{"id":3954,"date":"2026-05-28T20:39:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T20:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/28\/trumps-doj-sues-four-states-for-denying-ice-agents-undercover-license-plates\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T20:39:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T20:39:42","slug":"trumps-doj-sues-four-states-for-denying-ice-agents-undercover-license-plates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=3954","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s DoJ sues four states for denying ICE agents undercover license plates"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"068ea3e5-2830-4ad4-ba43-c9b26c6ee974\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"close up of a tactical vest\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/fb9f8f3388c288dc53084fefdc6c2ac3a982feca\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">An ICE agents stands guard in front of protesters outside Delaney Hall detention center on Wednesday in Newark, New Jersey.<\/span> Photograph: Michael M Santiago\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"068ea3e5-2830-4ad4-ba43-c9b26c6ee974\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">An ICE agents stands guard in front of protesters outside Delaney Hall detention center on Wednesday in Newark, New Jersey.<\/span> Photograph: Michael M Santiago\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Trump\u2019s DoJ sues four states for denying ICE agents undercover license plates<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state sued as ICE seeks plates in Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Trump administration is suing to challenge the refusal of four US states to issue confidential license plates to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/ice-us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">ICE<\/a>) agents, saying the states have long provided them to other law enforcement agencies conducting undercover operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The US Department of Justice on Thursday said it had filed lawsuits against Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state after states led by Democratic governors refused to rescind their policies. ICE is seeking access to such plates to carry out arrests as part of Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/usimmigration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">immigration crackdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Officials in at least two of those states, Maine and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/massachusetts\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Massachusetts<\/a>, previously cited aggressive tactics by ICE agents, saying they did not want state resources used to facilitate covert civil immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The lawsuits make good on a threat assistant US attorney general Brett Shumate had made in a series of letters sent this month, telling state officials the administration would sue if they did not alter their policies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The justice department contends the states unlawfully discriminate against the federal government in violation of the US constitution by treating ICE and other components of the Department of Homeland Security (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jan\/19\/donald-trump-immigration-crackdown\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">DHS<\/a>) differently than state and local law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The justice department in the Republican <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Trump administration<\/a> said the policies threaten the safety of federal immigration agents, exposing officers to harassment, tracking and assaults while they carry out arrests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cLaw enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe and must be able to carry out their duties effectively,\u201d the acting US attorney general, Todd Blanche, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Massachusetts governor, Maura Healey, a Democrat, issued a statement defending the state\u2019s new policy. She said the state supports legitimate criminal investigative work but added \u201cthat\u2019s not what we are seeing from ICE and its unconstitutional tactics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A spokesperson for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/maine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Maine<\/a> attorney general, Aaron Frey, also a Democrat, pointed to a letter he sent last week defending the state\u2019s new policy of not issuing plates for civil immigration enforcement as lawful.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A spokesperson for Oregon\u2019s governor, Tina Kotek, another Democrat, said the state\u2019s department of motor vehicles had temporarily paused issuing new undercover license plates to federal agencies pending a review of its policies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/ice-us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/usimmigration\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US immigration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/oregon\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Oregon<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/maine\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Maine<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/massachusetts\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Massachusetts<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Trump%E2%80%99s%20DoJ%20sues%20four%20states%20for%20denying%20ICE%20agents%20undercover%20license%20plates&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/28\/trump-doj-lawsuit-ice-undercover-license-plates?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F28%2Ftrump-doj-lawsuit-ice-undercover-license-plates&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/28\/trump-doj-lawsuit-ice-undercover-license-plates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An ICE agents stands guard in front of protesters outside Delaney Hall detention center on Wednesday in Newark,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}