(The Hill) — Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) vowed Wednesday to strip driver’s licenses from federal immigration officers wearing masks in California if elected governor.
“If the governor has the ability to issue driver’s licenses to people in California, if you’re going to wear a mask and not identify yourself, you’re not going to be eligible to drive a vehicle in California,” Swalwell told MS NOW.
A California law banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from wearing masks while conducting operations in the state went into effect on Thursday. Upon signing the legislation in September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said that ICE officers would no longer be “hidden from accountability.”
The Department of Homeland Security vowed to not comply with the measure, while the Trump administration filed suit against the ban in November, arguing it is unconstitutional.
On Dec. 9, the California government agreed not to enforce the measure until U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder ruled on the federal government’s request for a preliminary injunction. Snyder denied the request on Dec. 22, with the next hearing in the case scheduled for Jan. 12.
Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, doubled down Friday on the administration’s arguments, saying on the social platform X that “California has no authority to regulate federal agents.”
The administration has surged federal immigration enforcement to the Golden State since President Trump returned to office last January. As of 2023, roughly 2.25 million undocumented immigrants lived in California, the most of any state in the country, according to the Pew Research Center.
Migrant communities in Los Angeles protested in June against ICE raids, prompting Trump to deploy the California National Guard and Marines over Newsom’s objections. In September, a federal judge ruled the president’s move was unconstitutional.