California bill would prohibit ICE officers from wearing masks in the state

Masked federal officers, descending on workplaces and immigration courts in dramatic scenes across the country, have drawn comparisons to secret police in authoritarian regimes.

But under a new state bill from two Bay Area lawmakers, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers and others would have to identify themselves while working in California. The legislation introduced Monday by state Sens. Scott Wiener (D–San Francisco) and Jesse Arreguín (D–Berkeley) would prevent police at all levels from covering their faces with masks or balaclavas while working — and would require them to be identifiable via uniform.

“We are seeing more and more law enforcement officers, particularly at the federal level, be in our community covering their faces entirely, not identifying themselves at all,” Wiener said at a press conference at San Francisco City Hall. “You can’t tell — are these law enforcement officers or a vigilante militia?”

Senate Bill 627, dubbed the No Secret Police Act, comes as tensions have escalated between the state and the Trump administration, which has vowed to carry out the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history.

No specific federal law requires law enforcement to wear uniforms or show their faces during arrests. Meanwhile, images of masked ICE agents forcing people into unmarked police vans have proliferated on social media, catalyzing debate over whether such arrest tactics are a form of intimidation.

Sen. Jesse Arreguín speaks during a press conference with leaders from community groups throughout Alameda County in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland on Jan. 22, 2025, to discuss support for immigrant families in the Bay Area after President Donald Trump promised mass deportations.

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Beth LaBerge

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KQED

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Arreguín and Wiener say the masks allow officers to evade accountability for their actions, adding that more transparency is needed around who is conducting these immigration operations.

“People covering their faces, impersonating police officers — it erodes trust in law enforcement and it undermines community safety,” Arreguín said.

ICE declined to comment on the bill, saying that the agency does not comment on pending legislation. But in an emailed statement, an ICE spokesperson maintained that masks and other anonymizing practices are essential to prevent “doxxing,” or the collection of someone’s information online to shame or harass them, following high-profile ICE raids in Los Angeles and the mass protests that followed.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fully respects the Constitutional rights of all people to express their opinions peacefully,” the statement said. “That being said, ICE remains committed to performing its immigration enforcement mission professionally in a manner consistent with federal law and agency policy.”

Recently, a North Texas man was charged in federal court for threatening to shoot and kill ICE agents on April 7, the spokesperson added.

In San Francisco, ICE has requested journalists blur officers’ faces after a San Francisco Standard reporter took cellphone images of arrests outside immigration court and published those images.

Critics have been quick to point out what they say is hypocrisy surrounding ICE officers’ tendency to wear masks.

On June 8, President Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that protesters should not be allowed to wear masks, asking, “What do these people have to hide, and why?”

His administration has also criticized student protesters for wearing masks while protesting the war in Gaza.

Masked immigration officers can create a lot of “confusion,” the state lawmakers behind the new bill said.

“It is critically important that people know who they’re interacting with and that they’re interacting with actual law enforcement officers,” Wiener said.

Meanwhile, a federal bill introduced in Congress this month by Rep. Mike Thompson (D–St. Helena) would prohibit immigration officers from wearing clothing that bears the word “police.”

According to the National Immigrant Justice Center, immigration enforcement will often introduce themselves as police officers even though they are not legally considered to be so. That can confuse immigrant communities and sour the relationship with local police, Thompson argued.

News of the California bill also followed what authorities have labeled a political assassination in Minnesota by a man posing as a police officer.

Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of targeting two politicians, fatally shooting Democratic Rep. Melissa Holtman and her husband, Mark. Boelter currently faces federal murder charges for the attacks.

Some critics have raised concerns that immigration officers operating in masks and unmarked vehicles could sow distrust and make it easier for bad actors to pose as law enforcement.