By Steve Neavling
The Department of Homeland Security said it will not comply with California’s new law prohibiting immigration agents from covering their faces during enforcement operations.
“To be clear: We will NOT comply with [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom’s unconstitutional mask ban,” DHS posted Monday on X.
The agency said the masks protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers amid a “1,000% increase in assaults” and reports of agents’ families being doxxed.
Newsom, who signed the bill Saturday, said the measure ensures ICE agents are “no longer hidden from accountability,” The Hill reports. Masks, he argued, prevent “transparency” and hinder oversight.
“That’s Trump’s America, but that’s not the America we’ve grown up in. And so we are pushing back,” Newsom said.
DHS blasted the law as “a disgusting, diabolical fundraising and PR stunt.”
The law comes as immigration arrests in Los Angeles surged, with DHS reporting 5,000 people taken into custody between June and August.
