Trump’s DoJ sues four states for denying ICE agents undercover license plates

The Trump administration is suing to challenge the refusal of four US states to issue confidential license plates to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) agents, saying the states have long provided them to other law enforcement agencies conducting undercover operations. 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’s immigration crackdown . Officials in at least two of those states, Maine and Massachusetts , previously cited aggressive tactics by ICE agents, saying they did not want state resources used to facilitate covert civil immigration enforcement. 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. 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 ( DHS ) differently than state and local law enforcement agencies. …