DOJ Sues New Jersey Over Mask Ban for Law Enforcement

In February, a federal judge preliminarily blocked a similar law in California that barred federal agents from concealing their faces while working.

Federal agents, including members of the Department of Homeland Security, the Border Patrol, and police, outside a downtown U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 4, 2025. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Department of Justice is suing New Jersey over a law that bars local, state, and federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks and requires them to show identification before making arrests.

Filed on April 29 in Newark federal court, the lawsuit requests an injunction to block New Jersey’s Law Enforcement Officer Protection Act, which applies to all law enforcement officers, including federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.