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Reported: DHS considers retaliating against states that deny immigration officials access to state driver records

  1. Original Date Announced

    February 10, 2020

    A DHS memo obtained by Buzzfeed outlines a range of plans to not only circumvent state laws limiting the immigration officials' access to driver records, but to retaliate against states that are refusing to provide such information to DHS. These retaliation measures included closing DHS offices, cutting off TSA PreCheck services, and issuing subpoenas.

    [ID #834]

    DHS Considered How To Punish States That Deny Access To Driver Records, A Memo Says

Current Status

Fully in Effect

Original Trump Policy Status

Status: Reported
Trump Administration Action: Change in Practice
Subject Matter: Sanctuary Restrictions
Agencies Affected: ICE TSA

Associated or Derivative Policies

Pre Trump-Era Policies

  • July 7, 2019 DHS agencies have repeatedly sought to obtain access to state DMV records for immigration enforcement actions. For example, in July 2019, ICE agents reportedly authorized administrative subpoenas of the Department of Licensing to conduct facial recognition scans of all photos of license applicants through state repositories of driver's license photos from Washington, Vermont, and Utah. FBI, ICE find state driver’s license photos are a gold mine for facial-recognition searches

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