Trump Administration Sues NJ Over Law Limiting Masks For Cops, ICE Agents

By Nikita Biryukov, New Jersey Monitor

May 7, 2026

The U.S. Department of Justice sued New Jersey over a state law that limits when law enforcement can hide their identities while interacting with the public.

The federal government argued the law, which also requires officers to identify themselves before detaining or arresting someone, improperly seeks to regulate the actions of federal officials. The law was pushed by New Jersey Democrats to prevent immigration agents from wearing masks during enforcement operations.

“New Jersey lacks the legal authority to regulate the Federal Government at all, much less through a law targeted at core governmental functions such as law enforcement,” the department said in a page-long preliminary statement that began by quoting President Donald Trump.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court.

The law, which Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) signed in March along with two other bills aimed at limiting immigration enforcement, restricts when law enforcement officers at any level of government can shield their identity, including with masks, while on duty and interacting with the public.

It allows exceptions for undercover or tactical work, officers facing a threat of retaliation stemming from their duties, and shields that do not hide an officer’s face. It also permits masks to guard against disease transmission or chemical agents and, during a state of emergency, smoke or the elements.

Lawmakers enacted the bill after outcry over the killings of U.S. citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents during a violent immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and concerns over criminals impersonating masked immigration officials with no visible identifying markings.

“To this day, the Federal Government still cannot explain when its officials need to mask or forgo identification in violation of this law, or why they actually need to do so, particularly given the serious safety concerns inherent in anonymized policing,” New Jersey Attorney General Jen Davenport said in a statement.

New Jersey looked forward to responding in court, Davenport said.

The federal government had, in writing, asked Davenport for assurances that New Jersey would not enforce the law but was told the law was constitutional and that federal officers were to comply, the Department of Justice attorneys said.

They said the bar on masks discriminates against the federal government and violates the Supremacy Clause, a constitutional bar that says federal law takes precedence over state law.

Wednesday’s lawsuit represents just the latest legal battle between the Sherrill and Trump administrations. New Jersey has sued the Trump administration over the federal government’s plan to build an immigrant detention center in Roxbury, while the Trump administration has filed complaints over a Sherrill executive order limiting immigration enforcement on state property and over the state’s refusal to hand over private voter data to the federal government.

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