Overview

• Gov. Gavin Newsom signed five bills in Los Angeles that include the first statewide prohibition on face coverings for most on-duty officers, with exemptions for undercover work, medical masks and tactical gear, and an exclusion for state police.
• The package adds immediate rules requiring visible identification under SB 805 and new limits on immigration enforcement in schools and healthcare settings, including school notifications and warrant requirements for nonpublic areas.
• The mask ban takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, while several protections for schools and hospitals, as well as the identification requirement, are now in force.
• Homeland Security leaders condemned the unmasking law as dangerous, and Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said California lacks jurisdiction over federal agents and ordered agencies to maintain current practices.
• State action follows masked ICE raids in Los Angeles that drew mass protests, National Guard and Marine deployments, and a Supreme Court ruling allowing sweeping operations to resume, with legal challenges to the new laws expected.