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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said it will defy California’s new “No Secret Police Act,” which restricts law enforcement officers from masking their identities during operations.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Saturday that prohibits local and federal law enforcement officers from wearing ski masks, neck gaiters, or other face coverings while performing official duties. He made the post hours after his press office wrote in an X post that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “is going to have a bad day today.”
“Governor Gavin Newsom is fanning the flames of division, hatred and dehumanization of our law enforcement. At a time that ICE law enforcement faces a 1,000% increase in assaults and their family members are being doxxed and targeted, the sitting Governor of California signs unconstitutional legislation that strips law enforcement of protections in a disgusting, diabolical fundraising and PR stunt,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release.
She added: “He signed this piece of legislation the same day his team made a menacing threat against Secretary Kristi Noem online. The violent rhetoric and demonization must stop. To be crystal clear: we will not abide by Newsom’s unconstitutional ban.”
ICE has come under increased scrutiny for deploying agents in plain clothes and wearing face coverings during operations, a measure officials say is essential to protect both agents and their families from threats. Under the new legislation, California becomes the first state to prohibit enforcement agents from covering their faces, with limited exceptions for undercover operations and medical masks.
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