US federal judge blocks New York’s ban on ICE officers wearing masks

The preliminary ruling means local police officers are blocked from arresting ICE agents for covering their faces in public settings.

“The United States has demonstrated a likelihood that it will succeed on its claim that [New York’s] face covering and identification acts directly regulate federal officers in violation of the supremacy clause,” D’Agostino wrote.

“Whether federal law enforcement agencies have chosen to carry out such operations in a sufficiently transparent manner is an important question. But that question is not for this court to answer at the present time.”

New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed the restrictions known as the “New York mask law” in late May in response to federal immigration enforcement tactics during Donald Trump’s second presidency. Members of the president’s Republican party argue that a mask ban undermines public safety.