By Sierra van der Brug
Los Angeles Daily News
SACRAMENTO — While police chiefs say they gained’t implement the state’s new ban on masks for legislation enforcement officers, together with federal immigration brokers, California lawmakers say there’s one other strategy to penalize officers who conceal their identities.
Senate Bill 627, often known as the No Secret Police Act, will be enforced by means of the courtroom system, making a civil penalty for officers who violate the legislation, the invoice’s authors say.
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In different phrases: Just sue the violators.
“People can file these suits against ICE officers even if the LA police chief decides he doesn’t want to bother to enforce the law,” stated state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who co-authored the invoice. “The video and photographic evidence of these enforcement actions that Californians have been collecting for months will allow them to do just that.”
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department each indicated final week the businesses won’t implement the ban on legislation enforcement carrying masks, with McDonnell referring to dangers that might come up with two armed legislation enforcement businesses turning into concerned in a confrontation.
“It’s disappointing that LAPD doesn’t want to enforce California law to protect our communities in the face of this assault,” Wiener stated, referring to the masked federal immigration officers descending on native communities. “Luckily, the No Secret Police Act was crafted to hold ICE accountable without the need for local law enforcement to get involved.”
Individuals, teams, metropolis attorneys and district attorneys all can file fits towards any businesses, officers or brokers who masks up after Jan. 1, in accordance with the legislation.
The civil penalty begins at $10,000.
The legislation additionally requires any legislation enforcement businesses working in California to have a publicly posted masks coverage by July 1.
The constitutionality of the legislation, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2025, is being challenged in courtroom, with the U.S. Department of Justice arguing immigration brokers ought to have the ability to masks for his or her security, together with avoiding doxxing, and that the legislation violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution , which says states can’t management operations of the federal authorities.
“A police chief does not get to pick and choose which laws will be enforced and which will go ignored. This stance squarely contradicts the chief’s own claim at the same press conference that public safety is the government’s foremost responsibility and, without it, everything else fails,” state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, a co-author of the invoice, stated.
The Pasadena Democrat additionally criticized the LAPD’s non-enforcement of the legislation.
“Public safety does not exist when immigration raids with masked agents directly destabilize communities and erode trust. Statements like this create a broader ripple effect that undermine consistent enforcement of our laws and feed into the current federal administration’s arbitrary behaviors,” she stated. “I expect more from a leader who has a distinguished public service career and who has taken an oath to uphold all our laws and protect the rights and safety of millions of diverse Angelenos.”
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