(The Center Square) — The U.S. Department of Justice has given Maine until Friday to rescind a policy blocking confidential vehicle registrations and license plates for ICE agents operating in the state.
In a letter to Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles is refusing to issue undercover registrations and license plates to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, thereby obstructing federal duties and jeopardizing the safety of undercover agents. He vowed to sue unless the state drops the policy by a May 22 deadline.
“This discriminatory policy is not only deeply dangerous as a matter of public safety but also blatantly unlawful as a matter of constitutional law,” Shumate wrote. “It should be immediately withdrawn; otherwise, the United States intends to seek judicial relief.”
In January, Democratic Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who oversees the motor vehicle bureau, announced a “pause” on issuing confidential, undercover license plates as the state braced for a federal immigration crackdown.
“These requests in light of rumors of ICE deployment to Maine and abuses of power in Minnesota and elsewhere raise concerns,” Bellows said in a statement at the time. “We have not revoked existing plates but have paused issuance of new plates. We want to be assured that Maine plates will not be used for lawless purposes.”
Maine was the subject of a large-scale immigration enforcement operation by the Department of Homeland Security. Federal agents arrested more than 200 “criminal aliens” during a yearly weeklong sweep of the state’s two largest cities, Portland and Lewiston.
But Shumate said in the May 12 letter that allowing federal law enforcement vehicle registration and plates to be identifiable or subject to public records requests puts “officers, their families, and people under their protection at risk.”
“Officers could be identified and tracked to their homes,” he wrote. “Suspects could be alerted to officer presence and flee, destroy evidence, or take countermeasures to avoid arrest, making arrests more dangerous for all involved. Persons under officers’ protection could be endangered.”
“Such threats are particularly troubling in the current environment, in which federal officers have been the target of threats, doxing, and harassment,” he added.
Bellows, one of several Democrats running for Maine governor, was strongly criticized by Republicans for blocking the issuance of confidential plates to ICE agents. Several GOP lawmakers also called for her to be impeached over the decision.
Maine was one of several states — including Massachusetts, Washington, and Oregon — that received the ultimatum letters from the DOJ threatening legal action over policies that deny “undercover” or “confidential” license plates to federal agents.
