Lawsuits Filed over New York's Mask Ban for Federal Agents
The law would bar ICE masks and limit cooperation, while the Justice Department says it could expose federal agents to criminal penalties.
- On Monday, the United States Department of Justice sued New York State to block the "Local Cops, Local Crimes Act," alleging it unconstitutionally regulates federal agents; Governor Kathy Hochul responded Tuesday by filing a countersuit to uphold the state's immigration-enforcement restrictions.
- Taking effect Friday, the state law prohibits federal officers from wearing masks and bans cooperative 287 agreements, though the Department of Justice argues these regulations endanger agents facing an "unprecedented wave of harassment, doxing, and even violence."
- Citing the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward argued the state cannot prohibit federal officers from ensuring safety; Attorney General Letitia James maintains the 10th Amendment protects the state's "police power" to ensure public safety within its borders.
- White House Border Czar Tom Homan threatened to "flood the streets" with agents, calling the legislation an attempt to advance a "rogue federal agency" agenda, while Hochul noted that New Yorkers deserve to know who is enforcing the law.
- Legal outcomes in New York may impact similar laws in Washington State, where Sen. Javier Valdez sponsored a comparable mask ban; critics of anonymous policing argue such measures erode trust, yet federal officials contend these bans impede lawful operations.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Trump Administration Sues New York State Over ICE Mask Ban
The Trump administration sued New York state Monday over a law that would ban the use of masks by federal immigration agents and was set to go into effect this week. In a 40-page lawsuit, the Department of Justice argued that New York’s mask ban, which was signed into law in May by Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, was unconstitutional and put federal officers at risk. The lawsuit also challenged two other measures enacted by Democrats in Albany, t…
New York state and Trump Justice Department file dueling suits over new laws banning local police from working with ICE
New York filed suit in an upstate federal court Monday to defend new state laws passed to protect New Yorkers from federal immigration enforcement, saying it wanted to get ahead of the Trump administration’s expected attempts to claim the laws are unconstitutional and strike them down in court. It didn’t quite accomplish that aim: Trump’s Department of Justice also filed a suit attacking those same laws that hit the docket a few minutes before …
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