A proposed law in California would bar law enforcement officials from wearing masks while interacting with the public.
The bill was introduced as a series of immigration raids across the country — carried out in some instances by masked officers — have touched off intense protests in California and elsewhere across the nation.
The proposed law, announced by two Democratic lawmakers on Monday, would apply to local, state and federal law enforcement officials. It would make it a misdemeanor for them to wear masks while on duty, except in certain circumstances. The bill would also “state the intent of the Legislature” to pass separate legislation requiring officers to display their name and badge number on their uniforms.
“We’re seeing the rise of secret police — masked, no identifying info, even wearing army fatigues — grabbing and disappearing people,” State Senator Scott Wiener, one of the lawmakers who proposed the bill, wrote in a social media post announcing the legislation.
“It’s antithetical to democracy and harms communities,” added Mr. Wiener, whose district includes San Francisco.
The bill, known as the “No Secret Police Act,” would provide an exemption for SWAT members and officers who use masks to reduce harm, including to prevent disease transmission or smoke inhalation. But the proposed law is still in the early stages of the approval process, and it’s unclear if, or how, it could be applied to federal officers.
Supporters of the bill say that it would increase accountability and confidence in law enforcement, and that it would protect people from those who impersonate officers. On Saturday, a man impersonating a law enforcement officer killed a state lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota, after shooting and wounding another state lawmaker and his wife.
But opponents say that masks are necessary to protect law enforcement officers.
In a statement, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, called the California bill “despicable.” She said that ICE officers were facing an increasing number of threats and attempts to publish their personal information online.
“While ICE 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 said.
Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said in an interview with CBS News earlier this month that officers needed to use the masks for their protection.
“It’s for the safety of those individuals or the work that they’re doing as far as protecting their identity so they can continue to do investigative work,” she said.
The California Police Chiefs Association said it had been in touch with Mr. Wiener, who reached out before the bill was introduced, and that it had shared its concerns with him.
“Finding a balance between public transparency and trust, along with officer safety, is critical when we’re talking about creating state laws that change the rules for officers that are being placed into conflict situations,” Jason Salazar, the association’s president, said in a statement.
President Trump and others on the right have also taken issue with mask use — but among protesters and members of the public.
After Mr. Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles to protect immigration agents from protesters, he posted on social media that “from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests.”
“What do these people have to hide, and why???” he wrote.
Last year, some jurisdictions dusted off anti-mask laws that were passed in the 1940s and ’50s to combat the Ku Klux Klan and used them to target those protesting the war in Gaza.
There is no federal policy regulating the use of masks by officers, law enforcement experts said. In the past, officers have used masks during undercover work, or to protect their identities during investigations.
But that seemed to change earlier this year with the arrests of international students in the United States, said John Sandweg, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a former acting general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security.
He said the increased use of masks by officers was “a byproduct of this administration’s policies that has put the agents under pressure.”
Some Americans have seen the arrests of students as an attack on free speech, while others have been frustrated by the Trump administration’s aggressive push to arrest undocumented immigrants.
“The agents are scared that they’re going to be the ones paying the price,” Mr. Sandweg said.
Mask use among officers can make them less safe, he added. For instance, other law enforcement officers or armed bystanders may react if they see a group of masked men grabbing someone off the street.
“You could just see these scenarios where this could go sideways very easily,” he said.
Jonathan Wolfe is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news.
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