President Trump says he could take a softer approach to immigration issues
President Donald Trump said in an interview with NBC News that his administration could “take a softer approach” when it comes to immigration.
A federal judge has blocked a new law in California that would prohibit federal immigration agents and other law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to rescind the ban in November 2025 after it was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September. In a Feb. 9 ruling, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder preliminarily invalidated that law and upheld another California law that requires federal employees to show identification while performing their official duties.
The Trump administration hailed the ruling as a victory, with Attorney General Pam Bondi calling it “an important victory for the court.” The Justice Department argued in its lawsuit that immigration officials “face a real threat of criminal charges from state authorities who have demonstrated an intent to target federal employees and obstruct federal law enforcement operations, including federal immigration enforcement.”
“These federal employees are routinely harassed, compromised, obstructed, and attacked just doing their jobs, and we cannot tolerate this,” Bondi said in a Feb. 9 statement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom also called the ruling upholding the ID law a “clear victory for the rule of law,” saying, “No badge, no name means no accountability.”
Snyder said in his ruling that the federal government would likely prove the mask ban unconstitutional because it treats state employees differently than federal employees. The law included local law enforcement officers and federal employees, but not state employees.
The ruling comes amid heightened political tensions over President Donald Trump’s surge in immigration enforcement in primarily Democratic-led states and cities. The administration recently announced the resignation of hundreds of immigration officials following weeks of protests across the country after federal agents shot and killed two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Preti, in Minneapolis. In videos and photos, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents are routinely seen wearing face coverings while conducting operations, making arrests, and clashing with protesters.
Los Angeles has also been the target of increased immigration enforcement, with protests erupting last summer that sometimes turned violent.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, who introduced the mask ban, said in a statement that he would introduce a new bill targeting state employees, saying the ruling shows California has the right to prevent employees from wearing face coverings when state employees are involved.
“Today’s federal court ruling is a huge victory. The court has ruled that the courts have the authority to protect our communities by prohibiting employees, including federal employees, from wearing masks, thereby instilling fear and evading accountability,” said Weiner, a Democrat whose law enforcement district is San Francisco.
“ICE and Border Patrol are maximizing their terrorist activities and covering their faces to avoid accountability. We are not going to let them get away with it,” Wiener said.
Contributed by: Reuters
