NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked New York from prohibiting federal agents from wearing masks or requiring them to display visible identification while on duty.
The decision follows a similar ruling earlier this year in California, where a federal judge halted a comparable law passed after the Trump administration intensified efforts to expand immigration arrests.
U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino, writing for the Northern District of New York, said the state “appears to be well-intentioned in its pursuit of transparent policing,” but emphasized that the court’s role was not to weigh the merits of that goal.
“The issue now before the Court is about constitutionality—not transparency or preferable policy decisions,” D’Agostino wrote.
In her ruling, D’Agostino found that the federal government had shown it was likely to succeed in arguing that New York’s restrictions conflict with the Constitution’s supremacy clause, which prevents states from regulating federal law enforcement operations.
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The mask and identification provisions were part of a broader package of law enforcement measures folded into New York’s state budget, which Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in May.
After the ruling, Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a joint statement that they “stand firm in our belief that masked agents do not make New York safer and our offices are reviewing all legal options at this time.”
According to the court decision, New York’s requirements on face coverings and identification had taken effect in June.
California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings under a bill that was signed in September following a summer of high-profile raids by immigration officers in Los Angeles.
When the law was blocked, the decision was expected to have implications nationwide for other states that have pursued their own measures to place restrictions on immigration agents.
In May, the US Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against Connecticut over a new state law that prohibits federal agents from wearing masks.
