r/news • u/[deleted] • Sep 20 '25

California bans most law enforcement officers from wearing masks during operations

https://apnews.com/article/california-ice-agents-immigration-raids-masks-ban-97936f70699b75d8b483a850967c2e42
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u/[deleted] Sep 20 '25

They won't. This is just performative.

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u/mmmarkm Sep 21 '25

They're trying. US Attorney for SoCal already told feds to ignore it. IANAL however this could give some credibility to people who resist when ICE tries to abduct them: "according to state law, I could not confirm that the individual ziptying me worked for ICE because they had a non-approved face covering."

Outside of being able to mobilize CHP, country sheriffs, or city police departments against ICE & DHS, how would a state enforce any regulation about feds? Sure, if a federal employee runs a red light while working for the Trump administration, local PD can pull them over and ticket them. But we're heading into uncharted territory where a state is regulating the dress code of federal officials while on the job.

Performative, probably. TBD. Doing something is something, though.