On February 9, 2026, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder, a Bill Clinton appointee, granted a preliminary injunction blocking California’s “No Secret Police Act” (SB 627), which would have required ICE and other federal agents to remove masks during enforcement.
For context, Snyder ruled it violates the Supremacy Clause by discriminating against federal officers. She also upheld the companion “No Vigilantes Act” (SB 805) mandating visible agency affiliation and badge numbers. Reacting to the decision, AG Pam Bondi called it a victory for agent safety amid rampant left-wing harassment. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom framed the ID requirement as a win for accountability and tried to score political points.
Judge Christina Snyder completely discarded California’s argument, saying, “The Court finds that federal officers can perform their federal functions without wearing masks. However, because the No Secret Police Act, as presently enacted, does not apply equally to all law enforcement officers in the state, it unlawfully discriminates against federal officers.”
Taking a victory lap on social media, Attorney General Pamela Bondi reacted, “ANOTHER key court victory thanks to our outstanding @TheJusticeDept attorneys. Following our arguments, a district court in California BLOCKED the enforcement of a law that would have banned federal agents from wearing masks to protect their identities.”
“These federal agents are harassed, doxxed, obstructed, and attacked on a regular basis just for doing their jobs. We have no tolerance for it,” the AG said to tie this legal victory to the ongoing dangers faced by DHS agents. Concluding her comments, Pam Bondi vowed to keep going. “We will continue fighting and winning in court for President Trump’s law-and-order agenda — and we will ALWAYS have the backs of our great federal law enforcement officers,” she said.
Likewise, Chad Gilmartin, who works for the DOJ Public Affairs division, noted, “US judge rejects California law that banned masks for federal officers @AGPamBondi called the decision on the mask law ‘ANOTHER key court victory’ for DOJ.”
“Judge Snyder, an appointee of Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton, agreed with the Trump administration that California’s masking law violated the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause,” he added to provide extra supporting evidence.
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Earlier in the court process, California Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed, “A federal court upheld California’s law requiring federal agents to identify themselves – a clear win for the rule of law. No badge and no name mean no accountability. California will keep standing up for civil rights and our democracy.”
In the initial court document, the state of California claimed, “Each of the challenged provisions is a legitimate exercise of California’s police powers that ‘at most, only incidentally affects‘ federal immigration and law enforcement.”
Building out its tenuous argument, the woke state alleged, “The act does not ‘control, impede, or grant ‘virtual power of review’ over federal law enforcement activities, and therefore it does not amount to an unconstitutional direct regulation.'”
Reacting to the good news, one patriot stated, “Finally some sanity. Agents shouldn’t have to risk their families getting doxxed just to do their job. If you’re mad about masked ICE but cool with Antifa hiding faces at riots make it make sense.”
Watch Rand Paul betray ICE over the masks here:
Featured image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anti-ICE_protest_at_the_Broadview_USCIS_Processing_Center_9_19_2025_20250919_4089_(54797754952).jpg