The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a measure on Dec. 2 to create an ordinance prohibiting law enforcement officers, including federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, from wearing masks or concealing their identities while on duty in unincorporated areas of the county.
The measure, authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn, 4th District, and co-authored by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, 3rd District, was approved 4-0, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger, 5th District, abstaining over concerns about the county lacking power to enforce the law. The measure came in response to numerous instances throughout the Los Angeles area since June where masked federal authorities have targeted and arrested people during immigration enforcement operations.
“I never thought I would see the day when a masked, anonymous federal police force would be swarming our neighborhoods targeting people based on the color of their skin or the language they speak, and forcing men and women into unmarked vans at gunpoint. This is how an authoritarian’s secret police operate – not legitimate law enforcement in a democracy,” Hahn said. “This is about our residents’ constitutional rights.”…