Justice Department Sues New Jersey Over a Law Requiring ICE Agents to Show Their Faces

On April 29, 2026, the Justice Department sued New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport in federal court over a state law, signed March 25, 2026, requiring immigration agents to identify themselves during enforcement actions and barring face coverings, with exceptions for undercover work, transparent shields and medical-grade masks during health emergencies. Violations are a disorderly persons offense. The 24-page complaint calls the law "blatantly unconstitutional" and invokes the Supremacy Clause, arguing the state cannot regulate federal officers and that officers "have been followed home from work," so anonymity protects agents and their families. Davenport responded that the federal government has not explained why masking is necessary and that anonymized policing undermines public trust and accountability.

The suit joins a set of federal challenges to state laws regulating how federal immigration officers operate. The doctrine of intergovernmental immunity generally bars states from directly regulating federal operations, but the scope of that bar when a state legislates on identification and transparency in its own jurisdiction is unsettled.

The case was pending in federal court in New Jersey as of the end of April 2026.