Justice Department Sues New York Over State Mask Ban for Federal Agents

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York challenging a state law that prohibits federal law enforcement officers from covering their faces. The 40-page complaint contends the restriction, scheduled to take effect Friday, violates the Supremacy Clause and principles of intergovernmental immunity by subjecting federal officers to state criminal penalties.

New York’s Face Covering and Identification acts also bar cooperative agreements that allow state or local officers to perform federal immigration enforcement duties. The Justice Department said the measures would expose officers to harassment, tracking, intimidation, and assaults, and would chill enforcement of federal law.

Two days after the legislation passed, the Department of Homeland Security said it would seek dismissal of the law, and the Trump administration notified the state of its intent to sue and request emergency relief. Federal regulation already requires designated officers to identify themselves as immigration agents and state the reason for an arrest when practical and safe.

“Threatening officers with prosecution for simply protecting their identities and their families also chills the enforcement of federal law and compromises sensitive law enforcement operations." — Justice Department statement, June 23, 2026 The Justice Department filed a similar lawsuit against Philadelphia last week and won a partial victory in California, where a district court blocked that state’s mask ban on discrimination grounds while leaving an identification requirement intact.”