Los Angeles County supervisors took the first step toward banning law enforcement officers from wearing masks in another move targeting federal immigration operations in the area.

Supervisor Janice Hahn introduced the possible mask ban at a July 29 meeting. Hahn accused masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers of sowing fear in the community while conducting deportation operations and expressed concerns that impostors could be encouraged by such practice to commit crimes.

Hahn said she didn’t know how or if the county could enforce such a ban.

“It’s unclear if we here at the county can regulate federal agents,” Hahn said at the meeting. “Ultimately, it’s probably going to be decided in court. But regardless, it’s important that we set the clear expectation that when you are in Los Angeles County, this is how all law enforcement should conduct themselves.”

She said implementing the ordinance is a way to “hold all law enforcement officers accountable to their duties to protect and to serve.”

Supervisor Hilda Solis, who co-authored the legislation, called ongoing ICE operations “horrific.”

The board voted 4–0, with Chair Kathryn Barger abstaining, to direct county counsel to draft a proposed ordinance to prohibit all law enforcement officers, including federal agents, from wearing any mask or personal disguise while interacting with the public.

The law would also require all law enforcement operating in the county to wear visible identification and agency affiliation while interacting with the public.

Barger abstained from voting, saying she didn’t want to give vulnerable members of the community a false sense of security.

“I want to make sure we do something that is, in fact, going to protect this vulnerable population,” Barger said. “Who is going to enforce it? I honestly don’t know.”

County Counsel Dawyn Harrison said ICE’s stance would likely be that the county cannot control acts of the federal government and that enforcing the proposed law would be a violation.

L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn speaks at the Port of Long Beach on Jan. 11, 2022. Hahn wrote the proposed ordinance that would ban federal agents from wearing masks. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said masks protect federal officers from a growing number of assaults.

“While ICE officers face an 830 percent increase in assaults, these sanctuary politicians are trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted,” McLaughlin told The Epoch Times in an email. “These L.A. County Supervisors have clearly never been on an ICE operation because they would see our officers verbally identify themselves, wear vests that say ICE/ERO or Homeland Security, and are flanked by vehicles that also say the name of the department.

“Our heroic law enforcement officers are targeting highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists who attempt to go after the officers and their families,” McLaughlin added.

Protesters rally against immigration operations in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. (Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)

Hahn said she understands the argument that ICE agents cover their faces because they fear being doxed, but the overall safety risk to her communities carries more weight.

The county’s counsel has been directed to return in 60 days to the Board of Supervisors with proposed language for a draft ordinance.

Other California representatives are seeking similar restrictions at the state and federal levels.

State Sen. Scott Wiener introduced a statewide measure—Senate Bill 627—known as the “No Secret Police Act.” The bill passed the state Senate on May 8 and is making its way through Assembly committees.

U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced the VISIBLE Act in Congress on July 8 that would require federal immigration officers to wear visible identification during enforcement actions and limit the use of face coverings.

The proposal followed a series of arrests in Los Angeles, some of which the senators said were carried out by masked agents.

Padilla also led 13 Democrats who sent a letter to DHS asking the agency to explain its policy on masks and wearing uniforms or other identifiable markers.