Trump administration sues New Jersey over state law barring ICE from wearing masks

(CN) — The Department of Justice on Wednesday sued New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, accusing the Democrats of putting ICE officers at risk with their new law barring face coverings on the federal agents.

In a 24-page complaint, filed in federal court in New Jersey, the Trump administration calls the law a “blatantly unconstitutional ban” that “recklessly disregards officer safety and federal operational needs.”

“The law creates a Hobson’s Choice for all federal officers: either put themselves at risk by unmasking and providing individual identification, at the cost of officer safety, the safety of their families, and operational effectiveness or face legal consequences by defendants,” the government says in the lawsuit.

Sherrill signed the sweeping restrictions into law last month, making New Jersey one of just a few states in the country to regulate federal immigration agents in this way. The law requires ICE agents to clearly identify themselves during enforcement actions and bars them from covering their faces.

“In the United States of America, we’re not going to tolerate masked, roving militias pretending to be well-trained law enforcement agents,” Sherrill said when announcing the law on March 25, 2026.

Federal agents who don’t abide by the law would be charged as a disorderly person. But there are some exceptions for masking or disguises, such as if an officer is undercover. Under the law, agents can also wear transparent face shields or medical-grade masks for health reasons or during a state of emergency.

The masking of ICE agents continues to be a contentious national issue as the Trump administration ramps up its controversial and often violent immigration enforcement mission, which has already resulted in the deaths of several U.S. citizens and another several dozen immigrants in the agency’s custody.

Critics of ICE’s tactics say its agents are public servants like police officers and should be easily identifiable as such, particularly for accountability reasons. A recent report from The Trace identified 24 incidents in which immigration agents fired their weapons during enforcement actions since President Donald Trump took office last year and kickstarted the operations.

Others have raised fears that identification issues make it easier for bad actors to impersonate ICE officers, which has indeed been reported numerous times over the past year.

But the government claims face coverings are an essential option for officers, who are purportedly facing an uptick in harassment as the agency becomes more and more polarizing.

“Officers and agents have been followed home from work,” the DOJ claims in the suit. “At least one officer was followed home by individuals who then assaulted and threatened his family. Other officers have been followed to their hotels while deployed.”

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and Customs and Border Protection, vowed not to enforce the New Jersey law after it was signed last month. It claims it doesn’t have to, per the Supremacy Clause, which the government uses as the basis for its complaint.

“To be clear, the federal government will not comply with this blatantly unconstitutional law,” the DOJ says in the complaint. “But the threat of enforcement by defendant chills individual officers from protecting themselves and performing their duties. The consequences for public safety are severe.”

Washington and California have passed similar laws to New Jersey’s, and Democrats in at least two dozen other states have proposed legislation to ban or limit when federal law enforcement can cover their faces. California’s law is currently frozen, however, after a judge blocked it in February amid fears of unequal enforcement across other law enforcement officials.

Davenport said in a statement Wednesday she looks forward to responding to the Trump administration’s new lawsuit in court, and the government’s “contrary approach” to masking will only “undermine public trust and accountability and make it easier for criminals to impersonate our officers.”

“To this day, the federal government still cannot explain when its officials need to mask or forgo identification in violation of this law, or why they actually need to do so, particularly given the serious safety concerns inherent in anonymized policing,” the attorney general said. “New Jersey responded thoughtfully and carefully to these profound public safety concerns.”

A spokesperson for Sherrill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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