ICE officers in masks target of new NJ bill
Law would also apply to state law enforcement
By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Legislation that would prohibit law enforcement from wearing masks in the Garden State will be up for committee consideration in the state Senate this week [02/17-20/2026] amid critics, by governor Mikie Sherill and others that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have worn masks while conduction raids.
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The bill, which already cleared committee in the Assembly with a vote of 5-2, would require law enforcement officers - both state and federal - working in New Jersey to have their faces showing in an official capacity.
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Officers would also need to present identification before detaining or arresting someone.
..... The bill says that being dressed in a department-issued uniform bearing the agency insignia and showing a department-issued identification card with the officer's photograph and identifying information would be considered sufficient.
..... So would showing a badge, tag, label or other department-issued identification that identifies the officer by number, or stating out loud - in a clear and audible manner - the officer's name and the official name of the agency employing the officer.
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The bill includes a few exemptions, such as undercover and tactical operations. medical necessity, cold weather exposure and exposure to harmful biological or chemical agents.
..... Plainclothes officers would still be able to help during urgent public safety situations.
..... Not everyone supports the legislation.
..... Sean Lavin of the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council testified at the Assembly committee that some "commonsense language changes" that could be addressed would lead to their support of the bill.
..... "I think the new Jersey law enforcement community is well suited and well operated and that this is a large wide net that appropriately will also catch federal agencies operating in New Jersey," Assemblyman Joe Danielsen said in response to Lavin.
..... If federal agencies refuse to comply, "you're pitting New Jersey law enforcement against federal law enforcement," and because neither answers to the other, it's unclear how that would be reconciled, Lavin responded.
..... New Jersey isn't the only state looking to take such steps. Last week [02/11/2026] a federal judge in California ruled a law unconstitutional in that state because it applied only to federal agents.
..... However, the judge said the legislation would be beneficial because it was "promoting transparency which is essential for accountability and public trust."
..... There is "no cognizable justification for law enforcement officers to conceal their identities," U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder said, and the "United States has failed to demonstrate that fiscal covering prohibition directly regulates the federal government."
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Snyder ruled that another law was not in violation because it "does not treat federal officers differently from state officers" and "does not discriminate against the federal government."
..... Governor Mikie Sherrill has criticized ICE officers in the past for wearing face coverings.
..... She said at a press conference last week, [02/11/2026] after signing an executive order to prohibit federal immigration enforcement from staging raids on state property, the ICE has "not been very forth-coming."
..... "They've worn masks. They haven't had insignia. They've changed license plates so that their vehicles aren't tracked," she said.
..... She said he approached an ICE agent for identification, he was told by the agent that he didn't need to give identification.
..... "Seeing as he was heavily armed and did not present any evidence that he was a law enforcement officer, that was incorrect," Sherrill said.