DOJ sues Portland and St. Paul over ‘illegal’ laws blocking ICE officers from wearing masks, requiring visible identification

This comes after the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down on Wednesday California's "No Vigilantes Act," a law that mirrors these two cities' ordinances, which was deemed unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause.

The DOJ said in a press release that Portland and St. Paul's "illegal attempts to regulate the federal government" also "threaten the safety of federal officers who have faced an unprecedented wave of harassment, doxxing, and even violence."

"Under the Supremacy Clause of our Nation’s Constitution, states and localities cannot regulate the Federal Government and its law enforcement officers," said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. "And they certainly cannot enact laws that place the safety of federal law enforcement at risk and undermine federal operations authorized by Congress. This Department of Justice will never tolerate the doxxing or harassment of federal officers, or any law like those in St. Paul and Portland that enables violent behavior against federal law enforcement officers and their families."

The DOJ said that threatening ICE officers with prosecution for "simply protecting their identities and their families" also compromises sensitive law enforcement operations.

"Aside from being unconstitutional, laws like these impede federal law enforcement's ability to keep Oregonians safe and endanger the brave men and women of federal law enforcement," said US Attorney Scott Bradford for the District of Oregon. "They live in our communities. Their kids go to school in our communities. They care about our communities. They are part of our communities. It is unfair and improper to vilify them for political purposes."

The DOJ is likely to win its efforts following the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court ruling. The three-judge panel, which included both Trump and Obama appointees, unanimously ruled that California's "No Vigilantes Act" violated section 10 of the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution. The law states that federal law takes precedence over state law when there's a conflict.

"The Federal Government, not state or local governments, gets to decide which equipment federal officers may or may not wear when performing their official duties," said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Brett Shumate.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that ICE officers have faced an unprecedented increase in online doxxing and death threats since early 2025, when President Donald Trump returned to the White House and enacted mass deportation operations.

In September, DHS reported a more than 1,600 percent increase in assaults against ICE officers. Homeland Security launched a probe last year into two Portland-based Antifa-affiliated websites that have been doxxing ICE agents, including their names, photos, and home addresses. Flyers from these websites were then plastered around the city.

In May, GOP senators introduced an anti-doxxing bill to protect federal officers from "radical left lunatics." ICE officers have been wearing masks as a means of protection, not just against anti-ICE agitators, but also from members of terrorist Cartels, sources said.