Ore. Lawmakers Limit when Law Enforcement Can Wear Masks

Oregon lawmakers on Friday passed legislation to restrict the use of face coverings among law enforcement officers in the latest state pushback against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown.

Oregon becomes the latest state to enact such a law, though others have faced legal challenges.

House Bill 4138, known as the Law Enforcement Accountability Act, requires policing agencies to adopt and publicly post policies restricting the use of facial coverings to “specific, limited exceptions, including undercover operations, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operations, fire protection, health and safety.”

It also requires on-duty officers to visibly display their name or badge number and their agency while carrying out enforcement activities.

The law would apply to law enforcement agencies “operating within the state.”

“While this bill is not a complete solution to the escalating violence we are seeing from masked law enforcement, it is an important step toward protecting Oregonians from a rogue and increasingly unaccountable federal presence in our communities,” Rep. Farrah Chaichi , D- Aloha, said after the vote.

She introduced the bill, which drew more than a dozen sponsors.

The House passed it 36-19 on Feb. 24, the Senate passed an amended version 18-10 on Thursday and the House concurred 34-18 on Friday. The bill will go to Gov. Tina Kotek for a signature.

“At a time when fear and uncertainty are growing in many communities, transparency and accountability are essential,” Chaichi said.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment but have argued that masks prevent its federal agents from being doxed.

Immigration officers have arrested more than 2,100 people in Oregon since President Donald Trump took office. The agents have smashed car windows, dragged people out of their vehicles, surrounded teenagers at gunpoint and have broken into the wrong homes with rifles drawn, according to witnesses and court documents. They have swept up U.S. citizens by mistake.

House Bill 4138 also allows people who are harmed by violations to seek a court injunction and it prohibits state and local public employees from intentionally assisting federal authorities.

“When someone has the power to stop or arrest you, you deserve to know who they are and who they work for,” Sen. Majority Leader Kayse Jama, D- Portland, said in a statement. “Public safety and civil liberties go hand in hand.”

California was the first state to pass similar legislation. Other states, such as New York and Michigan, have introduced similar legislation, but the measures have stalled. U.S. Ron Wyden, D- Ore., has introduced a bill that would ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nationwide from covering their faces while on duty and would require them to wear identification.

In early February, a federal judge blocked California from enforcing its “No Secret Police Act” to limit federal agents from wearing masks, saying that the law discriminated against the federal government because it didn’t apply to state law enforcement officers.

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