Walters: California lacks authority to enforce Newsom’s ICE mask ban

Last Saturday Gov Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills aimed at protecting California s undocumented immigrants from aggressive raids by President Donald Trump s immigration agents Senate Bill which would prohibit federal officers from wearing masks during their operations drew the heaviest media coverage and a dismissive response from administration authorities Related Articles Newsom signs Safe Schools Act taking unprecedented action against ICE Opinion California salmon runs in danger of extinction if Newsom fails to act Prop promised cure for people with serious drug addiction but jails are left holding the bag Controversial antisemitism bill awaits Newsom s signature California bans the bulk law enforcement officers from wearing masks What are you afraid of Newsom solicited of federal agents during the signing event in Los Angeles You re going to go out and you re going to do enforcement provide an ID Tell us which agency you represent Provide us basic information that all local law enforcement is required to provide We don t need to abide by this garbage Tricia McLaughlin deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Shield posted on X The political saber rattling is merely theatrical symbolism Newsom got another fix of national media attention to bolster his image as resistor-in-chief to the commander-in-chief in apparent preparation for a presidential campaign By denouncing Newsom and the ordinance Trump administration authorities reassured his political base he s serious about cracking down on those who entered the country illegally Newsom and any other critics of ICE tactics are delusional if they believe federal officers will be arrested and prosecuted for wearing masks after SB takes effect State and local leadership have no power to arrest federal officers for official actions no matter how questionable they may be which was made clear by a U S Supreme Court decision involving a U S marshal fatally shooting a former California Supreme Court justice in and a shooting death of a suspected drug dealer in Humboldt County In former California Supreme Court Justice David Terry got into an argument with U S Sen David Broderick over slavery and the two erstwhile friends settled it with a duel in San Francisco that left Broderick dead Historians considered it the nation s last noteworthy duel before the practice was outlawed Thirty years later Terry was involved in another feud this time with U S Supreme Court Justice Stephen Field and he made several threats on Field s life U S Marshal David Neagle was Field s bodyguard as he toured the state holding court in various communities Terry confronted Field in a train station in Lathrop near Stockton and struck Field several times before Neagle fatally shot Terry The San Joaquin County sheriff arrested Neagle for homicide but federal judges ordered his release The situation went all the way to the U S Supreme Court which declared that a federal officer cannot be prosecuted by state or local administration while acting in the class of official duties That principle was tested again in California after Dirk Dickenson a suspected drug dealer was shot in the back by federal drug agent Lloyd Clifton during a raid on Dickenson s rural Humboldt County home in I played a minor role in the ensuing legal incident because I was editor of the Humboldt Times-Standard at the time One of my reporters accompanied officers on the raid and was an eyewitness to the shooting Particular historians consider Dickenson to be the first casualty of the federal war on drugs In an affidavit Clifton stated At the time I thought it was necessary to prevent Dickenson from escaping Local outrage at Dickenson s death resulted in a grand jury murder indictment of Clifton but before he could be tried a federal judge blocked the proceedings based on the th century Supreme Court decision involving Marshal Neagle A federal appellate court later agreed That s why no matter how much Californians might resent the ICE raids state and local leaders cannot tell federal agents not to wear masks Dan Walters is a CalMatters columnist