Ferguson says Washington is adapting to federal workarounds as advocates demand tighter data rules

Advocates in Washington state are pressing officials to close remaining gaps in federal access to driver license records. The push follows a recent surge in immigration enforcement that has intensified scrutiny of how state data is shared.

Lucía Vázquez Martínez, field director for Service Employees International Union 775, addressed a crowd in Seattle on Tuesday. She urged the state to cut off access to Department of Licensing data used for immigration enforcement. “We need you to act and slow down this mass deportation and detention machine by continuing to cut off access to the Department of Licensing data that is being used for immigration enforcement,” she said.

University of Washington researchers tracked 356 arrests linked to federal queries for license data between August 2025 and October 13, 2026. Their data shows that agencies under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security searched state driver and vehicle records more than 1 million times during the first five months of this year. Washington is one of 19 states that issue driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status. Unlike other states, it does not require warrants or court orders for federal agencies to access this data for immigration purposes.

Gov. Bob Ferguson said his administration has worked to limit access while keeping public safety measures intact. “My team has work to limit Customs and Border Protection access for immigration enforcement, while maintaining access necessary to protect public safety, such as human trafficking investigations that require real-time access to data to protect vulnerable Washingtonians,” he said in a statement. He noted that the state will continue to adapt to federal actions over the next two years.

Since last November, the state has blocked searches by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations. The Washington State Patrol stopped over 174,000 federal search attempts between November 2025 and October 12, 2026. This includes 89,000 attempts from Customs and Border Protection, 45,000 from Homeland Security Investigations, and nearly 40,000 from ICE. The state has also suspended nine searchers associated with Customs and Border Protection and three with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services who were suspected of using the data for immigration enforcement.

Brionna Aho, a spokesperson for the governor, said the team is reviewing what other states have done to require judicial warrants for civil immigration requests. She added that the state is continually reassessing data practices as federal tactics change. The Trump administration is currently suing Washington and other states over the suspension of license plate renewals for undercover vehicles.

Chris Megargee, who volunteers at a Shoreline Home Depot, said ICE agents detained six men there since January. He alleged that agents entered license plate numbers into a database before arresting the drivers. This month, one man was detained after driving his car to the store.