New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill has signed a new bill into law that limits the use of face coverings for law enforcement officers, including federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The law also requires officers to present identification before making an arrest. Prior to the bill, some federal immigration officers utilized masks in order to prevent retaliation against them for simply doing their job.
Sherrill, who was officially sworn into office in January 2026, explained the mask restriction as being part of an effort to ensure the safety of residents in the state. “I can’t believe we have to say this, but in the United States of America, we’re not going to tolerate masked roving militias pretending, pretending to be well-trained law enforcement agents,” she went on to say.
The new law against masks is part of a larger package that the governor said is designed to “protect people’s privacy and their rights” and “strengthen trust between law enforcement and our communities.” Banning federal immigration officers from wearing masks is an effort that Democrats in Congress and in various states across the country have been going on for months.
According to Fox News, Democrats say legislation to prohibit masks is an effort to guarantee transparency. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, also a Democrat, signed a similar bill into law earlier in March. The Department of Homeland Security, however, disagrees with Sherrill and Ferguson, slamming efforts to unmask ICE agents and calling the new measure in Washington “irresponsible, reckless and dangerous.”
“To be crystal clear: we will not abide by this unconstitutional ban,” the department said when the legislation was signed into law. Sherrill’s signing of the bill on March 25, 2026, is just the latest in her war on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. Earlier in the year, she announced a portal that allows residents to upload pictures and videos of ICE agents at work.
“If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out, we want to know,” Sherrill went on to say at the time. “They have not been forthcoming. They will pick people up, they will not tell us who they are, they will not tell us if they’re here legally, they won’t check. They’ll pick up American citizens. They picked up a five-year-old child. We want documentation, and we are going to make sure we get it.”
“We saw people in the street with masks and no insignia. So not accountable at all, hiding from the population — and we saw again and again an undermining of what law enforcement should do to keep people safe,” the New Jersey governor continued. The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against the Garden State over an executive order from Sherrill that bans federal immigration authorities from making arrests in nonpublic areas of state property.
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This means agents cannot arrest illegal aliens at correctional facilities or in courthouses. It also prohibits the use of state property as staging or processing for immigration enforcement. Many conservatives have warned that taking away the masks increases the chances of ICE agents and other immigration authorities being assaulted or harassed, noting it also puts their families at risk as well.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video