ICE has been busy, and despite not living up to the Trump administration’s promise to deport 1 million illegal aliens, they have arrested and have either deported or held 202,464 individuals since January 2025. In that dragnet, they have managed to arrest a few people whose cases are the subject of some controversy, exposed a deportation problem in that some countries don’t want their criminal citizens back, and reminded us all of the ever-present issue of birthright citizenship where American born children of illegal aliens or even tourists are automatically granted citizenship.
This effort is led by Tom Homan, the current White House “Border Czar” who is no stranger to immigration enforcement and controversy. In 2015, he received the Presidential Rank Award for his role in President Obama’s immigration enforcement policy, thus helping President Obama earn the press moniker, “deporter in chief.”
While the Obama administration operated in a different political and operational landscape than the Trump administration, they both faced the same legal landscape as no immigration reform legislation has passed in four presidential administrations. The Trump administration, however, is unique in that it faces the consequences of the open border and asylum policies (not changes in the law) adopted during the Biden presidency.
Consequently, where in 2015 Homan and ICE generally limited their operations to border states, in 2025 they have been forced by the reality of human movement over 4 years of non-enforcement to search for and arrest criminal aliens and those in violation of immigration law in nearly every state and city. Recently in Georgia, for example, an ICE investigation into two suspected illegal aliens working at a Hyundai battery manufacturing facility yielded the arrests of over 400 individuals who were working in violation of the terms of, or had overstayed, their visas.
ICE tactics are based, in part, on the reality that a significant number of individuals being sought do indeed have criminal records and that, in the case of California, they receive no local law enforcement support to apprehend them.
California has long held an independent streak when it comes to local/federal cooperation. It is illegal for California peace officers to enforce immigration laws and, unlike most states, federal law enforcement officers are not automatically granted peace officer status in California to enforce state laws.
This and other challenges leaves ICE incapable of living up to President Trump’s arrest and deportation goals as it is staffed for a tempo of enforcement set by the previous administration. A recruiting drive with the promise of “up to” $50,000 in bonuses does little to mask the fact that base pay for ICE officers qualifies them for federal aid for a family of four in many states.
Further they are under enormous pressure from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who delivered a private but now well-known tongue lashing to immigration officials for their lower than promised arrest numbers.
Which brings us back to SB 627.
The measure would make it a crime for any peace officer to wear a mask during enforcement duties. The final version of SB 627, which passed both houses of the California Legislature prior to Governor Newsom’s signature, provides the following exemptions:
- SWAT teams
- Approved undercover assignments
- Translucent or clear masks
- Motorcycle helmets
- Eyewear to protect against retinal weapons
- N95 medical or surgical mask
- Breathing apparatuses necessary to protect against toxins, gas, and smoke
- Masks to protect against inclement weather
- Masks for underwater operations.
Here’s the thing: California peace officers don’t wear masks except in the course of duties related to the exemptions contained in the bill. Despite those compromises (which were included at their insistence) both the Peace Officers Research Association of California and the California State Sheriffs Association opposed the bill.
They opposed the bill because it creates an untenable legal situation pitting federal law enforcement against California peace officers. Will SB 627 require the arrest of federal officers? Yes. This creates an absurd situation that would certainly wind up in the courts.
Immigration law and its enforcement have legal, economic, and humanitarian consequences that have international ramifications. For decades, administrations from both parties have been denied the political victory of an immigration reform bill by Congress and vice versa.
To be certain, masked law enforcement is a bad look. It is inconsistent with the principles of democratic policing wherein the police conduct their duties with the consent of the people. But as even Sen. Wiener acknowledges exceptions are required.
ICE contends that the masks are necessary due to threats and the doxing of their agents. Opponents say that officers who are not clearly identifiable create a potential public safety challenge where in the words of Scott Wiener the police are indistinguishable from a criminal. In March, the Los Angeles Times reported that individuals wearing masks and clothing bearing ICE insignia were extorting illegal aliens. There are elements of truth on both sides, however, and this is not the first time federal agents have worn masks to arrest criminals, nor is it the first time someone has impersonated a peace officer.
Wiener’s bill is a thinly disguised attempt to legally corral ICE enforcement into a situation where enforcement is impossible except at even greater personal risk than it already is while at the same time protecting criminals and those in the country illegally.
Steve Smith is a senior fellow in urban studies at the Pacific Research Institute, covering California’s growing crime problem.
