New York and the federal government filed dueling lawsuits on June 22 over new state laws that bar law enforcement officers from concealing their identities using face coverings and end local cooperation with federal immigration agents.
The two suits, filed the same day in different federal courts, are another pending test of whether a state can regulate how federal officers operate within its borders. Both lawsuits ask a federal judge to decide the same question from opposite sides.
The laws are part of a state budget bill, SB 9005-C, that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in May. One section bars local, state, and federal officers from wearing masks that conceal their identity while interacting with the public and requires them to display identification, with exceptions for undercover work, emergencies, and religious coverings.
A federal officer who violates it could face up to 15 days in jail for a first offense and up to a year for later ones. That section takes effect on June 26. A second section, the Local Cops, Local Crimes law, requires New York governments to end agreements that let local police perform immigration enforcement under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) supervision, known as 287(g) agreements, by Aug. 25.
New York argues that it has authority under the Tenth Amendment to require that officers working in the state be identifiable and to decide how local resources are used.
“A badge carries with it a responsibility to uphold the public’s trust,” Hochul said on Monday. “New Yorkers deserve to know who is enforcing the law in their communities and have the assurance that local resources are being deployed to protect public safety, not to intimidate or advance the agenda of a rogue federal agency.”
James said the state would “fight tooth and nail” to defend the laws. New York’s complaint points to an October operation on Canal Street in Manhattan that it says “terrified” residents. It argues that masks make it harder to hold officers accountable for misconduct.
The Justice Department argues that the laws are unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause, which it says bars states from regulating the federal government.
Its suit names the state, Hochul, James, and Michael Russo, who heads the state attorney general’s Buffalo regional office. The department says the laws criminalize federal officers for following federal rules and endanger them at a time of rising threats, citing the use of websites that publish agents’ personal information.
“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement on June 23. “New York’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said, “Governor Hochul cannot tell Federal officers how to do their job. And she certainly cannot prohibit them from ensuring their own safety in conducting Federal law enforcement operations. Our suit today stops New York’s unconstitutional efforts.”
The Justice Department also says that ending the 287(g) agreements violates the Constitution’s Contracts Clause and conflicts with federal immigration law.
It says the state has 14 such agreements, the oldest dating to 2020, and listed recent cases in which local officers with that authority transferred people charged with crimes including rape and arson to ICE.
