A federal appeals court ruled against California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, putting on hold his state law that tried to force federal immigration officers to display their names on their uniforms while they are out enforcing laws.
The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state was trying to regulate federal law enforcement, and that violates the Constitution.
“The Supremacy Clause forbids the state from enforcing such legislation,” wrote Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee. He was joined by an Obama pick and another Trump appointee.
A lower court had already blocked another California law barring federal agents from wearing masks while conducting their duties, finding that the law illegally singled out federal officers for disparate treatment.
But that judge had upheld the identification requirement, known as the No Vigilantes Act, saying California applied the same standard to its own officers, so it was on firm footing extending it to the feds.
Judge Bennett, though, said that was the wrong question.
He said the Supremacy Clause bars any direct regulation of federal activities, and that’s what the state law tries to do.
“Because Section 10 of the No Vigilantes Act attempts to directly regulate the United States, we conclude that it is likely unconstitutional,” the judge wrote.
Both laws were enacted last year as anger at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement grew in Democrat-led states.
The 9th Circuit previously put the lower court’s ruling on hold temporarily. Wednesday’s decision is a more lasting injunction, preventing the law from taking effect while the case continues to develop.
