Overview

• The order amends last August’s mask prohibition to allow federal, state and local officers to don masks or facial coverings when necessary for targeted investigations such as ICE raids and narcotics sweeps.
• Patrol officers are barred from masking during routine duties and must display their name, rank and badge in compliance with state identification requirements.
• It follows February’s 287(g) partnership with ICE that assigned 10 county detectives to a federal task force and reserved 50 beds at East Meadow jail for up to 72-hour detainee holds.
• Opponents including Nassau Democrats and the New York City Bar Association warn masked policing diminishes transparency, and the New York Civil Liberties Union has filed suit over the ICE agreement.
• Since the partnership began, about 1,400 detainees have been processed at the county jail, and ongoing legal challenges target both the mask exemptions and the immigration enforcement deal.