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DOJ sues four states
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Maine, arguing the states were blocking immigration agents from using confidential license plates while still allowing other federal law enforcement agencies to use those plates.
“The administration of United States President Donald Trump has filed lawsuits against four Democrat-leaning states for refusing to issue confidential licence plates for vehicles carrying federal immigration agents”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the governors were pursuing "discriminatory and obstructionist policies against federal law enforcement" by denying undercover license plates to DHS components including ICE.
The lawsuits were filed in U.S. district courts in the respective states after the DOJ said the states were imposing unconstitutional restrictions that impede law enforcement and threaten agents' safety.
The federal government argued the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause bars state governments from regulating federal law enforcement, and it accused the states of trying "to obstruct the Federal Government's immigration enforcement efforts" despite immigration control being an exclusive federal power.
In Washington, Gov. Bob Ferguson said, "We look forward to defending this lawsuit," after the state informed Homeland Security Investigations in January that it had suspended issuance and renewal of confidential and undercover license plates for DHS-affiliated entities.
States reject the premise
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said she was confident her decisions would hold up in court, telling reporters, "There are no secret police in a democracy and we will always stand up for our Mainers safety and freedom."
Bellows also described the federal effort as illegal and unconstitutional, saying, "When ICE asked for confidential license plates, I said no" because "covert civil immigration enforcement is not something Maine will facilitate," according to the PBS account.
Washington’s Attorney General’s office and Oregon DMV letters to the DOJ said states were not required to assist federal agents, with the Oregon DMV writing that state and local agencies were free to cooperate but were not required to do so.
In Massachusetts, a spokesperson for Attorney General Joy Campbell said the state’s lawyers were "reviewing the complaint and will defend the RMV policy to the greatest extent possible," while Gov. Maura Healey said, "That's not what we're seeing from ICE," and said the state would not help ICE operate in secret.
The DOJ’s complaint in Washington argued the policy was "discriminatory and a blatant violation of the intergovernmental immunity doctrine embodied within the Supremacy Clause," while Washington’s Gov. Ferguson said judges had found DHS tactics in civil immigration enforcement "routinely violatethe Constitution."
Safety, secrecy, and next steps
The federal government said confidential plates are critical for undercover work and officer safety, arguing that without them, officers could face harassment, tracking, and assaults while carrying out arrests.
“Alex Pretti's death, 37, has exposed fresh fissures in the unity of the Republican Party, The New York Times notes”
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said, "Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe and must be able to carry out their duties effectively," as the DOJ framed the plate denials as undermining federal immigration enforcement.
In Massachusetts, Healey said, "We are not going to use state resources to help ICE operate in secret, and without accountability, while refusing to provide basic information about who they are arresting and why," and she cast the lawsuit as an attempt to help ICE conceal operations.
The dispute also ties to DHS claims about threats and attacks, with WORLD reporting that DHS said that during the first year of the second Trump administration, ICE agents received 8,000% more death threats than they did in the last year of the Biden administration.
In Maine, the WGME report said the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Andrew Benson argued confidential plates are "It's necessary for fugitive apprehension, surveillance," while Bellows said, "ICE is not law enforcement," and the DOJ asked a federal judge to declare Maine’s policy unconstitutional and stop enforcement.
