Do federal agents have to follow Milwaukee’s face-covering and park ordinances?

Video circulating this week shows masked federal agents in Milwaukee arresting people. City leaders say the face coverings violate a city ordinance — but whether federal agents are required to follow local ordinances is a legal question that may ultimately be decided by a federal judge.

RELATED | Father with no criminal record detained by ICE on Milwaukee’s south side, family says

Local attorney Russell Jones said the answer depends on the specific ordinance and what federal authorities are doing.

“The issue becomes whether or not the local ordinances interfere with the operations of the federal officers acting under federal law. If it does, federal law will supersede it. Right, it’s the supremacy clause of the Constitution. If it doesn’t interfere with their operations, then typically they will follow those ordinances. So that’s really the question: do the ordinances interfere with the legitimate operations of the federal agency?” Jones explained.

For the past week, masked federal agents have been seen in Wisconsin arresting people they say are in the country illegally.

Watch: Do federal agents have to follow Milwaukee’s face covering and park ordinances?

Do federal agents have to follow Milwaukee’s face covering and park ordinances?

Galo Suarez described one encounter.

“They broke our side window, and they told us that if we didn’t comply, we would face several heavy consequences,” Suarez said.

Images have also surfaced of what appear to be federal agents in Milwaukee County parks.

Federal agents wearing masks and being in county parks, according to city and county leaders, are against local ordinances.

Milwaukee’s city ordinance prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings. A Milwaukee County ordinance prohibits any law enforcement agency from using a park as a staging area without a permit.

When asked whether a resolution to the legal question was possible now, Jones said it likely falls to the courts.

“That’s a question that eventually probably some federal judge will answer,” Jones said.

Before the city’s face covering ordinance was passed, City Attorney Evan Goyke wrote in a memo that “it is legal and enforceable.”

Enforcement of the ordinance would fall to Milwaukee Police, who earlier this week said they have “requested a formal written legal opinion from the city attorney’s office regarding the ordinance’s applicability and enforceability.” TMJ4 News reached out to Goyke on this and is waiting to hear back.

ICE has already stated it “will not abide by unconstitutional bans,” noting that “ICE officers wear face coverings for one reason: to protect themselves and their families from real-world threats including agitators.”

Jones said the practical challenge of enforcing a local ordinance against federal officers adds another layer of complexity.

“Enforcing a local ordinance right is typically done with an arrest or issuing a ticket, and certainly arresting ICE officers would interfere with their operations,” Jones added. “Ultimately, a federal judge will decide if these ordinances interfere with federal operations, and if they do, they will be superseded by federal law, and if they don’t, then ICE would likely have to follow them.”

This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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