WA license plate data used in ICE arrests, report shows

The University of Washington Center for Human Rights has confirmed 58 cases in which Washington residents were arrested by ICE or CBP after federal agencies obtained driver information from the state Department of Licensing through Nlets, the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, with 122 additional cases awaiting confirmation. The arrests continued even after state officials said they would bar federal agents from using Washington driver data for immigration enforcement; federal agencies use Nlets to run Washington license plates and pull up personal information about a vehicle's owner via the State Patrol's ACCESS platform. Since November 2025, when the state began blocking the queries, Washington has denied federal immigration agencies' attempts to access driver data 108,170 times, according to Gov. Bob Ferguson.