Department of Justice sues Mass. over ICE use of license plates

Department of Justice sues Mass. over ICE use of license plates
Western Mass News
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(WGGB/WSHM) - The Trump Administration is taking Massachusetts and three other states to court after refusing to issue confidential license plates for ICE agents’ vehicles.

The lawsuits, which also targeted Maine, Washington and Oregon, were filed on Wednesday. The Justice Department said rules in our state block federal agents from getting undercover plates, while letting state agencies use them.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the states are putting agents at risk — calling the policies “discriminatory and obstructionist” against federal law enforcement.

Governor Healey and others fought back, “we’re not going to help them operate in secret as they take people off our streets without cause. We’re not going to allow them to make our streets, and our communities, and neighborhoods and our state less safe. We’re going to protect public safety and we’re not going to back down.”

The DOJ argued the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause bars state governments from interfering with federal law enforcement.

The Healey Administration pushed back sharing a statement that reads in part quote: “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. That makes our communities less safe, undermines public trust, and will not be allowed in this state.”

The Justice Department argued that the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause bars state governments from regulating federal law enforcement.

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