WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is suing New York over a law set to take effect this week that would bar federal agents from wearing masks, opening them up to “harassment, tracking, intimidation, and assaults.”

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate and other DOJ attorneys in the Civil Division filed the lawsuit Monday in Buffalo federal court, alleging that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul tucked the unconstitutional law into the state’s annual budget.

“Governor Hochul cannot tell Federal officers how to do their job,” Woodward said. “And she certainly cannot prohibit them from ensuring their own safety in conducting Federal law enforcement operations.”

The suit, which also names New York Attorney General Letitia James, claims that the Face Covering and Identification Acts “violate the principles of intergovernmental immunity and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” according to the 40-page filing, which notes that the law is set to take effect June 26.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, DEA agents and others would then be subject “to criminal penalties” for wearing masks.

Other provisions in the Empire State budget also run afoul of federal law by requiring local governments to terminate enforcement agreements with the feds, the lawsuit contends.

“The need to protect Special Agents’ identities and association with DEA is not confined to activities which would compromise that particular investigation; rather, the exposure of Special Agents’ identities and association with DEA even in an overt DEA operation could enable suspects to identify those agents who become involved in future undercover operations, which would obstruct those future actions,” the suit states.

“Increasingly, members of the public photograph, film, and publish federal enforcement actions online and include the personal identities of federal officers for the sole purpose of intimidation and harassment,” it also notes.

That information can be used by “rioters, illegal aliens and “highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13,” among others, according to the DOJ officials.

“The Department of Justice will steadfastly protect the privacy and safety of law enforcement from unconstitutional state laws like New York’s,” said Shumate.

The DOJ has already filed suits in California, Virginia, and New Jersey — as well as the city of Philadelphia — against laws forcing agents to go maskless. All of the jurisdictions impose “sanctuary” policies that limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

“If California and New York can impose these requirements, there’s nothing that prevents them from, you know, in the next session saying, ‘Federal agents can’t even use marked cars,'” a DOJ official told The Post

“This is a troubling new trend that started in California and other sanctuary jurisdictions are trying to follow the same lead of passing bills that target federal law enforcement officers directly and attempt to directly regulate how they do their jobs by banning masks and requiring federal agents to wear identification,” the official also said.

“That puts agents’ lives at risk, and so we’re prioritizing these cases and filing lawsuits as quickly as we can,” the official added.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed her state’s version of the law in March, saying in a statement: “We’re not going to tolerate masked roving militias pretending, pretending to be well-trained law enforcement agents.”

In April, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals blocked California from implementing its version of the law, but the official indicated that if another circuit court rules against the administration, it could prompt an appeal to the Supreme Court to resolve the dispute.

Hochul and James responded to the DOJ’s lawsuit with litigation of their own, asking the court to declare the Empire State’s mask ban legal and block the Trump administration from “interfering with New York’s authority to protect public safety, promote transparency, and govern the use of state and local resources.” 

“By hiding their faces and refusing to wear identification, federal immigration officers endanger New Yorkers and intentionally evade accountability,” James said in a statement. “Our communities should not have to live in fear of being disappeared by unidentified masked agents. 

“If the federal government wants to brazenly defy our laws, then we will fight tooth and nail in court to ensure transparency and keep all New Yorkers safe.”

Hochul argued the anti-ICE measures “reflect New York’s values,” vowing, “we’re not going to let anyone bully us into abandoning them.”

“A badge carries with it a responsibility to uphold the public’s trust,” the governor said in a statement. “New Yorkers deserve to know who is enforcing the law in their communities and have the assurance that local resources are being deployed to protect public safety, not to intimidate or advance the agenda of a rogue federal agency.” 

Last week, the administration notified New York that it intended to sue the state over the legislation and seek emergency relief before the law takes effect.

The state officials noted the Trump administration notified New York last week that it intended to sue and  seek emergency relief before the law takes effect.

New York’s lawsuit contends the state has a sovereign right under the Tenth Amendment to enact laws that protect public safety, promote transparency, and regulate conduct within its borders, and that the new laws establish basic public safety and transparency requirements for law enforcement officers operating in New York and protect the state’s authority to decide how state and local resources are used.