Trump administration sues Mass. over denial of confidential plates for ICE vehicles
The Trump administration has sued Massachusetts over the state’s refusal to issue confidential license plates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the latest salvo in an ongoing clash between federal immigration authorities and Democrat-led states over enforcement tactics.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston on Wednesday, argues that Massachusetts is unconstitutionally discriminating against federal immigration agencies by denying undercover or confidential license plates to ICE and US Customs and Border Protection officers while continuing to issue them to other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
The Justice Department filed similar lawsuits against Maine, Washington, and Oregon.
In a statement, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the states of “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,” Blanche said.
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The Massachusetts lawsuit names Governor Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Transportation Secretary Phil Eng, and Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie as defendants.
On Thursday, Healey said the state has no plans to issue the confidential plates.
“We’re not going to help them operate in secret as they take people off our streets without cause,” she told reporters. “We’re not going to allow them to make our streets and our communities and our neighborhoods and our state less safe. We’re going to protect public safety, and we’re not going to back down on that.”
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Samantha Gross of the Globe staff contributed to this story.
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