Overview
- U.S. District Judge Mae A. D'Agostino issued a preliminary injunction on Aug. 3 that pauses New York’s provisions banning facial coverings and requiring visible agency identification for federal agents.
- The court grounded the order in the Supremacy Clause and said the state likely cannot set uniform or equipment rules for federal law enforcement, a ruling the DOJ won in its lawsuit against New York.
- The injunction’s scope covers ICE and other federal agencies such as the FBI, DEA and CBP and bars state and local officials from enforcing the masked and ID rules while the case continues.
- The judge declined to block New York’s separate ban on entering or renewing 287(g) cooperation agreements, which restricts local-federal immigration partnerships and is set to take effect later in August.
- State leaders said they will review appeals, city officials activated free legal hotlines for immigrants, and the decision follows similar federal rulings in other states that limit how far states can regulate federal enforcement practices.