Healey doubles down on denying ICE confidential license plates
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Gov. Maura Healey discusses immigration protections in Massachusetts. Photo: Steph Solis/Axios
The Trump administration is taking Massachusetts to court over the state's refusal to give federal immigration agents confidential license plates to work undercover.
Why it matters: The lawsuit could test the limits of state resistance to President Trump's immigration crackdown.
Driving the news: The Trump administration filed its lawsuit in Boston federal court Wednesday, naming state transportation officials, Gov. Maura Healey and Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
- The feds want a federal judge to make the Registry of Motor Vehicles issue confidential license plates to federal agents making civil immigration arrests.
- The RMV typically issues them to law enforcement officers conducting undercover work, but has refused to issue them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
What they're saying: "Its refusal to do the same for ICE and CBP is discriminatory, a direct regulation and a blatant violation of the intergovernmental immunity doctrine embodied within the Supremacy Clause," the lawsuit states.
The other side: Healey doubled down on the state's denial of confidential plates Thursday morning.
- "We support law enforcement doing legitimate law enforcement work. That's not what we're seeing from ICE, so we're not going to help them operate in secret while they take people off our streets without cause," she told reporters.
- Asked about the U.S. House Judiciary Committee chair's letter to Boston officials demanding information about the city's sanctuary policies, Healey said, "It's pretty stupid."
Between the lines: The legal fight comes as Healey unveiled guidance for "sensitive locations" — hospitals, schools, college campuses, daycares and places of worship — on how to respond to immigration enforcement on their properties, following an executive order.
- The guidance restores protections for undocumented immigrants that existed under the Obama and Biden administrations.
What we're watching: Massachusetts is poised to enact stronger protections to prevent civil immigration arrests without judicial warrants, which civil rights advocates and attorneys say violate immigrants' due process rights.
- State lawmakers are negotiating the final terms of the PROTECT Act, which could include provisions proposed by Healey, the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus and both chambers.
- In the meantime, attorneys for the Healey and Trump administrations will have it out in district court.