The Trump administration ordered federal authorities Friday to ignore new legislation in California banning law enforcement officers from wearing masks to conceal their identity.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) last Saturday signed the bill — which is slated to take effect Jan. 1, 2026 — making face coverings of local, state and federal officials a misdemeanor crime and imposing a civil penalty against officers for “tortious conduct.”
“Governor Newsom is confused about his role under the U.S. Constitution,” Bill Essayli, acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a Friday post on social platform X. “He oversees California, not federal agencies. He should review the Supremacy Clause.”
“California’s law to ‘unmask’ federal agents is unconstitutional, as the state lacks jurisdiction to interfere with federal law enforcement. I have directed federal agencies to disregard this state law and adhere to federal law and agency policies,” Essayli wrote in the post, which also featured a screenshot of his letter to agency heads.
Essayli wrote in the letter that any official or individual who attempts to impede or interfere with operations will be prosecuted by his office.
The Hill has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.
The Department of Homeland Security also publicly rejected Newsom’s bill on Monday in a social media post.
Trump officials and Newsom clashed over the summer after the president sent National Guard soldiers and Marines to quell Los Angeles’s protests against deportation tactics.
A series of targeted raids and arrests have been carried out throughout the Golden State, which local lawmakers have said are sparking fear for families of color about their future in the United States.
Newsom said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are using masks in an effort to be “hidden from accountability” alleging that face coverings prevent “transparency” for citizens and hinder “oversight.”
“Unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing. No due process, no rights—no rights in a democracy where we have rights, immigrants have rights,” Newsom said Saturday.
“We have the right to stand up and push back, and that’s what we’re doing here today. This is a disgrace. This is an outrage.”