Lawmakers — at both the state and federal levels — have put forth proposals in recent weeks to largely prohibit federal agents conducting immigration enforcement actions from wearing masks to shield their identity and ensure that their clothes include identifying information, such as their name, badge number or agency.

These bills come amid growing concerns — from communities in Los Angeles and Orange counties to those in the Inland Empire — that a number of supposed agents in plain clothes are arresting undocumented immigrants, sowing uncertainty among both detainees and witnesses who can’t tell if the individuals are legitimate law enforcement officers.

And without identification, supporters of these bills say, the agents can’t be held accountable for any inappropriate actions.

Federal officials, meanwhile, say masks worn by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other members of federal law enforcement are for their protection.

At the end of the day, one big question is whether regulations related to mask wearing and identification will even pass legal muster.

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Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, said lawmakers would have a stronger case to make if their bills target law enforcement at all levels — be it local, state or federal — as opposed to just singling out federal agents.

If the bills only applied to federal agents, Chemerinsky said, “it’s likely unconstitutional because the state can’t target the federal government for regulation. But if it applies to all police in the state, then I think there’s no argument that it’s constitutional.”

What have state legislators proposed?

In the California Legislature, there is a bill to ban all law enforcement from covering their faces while conducting operations in California. SB 627 was introduced by state Sens. Scott Wiener and Jesse Arreguín, two Bay Area Democrats, as well as Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, a Pasadena Democrat.

The bill would not apply to undercover agents or those wearing surgical or N95 respirators for health reasons, masks to protect against smoke exposure during wildfire emergencies or certain tactical gear.

Another bill, also introduced by Pérez and Wiener, would require local, state and federal law enforcement agents in California to display their name or badge number on their uniforms. Exceptions would be made for those working undercover.

SB 805, intended to crack down on people impersonating law enforcement officers, would also allow law enforcement to request that someone claiming to be a government employee show identification when there is probable cause or reasonable suspicion of a crime.

Last week, Huntington Park police arrested a man suspected of impersonating a federal immigration agent. The man had a prior arrest record related to human smuggling, the Huntington Park police chief said at the time, though he did not provide further details.

Pérez said police initially thought the suspect’s car belonged to law enforcement until they ran the license plate.

“If actual law enforcement struggles to distinguish between real agents and dangerous criminals, then the general public has little chance of knowing who to trust without greater disclosure of law enforcement identification,” she said.

Earlier this year, police in North Carolina arrested a man for allegedly pretending to be a law enforcement officer. According to local news accounts, the victim told police the man kidnapped then raped her, threatening to deport her unless she had sex with him. She told police the man had a business card with a badge on it.

What is being suggested in Congress?

Similar legislation has been introduced at the federal level — where Republicans control both houses, in contrast to the Democratic supermajority in Sacramento.

The “No Anonymity in Immigration Enforcement Act” from Democratic New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez — and co-sponsored by 13 other Democratic House members, including Reps. Laura Friedman and Luz Rivas of L.A. County and Raul Ruiz of Riverside County — would also restrict face coverings for federal agents.

That bill states that, unless exempted, an agent carrying out an enforcement operation in the U.S. may not wear a face covering but must wear a garment with their name and ICE affiliation clearly displayed.

During a news conference this week, Friedman said reports of impersonations are “striking terror” in communities.

Speakers at the event said local law enforcement officers are required to show more identification, which helps with transparency and accountability if someone feels an officer has crossed the line or broken a law.

Requiring law enforcement to identify themselves builds trust between such officers and the public, they said. They added that federal agents should be held to the same standards.

“When agents are masked and anonymous, you cannot have accountability. That’s not how democracy works. That’s not how our country works,” Friedman said.

What are federal officials saying?

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized attempts to outlaw officers from wearing masks “to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers.”

ICE agents are facing a more than 400% increase in assaults, and individuals are launching websites to reveal ICE officers’ identities, McLaughlin said in a statement. She said the federal government will prosecute those who provide personally identifiable information online about ICE agents “to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line every day to arrest violent criminal illegal aliens to protect and defend the lives of American citizens,” McLaughlin said.

Rhetoric comparing ICE agents to secret police “is contributing to the surge in assaults of ICE officers through their repeated vilification and demonization of ICE,” she added.

ICE Acting Director Todd Lyon had a similar take.

“I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is,” he said at a news conference last month.

On the question of whether the proposed bills prohibiting masks or requiring IDs for federal agents are constitutional, Chemerinsky, the UC Berkeley law school dean, likened it to a stop sign put up by local officials. Federal agents generally would still have to obey that stop sign, he said.

“They have to follow general law. Unless it can be shown the law puts a significant burden on federal activity, the general law applies to the federal government,” Chemerinsky said. “The question would be, ‘Does it put a significant burden on federal activity to say that the officers can’t wear masks?’”

“My instinct is no, that it doesn’t,” he said.

That said, Chemerinsky said it is foreseeable that the federal government would seek to challenge such regulations should they become law.

Will any of these bills pass?

The state bills, should they come up for votes, would be decided by a supermajority Democratic legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has not shied from criticizing President Donald Trump or his administration for immigration and mass deportation policies.

Meanwhile, the Democratic-led federal bill would have to gain enough support in a GOP-controlled Congress, raising questions about its chances of passing.

On Tuesday, Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, introduced amendments to the budget bill that Congress is considering.

One amendment would have prohibited ICE and other law enforcement agents engaged in border security or immigration enforcement from wearing face coverings. Another would have required them to provide identification and display or wear the official insignia or uniform for the agency that they represent.

Rep. Dave Min, D-Irvine, filed a similar amendment.

Spokespeople for Correa and Min said the submitted amendments were never voted on and blamed Republicans who control the House for not putting the items up for a vote.

On the other hand, Congress recently passed a resolution condemning the “violent riots” that have broken out in and around Los Angeles in recent weeks by protesters who oppose the ongoing ICE immigration enforcement actions. That resolution was led by Republican Rep. Young Kim, who represents parts of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, along with the rest of California’s Republican House delegation.

The resolution expressed “gratitude” to responding law enforcement officers. It listed local law enforcement agencies as well as ICE “for keeping … communities safe in the face of danger.”

“Peaceful protests are a constitutional right, but vandalism, looting, violence and other crimes are not,” Kim said. The resolution, she added, is meant to “support law and order as our communities see unrest enabled by California’s soft-on-crime policies.”

SCNG writer Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.