Overview

• Los Angeles County supervisors voted 4–0 to have counsel draft a rule that bars officers in unincorporated areas from wearing masks or disguises while on duty and requires visible identification
• Michigan House Democrats’ HB 4760, introduced July 24 to criminalize masked enforcement, has been deemed “dead on arrival” by Republican Speaker Matt Hall
• Senator Elissa Slotkin’s federal proposal and California’s SB 627 both seek to prohibit non-medical face coverings by immigration officers and impose badge-display requirements but face looming legal challenges
• DHS data show an 830 percent surge in assaults on ICE agents from January through mid-July, prompting agencies to argue that masks protect officers and their families from doxxing and gang retaliation
• Legal experts predict that state and local mask bans for federal personnel will trigger court fights over the Supremacy Clause and First Amendment protections for anonymous speech