Nassau County Will Let Officers Wear Masks When Working With ICE

A suburban New York county that recently barred residents from wearing masks is now making an exception for police officers so they can obscure their identities while helping the federal authorities detain immigrants.

Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, announced the new policy at a news conference on Friday, saying he had signed an executive order amending a county law that bans the wearing of masks in public except for religious or medical reasons.

Under the amended law, all federal, state and local law enforcement officers operating in the county, on Long Island, can wear face coverings when it is “necessary to protect their personal safety, the personal safety of their families or the integrity of the operation.”

Mr. Blakeman, a Republican, said the change did not apply solely to immigration actions, and he cast it as a safety measure meant to keep protesters from tracking down the personal information of police officers and agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.




https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/nyregion/nassau-county-police-officers-ice-masks.html