The Justice Department on Thursday sued St. Paul, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon, to block city ordinances that bar federal law enforcement officers, including ICE and Border Patrol agents, from wearing masks and require them to display identification.
The department argues the laws violate the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, which bars states and cities from regulating the federal government. It also says they endanger officers who have faced what it called "an unprecedented wave of harassment, doxxing, and even violence."
"States and localities cannot regulate the Federal Government and its law enforcement officers," said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. "This Department of Justice will never tolerate the doxxing or harassment of federal officers."
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said, "The Federal Government, not state and local governments, gets to decide which equipment federal officers may or may not wear when performing their official duties."
St. Paul's ordinances make violations a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or jail. The DOJ says that threat could make officers hesitant to do their jobs. Portland's rule lets the city sue to force compliance.
St. Paul passed its mask ban on Feb. 18, days after the end of Operation Metro Surge, the administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Supporters call the rules a matter of transparency and accountability. The city declined to comment on the litigation.
Attorney General Todd Blanche has directed the Civil Division to challenge state and local laws that impede federal operations. The suits follow similar DOJ cases against Milwaukee, Denver and other jurisdictions. Judges have already preliminarily blocked mask bans in California, New York and Philadelphia while those challenges proceed.
Photo: Office of Speaker Mike Johnson / Public domain
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