Newsom at a press conference in Los Angeles, where he signed the bill accompanied by state lawmakers

California became the first state to ban most police officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business. The law was signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The ban is a direct response to recent immigration raids in Los Angeles, where federal agents wore face coverings during mass arrests. The raids sparked days of protests and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard and Marine Corps troops to the area.

At a press conference in Los Angeles, where he signed the bill into law accompanied by state lawmakers and members of the immigrant community, Newsom said California is unique in that 27 % of its residents are foreign-born. "We celebrate that diversity. It's what makes California great. That's what makes America great. It's under attack," he said. The Democratic governor said the state is resisting the practice of masked agents without identification or badge numbers detaining people on the streets.

"The impact of these measures across this city, our state and our nation is frightening," Newsom said. "It's like a dystopian science fiction movie. Unmarked cars, people wearing masks, people literally disappearing. No due process, no rights, no justice in a democracy where we have rights. Immigrants have rights and we have the right to stand up and defend ourselves, and that's what we're doing here today." Trump administration officials have defended the use of the veils, saying that immigration agents are facing sharp and growing harassment in public and online as they conduct law enforcement on behalf of Trump's mass deportation efforts. Covering their identities is necessary for the safety of agents and their families, officials say.

DHS official criticizes California law. Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security's undersecretary for public affairs, called it "a despicable and blatant attempt to endanger our police officers." "The rhetoric from sanctuary politicians who compare ICE to the 'secret police' - comparing them to the Gestapo - is diabolical," she said in an email. "While our federal police officers are being attacked by rioters and pelted with rocks and Molotov cocktails, a politician from the asylum is trying to outlaw officers who wear balaclavas to protect themselves from doxxing and attacks from known and suspected terrorist sympathizers."

The men and women of federal immigration agencies are putting their lives on the line to arrest violent criminals and illegal immigrants, she said, and rhetoric like Newsom's has contributed to the increase in attacks. Newsom argued that concerns about doxing, the posting of agents' personal information online, are unfounded and unproven. "There is an allegation that somehow there is an exponential increase in attacks on police officers, but they won't provide that data," he said. "All they have provided is misinformation and misleading guidance." The new law bans neckwear, ski masks and other face coverings for local and federal police officers, including immigration agents, when they are conducting official business. It makes exceptions for undercover agents, medical masks such as N95 respirators or tactical gear, and does not apply to state police.

Other countries are considering similar measures

Democrats in Congress and lawmakers in several states, including Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, have also introduced similar proposals calling for a ban on balaclavas. The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it sent letters to the attorneys general in California, Illinois and New York reaffirming previous guidance that Democratic-led states recognize people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as "criminal illegal aliens within their jurisdiction." The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement Saturday that if states fail to comply with the order, it will take "all appropriate actions to end their unreasonable and irresponsible obstruction."

Supporters of the California law said it was especially needed after the Supreme Court ruled this month that the Trump administration can resume large-scale immigration operations in Los Angeles. The law is intended to strengthen public trust in law enforcement and prevent people from impersonating police officers to commit crimes, supporters said. Constitutional law expert Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California, Berkeley, also defended the bill. Federal employees must continue to follow general state rules "unless it would significantly interfere with the performance of their duties. For example, federal employees must stop at red lights while working," he wrote in an opinion piece for the Sacramento Bee. The increase in high-ranking immigration officials has already been contentious among those who opposed the Trump administration's moves and those who supported them. The sight of masked agents carrying it out creates a whole new level of conflict.

Another new law concerns schools and medical facilities

Newsom on Saturday also signed a law that prevents immigration agents from entering schools and medical facilities without a valid warrant or court order and requires schools to notify parents and teachers when immigration agents are on campus. Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat from Torrance, said, "Students cannot learn if they live in fear of deportation. The California Safe Haven Schools Act sends a clear message to Donald Trump: 'Don't let ICE in our schools.'" Earlier this year, the Legislature also approved providing $50 million to the California Department of Justice and other legal groups, which has led to more than 40 lawsuits against the Trump administration.

APnews.com/gnews.cz-jav