SEATTLE, WA – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has proposed legislation to ban most face coverings worn by law enforcement, explicitly targeting federal immigration enforcement officers operating within city limits.
According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, its officers wear face covering to prevent doxxing. Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh said Harrell’s proposal ignores these threats facing ICE agents.
“Law enforcement agents – and particularly federal law enforcement agents – occasionally wear face coverings because left-wing anarchists and their government enablers in the Pacific Northwest have ‘doxxed’ and threatened to murder ICE agents and other LEOs,” Walsh emailed The Center Square.
But Harrell said the use of masks by ICE officers erodes accountability, sows fear into local communities and allows for copycat actors.
“In the face of [President Donald Trump’s] tyrannical militarization of American cities, this ordinance is a concrete step we can take to uphold our local values and protect our immigrant and refugee communities from these unjust actions,” Harrell said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ban exempts medical masks, transparent face shields, respirators, and masks required for underwater operations.
The ordinance also mandates visible agency emblems and badges for all law enforcement officials during duties in Seattle. ICE’s website states its officers carry badges and credentials and will identify themselves when required for public safety or legal necessity.
Violations carry a $5,000 penalty and a civil violation enforced by the Seattle Office for Civil Rights.
This is Harrell’s latest move anticipating possible federal law enforcement efforts in Seattle. Earlier this month, the mayor signed two executive orders regarding preparedness and coordination in the event of the National Guard being deployed to Seattle, and another reaffirming the city does not aid in civil immigration enforcement as established in city code.
Laws to ban ICE agents from wearing masks are legally questionable because states cannot directly regulate federal agencies. Some legal experts and federal officials argue the state lacks the authority to enforce such laws, as it would interfere with federal operations and violate the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
If the bill is approved by the city council, Seattle would become Washington’s first, and one of the country’s first, major cities to ban law enforcement face coverings.
Walsh tied the proposal to Harrell’s tight Nov. 4 general election race against Transit Riders Union co-founder Katie Wilson, who leads in polls.
“This proposed ‘ban’ on LEO face coverings is the desperate act of an incompetent politician struggling in the polls during an election,” Walsh said. “It’s likely to be a forgotten footnote in a few weeks.”
Seattle is also drafting an ordinance barring federal immigration operations on city property, aiming to block use of parking lots for staging, which has occurred in other cities like Chicago.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called attempts to ban federal law enforcement from wearing masks a “despicable and a flagrant attempt to endanger our officers.”
“To be crystal clear: we will not abide by a state’s unconstitutional ban,” McLaughlin said to The Center Square in an email.
