LAPD Chief Challenges Newsom’s Mask Ban for Immigration Agents Over Safety Issues

The Los Angeles Police Department has decided not to implement a California directive that prohibits federal immigration agents from concealing their identities with masks during operations in the state.

In an interview with “Good Day LA” on Fox Los Angeles, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell stated that the department will refrain from enforcing the directive issued by California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Chief McDonnell explained that enforcing such a directive could pose safety risks, as it would require LAPD officers to potentially confront federal authorities over what is essentially a misdemeanor offense.

Highlighting the complexities of the issue, McDonnell emphasized the LAPD’s primary objective in these situations is to de-escalate tensions rather than exacerbate them. “Our aim is to defuse situations, not to intensify them,” he noted. “Attempting to enforce a misdemeanor charge against another law enforcement agency is unlikely to produce a positive outcome.”

“From a practical standpoint, our role when we get to a scene is to de-escalate the situation, not to ramp it up,” McDonnell said. “Trying to enforce a misdemeanor violation on another law enforcement agency, that’s not going to end well. And that’s not going to be good.” 

“From a public safety standpoint for anybody in that environment. Potentially you have a crowd that could be agitated and trying to get their point across,” he added. “And then you have the ICE agents who are doing their job. And for us to come in then and try and create an enforcement action for wearing a mask, it’s not a safe way to do business.”  

In September 2025, Newsom signed a bill into law banning law enforcement from wearing face coverings while conducting official business across the state. 

The bill makes it a misdemeanor crime for local, state or federal law enforcement to wear masks or personal disguises during their duties, unless an officer is undercover or performing a tactical operation that requires protective gear.

BLOCKING ICE COOPERATION FUELED MINNESOTA UNREST, OFFICIALS WARN AS VIRGINIA REVERSES COURSE

California Gov. Gavin Newsom looks on during a bill signing event related to redrawing the state’s congressional maps on August 21, 2025 in Sacramento, California.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“What are you afraid of?” Newsom said as he signed the legislation into law. 

Critics of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration have cited masked ICE agents as a public safety risk, accusing them of trying to shield their identities from being leaked. 

Authorities said ICE agents have masked up to avoid doxxing and threats to them and their families from the public.

The ban came after a series of immigration raids in and around Los Angeles, where federal agents were spotted wearing masks. At the time, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said federal agents are already required to identify themselves and wear clothing that designates they are with ICE or Homeland Security markers during operations.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer with other officials.  (Getty Images)

Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. 

Bass criticized ICE’s mask policy following raids in Los Angeles last summer. 

“When the raids started, fear spread,” Bass said in an interview last year with ABC News. “The masked men in unmarked cars, no license plate, no real uniforms, jumping out of cars with rifles and snatching people off the street, leading a lot of people to think maybe kidnappings were taking place.”