US court blocks California requirement for ICE to display ID — The Hill

A US federal appeals court has ordered a preliminary injunction against a California law requiring US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers not wearing uniforms to carry visible identification. The decision was issued by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, The Hill reports.

Appeals court’s position

The court remanded the case to a lower court with instructions to impose a preliminary injunction against the state of California. According to the panel, the federal government demonstrated that the state’s No Vigilantes Act conflicts with the US Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

The ruling states that this clause does not allow states, without congressional authorization, to directly regulate the activities of the federal government — even if such rules apply equally to state agencies. The court also said that a state law is invalid if it directly regulates the actions of the federal government without appropriate congressional authorization, regardless of the degree of interference with federal operations.

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What the law provided for

The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California and Governor Gavin Newsom in November last year after he signed the No Vigilantes Act. The document required law enforcement officers working in the state without uniforms to display identification.

The law took effect on January 1 together with the No Secret Police Act. These provisions also prohibited federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks during operations in California. In April, the appeals court had already sided with President Donald Trump’s administration by extending the suspension of the law until the case is resolved.

The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta had previously stated that proper law enforcement requires transparency and accountability, and accused the Trump administration of going beyond ordinary practices in the use of federal law enforcement agencies.