California has once again placed itself at the center of the nation’s immigration debate, as Governor Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping set of bills on September 20, 2025, aimed at protecting immigrant communities and curbing what he and supporters describe as secretive, aggressive federal enforcement tactics. In a highly publicized Los Angeles ceremony, Newsom, surrounded by state lawmakers, education leaders, and immigrant advocates, inked into law Senate Bills 627 and 805—known respectively as the “No Secret Police Act” and the “No Vigilantes Act”—alongside three related measures. The legislation, effective January 1, 2026, makes California the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces during official operations, with limited exceptions for undercover work and medical masks.
The move comes in direct response to a series of controversial immigration raids in Los Angeles earlier in the summer, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents—many masked and in unmarked vehicles—conducted mass arrests. According to ABC7 and Deadline, these actions sparked days of protests and prompted President Donald Trump to deploy thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to the city, escalating tensions and drawing national attention. The raids, initially billed as targeting individuals with criminal records, quickly broadened, with reports of U.S. citizens and children being detained indiscriminately in public spaces, parking lots, and even churches.
“We celebrate that diversity. It’s what makes California great. It’s what makes America great. It is under assault,” Newsom declared at the bill signing, per ABC7. “The impact of these policies all across this city, our state and nation are terrifying. It’s like a dystopian sci-fi movie. Unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing. No due process, no rights, no right in a democracy where we have rights. Immigrants have rights, and we have the right to stand up and push back, and that’s what we’re doing here today.”
The new laws prohibit neck gaiters, ski masks, and other facial coverings for local and federal officers—including ICE—while conducting official business in California. Undercover agents and those wearing N95 respirators or similar protective gear for medical reasons are exempt, and the ban does not apply to state police. SB 805 further mandates that all law enforcement operating in California, whether in uniform or not, must be identifiable by name or badge number. Bounty hunters are now barred from participating in any immigration-related activity, and police are permitted to demand identification from anyone suspected of impersonating law enforcement. These measures, lawmakers argue, are designed to restore public trust and prevent impersonation crimes.
“ICE, unmask, what are you afraid of?” Newsom challenged during the ceremony, echoing sentiments from The Daily Show and referencing the HBO series Watchmen, which features masked police in a dystopian setting. The governor’s rhetorical question pointedly underscored the legislation’s intent: to demand transparency and accountability from law enforcement, particularly as federal agents’ actions have increasingly drawn criticism for their secrecy and perceived lack of oversight.
Supporters of the bills, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, were blunt about the stakes. “It’s the hunting of Latinos in Los Angeles, it is the hunting of Haitians in Florida,” Bass said, as reported by Deadline. “As Angelenos we will never allow this to be normalized.” Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, author of the California Safe Haven Schools Act—signed alongside the mask bans—added, “Students cannot learn if they live in fear of being deported. The California Safe Haven Schools Act is a clear message to Donald Trump: ‘keep ICE out of our schools.’”
The legislative package also includes new restrictions preventing immigration agents from entering schools and health care facilities without a valid warrant or judicial order, and requires schools to notify parents and teachers when agents are present on campus. These measures, Newsom said, are part of a broader push to protect vulnerable communities and resist federal overreach. The California Legislature earlier allocated $50 million to the state Department of Justice and legal organizations, funding more than 40 lawsuits against the Trump administration over immigration enforcement policies.
Federal officials, however, have been quick to push back. Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli stated on X (formerly Twitter) that California “does not have jurisdiction over the federal government” and that federal agents “will continue to protect their identities.” He criticized Newsom’s press office for a post that read, “Kristi Noem is going to have a bad day today,” referring to the South Park–parodied Homeland Security Secretary. Essayli called the post a “direct or implicit threat” and referred the matter to the Secret Service, which confirmed to Newsweek that it was investigating “any situation or individual, regardless of position or status, that could pose or be perceived as posing a threat to any of our protectees.”
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin condemned the new laws as “despicable and a flagrant attempt to endanger our officers.” In a statement cited by ABC7 and Newsweek, McLaughlin said, “While our federal law enforcement officers are being assaulted by rioters and having rocks and Molotov cocktails thrown at them, a sanctuary politician is trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers.” She emphasized that ICE agents “put their lives on the line every day to arrest violent criminal illegal aliens to protect and defend the lives of American citizens.”
Newsom, for his part, dismissed concerns about doxxing as “unfounded and unproven,” arguing that federal officials have failed to provide data supporting claims of a surge in assaults on officers. “There’s an assertion that somehow there is an exponential increase in assaults on officers, but they will not provide the data,” he said. “All they have provided is misinformation and misdirection.”
Legal scholars, such as Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California, Berkeley, have weighed in, noting that while federal employees generally must follow state rules unless doing so would significantly interfere with their duties, the question of enforcement remains murky. “For example, while on the job, federal employees must stop at red lights,” Chemerinsky wrote in The Sacramento Bee. The Trump administration has already signaled plans to challenge the new laws in court, and political observers suggest that Newsom may be preparing for a protracted legal battle that could shape the balance of state and federal power for years to come.
As California’s face-off with Washington escalates, the outcome of these new laws—and the broader struggle over immigration enforcement—remains uncertain. What is clear is that the Golden State is determined to chart its own course, even as the nation watches closely.
