Judge kills state law that prohibits ICE from wearing masks
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A judge shot down New York’s law that banned ICE agents from wearing masks. AP photo by Yuki Iwamura
By Ryan Schwach
New York State can’t tell Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to take off their masks, a federal judge ruled on Monday.
Northern District of New York Judge Mae A. D’Agostino ruled that the state does not have the authority to set policy for federal law enforcement, striking down a recently passed law that bans ICE agents from wearing face coverings.
“New York cannot impose its own uniform requirements on federal agents simply because it disagrees with how the federal government is exercising its authority,” D’Agostino wrote.
The judge added that the state was “well-intentioned in its pursuit of transparent policing” amid the Trump administration’s heavy-handed immigration enforcement.
The ruling is a hit to New York’s attempts to rein in ICE as the agency continues to carry out strict immigration enforcement actions in Queens and the five boroughs.
As part of state lawmakers’ response to President Donald Trump’s use of ICE agents, the State Senate and Assembly earlier this year passed the mask ban, alongside several other laws they claimed would make ICE enforcement less dangerous.
The New York laws were quickly hit with a lawsuit from the DOJ, which D’Agostino ruled on this week.
“Public safety does not come from masked armed agents taking people off our streets,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media in response to the recent ruling. “To immigrant New Yorkers: you belong in this City, and this City stands with you.”
Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition said they are “outraged” by the decision.
“Federal agents wearing masks creates a dangerous environment where officers can operate with impunity and without transparency, putting New Yorkers in danger,” he said in a statement. “It means that masked agents can continue to abduct people off the street without having to identify themselves by name or badge.”
In the same ruling, D’Agostino upheld New York’s law banning 287(g) agreements, which allow local law enforcement to collaborate with the federal government on immigration matters.
“As we have said from the start, New York’s ban on 287(g) agreements is legal and will keep our communities safe,” Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James said in a joint statement. “Local law enforcement should be focused on local matters, and New York taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for any collaboration with ICE.”
ICE has been spotted making arrests in Queens in recent days, with reports of agents being spotted and making arrests in East Elmhurst and College Point since July 30.
