Judge rules New York can’t ban federal agents from wearing face coverings

New York can’t ban federal agents from wearing face coverings or require that they wear visible identification, a federal judge ruled Monday.

New York can’t ban federal agents from wearing face coverings or require that they wear visible identification, a federal judge ruled Monday.

The ruling comes after a federal judge earlier this year blocked a similar law in California that was enacted after the Trump administration aggressively worked to increase immigration arrests.

For the Northern District of New York, U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino wrote that while New York “appears to be well-intentioned in its pursuit of transparent policing,” that’s not what the court is deciding.

“The issue now before the Court is about constitutionality—not transparency or preferable policy decisions,” she wrote.

The federal government has shown a likelihood that the measures go against the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which bars state governments from regulating federal law enforcement, D’Agostino wrote.