A federal judge in Los Angeles granted the Trump administration a legal victory on Monday by issuing a preliminary injunction against California’s “No Secret Police Act,” a state law aimed at prohibiting ICE agents from wearing masks during enforcement operations.
U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, ruled that the law unlawfully discriminates against federal officers by targeting them specifically while exempting state and local law enforcement.
The court struck down the law on constitutional grounds, not based on policy considerations.
“The Court finds that federal officers can perform their federal functions without wearing masks. However, because the No Secret Police Act, as presently enacted, does not apply equally to all law enforcement officers in the state, it unlawfully discriminates against federal officers,” Snyder wrote.
She also cited the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which essentially states that federal laws supersede state laws.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi praised the ruling in a post on X Monday. She stated that federal agents are increasingly targeted for performing their duties and warned that the law would exacerbate existing safety risks.
“ANOTHER key court victory thanks to our outstanding @TheJusticeDept attorneys,” Bondi said.
“Following our arguments, a district court in California BLOCKED the enforcement of a law that would have banned federal agents from wearing masks to protect their identities.”
“These federal agents are harassed, doxxed, obstructed, and attacked regularly just for doing their jobs. We have no tolerance for it.”
The court ruling blocked the facial-covering ban but upheld the state’s “No Vigilantes Act,” which requires all officers to display their agency affiliation and a personal identifier, such as a badge number, on their uniforms.
California Governor Gavin Newsom described the ruling as a “win,” highlighting that it supports his policy objectives, even though the court struck down the other measure.
“A federal court upheld California’s law requiring federal agents to identify themselves – a clear win for the rule of law. No badge and no name mean no accountability,” Newsom said. “California will keep standing up for civil rights and our democracy.”
Last September, Newsom signed the Democrat-pushed measures into law in response to federal immigration law enforcement operations in California. The state argued that these laws were valid safety regulations, comparing them to speed limits and other traffic laws.
“Each of the challenged provisions is a legitimate exercise of California’s police powers that ‘at most, only incidentally affects‘ federal immigration and law enforcement,” the court documents said.
California added that the act does not “control, impede, or grant ‘virtual power of review’ over federal law enforcement activities, and therefore it does not amount to an unconstitutional direct regulation.”
The state has paused the enforcement of laws against federal agencies, even though the start date is set for January 1, 2026. The pause will remain in effect while the court reviews the U.S. request for a preliminary injunction.
Bondi stated that the Trump administration will continue to fight for the protection of federal agents amid what she described as intense scrutiny.
“We will continue fighting and winning in court for President Trump’s law-and-order agenda — and we will ALWAYS have the backs of our great federal law enforcement officers,” Bondi said.
Federal immigration authorities, meanwhile, have begun aggressively arresting and prosecuting civilians who follow or monitor enforcement operations in Minneapolis, part of a broader federal crackdown on what officials describe as interference with law enforcement.
The latest incident involved 42-year-old Becky Ringstrom, a mother of seven who was detained on January 29 after trailing federal immigration officers in her gray Kia SUV through a suburban neighborhood.
According to a bystander video verified by Reuters, Ringstrom was boxed in by unmarked vehicles before at least six masked agents surrounded her car, one striking her windshield with a metal object before taking her into custody.