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The case arose after a new Republican majority in the Michigan House refused to send several bills passed by a previous Democratic-controlled legislature to the governor to become law.

"Bridget Lavender, a lawyer who has researched mask bans for the University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative, said that most case law tied to the supremacy doctrine was old and largely dated."

"Bridget Lavender — a staff attorney with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative who has been tracking such legislation nationwide — said state and local governments still have a legal avenue to enact unmasking laws."

"'It has arguably never been harder in American history than it is today, in 2026, to sue a federal official for money damages if they violate your constitutional rights,' Harrison Stark of University of Wisconsin Law School said."

"Politicians at all levels of government have called for reforms to deescalate tensions arising from federal immigration enforcement in their states. One common proposal is banning law enforcement officers — including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection officers — from wearing masks."

"Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty on Thursday filed criminal charges against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer for allegedly brandishing his service weapon at two people during Operation Metro Surge in what she said was a first-of-its-kind case in the country."

State and local governments are increasingly using property law to push back on ICE operations. This report unpacks the viability of these efforts, from banning new detention centers to barring officers from staging operations on city property.

"On Thursday, Minnesota state prosecutors announced a historic set of charges against a federal immigration agent. Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. has been charged with two felony counts of second-degree assault for pointing his gun at two Minnesota residents as they sat in their car back in February, right in the midst of the Trump administration’s brutal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, dubbed Operation Metro Surge. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she believes that this might be the first charge of its kind nationwide."

"University of Wisconsin Law School professor Robert Yablon describes standards of recusal for judges and justices as requests for the action increase in response to campaign donations and statements."

"For this episode, Bridget joins the podcast to provide a deep dive into the difficulties of researching, explaining, and influencing state-level cases and statutes. Bridget highlights how it is SDRI’s mission to fill the gap in legal research by focusing on state constitutions and state-level democracy. One great example is Bridget’s explainer about whether states can prohibit Federal agents from masking while on the job, updated to include recent case decisions."