LAPD Chief Defies Gavin Newsom, Refuses to Enforce Face Covering Ban on ICE Agents (VIDEO)
The Los Angeles Police Department LAPD) will not enforce a California law that prohibits federal immigration agents from wearing masks during enforcement operations.
During an appearance on Good Day LA, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell warned that doing so could endanger officers and escalate volatile situations.
“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,” he continued. “Potentially, you have a crowd that could be agitated and trying to get their point across.”
“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.”
At a press conference on Friday, McDonnell said that enforcing Newsom’s law “doesn’t make any sense.”
“The reality of one armed agency approaching another armed agency to create conflict over something that would be a misdemeanor at best or an infraction.”
“The reality of one armed agency approaching another armed agency to create conflict over something that would be a misdemeanor at best or an infraction. It doesn’t make any sense” – LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, on not enforcing Gavin Newsom‘s dangerous anti-mask law for federal… pic.twitter.com/5pjzAGvBSW
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) January 31, 2026
The law in question was signed by Newsom in September 2025 and makes it a misdemeanor for local, state, or federal law enforcement officers to wear masks or personal disguises while performing official duties.
“We have the right to stand up and push back,” Newsom declared at the time. “This is a disgrace, this is an outrage, what we have allowed to happen in this country.”
“We have a right to stand up and push back!” @GavinNewsom says @realDonaldTrump’s immigration enforcement has been like a “dystopian sci fi novel” with “masked men” carrying out orders. @CAgovernor is signing a bill to require federal immigration officials to unmask with… pic.twitter.com/AbPSdA4cl0
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) September 20, 2025
The only exceptions to the law include agents who are operating undercover or using protective equipment during tactical operations.
The legislation followed a series of immigration raids across Los Angeles, during which federal agents were seen wearing face coverings.
While the Trump administration has acknowledged that the wearing of face coverings is undesirable, they are worn to protect agents’ families against harassment, doxxing, and threats from far-left immigration activists.
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