California bans masks for immigration agents during operations

California governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday, 20 September, unveiled a sweeping shield of protections for immigrants, signing into law five transformative measures — led by the trailblazing No Secret Police Act, the nation’s first to strip law enforcement of the shadows by banning masks on duty.

Speaking at a Los Angeles high school, Newsom said the measures were a direct response to US President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation drive. “It’s like a dystopian sci-fi movie — unmarked cars, masked people, immigrants literally disappearing. Immigrants have rights, and we have the right to push back,” he said.

The new laws include:

• Prohibiting officers from covering their faces while performing duties.

• Requiring federal and state officers to display badges or names unless undercover.

• Restricting ICE access to schools and daycare centers.

• Barring hospitals from sharing sensitive data or allowing agents into ERs without a warrant.

• Mandating family notification if immigration agents show up at schools.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who joined Newsom at the event, said the laws amount to “legislative resistance to protect Angelenos from their own federal government.”

The move comes after weeks of protests in Southern California against immigration crackdowns, which even saw a National Guard deployment.

Federal officials sharply criticized the new rules. Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, blasted them as “despicable” and an attempt to endanger ICE officers.

Legal experts warned the laws could face constitutional challenges, with limited impact on federal enforcement. Kevin Johnson, an immigration law professor at UC Davis, noted that similar restrictions in 2018 did not stop arrests at courthouses. Still, he said the measures offer hope to immigrant communities that feel “under fire, vulnerable, and hated by the federal government.”

With IANS inputs