Justice Department Tells Four States to Stop Issuing Plates for Immigration Agents

The Justice Department sent letters on May 12 to the governors of Maine, Massachusetts, Washington and Oregon warning that their refusal to issue undercover license plates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents may violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.

Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote that the states discriminate against federal agencies by issuing confidential plates to state and local law enforcement while denying them to federal officers. The letters stated that the policy interferes with federal immigration enforcement operations.

A Massachusetts governor's office official said the state issues undercover plates only for criminal investigations and that immigration enforcement involves civil matters. The official added that fears of doxing ICE agents are unfounded because non-confidential plates do not reveal individual names.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts governor's office stated that the state will not allow its resources to support ICE operations that the spokesman described as violating rights. Officials in Oregon, Maine and Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said the states are refusing to help federal agents but questioned whether the Supremacy Clause argument is straightforward. He noted that no specific state law conflicts with federal law in this case.

Tony Pham, a former ICE director, said the Justice Department's position is grounded in the Supremacy Clause and that the states' policies create an unequal standard for federal officers. Mike Fox, a legal fellow at the Cato Institute, said the legal question is not a clear win for either side.