Calif. Governor Signs Ban on Most Police Officers Wearing Masks on the Job into Law

By Sara Libby, Sophia Bollag

Source San Francisco Chronicle

SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed five bills Saturday attempting to thwart President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, including a ban on local and federal officers wearing masks to conceal their identities.

The bills mark the latest chapter in what has become a tense fight over immigration enforcement in California, a state home to more than 10 million immigrants as well as industries and communities that depend on them.

"Immigrants have rights, and we have the right to stand up and push back," Newsom said Saturday afternoon at a Los Angeles signing ceremony in which he condemned secrecy by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. "ICE unmasked. What are you afraid of? You're going to go out and do an enforcement? Provide an ID."

In the nine months since Trump took office, his administration has targeted California's sanctuary protections that limit local law enforcement's cooperation with immigration enforcement efforts, sent National Guard troops into Los Angeles to quell immigration protests, and carried out aggressive raids in immigrant-heavy communities. An immigrant farmworker died in one of those raids as he tried to escape the chaos.

Two federal judges have imposed limits on federal immigration agents' tactics and ability to profile Latino residents, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned one of those orders, clearing the way for ICE officers to target people in Southern California who look Latino or are speaking Spanish. Trump's crackdown has also ensnared U.S. citizens, some of whom have seen their property destroyed during immigration stops or been detained in immigration facilities when officers did not believe they were citizens or were unable to immediately prove their citizenship. In many cases the federal agents have worn face coverings that conceal their identity.

Newsom also signed new laws that seek to limit immigration enforcement work in hospitals and schools. In a statement announcing the new laws, Newsom excoriated Trump's immigration tactics, calling out the president and his top aide on immigration policy, Stephen Miller.

"Public safety depends on trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve — but Trump and Miller have shattered that trust and spread fear across America," Newsom wrote. " California is putting an end to it and making sure schools and hospitals remain what they should be: places of care, not chaos."

The bills approved Saturday include two measures that require federal and local officials, including immigration agents, to identify themselves. One measure, Senate Bill 627, prevents police from covering their faces on the job, with some exceptions. It applies to local law enforcement officers, out-of-state police officers and federal law enforcement officers — but not state police.

The Department of Homeland Security urged Newsom to veto SB627, arguing its officers need masks to protect them from "being doxed." The term "doxed" typically refers to people's sensitive personal information being released online, but DHS appeared to use it to mean when immigration officers' identities are made public, something that is routine for government employees.

"Kristi Noem is going to have a bad day today. You're welcome, America," Newsom's press office posted Saturday on X in reference to the homeland security secretary. The post prompted a sharp response from acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli: "We have zero tolerance for direct or implicit threats against government officials. I've referred this matter to @SecretService and requested a full threat assessment."

Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, released a scathing response denouncing the idea that federal agents cannot effectively police without concealing their identities.

"Law enforcement can do their jobs without wearing ski masks, and if you think you need to wear a ski mask while patrolling and making arrests, you may want to consider a different line of work," wrote Wiener, the author of the new law. "Masked secret police are not making anyone safer; instead they're creating an environment of lawlessness and fear that puts federal agents, local law enforcement, and civilians in danger."

Much of the criticism of the bill focused not on whether wearing masks was good for policing, but whether the state has the ability to create rules guiding how federal officers perform their work within the state.

"States do not have the authority to second-guess the efficacy of federal policies, including masking," David Mastagni, an attorney representing the Peace Officers Research Association of California, an umbrella group of police unions, told lawmakers during a hearing on the bill.

The mask ban will take effect Jan. 1.

The other bill, SB805 by Sen. Sasha Pérez, D- Alhambra ( Los Angeles County), requires law enforcement officers working in California to display identification with their name or badge number, with exceptions for undercover work and protective gear. It also limits when bounty hunters can help with immigration enforcement. SB805 takes effect immediately.

Newsom also signed these new laws, which take effect immediately:

• Senate Bill 98, by Pérez, which requires schools to tell parents and guardians when immigration officers are present on campus.
• Assembly Bill 49, by Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi, D-Rolling Hills Estates ( Los Angeles County), which requires school officials to deny access to federal immigration authorities unless they have valid identification and a judicial warrant or court order. It takes effect immediately.
• Senate Bill 81, by Sen. Jesse Arreguín, D- Berkeley, which classifies immigration status and place of birth as "private information" that health care providers can't share with immigration enforcement. The bill also prohibits any person from accessing nonpublic areas of hospitals and doctors' offices for the purposes of immigration enforcement — except when required by federal or state law.

Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction, celebrated the passage of SB98 and AB49, noting disturbing recent incidents involving immigration agents near campuses.

"The reckless actions of the Trump administration have sown fear and trauma throughout California school communities," Thurmond said. "As the son and grandson of immigrants, I am proud to stand with our immigrant communities to ensure school campuses are safe and accessible to all families."

Newsom still has other immigration-related measures he must weigh before the Oct. 12 deadline for him to sign or veto bills. They include measures to prevent local regulators of sidewalk food vendors from sharing records with immigration authorities and to require that the state provide lawyers for unaccompanied undocumented minors in court. They are among dozens of bills California lawmakers passed this year in response to Trump's policies that await final approval from Newsom.

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