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DOJ sues state over mask ban, ID requirements for federal agents
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Animal services chief: Goal to 'save as many pets' lives as possible'
By Joe Taglieri
By City News Service
joet@beaconmedianews.com
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iverside County is continuing to place an emphasis on preserving the lives of pets impounded at the county's four animal shelters, Department of Animal Services Director Mary Martin said Tuesday, renewing the agency's appeal for residents to consider adopting or fostering dogs and cats going into the holidays. "Progress has been made toward the 'no kill' goal," Martin told the county Board of Supervisors during its meeting Tuesday. "We're doing everything in our
Masked officers brief Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, at right, during an immigration law enforcement operation June 12 in Los Angeles. | Photo courtesy of Tia Dufour/DHS
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he U.S. Department of Justice on Monday sued to challenge California laws prohibiting federal law enforcement agents from wearing masks and requiring them to clearly identify themselves. The DOJ's lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court names the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta challenges "their unconstitutional attempt to regulate federal law enforcement officers through the so-called 'No Secret Police Act' and 'No Vigilantes Act.'" In September, Newsom signed laws making California the first state in the nation to prohibit federal agents, including those conducting raids and roving patrols to enforce immigration laws, from concealing their identities and requiring officers not in uniform to visibly display
information such as the agency, officer's name and badge number during enforcement activity. The laws go into effect Jan. 1, but federal authorities will not comply with them, according to the Justice Department's court filing. The lawsuit contends the California laws threaten officers' safety as they face harassment, doxing and violence while conducting enforcement operations. DOJ attorneys also argue that the laws violate the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, under which states have no power to regulate the activity of federal agencies. "Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties," U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said
in a statement. "California's anti-law enforcement policies discriminate against the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand." The lawsuit cites Department of Homeland Security data showing an 8,000% increase in death threats against immigration agents and federal law enforcement officers. "The threats to federal officers are serious and potentially deadly," DOJ attorneys wrote in the lawsuit's court filing, citing DHS data. "They range from taunting, online doxxing, and stalking, to 'vehicles being used as weapons towards' officers and even bounties being 'placed on their heads for their murders.'” The lawsuit chides See DOJ suit Page 04
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Newsom for vowing to “'push back'" against the Trump administration immigration crackdown. "His latest resistance — imposing a mask ban and identification requirement on federal agents operating in California — violates the United States Constitution, as even Governor Newsom apparently appreciated when he acknowledged in discussing the mask ban that 'it appears we don’t have the legal authority for federal agents," according to DOJ Civil Division lawyers. During the bill signing, Newsom said, "ICE, unmask. What are you afraid of? You're going to go out and do enforcement? Provide an ID. Tell us what agency you represent." Diana Crofts-Pelayo,
power to find homes for these animals ... trying to save as many pets' lives as possible." Martin was present for a 5-0 board vote approving the department's request for a five-year contract, valued at an aggregate $1.5 million, with Downey-based TLC Animal Removal Services for the disposal of pets who either die in the shelters, or are recovered dead by animal control officers while on patrol. The carcasses are taken to landfills for burial. One speaker, a Nuevo
See Animal shelters Page 31
Supervisors OK sheriff's revisions to fees charged to public By City News Service
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he Board of Supervisors on Tuesday signed off on the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's revisions to fees charged by the agency for background checks, fortune-telling licenses and other services, all of which will now be contained in a single ordinance. In a 5-0 vote, the board authorized sheriff's personnel to implement the fee adjustments and unify them for easy reference under Ordinance No. 1003. The See Sheriff's fees Page 31
fees, which hadn't been updated since June 2010, were previously listed in separate county measures. "We're combining them into the one ordinance," Undersheriff Don Sharp told the board. The modified fees will take effect in 30 days. The cost of procuring a massage parlor business license will go from $595 to $999. Similarly, the fee to obtain a license to operate a "sex- oriented business," such as an adult bookstore,