The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a motion by Supervisor Janice Hahn that bans law enforcement officers from wearing masks while performing their official duties.
“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,” the motion reads. “Residents have witnessed countless incidents of men in plainclothes or wearing tactical gear, with their faces covered by masks or balaclavas and sunglasses, while they raid communities and detain residents.
“And they have refused to reveal their identities or even a badge when asked, leading to fear of impersonators. When law enforcement officers conceal their identities, they create confusion, incite fear, and undermine public trust,” the motion continues.
The motion instructs County Counsel to report back to the Board in 60 days with proposed language for a draft ordinance that would prohibit all law enforcement officers, including federal agents operating within the County, from wearing any mask or personal disguise while interacting with the public in the course of their duties within unincorporated areas. The ordinance would allow appropriate pre-approved exemptions, such as gas masks, fire and smoke protection masks, or medical-grade masks when necessary, as well as exemptions for undercover operations.
The measure would also require all law enforcement officers, including federal agents operating within the County, to wear visible identification and agency affiliation while interacting with the public in the course of their duties within unincorporated areas.
STATE AND FEDERAL EFFORTS
The use of masks by ICE agents during raids across the Southland has been widely criticized by activists and immigrants, who say it creates confusion and fear among residents—many of whom do not know whom they are dealing with.
Homeland Security officials say officers conceal their faces for protection and to guard against online harassment by activists.
The situation prompted State Senator Scott Wiener (D–San Francisco) to propose SB 627, the “No Secret Police Act,” and State Senator Sasha Renee Perez (D–Pasadena) to propose SB 805, the “No Vigilantes Act.” The bills, which have already passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee and are now headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, would require officers to be identifiable while on duty and prohibit them from covering their faces during operations.
“The ICE-masked secret police are raining terror on communities across California, and it has to stop. Law enforcement should never be easily confused with the guy in the ski mask robbing a liquor store—yet that’s what’s happening with ICE’s extreme masking behavior. ICE’s brazenly illegal conduct—including outright racial profiling by masked, unidentified agents—is undermining public safety, creating extreme fear, and destroying confidence in law enforcement. If we want the public to trust law enforcement, we cannot allow any officer of the law to behave like secret police in an authoritarian state,” said Senator Wiener.
“With the rise in police impersonation cases and the general fear created by nameless and unidentified individuals carrying out law enforcement operations on our streets, we must strengthen the state’s policing standards. The public and its agents must be able to distinguish between authorized law enforcement personnel and dangerous criminals,” Senator Perez stated.
A similar measure, also titled the “No Secret Police Act,” was introduced in Congress by New York Representatives Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman.
Senators Alex Padilla of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey also introduced the VISIBLE Act, which mandates that agents from ICE and Customs and Border Protection wear legible identification displaying their names and agency affiliation.
