DOJ sued New York to block state law requiring ICE agents to unmask and display identification

On June 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal complaint against New York State, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Attorney General Letitia James, challenging a newly enacted state law requiring federal law enforcement officers — including ICE agents — to remove masks during operations and display individual identifying information. The law, enacted specifically to hold ICE accountable during enforcement operations, was scheduled to take effect June 26. It also bars jurisdictions from participating in 287(g) cooperative agreements with federal immigration agencies if those jurisdictions maintain mask bans, extending its reach statewide. The same day, Hochul and James filed their own countersuit seeking to protect the law.

The DOJ argued the New York law violates the Supremacy Clause by interfering with federal enforcement operations and cited officer safety concerns. The lawsuit continues a pattern of federal litigation by DOJ Attorney General Pam Bondi: the department filed a similar suit against Philadelphia on June 18, 2026, challenging that city's ordinance requiring federal officers to display identification and use marked vehicles. The New York action is the most significant in the campaign — the defendant is a state government rather than a municipality, the law has statewide scope rather than city-level reach, and it reaches beyond officer identification to bar 287(g) cooperative agreements in mask-ban jurisdictions.

New York enacted the law to give residents a means to identify and report federal agents operating in their communities; the DOJ lawsuit, if successful, would eliminate that mechanism statewide.