{"id":2607884,"date":"2026-05-28T13:26:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-sues-states-over-undercover-license-plates-restrictions-for-federal-agents\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T13:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:30:28","slug":"doj-sues-states-over-undercover-license-plates-restrictions-for-federal-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-sues-states-over-undercover-license-plates-restrictions-for-federal-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ sues states over undercover license plates restrictions for federal agents"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-sues-states-over-undercover-license-plates-restrictions-for-federal-agents%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2607884&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Department of Justice announced it has sued Maine, Washington, Oregon, and Massachusetts after the states denied confidential undercover license plates to federal agencies-while continuing to issue those plates to state and local law enforcement. The DOJ says it had sent letters urging the states to reverse the policies,but they refused.<\/p>\n<p>Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche argued that restricting the plates puts law enforcement officers at risk and amounts to discriminatory obstruction of federal immigration enforcement. The DOJ contends the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >states\u2019 actions undermine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mayorkas-pushes-backlog-amnesty-for-over-1-million-illegals-facing-deportation\/\" title=\"Mayorkas Pushes &#039;Backlog Amnesty&#039; for over 1 Million Illegals Facing Deportation\">immigration enforcement efforts<\/a><\/a> and could help criminals avoid accountability.<\/p>\n<p>In court filings, Massachusetts is described as refusing plates for ICE and CBP due to objections to their immigration enforcement missions. Washington is said to have suspended issuance and renewal for DHS-affiliated agencies. oregon and maine are described as placing the confidential plate program for federal agencies under review, which prosecutors say improperly obstructs federal powers reserved under the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ is asking a court to declare each state\u2019s policy unconstitutional and invalid under federal supremacy principles and to require the confidential plate program to resume for federal agents.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"438\">Department of Justice<\/a> announced Thursday that it filed lawsuits against <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/maine\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"193\">Maine<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington\/\">Washington<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/oregon\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1417\">Oregon<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/massachusetts\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"344\">Massachusetts<\/a> for denying undercover license plates to federal agencies. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-homeland-security\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3083\">Department of Homeland Security<\/a> was specifically restricted in access to confidential plates, due to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/immigration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"8775\">immigration<\/a> enforcement activities in the Democratic-led states, but all four states continued issuing such plates to state and local law enforcement, according to the complaints. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4584028\/fifa-host-cities-chaos-trump-airport-customs\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>These FIFA host cities could see chaos if Trump shuts down customs at airports<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4582004\/fact-check-delaney-hall-ice-detention-center-new-jersey\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Fact check: Delaney Hall, the ICE detention center in New Jersey under Democrats\u2019 microscope<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4582090\/cbp-defends-mission-central-us-america-250-message\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>CBP defends mission as central to US in America 250 message<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Letters were sent to each state by the DOJ shortly after the policies were put in place, but all four states refused to rescind the plate restrictions, resulting in the lawsuit filed Wednesday. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Acting Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/todd-blanche\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"20883\">Todd Blanche<\/a> said blue states\u2019 policies put law enforcement officers at risk, and the lawsuits reflect the department\u2019s effort to \u201csupport the brave men and women of law enforcement.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLaw enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe and must be able to carry out their duties effectively,\u201d Blanche said. \u201cBy 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-mayor-congress-must-open-a-probe-into-security-failures-at-u-s-capitol\/\" title=\"D.C. Mayor: Congress must open a probe into security failures at U.S. Capitol\">federal law enforcement<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese actions undermine federal immigration enforcement, allow dangerous criminals to escape justice, and terrorize American communities,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the court filings, Massachusetts refused to issue confidential license plates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection because \u201cit objects to their immigration enforcement missions.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Washington took a similar approach and suspended the issuance and renewal of undercover plates for DHS-affiliated agencies, the filing said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese brave agents, like their local counterparts, rely on various tools and techniques to stay safe while performing their official duties, including taking certain measures to keep their activities and identities unknown to the general public and the criminals they investigate,\u201d the filing said. \u201cOne such tool is confidential license plates that cannot easily be tied back to their agencies through records requests or other means.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4583404\/homan-may-force-feed-ice-detainees-hunger-strike-court-order\/\"><strong>HOMAN PROPOSES FORCE-FEEDING ICE DETAINEES ON HUNGER STRIKE: \u2018WE\u2019LL GET A COURT ORDER\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DOJ said Oregon and Maine, rather, put the entire confidential plate program under review for federal agencies. It refers to these policies as a means to \u201cobstruct the Federal Government\u2019s immigration enforcement efforts, even though control over immigration and the nation\u2019s borders is an exclusive federal power.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prosecutors are requesting that each state\u2019s policy be declared unconstitutional and invalid under the intergovernmental immunity doctrine within the Supremacy Clause, and that the program be resumed for federal agents, as it has continued for state and local agencies. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DOJ sued Maine, Washington, Oregon, and Massachusetts for blocking undercover plates for federal agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4130,"featured_media":2607885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26015299884117.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[7076,37941,7976,80411,80410],"class_list":["post-2607884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-doj","tag-federal-agents","tag-lawsuits","tag-license-plate-restrictions","tag-undercover-operations"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26015299884117.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2607884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2607884"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2607884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2607888,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2607884\/revisions\/2607888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2607885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2607884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2607884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2607884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}