Trump Sues CA Over 2 Laws Requiring ICE Officers To Identify Themselves

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against California on Monday in an attempt to block two laws aimed at curbing the federal government’s aggressive push to oust undocumented immigrants en masse.

The U.S. Department of Justice says that the two laws, signed in September by Gov. Gavin Newsom, violate the Constitution by attempting to regulate federal operations.

SB 627 forbids federal agents, such as ICE, from wearing masks at work. SB 805 requires federal agents who aren't in uniform to wear visible identification on the job. However, both laws do include exceptions for undercover operations.

The passage of the new laws followed a chaotic wave of federal immigration raids in Los Angeles, where unmarked vans and masked agents descended on Home Depot parking lots, car washes and factories to arrest immigrants. The immigration crackdown also sparked violent clashes with protesters over the summer, particularly after the federal government first deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the region in June.

But the Trump administration argues that the pair of laws is discriminatory.

"Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said on Monday. "California’s anti-law enforcement policies discriminate against the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand."

While the lawsuit was filed on Monday, U.S. Homeland Security announced just after the bills were signed that it would not abide by the new laws.

"You can tell yourself that, but it’s the law. Just tell your thugs to take off their ski masks," Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said on X in response.

In a 16-page complaint, the Trump administration reiterated that intention, saying it "will not comply" with those state laws.

“If enforced against the Federal Government, the laws would recklessly endanger the lives of federal agents and their family members and compromise the operational effectiveness of federal law enforcement activities,” according to the lawsuit.

The federal government claims California's law comes at a time when immigration law enforcement is facing a 1,000 percent increase in assaults.

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, a former California assembly member who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump, says the laws endanger federal agents.

"Assaults against federal agents have exploded over the last few months, thanks in part to recklessness political rhetoric aiming to delegitimize our brave agents," Essayli wrote on Monday.

Two other laws signed by Newsom in September attempt to protect immigrants residing in California by shielding health care information and notifying families of ICE agents at schools.

“It’s problematic when Californians can’t tell the difference between a law enforcement officer who is charged with protecting them and a criminal who is attempting to cause them harm,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said, according to Politico. “The FBI itself has warned that the practice of ICE agents wearing masks to obscure their identity has led to a rise in copycats committing crimes, threatening public safety and eroding trust in law enforcement. My office is responsible for defending the laws of California, and we will do so here.”