Justice Department sues Connecticut over law restricting masks and IDs for ICE

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The U.S. Department of Justice sued Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong over a new state law that restricts federal agents from wearing masks and requires federal officers to show identification while operating in Connecticut, the department announced. The lawsuit was filed in federal court on Friday, according to the Associated Press report dated May 19. The complaint challenges the measure as unconstitutional, while Connecticut officials and legislators defended it as a public-safety requirement tied to policing authority in the state.

In its complaint, the Justice Department said the Connecticut law is “blatantly unconstitutional,” according to the AP account. The department argued that Connecticut lacks authority to control what federal agents can and cannot do, citing the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which provides that when state and federal laws conflict, federal law prevails. The federal government also argued that compliance with the Connecticut standards for use of force—standards it described as more restrictive than federal standards—could put agents in danger.

The DOJ said requiring officers to navigate two different sets of use-of-force standards could lead to hesitation, indecision, or second-guessing during “split-second” decisions, according to the lawsuit account reported by AP. The department added that, under Connecticut law, use of force is not allowed when federal officers execute search warrants or during brief detentions known as “Terry stops,” the report said.

Connecticut’s law also addresses arrests in what it defines as “protected areas,” the AP report said. Those areas include schools, hospitals, social service agency facilities and houses of worship, and the law establishes limits on arrests based solely on civil offenses such as immigration violations. In addition to the mask and identification rules, the law prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing masks while on duty, bans former federal law enforcement officers who were found guilty of misconduct or retired during an investigation from being hired by Connecticut state or local police, and requires officers to complete 480 hours of training before they can be hired by state agencies, the report said.

Attorney General Tong responded to the lawsuit in a statement issued Monday, the AP report said. Tong said the new law was “fully lawful and necessary to protect public safety,” and added, “We will vigorously defend the law.” The AP report described the Justice Department’s broader legal approach as well, saying the department has filed similar lawsuits in other states, including New York, New Jersey and California.

The AP account said that in California, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a law requiring federal officers to wear identification, finding the measure likely violated the Supremacy Clause. In Connecticut’s case, the DOJ also argued that requiring federal agents to remove their masks could endanger officers and their families by exposing them to harassment, according to the lawsuit description. The filing, as recounted by AP, said the public increasingly photographs and publishes federal enforcement actions online and includes officers’ personal identities for the purpose of intimidation and harassment, and that such content can be used by organized crime and transnational criminal organizations.

Gov. Lamont told WTNH in an interview on Sunday that he did not foresee a settlement, according to AP. In the interview, Lamont referenced the arrest of 18-year-old Esdras R. at Wilbur Cross High School last year and the detention of 19-year-old Rihan, a student at Cheshire High School who was detained by ICE and released in April, the report said. Lamont described the DOJ’s lawsuit as a “moral issue,” and he said the state’s goal was to keep ICE away from “courthouses,” “schools,” and “houses of worship,” as well as “voting areas.”

State Republicans and Democrats differed on whether the law was constitutional and on what the lawsuit represents politically. Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich—running for governor—said he voted against the mask-and-identification law when it came to a vote in the state Senate, calling it unconstitutional. In the AP report, Fazio said the measure would “precent” law enforcement officers from arresting people in the country illegally who have been convicted of serious crimes, and he said he wanted state and federal officers to work together when making arrests.

On the Democratic side, AP reported that Senate President Martin Looney, Majority Leader Bob Duff and Sen. Gary Winfield, along with other Democrats, issued a joint statement saying they expected the “purely partisan” DOJ to file suit. They said the department’s assertions were “baseless” and said Connecticut would win on appeal because it was asserting its police and public safety authority under the 10th Amendment, according to the report. The lawmakers said they were seeking to impose no restrictions on federal law enforcement that are not also required of state and municipal law enforcement.

Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, also criticized the law in comments described by AP. Harding called it “unconstitutional” and “anti-cop,” and said, in his view, Gov. Lamont and Democrats prioritized political points over public safety and over the law enforcement officers who “risk their lives every day,” the report said.