The administration of United States President Donald Trump has filed lawsuits against four Democrat-leaning states for refusing to issue confidential licence plates for vehicles carrying federal immigration agents.On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced the complaint on its website, accusing Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington of defying the federal government’s demands.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listUndercover licence plates, it argued, were necessary for the “operational effectiveness and safety” of agents “who have faced a wave of targeted harassment”.But officials in the states have pushed back, arguing that agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should not be allowed to carry out their activities in secret, without proper oversight.The clash comes as Trump carries out a mass deportation campaign that critics have accused of human rights violations, including unwarranted violence, illegal arrests and denial of due process rights.Obscuring agents’ identitiesThe Trump administration, however, has used concerns about ICE safety to crack down on efforts to identify agents.Over the last year, for instance, the administration has pressured tech companies like Apple and Google to remove apps that tracked ICE agents, citing the risk of violence.It has also dismissed a list of requested reforms from congressional Democrats, which called on ICE agents to be readily identifiable, stop racial profiling and abide by use-of-force standards.The question of how to hold ICE accountable remains a politically divisive one. Trump officials have gone so far as to imply ICE could be immune from prosecution. Advertisement After an ICE agent shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good, Vice President JD Vance initially told reporters, “That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doin …
