St. Paul City Council votes unanimously to enact face covering restrictions for law enforcement

The St. Paul City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to require all law enforcement officers operating in the city to show their faces and to display badges, except in limited cases such as undercover work.

Council members said the ordinance was created in response to community complaints about federal officers whose identities were hidden by masks or face coverings during operations in the Twin Cities.

"Ever since masked federal agents descended on the Twin Cities, we've seen documented instances of peaceful observers and press be attacked, and residents be intimidated and unlawfully kidnapped," said City Council Vice President HwaJeong Kim.

According to Kim, this is a move to protect residents from what they called "zealous" federal agents.

The council went on to say the federal agents wearing masks shields them from accountability. Ward 6 Council Member Nelsie Yang said the use of face coverings by federal agents has intensified fear in the community.

"For months, our community has lived in fear and uncertainty caused by unjust federal immigration enforcement. The use of face coverings by federal agents has intensified intimidation and eroded trust by shielding agents from identification and accountability. This needs to stop now, and that's why I'm proud to cosponsor this important ordinance pushing for transparency and accountability that we all, The People, deserve," said Yang.

Mayor Kaohly Her signed the ordinance on Friday.

"We will continue to set the rules of engagement for law enforcement in our city," Her said in a written statement. "Saint Paul police officers will never wear masks to obscure their identity, and we should expect the same from federal law enforcement."

Similarly, last week, a different ordinance was passed requiring officers to visibly display their badges. Both ordinances do have limited and narrow circumstances where these rules would not be enforced, but the Trump administration has filed a lawsuit challenging these kinds of laws, and just last week, a judge in California blocked a similar law from going into effect there.