9th Circuit Delivers Major Setback to California’s Anti-ICE Law, Finds Trump ‘Certain’ to Prevail
14th October 2026
An appeals court Wednesday rejected California’s mandate that federal immigration agents wear identification, asserting it violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
California’s No Vigilantes Act, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year, requires nonuniformed law enforcement officers to display their agency and name or badge number during arrests, detentions, and crowd control enforcement. The law, aimed at regulating Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, established misdemeanor penalties for noncompliant agents.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court ruling upholding the law.
“The Supremacy Clause prohibits States from directly regulating federal operations even when regulating state operations in the same manner,” 9th Circuit Judge Mark Bennett, a Donald Trump appointee, wrote for the majority.
California contends the law was permissible under the Supremacy Clause since it didn’t exclusively interfere with federal operations.
However, the 9th Circuit determined even minimal interference is a state directly regulating federal activity.