(The Center Square) – Los Angeles County moved closer Tuesday to join the state of California in banning masks for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
But even as the county prepares to make the masks illegal, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security isn’t conceding its constitutional authority to states or counties. That sets the stage for an expected battle in court.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Center Square Tuesday that an ordinance banning masks “would violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which makes it clear that Los Angeles does not control federal law enforcement."
A few hours after McLaughlin’s comment, the five-member Board of Supervisors, which governs the county, voted 4-0 to approve an ordinance banning the masks. Supervisor Kathryn Barger abstained.
To go into effect, the ordinance must be approved a second time at the board’s Dec. 9 meeting.
Tuesday's vote came after no discussion during the meeting. It was approved along with non-related agenda items, and no one from the public commented on it during a period devoted to all of those items.
Before the meeting, supporters had plenty to say at a rally outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, the Los Angeles headquarters for the county government. The rally drew various immigrants rights organizations as well as the two supervisors: Janice Hahn, who proposed the ban, and Lindsey Horvath, who co-authored the ordinance. Supporters gathered with signs saying “No Secret Police in LA,” “Identify Yourself” and “Badges On! Masks Off!”
Hahn compared masked ICE officers to secret police and accused the agents of hiding their faces and refusing to wear badges.
Her and Horvath’s ordinance amends Title 13 - Public Peace, Morals and Welfare of the Los Angeles County Code - to add Chapter 13.01, which requires all law enforcement officers to wear visible identification within the county's unincorporated areas. It also prohibits law enforcement from wearing masks or disguises but allows exceptions such as medical masks, breathing apparatuses, motorcycle helmets when riding a motorcycle, and Special Weapons and Tactics and undercover operations.
Unlike the state ban, the Los Angeles County ordinance would apply to state law enforcement such as the California Highway Patrol, according to Hahn's office.
Hahn said she expects the Trump administration to challenge the ordinance in court.
The administration in November sued California over similar laws, Senate Bill 627 (the No Secret Police Act) and SB 805 (the No Vigilantes Act). The Department of Homeland Security has said it won't comply with the laws, which Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Sept. 20. The state laws are scheduled to take effect in January.
“This is about defending the constitutional rights of the people we represent,” Hahn said in a news release. “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.”
But McLaughlin of Homeland Security was critical Tuesday of the new ordinance, noting that ICE officers’ safety is at risk.
“While ICE law enforcement officers face a 1,150% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in 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,” McLaughlin said in an email to The Center Square.
“Our officers wear masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists who attempt to go after the officers and their families,” McLaughlin said.
The lead author of the state ban was state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, a vocal critic of the Trump administration. Since the law was passed, Wiener announced he was running for U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat.
Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat who is a former U.S. House speaker, later announced she would retire from Congress when her term ends on Jan. 3, 2027.
