FILE - Specialty Oregon license plates pictured in an undated photo.
Mia Maldonado / Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon transportation officials say they are reviewing a decision to temporarily stop issuing undercover license plates to federal law enforcement agencies, a policy that has prompted recent legal threats from the Trump administration.
The Oregon Department of Transportation on April 15 paused issuing new undercover license plates to “all federal agencies” in order to ensure its program run by the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services complies with state law, according to Chris Crabb, a spokesperson for the agency. She did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about which state laws were in question or whether that applied to new standard license plates registered by federal officials.
State law allows Oregon’s transportation department to issue plates or other evidence of registration for undercover vehicles used by federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement undertaking criminal investigations, but the statute does not mention immigration enforcement, which falls under civil law.
Federal immigration agents have increasingly used unmarked vehicles during instances of aggressive enforcement in cities across the country, including in Oregon where an influx of more than 100 federal officers made more than 1,100 arrests from September of last year to March, according to federal immigration officials. The state’s decades-old sanctuary policy prohibits local and state law enforcement from assisting federal immigration activities without a judicial warrant.
“State and local law enforcement are unaffected by this pause. The federal agencies that participate in the program are able to continue to use their existing, unexpired plates,” Crabb wrote in a statement. “DMV will complete its review in the coming weeks and announce next steps at that time.”
The agency’s review comes in the wake of a letter last week to some Democratic-led states, including Oregon and Washington, from U.S. Department of Justice lawyers, warning that withholding the plates is “discriminatory” and “unlawful.” U.S. Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate urged Gov. Tina Kotek in a letter to order Oregon’s DMV resume issuing the plates or face a lawsuit. He gave her until Friday to provide written assurances that the plates would be issued and that the state’s decision was reversed.
“By refusing to issue standard and uncover license plates to federal agencies, including federal law enforcement agencies, while continuing to issue them to similarly situated state and local agencies without restriction, Oregon’s DMV has directly run afoul of the Supremacy Clause by discriminating against the federal government,” Shumate wrote.
Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, confirmed receipt of the letter and said the office was “assessing before responding by Friday.” A spokesperson for Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who also received the letter, referred comment to the Oregon DMV.
It’s the latest escalation against Democratic state leaders who are using state laws to push back against aggressive federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which has included the arrest, detention and deportation of U.S. citizens and children.
State attorneys general in Minnesota and Colorado have pursued criminal prosecutions against federal immigration agents, and the federal government has sued to block laws passed in California, New Jersey and Connecticut that would restrict federal agents wearing masks to obscure their identities.
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