US Immigration Masked Officers
FILE - U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detain a man outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs building during a protest in Portland, Ore., June 14, 2025.
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Proposals to prohibit federal immigration agents from wearing masks are gaining new life in states. Washington state's Democratic governor, Bob Ferguson, is to sign legislation Thursday limiting facial coverings on law enforcement officers. This comes barely a month after a federal judge blocked a California mask ban as unlawfully discriminatory because it applied to federal officers but not state personnel. Washington state's new measure seeks to avoid that by applying to federal, state and local officers. Trump's administration says it will not abide by the Washington law. Similar bills passed recently in Oregon and Virginia, and bills have cleared at least one legislative chamber in Hawaii, Maryland and Vermont.