A federal judge rejected Virginia’s effort to stop law enforcement officers from wearing masks and requiring visible agency or department identification on their person.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne wrote that the law is an “unlawful regulation” of the federal government and violates the Supremacy Clause, which dictates that federal laws are the highest.
“The record in this case shows that, with increased enforcement activity and the resistance thereto, there came to be “increasingly common threats of targeted harassment of and retaliation against federal immigration officers for simply doing their jobs,” Judge Robert E. Payne writes in an order released today.
In his decision, the judge cited records that showed threats against federal officers have become more common, and so they may be required to remain anonymous.
He also wrote, “ICE officers often use surveillance techniques which will not work if the law enforcement officers visibly identify the organizations with which they are associated.”
The judge said the policy choice belongs to the federal government, and Virginia’s police power cannot supplant the federal choice.
