UW Center for Human Rights Report: Washington's Driver-Data Limits Failed to Stop ICE, 356 Arrests Documented

The University of Washington Center for Human Rights released a report on October 13, 2026 finding that Washington’s actions to curtail federal agents’ access to DMV data have been ineffective, despite a state sanctuary law that bars sharing with federal immigration enforcement for civil purposes. Center director Angelina Godoy said the Center has documented 356 incidents of arrests that followed federal agents querying the Department of Licensing for driver data; that is the Center’s own count, not a government figure. The report compares four states and says that in Minnesota and New York the data suggest warrant requirements are being effectively upheld, though ICE traffic stops continue.

The report’s remedy is to close all four pathways at once: direct database access, the Nlets interstate query network, data brokers, and local law enforcement. It also argues that a contract provision between ICE and LexisNexis renders audits of broker compliance meaningless. The finding fits the pattern of a state-level data limit that moves federal agents to another channel rather than stopping the query; see 2026-08-10–ice-lexisnexis-palantir-bulk-facial-recognition-contract for the LexisNexis contract and 2026-07-11–eyes-on-ice-documents-vehicle-containment-tactic-civil-enforcement for the traffic-stop tactic the queries serve.