(The Center Square) – After the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles over redacted conversations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal court ordered the DMV to release its communication records.
The decision comes a full year after ACLU Nevada first requested records from the DMV on its communication with the ICE. The DMV has now been ordered to submit the full extent of these records to the court, while the plaintiff’s concerns continue over potential data privacy issues for the public.
“Data should not be disclosed unlawfully, and the government should always be required to comply with the law,” ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah told The Center Square. “Sharing that information with ICE, or with anyone else, creates serious issues in terms of data maintenance and the privacy that everybody in the state holds.”
The ACLU of Nevada told The Center Square that it expects to receive communication records from the DMV sometime this week.
The ACLU said it has requested records on the issue from the DMV since February 2025. The ACLU said it received “overly redacted” documents and that those came only after involving state Attorney General Aaron Ford. The ACLU added that the communication violated a 2023 state law specifically banning the DMV from sharing data for immigration law enforcement reasons, except under specific circumstances.
The redacted documents included evidence of Signal group chats between ICE and Nevada DMV employees.
“Within the records was a request from what appears to be someone at DHS [the U.S. Department of Homeland Security] asking for a new employee to be added to a Signal chat with members of the Nevada DMV,” said Haseebullah.
On Feb. 6, Carson City District Court Judge Kristin Luis ordered the DMV to turn over communications to the court within five days, in response to the agency’s lack of response to the ACLU. As of Feb. 17, the ACLU had not received any records, but noted that the process could take longer as the Carson City District Court does not have an electronic system for document requests.
The ACLU of Nevada sought to force the DMV to release ICE communication-related documents in its lawsuit, which started in August. But the ACLU told The Center Square it now wanted further action.
“We’re seeking civil penalties as well against the DMV for willfully failing to turn over these records, which is what they did here,” said Haseebullah.
The DMV of Nevada told The Center Square it is “not in a position to comment due to active litigation.” Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The ACLU argued that the use of encrypted and self-deleting Signal chats for DMV-related business alone was a violation of the Nevada Public Records Act.
“We’ve seen even through the records that they provided that they’ve already broken the law on at least one occasion,” said Haseebullah.
