LOS ANGELES, CA — Prosecutors Alliance Action (PAA) urged a federal court to reject the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit to block California’s landmark No Secret Police Act (SB 627), a first-in-the-nation law banning law enforcement officers from wearing masks while policing California communities. PAA was a co-sponsor of SB 627, which takes effect January 1. 

In an amicus brief filed yesterday, PAA warns that the ongoing presence of masked and unidentifiable federal agents in California has created chaos and confusion, enabled criminal impersonation and eroded trust essential to public safety:

“Whether these masked and unidentifiable federal agents intend it or not, their anonymity, which evokes the repressive tactics of autocratic regimes, sows fear and confusion in our communities…. By undermining public trust in law enforcement generally, masked and plainclothes federal immigration agents undermine public trust in prosecutions generally. California has a strong interest in preventing that from happening.” 

“This lawsuit is about whether the federal government can continue to terrorize our communities in secrecy,” said Cristine Soto DeBerry, Executive Director of Prosecutors Alliance Action. “Prosecutors know that when people don’t trust law enforcement, cases fall apart, witnesses disappear and public safety suffers. California has the right – and the responsibility – to demand transparency and accountability from anyone policing its residents.”

The federal suit also seeks to block the No Vigilantes Act (SB 805), which requires agents operating in California to clearly identify themselves while conducting operations and went into effect on September 20, 2025. 

The brief argues that requiring federal agents to unmask and identify themselves places no meaningful burden on law enforcement, noting that both SB 627 and SB 805 include clear exemptions for undercover operations. Even the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service have warned of a recent increase in impersonations of federal agents and said that anonymity in law enforcement makes communities less safe.

The amicus brief was prepared with the assistance and representation of M. Anthony Brown at Adams, Duerk & Kamenstein LLP. 

The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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