Leaders of one of the largest sanctuary havens in the country are pushing to leave immigration agents unmasked, despite safety concerns.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to direct county lawyers to draft an ordinance that would largely prohibit law enforcement officers, including federal agents, from wearing masks. The vote follows widespread anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots that rocked the Los Angeles area for days and concerns over agents’ safety.
“Law enforcement officers should never wear personal disguises or conceal their identities while interacting with the public in the course of their duties. But since the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids began in Los Angeles County on June 6, 2025, that is exactly what has been happening,” read the motion, co-authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn.
“And they have refused to reveal their identities or even a badge when asked, leading to fear of impersonators,” the motion continued. ICE leadership has repeatedly denied this claim, noting in press statements that their agents, even when masked, wear easily identifiable insignia.
The LA County Counsel has 60 days to draft an ordinance that would bar all law enforcement officers within the county from wearing a mask while on the job and interacting with the public, with some exceptions for medical masks or similar situations, according to the motion. It’s not immediately clear how the Board of Supervisors, a local body, could legally regulate the actions of federal law enforcement.
The 4-0 vote by the LA County Board of Supervisors came just weeks after anti-ICE riots sprang across the region and quickly spread to other corners of the country.
In response to federal immigration enforcement activity in June, over 1,000 rioters in Los Angeles surrounded a federal building, assaulted deportation officers, slashed tires and defaced government property, according to the agency. Press footage of the chaos captured anti-ICE rioters blocking traffic, defacing public property, setting cars ablaze and brandishing the flags of numerous foreign countries.
The Trump administration — which has placed blame of the violence on anti-ICE rhetoric by Democratic lawmakers — revealed earlier in July that assaults against ICE officials have increased a whopping 830%.
“ICE law enforcement are succeeding to remove terrorists, murderers, pedophiles and the most depraved among us from America’s communities, even as crazed rhetoric from gutter politicians are inspiring a massive increase in assaults against them,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a public statement. “It is reprehensible that our officers are facing this threat while simply doing their jobs and enforcing the law.”
Numerous high-profile threats have been made against ICE in recent months. A Texas man was arrested in April after allegedly threatening to open fire on any deportation officers he saw in his neighborhood. In a social media post, he allegedly referred to ICE agents as the “secret police,” a label used by other Democrats who have introduced anti-mask bills.
A New York man was arrested and charged in July for allegedly posting online threats to kill ICE agents. In one post about an ICE operation, he allegedly said he “can’t wait to put a bullet into this guy’s brain, but first his children” and in another online rant, he allegedly said “Kill them all, ICE is the new age gestapo, stop them.”
Because of these threats and the sharp increase in assaults, ICE will not discourage agents from wearing face masks during enforcement operations, according to the agency.
“During enforcement operations, all ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Officers and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents wear badges designed to be easily identifiable and to signify their authority as law enforcement officials,” an ICE spokesperson previously stated to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “If an ICE officer or agent chooses to wear a mask to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement.”
LA County leaders are far from the only Democrats itching to unmask ICE agents.
State legislators in California, New York, Tennessee, Michigan, Massachusetts and elsewhere have introduced similar measures. The trend has also caught on in Congress, with Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate introducing bills to prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks while on the job.
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