SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court has halted a California law that requires visible identification for law enforcement, including immigration agents, agreeing with the Trump administration on Wednesday that the mandate is likely unconstitutional.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit had put the law briefly on hold until it could take a closer look. The new ruling keeps enforcement paused until the court fully resolves the case, which may take months.

The Justice Department sued California and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) after he signed the No Vigilantes Act, which demands that non-uniformed law enforcement operating in California “shall visibly display identification.”

It followed the Trump administration’s ramp-up last summer of immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area. It has spilled over to the courts, where Trump’s Justice Department and the state have been embroiled in litigation on various aspects of the president’s immigration crackdown.

In fighting the identification requirement, the Trump administration argues it directly regulates the federal government in violation of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

“And that is precisely what the No Vigilantes Act does,” U.S. Circuit Judge Mark Bennett wrote for the court.

“The Act does not regulate conduct that any ordinary citizen could perform,” he continued. “Rather, it applies exclusively to law enforcement agencies and their officers, including federal law enforcement agencies and federal law enforcement officers. The Act thus directly regulates conduct reserved to sovereigns.”

The three-judge panel was unanimous. Bennett was joined by U.S. Circuit Judge Daniel Collins, both Trump nominees, and U.S. Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, nominated by former President Obama.

Newsom and the state can now wait for the case to take its normal course, ask the full 9th Circuit to immediately override Wednesday’s ruling or file an emergency application with the Supreme Court.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s (D) office declined to say which path it will take.

“Transparency and accountability are the foundation of good law enforcement,” the office said in a statement. “The Trump Administration has stepped well outside the boundaries of normal practice, deploying masked and unidentified agents to carry out immigration enforcement, despite the risks these tactics pose to public safety and basic civil liberties.”

The Justice Department appealed after U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder said it hadn’t met its burden and declined to block California’s statute. The 9th Circuit said she applied the wrong standard.

However, Snyder did agree at the time that the Trump administration is likely to succeed in other parts of its lawsuit.

The appointee of former President Clinton agreed to block a separate California law that prohibits federal law enforcement from wearing face coverings. California hasn’t appealed her decision. (Source: The Hill)

Story Date: April 23, 2026