiener, according to Erik Mebust, his communications director, did not say which way the governor will decide but said this week Newsom  has “shown tremendous leadership” on immigration issues and “this bill is an opportunity to continue that leadership.”