Gavin Newsom built two laws specifically designed to expose ICE agents and make them targets.
He signed them in September, handed them to California's courts, and waited for the 9th Circuit to save him.
What the court did to Newsom's flagship anti-ICE law – and which judge cast the deciding vote – is the last thing Sacramento expected.
Newsom's No Vigilantes Act Blocked by the 9th Circuit He Was Counting On
The 9th Circuit – the same court that has blocked Trump more than any other appeals court in American history – looked at California Governor Gavin Newsom's No Vigilantes Act and killed it 3-0.
The law required ICE agents operating in California to display visible identification: their name or badge number and the agency they worked for.
Newsom sold it as transparency.
Trump's DOJ called it a targeting list.
The three-judge panel agreed with Trump.
And here is the detail Newsom did not see coming: the unanimous opinion was authored by Trump-appointed Judge Mark Bennett – and it was joined by an Obama appointee.
Even the 9th Circuit's own liberal judge looked at this law and said no.
Bennett's ruling stripped away every argument California made and landed on bedrock.
"We conclude that § 10 of the No Vigilantes Act attempts to directly regulate the United States in its performance of governmental functions. The Supremacy Clause forbids the State from enforcing such legislation."
That's not a close call.
That's a constitutional execution.
California Sanctuary State Strategy Collapses as Newsom Loses the No Secret Police Act Too
This wasn’t an isolated loss.
The ruling is the second time in 2026 a federal court has dismantled one of Newsom's anti-ICE laws.
On February 19, a different federal judge blocked the companion law – the No Secret Police Act, which banned ICE agents from wearing masks entirely.
Newsom's plan required both pieces to work: strip the masks, then expose the names.
Both are now gone.
First assistant U.S. attorney Bill Essayli called Wednesday's ruling a "huge legal victory" over California's unconstitutional effort to unmask and identify federal agents.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche went further: "This Department of Justice stands in unwavering and total support of the brave men and women of ICE who put their lives on the line everyday to enforce our immigration laws and keep American citizens safe."
Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division, posted two words on X: "Told ya!"
California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office issued a statement accusing the Trump administration of deploying agents without identification in ways that threaten public safety and civil liberties.
The court didn't entertain it.
Bennett wrote that because the federal government had demonstrated its constitutional rights would be violated, "all citizens have a stake in upholding the Constitution" – and public safety arguments don't override that.
The Supremacy Clause Ruling That Makes Every Blue State ICE Law Vulnerable
Newsom's lawyers argued the identification law only had "incidental impact" on the federal government – similar to how a speed limit applies to federal vehicles on state roads.
The Ninth Circuit rejected that entirely.
"The Act does not regulate conduct that any ordinary citizen could perform," Bennett wrote. "Rather, it applies exclusively to law enforcement agencies and their officers, including federal law enforcement agencies and federal law enforcement officers."
The Supreme Court established in 1890 – in In re Neagle – that states cannot prosecute or regulate federal law enforcement officers acting in the course of their duties.
Newsom spent California taxpayer money building laws that violated a 136-year-old constitutional principle.
The Ninth Circuit's decision Wednesday came one day after the 11th Circuit ruled that "Alligator Alcatraz" – an ICE detention facility in the Florida Everglades – could keep its doors open despite a lower court's order to shut down – two courts, same day, same result.
Newsom's office responded with the language Sacramento always reaches for when it loses – "reign of terror," masked men "terrorizing" communities, Stephen Miller's name invoked for good measure.
ICE agents are back on the street in California without Newsom's targeting requirements, and the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution is still the law of the land.
The 9th Circuit just reminded Sacramento of that.
Sources:
- Jesse Stiller, "Huge legal victory: California's bid to unmask ICE agents goes down in flames," Daily Caller News Foundation, April 23, 2026.
- "Federal court blocks Newsom's bid to shackle ICE in Trump immigration win," Fox News, April 22, 2026.
- "Trump, ICE Score Legal Wins Against Illegal Immigration," Daily Signal, April 23, 2026.
- Bill Essayli, post on X, April 22, 2026.
- Harmeet Dhillon, post on X, April 22, 2026.
- "Appeals Court Unanimously Shuts Down Gavin Newsom's Decree Against ICE," Blaze Media, April 22, 2026.
