A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction stopping New York from enforcing its law that prohibits federal immigration officers from wearing face coverings and requiring they display visible ID while on duty.
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According to Fox News, U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino issued the preliminary injunction, preventing the state from enforcing the two provisions while a legal challenge to the law continues to move forward.
In her ruling, D’Agostino found the challenged provisions were likely unconstitutional because they interfere with federal law enforcement operations, including those carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
🚨 A federal judge blocked New York’s law requiring ICE and other federal law enforcement officers to uncover their faces and display visible identification. However, the judge refused to block New York’s separate law ending local immigration enforcement agreements. pic.twitter.com/QoHZxJ20Oh
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) August 3, 2026
According to the judge, only the federal government has the authority to establish policies governing federal law enforcement operations, therefore, New York cannot dictate how federal agents perform their official duties.
The ruling stated: “New York cannot impose its own uniform requirements on federal agents simply because it disagrees with how the Federal Government is exercising its authority.”
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That D’Agostino’s ruling upheld a New York law that bans local and state law enforcement authorities from cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security through what are known as 287(g) agreements, writing that the state has the authority to regulate its own police agencies.
In her ruling, the judge said participation by state and local agencies in federal civil immigration enforcement is voluntary under federal law, writing: “The State’s refusal to cooperate in the immigration context—a possibility contemplated by the relevant federal statutes—does not constitute discrimination against the federal government.”
Governor Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James said in a joint statement that their offices “are reviewing all legal options at this time,” and that “we stand firm in our belief that masked agents do not make New York safer.”
According to Politico, a federal judge blocked a similar mask ban in California, and the administration has also challenged similar laws in Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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