Panel of appellate judges rule federal agents do not need to display badges in California, at least for now

Federal law enforcement officials, for now, will not have to display badges that identify themselves and their agencies in California after a panel of appellate judges this week granted a temporary administrative injunction preventing the state from enacting the law that would require it, court documents show.

The temporary injunction, ordered by a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, Feb. 19, prevents California from enacting Senate Bill 805, which was set to take effect that same day, until the court can weigh the law and make a decision on a preliminary injunction, a process that could begin in March.

The law, called the No Vigilantes Act, was one of two signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September amid ongoing waves of federal immigration enforcement actions across California. It would require all nonuniformed law enforcement officers working in California to wear a visible badge that includes their agency and name or badge number.

A U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction on Feb. 9 against the another law, the No Secret Police Act,  because it exempted state police. That ruling paved the way for federal immigration officials to continue wearing masks during California operations.

That same day, U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder denied the Trump administration’s request for a preliminary injunction against the No Vigilantes Act because it did not exempt state police, leading the U.S. Department of Justice to appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

A temporary administrative injunction is a common practice for an appeals court to issue, holding things at status quo while the court reviews a case and makes a decision.

Both laws were set to take effect on Jan. 1, but California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office agreed not to enforce either law while the federal government’s lawsuit played out.

Federal officials filed the lawsuit in November to block both laws while arguing that they violate the Supremacy Act of the U.S. Constitution by directly regulating the federal government.

On Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi took to X to celebrate the decision, though she mistakenly said the case was a win against the mask ban, which had been decided 10 days earlier.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called the temporary decision “Another win for Team USA.”

A hearing on whether to continue the temporary injunction was set for March 3 in the Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals in Pasadena, according to court documents.