California Governor Gavin Newsom on September 20 signed five bills aimed at curbing the tactics of federal immigration enforcement, including the first-in-the-nation “No Secret Police Act,” which requires federal agents to identify themselves during operations.

The governor said the laws represent California’s refusal to tolerate “secret police” tactics he tied to former President Donald Trump’s administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He described the legislation as long-overdue accountability.

“This is not about the pronoun police,” Newsom said. “This is about the secret police. We’re not North Korea. We’re not the Soviet Union. This is the United States of America. And I am really proud that California is pushing back.”

The bills — AB 49, AB 81, SB 98, SB 805 and SB 627 — expand protections for immigrant communities, increase oversight of enforcement practices and include the anti-mask provision, which takes effect in January 2026.

Newsom linked the legislation to California’s diversity, noting that 27% of residents are foreign-born and many live in mixed-status families. He called pluralism a defining value of the state, one he said is “under assault” from Trump and his allies.

“Unmarked cars. People are disappearing. No due process. No rights,” Newsom said. “That’s Trump’s America. But it is not the America we grew up in.”

The Department of Homeland Security condemned the new law on Sept. 22, calling it unconstitutional and dangerous for federal officers. Officials said the legislation undermines law enforcement by preventing agents from protecting their identities during operations.

“To be crystal clear: we will not abide by Newsom’s unconstitutional ban,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

Newsom, however, insisted California would continue to act as a counterweight to Trump-era enforcement policies, signing the bills into law while vowing to use both the state’s legal and “moral authority” to push back.