1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I am writing as a concerned constituent to urge you to take action to stop providing ICE with unrestricted access to our state’s residents’ personal data. I urge you to take action to stop providing ICE with unrestricted access to our state’s residents’ personal data given the agency’s use of this information against Americans engaged in First-Amendment protected activity. In many states, ICE is able to use motor vehicle data to identify citizens participating in protest activity via Nlets. I hope our state will urgently consider curtailing ICE’s direct access to DMV data through Nlets, unless the agency provides a judicial warrant for a criminal investigation. Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington have already pursued such measures to block ICE from directly accessing their DMV data via Nlets. Depending on state law, the governor, attorney general, or secretary of state may already have the power to limit ICE’s access to motor vehicle data in Nlets, whether by regulation, policy, or practice. I urge our Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General to determine whether state law permits them to immediately block ICE’s access to this data; to take all available steps; and to work with the state legislature if a statutory change is needed. Please consider this action urgently—our residents' privacy and First Amendment rights are at stake.