“Trump’s ICE agents are unlawfully targeting Oregon communities, making all of us less safe,” said Gov. Tina Kotek.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, a Democrat, has doubled down on prohibiting the state from issuing undercover license plates to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. This comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Oregon and several other Democrat-run sanctuary states last month over similar policies.
“Trump’s ICE agents are unlawfully targeting Oregon communities, making all of us less safe. That’s why I ordered the Oregon DMV to stop issuing undercover license plates to ICE,” wrote Gov. Kotek Tuesday on X. “As long as I am your Governor, Oregon will not aid unlawful immigration enforcement efforts.”
The Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division (DMV) stopped issuing undercover, or covert, license plates to all federal agencies on April 15. The new effort is aimed at hindering immigration enforcement operations amid a nationwide crackdown on illegal migration.
Governor Kotek claimed in a statement to the Oregon Capital Chronicle that she ordered the DMV to stop issuing ICE license plates because of “repeated violations of state and federal law by ICE agents and the need to protect community trust and public safety.”
Kotek reiterated her support for the state’s sanctuary policies, saying that Oregon “will follow state law and ensure we do not aid these unlawful immigration enforcement efforts.” She further claimed, without offering evidence, that “ICE agents have repeatedly engaged in illegitimate activities.”
On May 28, the DOJ sued Oregon on claims that the policy violates the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution, which establishes that federal law takes precedence over state law. In addition to alleged constitutional rights violations, the DOJ argued that the policy endangers the safety and operational effectiveness of federal agents who have been subjected to a wave of targeted harassment.
Brett Schumate, Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Civil Rights Division, asserted that such policies “undermine ongoing investigations and put federal law enforcement officers at risk of harm,” including federal officers who conduct investigations into a myriad of “serious crimes, including drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism, and fraud.”
“The investigation into such crimes and the criminal enterprises involved often require covert surveillance and undercover activities,” Schumate continued. “Federal law enforcement officers’ duties also include locating missing children, apprehending fugitives, safeguarding people under federal protection, and transporting dignitaries. If federal law enforcement vehicles are readily identifiable, either by a government plate or through a state plate and registration that is subject to public exposure through an information request, then officers, their families, and people under their protection will all be at risk. Officers could be identified and tracked to their homes.”
Additionally, Schumate stated that such policies are troubling in the current environment, as ICE and other federal immigration officers have been the targets of “threats, doxing, and harassment” due to the current anti-ICE environment in Democratic-run states and cities across the nation.
Still, Governor Kotek is standing by her decision despite the lawsuit. Oregon has been targeted for increased immigration enforcement operations due to the state’s sanctuary policies, which prohibit local and state law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration-related matters, and ongoing Antifa-affiliated riots at the ICE facility in Portland.
The other states recently sued by the DOJ for similar policies include Washington, Maine, and Massachusetts.