Los Angeles County Votes to Ban Masks for Law Enforcement

Los Angeles County says federal agents conducting immigration raids cannot cover their faces with masks in order to conceal their identities and must identify themselves during a raid or face criminal charges, according to an ordinance adopted by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

The ordinance applies to all law enforcement officers — local, state and federal — who operate in unincorporated areas of the county, potentially affecting a total of about 1 million people.

It was approved by a 4-0 vote, with Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger abstaining. The ordinance comes back for a required second and final vote on Dec. 9. If approved, it will go into effect in early January.

“Today, we are taking a necessary step toward restoring transparency. Los Angeles County is ending anonymous policing in our neighborhoods. If you carry the power of a badge here, you must be visible, accountable, and identifiable to the people you serve,” said Third District Supervisor and co-author Lindsey Horvath during a rally before the board meeting.

Between June 6 and Aug. 26, about 5,000 people in L.A. County who are purportedly undocumented have been arrested by federal agents who hide their faces, ride up in unmarked cars and drag people into custody at gunpoint. They do not wear uniforms and often do not identify themselves when confronted.

Thousands are taken to detention facilities. Some have been transported to other countries, including a detention center in El Salvador and are unable to call family members to say where they were taken.

“This is how authoritarian secret police behaves — not legitimate law enforcement in a democracy,” said Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn, a co-author of the ordinance. “ICE agents are violating our residents’ rights every day they are on our streets. These agents hide their faces. They refuse to wear badges. They pull people into unmarked vans at gunpoint and wonder why people resist arrest.”

In raids last month, nine people were detained on Nov. 20 in San Pedro and Long Beach.

One man who was a gardener contracted by the Polly’s Pies restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach was chased and arrested in front of the popular eatery while patrons eating breakfast watched, according to Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson.

In Pasadena in June, several men were waiting for an LA Metro bus at a bus stop on Los Robles Avenue when they were apprehended by men wearing masks. The detainees were on their way to work, family members told members of the media and watchdog groups. When protesters gathered on the sidewalk, one of the agents pointed a gun at the crowd.

Raids have occurred at car washes, Home Depot parking lots, schools, parks, places of worship, medical facilities and at courthouses when those appearing for scheduled immigration hearings were ambushed by waiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Department of Homeland Security agents, according to online videos, eyewitness accounts and news media reports.

The federal agents conducting raids throughout Southern California wear plainclothes such as jeans, not uniforms, and conceal their identities with cloth masks that stretch from head to neck. They often ride in unmarked vans or SUVs made to look like civilian vehicles, taking people off the streets without identifying themselves and without warrants.

President Trump has said the raids take people off the streets who are criminals and a danger to society. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has claimed that agents are arresting the “worst of the worst.” But a recent analysis by the Cato Institute found that nearly 73% of people detained in the system since October 1, 2025 had no criminal record. Only 5% had violent criminal convictions, the think tank reported.

Federal agents concealing their identity create confusion and fear, and undermine public trust, according to the ordinance. It can also lead to copycats who are not federal agents, according to a county report.

However, the DHS said the agents keep their faces covered and their identities secret for their own protection, since many have faced assaults and have received death threats.

“These Sanctuary politicians of Los Angeles County California want to make it easier for violent political extremists to target our brave men and women of federal law enforcement for enforcing immigration laws and keeping the American people safe,” wrote Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS in an emailed response to the LA County ordinance.

McLaughlin went on to say in an email that federal DHS officers wear masks to hide their identifies from those who will target them, including members of the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs, as well as murderers and rapists “who attempt to go after the officers and their families.”

Noem said agents’ faces and home addresses have been circulated by gang members and activist groups opposing the mass deportation operations in U.S. cities undertaken by the Trump Administration. In a statement over the summer, Noem said those who “dox ICE agents” will be prosecuted.

Watchdog groups have routinely captured images and videos of these arrests and incidents and helped find detainees so relatives can visit them. These include immigrant rights groups at the Tuesday rally, such as CHIRLA, Centro CHA, the TransLatina Coalition, Filipino Migrant Center, and watchdog groups including the Long Beach Rapid Response Network and the Harbor Area Peace Patrol.

Elijah Chiland, who helped start the Harbor Area Peace Patrol in San Pedro, Wilmington and Carson, said in an interview Monday the group has seen ICE agents using the U.S. Coast Guard Base on Terminal Island as a staging ground. Members have seen ICE and DHS agents leaving in unmarked vans and SUVs, some looking used, like they belong to a civilian.

“Sometimes they have things to throw people off, such as one had a SpongeBob SquarePants bumper sticker,” Chiland said in an interview on Monday.

“They grab somebody, then put them in a van. But nobody knows who these people are. Who are you supposed to call to find out who took them?” he said. Chiland said one arrest involved a woman whose family did not know where she was for 36 hours.

Since June, the Harbor Area Peace Patrol has been observing these raids. Chiland said some agents disguise themselves as construction workers. “That to me is a secret police force and it is not acceptable to us,” he said.

Chiland said the group does not put pictures of the agents’ faces online. “We are not doxing them or putting their face on social media,” he said. “We want to have a record of what is happening so people know about it.”

The county ordinance does two things. First, it prohibits law enforcement personnel from wearing disguises such as masks while interacting with the public. Second, it requires them to wear “visible identification and agency affiliation.”

Chiland was skeptical if local police or sheriff deputies would actually cite or arrest federal agents who break the county law. “It remains to be seen if our local law enforcement will be willing to hold federal officials accountable,” he said. “That is a concern.”

But he added that the ordinance establishes a principle by requiring adherence to historic law enforcement standards. “Anything that puts the pressure on them to start operating in a way that is clear who they are is a good step,” he said.

The county law may face a legal challenge from the Trump Administration. The administration’s lawyers could invoke the Supremacy Clause, Dawyn Harrison, county counsel, told the board at a previous meeting when discussing a possible ordinance. “They ( Trump Administration) would claim intergovernmental immunity. That we cannot control the acts of the federal government,” she said.

Hahn said a legal fight is a strong possibility but a necessary risk.

“This is about defending the constitutional rights of the people we represent,” said Hahn. “We cannot stand down now and allow this type of policing to be acceptable in America. So if this means a fight in the courts with the federal government, I think it is a fight worth having.”

Two similar bills were adopted by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. SB 627 by Sen. Scott Wiener, D- San Francisco, bans federal and local law enforcement from wearing extreme masks to hide their identity. A second bill, SB 805 by Sen. Sasha Perez, D- Pasadena, requires law enforcement to display clear identification.

Both laws are being challenged in court by the Trump Administration.

The county ordinance has more exceptions. These include active undercover operations; when tactical or protective gear is required for physical safety such as motorcycle helmets; protecting an officer’s identity during prosecution and officers assigned to Special Weapons and Tactics, known as SWAT.

Any officer in violation of the county ordinance could be charged with an infraction or a misdemeanor, according to the ordinance.

A person chased or confronted by someone with a gun without any identification and their faces obscured, can escalate the response due to fear or confusion, the ordinance said. Being unable to read the officer’s facial expressions could lead to misinterpreting his intent, thereby increasing the risk of conflict.

Finally, the ordinance says when officers are not identifiable, this increases the chances of someone impersonating a federal immigration agent, leaving the ones being chased with the thought that these might be criminals trying to harm them.

In fact, two men in Fresno County posed as law enforcement agents while harassing local businesses, the LA Times reported. In South Carolina, a man was charged with kidnapping and impersonating a police officer after he told a group of Latino men at a traffic stop “You’re going back to Mexico!”

In North Carolina, a man was arrested for allegedly impersonating an ICE officer and sexually assaulting a woman, threatening to deport her if she refused to have sex with him, according to Sen. Wiener.

“California, under its policing powers, has the legal authority to establish identification requirements for law enforcement operating within the state,” said Sen. Perez in response to the federal lawsuit filed against her bill that became law.

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