California legislature passes bill prohibiting law enforcement from wearing face masks to shield identities

California lawmakers passed a measure that would ban majority of law enforcement officers from covering their faces while on the job in response to modern immigration raids in the Los Angeles area where chosen federal agents covered their faces and hid their identities The bill approved on Thursday now heads to Democrat Gov Gavin Newsom's desk Though if he signs it into law it is unclear whether the state could enforce the ban on federal agents who have been carrying out raids and arrests at local businesses under President Donald Trump's mass deportation plan The bill is the first of its kind to pass through a state legislature although similar decree has been introduced in several states including Tennessee Michigan Illinois New York Massachusetts and Pennsylvania Democrats on Capitol Hill have also proposed a mask ban for law enforcement officers Under the bill local and federal officers including immigration enforcement agents would be banned from wearing neck gators ski masks and other facial coverings while carrying out official business LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUSHES TO PROHIBIT LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM HIDING THEIR IDENTITIES WHILE ON THE JOBExceptions would be permitted for undercover agents curative masks like N respirators or tactical gear Newsom has about a month to sign the bill into law While he has criticized federal agents' use of masks during arrests he has also raised questions over the summer about the state's authority over federal agents Federal agents have conducted immigration raids in Southern California since June sparking protests and the subsequent federal deployment of the National Guard and Marines Proponents of the bill disclosed the proposal is needed following a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week allowing the federal establishment to resume sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles which also permits agents to target expatriates based on things like race or ethnicity speaking in Spanish or presence at specific locations Assemblymember Juan Carrillo a Democrat stated the SCOTUS ruling is effectively allowing federal agents to stop defendants based solely on their race language or job MASSACHUSETTS BILL WOULD FORCE ICE AGENTS TO UNMASK How is anyone supposed to reasonably believe that they are law enforcement officers and not masked individuals trying to kidnap you he explained ahead of the vote Imagine the absolute fear of being pulled over at gunpoint by a group of masked individuals Bill supporters also cited an opinion from constitutional law expert Erwin Chemerinsky at the University of California Berkeley He wrote in an opinion piece published in the Sacramento Bee that a state cannot directly regulate the federal establishment but that does not mean federal employees can ignore state rules unless doing so would significantly interfere with the performance of their duties ICE agents have never before worn masks when apprehending people and that never has posed a concern Nor have other officers of local state and federal law enforcement faced dangers from the inhabitants because they don t wear masks in the streets he wrote Republican lawmakers and law enforcement agencies argue that the regulation would only make the job more dangerous for officers Bad guys wear masks because they don't want to get caught Good guys wear masks because they don't want to get killed GOP state Sen Kelly Seyarto mentioned Trump administration executives have attempted to defend the practice of face coverings by stating that federal immigration agents have faced an increase in harassment in masses and online But others including several state attorneys general argued that the use of face masks generates fear among the residents and must be stopped The Associated Press contributed to this analysis