Photo: Alamy
The Trump administration filed lawsuits Thursday against four Democratic-led states over policies restricting confidential license plates for U.S. immigration agents conducting undercover operations.
The United States Department of Justice said it sued Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington after the states declined to reverse policies blocking access to confidential plates for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“By denying undercover license plates to DHS components, including ICE, while issuing them to their own state agencies, these governors are pursuing discriminatory and obstructionist policies against federal law enforcement. These actions undermine federal immigration enforcement, allow dangerous criminals to escape justice, and terrorize American communities,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
The administration argues that the states have historically provided such plates to other law enforcement agencies involved in undercover operations and that denying them to ICE interferes with immigration enforcement efforts under President Donald Trump.
Officials in Maine and Massachusetts previously cited concerns about aggressive ICE tactics and said they did not want state resources used to facilitate covert civil immigration enforcement operations.
The lawsuits follow warnings issued earlier this month by Assistant U.S. Attorney General Brett Shumate, who sent letters to state officials threatening legal action if the policies were not changed.
The Justice Department argues that the states are unlawfully discriminating against the federal government, in violation of the Constitution, by treating ICE and other components of the United States Department of Homeland Security differently from state and local law enforcement agencies.
Federal officials also contend the restrictions endanger immigration agents by exposing them to tracking, harassment and possible assaults while conducting arrests.
Spokespeople for the governors of Maine, Oregon and Washington did not immediately comment on the lawsuits. A spokesperson for Maura Healey pointed to a letter Massachusetts officials sent to the Justice Department last week defending the state’s policy.
In that letter, Massachusetts officials argued the Registry of Motor Vehicles policy is lawful because it applies broadly to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, limiting confidential plates to criminal investigations.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit against Massachusetts alleges that ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection continued to receive confidential registrations and license plates in the state through 2025. According to the lawsuit, the policy changed this year after Healey’s administration announced it would no longer support ICE enforcement tactics.
