1. United States
  2. Md.
  3. Letter

Close Washington's DMV-to-DHS Data Pipeline

To: Sen. Van Hollen, Sen. Alsobrooks, Rep. Elfreth

From: A verified voter in Arnold, MD

October 30

Block all federal immigration agency access to Washington's Department of Licensing data through the Nlets/ACCESS system. The University of Washington Center for Human Rights has documented 356 arrest incidents between August 2025 and October 2026 that followed ICE or CBP queries of DOL data. From January through May 2026 alone, DHS-affiliated agencies searched that database 1,037,724 times. That is not a loophole. That is a pipeline. Washington's Keep Washington Working Act already prohibits this. The Washington State Patrol's own user agreements call it a breach. Yet the state's response has been to block individual agency codes one at a time, and when one is blocked, federal agents simply switch to another. UWCHR documented 38 unique federal ORIs used in searches preceding ICE arrests. The governor's office has blocked over 100,000 attempts while 3.7 million searches went through. The responsibility for these violent, warrantless "jump out" stops lies with the federal government, but state agencies are handing over the data that makes them possible. Comprehensive action is needed: block all DHS-affiliated ORIs, enforce the existing data licensing agreement with real consequences, and stop selling DOL data to brokers like LexisNexis and Experian, who turn around and sell it to ICE. Washington made a promise to immigrant drivers. It is time to keep it.

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