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DOJ escalates blue-state ICE standoff after states refuse key federal request
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The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it filed lawsuits against four Democrat-led states over their refusal to issue undercover license plates to ICE agents.
DOJ Civil Division Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate previously issued an ultimatum to Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington, giving them until May 22 to provide immigration enforcement officers with undercover plates for their vehicles. Justice Department officials argue the states’ refusal unlawfully discriminates against federal law enforcement and violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
These lawsuits escalate a months-long standoff between the Justice Department and Democrat-led states over immigration enforcement. The cases could test the limits of the Supremacy Clause as the DOJ seeks to assert legal authority over state motor vehicle departments, while the states themselves maintain that they are not required to assist with civil immigration enforcement.
«This Department of Justice will exercise any and all lawful authorities to support the brave men and women of law enforcement,» Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. «Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe and must be able to carry out their duties effectively. By denying undercover license plates to DHS components, including ICE, while issuing them to their own state agencies, these governors are pursuing discriminatory and obstructionist policies against federal law enforcement.»
DOJ PUTS BLUE STATES ON NOTICE AS ICE FIGHT BARRELS TOWARD NEXT CONSTITUTIONAL SHOWDOWN
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives for a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House August 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Trump announced he will use his authority to place the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control to assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital, and that the National Guard will be deployed to D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
An official in the Massachusetts governor’s office previously told Fox News Digital that the commonwealth does issue undercover plates to federal agents, but only if they are investigating criminal offenses. It refuses to do so in cases where civil infractions are being investigated, which covers most immigration cases.
«In Massachusetts, we support law enforcement doing legitimate criminal investigative work, and local, state and federal agencies doing that work can request confidential plates,» Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement flagged for Fox News Digital by her staff. «But that’s not what we are seeing from ICE and its unconstitutional tactics.»
Oregon, meanwhile, has gone a step further by placing a general moratorium on issuing undercover plates to federal agents, while Maine and Washington, like Massachusetts, are declining to provide plates for civil investigations.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey takes questions from reporters during a news conference in Boston on Jan. 31, 2024. She nominated an appeals court judge and former romantic partner to an open seat on the state’s highest court. (Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST DHS ON WARRANTLESS IMMIGRATION ARRESTS IN OREGON
«We look forward to defending this lawsuit,» Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement his office shared with Fox News Digital. «We take public safety seriously, and work with federal partners to voluntarily provide hundreds of undercover plates every year for criminal investigations. Judges across the country have found that the Department of Homeland Security’s tactics in conducting civil immigration enforcement routinely violate the Constitution.»
«That is unacceptable,» he added.
A spokesman for the Oregon governor’s office told Fox News Digital that Gov. Tina Kotek is waiting for the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to conduct a review of its undercover plate policy and that she expects the agency to «communicate next steps.»
Law enforcement officers stand guard as protesters demonstrate outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 1, 2026, opposing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)
ANTI-ICE LAW SET TO TAKE EFFECT IN MAINE AS GOVERNOR FACES INCREASED CRITICISM FOR ALLOWING IT AMID SENATE RUN
The Maine governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.
The lawsuits filed by the DOJ cite the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which establishes federal law as supreme over conflicting state laws, arguing that it can be used to make the four Democratic states issue undercover license plates to ICE agents.
«The United States has sovereign authority to manage federal law enforcement activities and, under the Supremacy Clause, need not cede that authority to Maine (or any state) by abiding by its dangerous policy which jeopardizes federal law enforcement operations and the officers who carry them out,» the lawsuit reads.
JONATHAN TURLEY: WHY BLUE STATES’ NEW ANTI-ICE LAWS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL VIRTUE SIGNALING
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche criticized reporters for asking questions about a viral story from The Atlantic alleging FBI Director Kash Patel has exhibited ‘erratic behavior’ tied to frequent intoxication, during a press conference on April 21, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
«Under the Supremacy Clause, States do not have the power to dictate how the Federal Government executes its constitutional powers within their borders,» it continued.
Conservative legal experts previously told Fox News Digital that they believe the DOJ is fighting an uphill battle in trying to compel states to issue specific license plates by leveraging the Supremacy Clause.
«Federal law preempts state law when state law conflicts with a supreme federal law. And when it does, the state law is preempted, meaning that the state law cannot be given legal effect in those instances of conflict,» Charles «Cully» Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. «There is no law in my mind that is conflicting with federal law. You simply have state actors refusing to issue these types of license plates.»
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Stimson did add that there is an underlying assumption that, by virtue of being in the union and as implied under the Constitution’s separation of powers, the four Democratic states should cooperate with the federal government to enforce laws.
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.
immigration, governors, washington, justice department, massachusetts
INTERNACIONAL
Crece la ola de incendios en Europa: las llamas se extienden a Grecia, Portugal, Inglaterra y Turquía
Francia y España atraviesan este jueves una tregua frente a algunos de los peores incendios forestales de la historia reciente, pero las llamas se propagan en otros países de Europa, como Grecia, Portugal, Inglaterra y Turquía.
El presidente del Gobierno español, Pedro Sánchez, levantó el estado de emergencia decretado la semana pasada por un incendio forestal que amenazaba zonas cercanas a Madrid, después de que las autoridades anunciaran que ya no quedaban “focos activos”.
Más de 60.000 personas habían sido evacuadas en el peor momento de los incendios, pero la mayoría ya ha podido regresar a sus hogares.
Al menos cien viviendas quedaron destruidas solo en la región de Madrid, según una evaluación inicial, pero se espera que esa cifra aumente, dijo la presidenta regional Isabel Díaz Ayuso. En la colindante provincia de Ávila, el fuego también está estabilizado.
Unas 50.000 hectáreas quemadas en España
El incendio -el más grande en España desde que comenzaron los registros en 1961- quemó unas 50.000 hectáreas y estuvo a punto de fusionarse con el de Madrid.
Pero España enfrenta esta semana una nueva ola de calor y las autoridades advierten que el riesgo sigue siendo “muy alto”. Bomberos utilizan quemas controladas para detener un incendio que sigue expandiéndose cerca de Cebreros, Ávila, España, el martes 28 de julio de 2026. (AP Foto/Manu Fernández)
De hecho, un nuevo incendio en el oeste del país, cerca de Portugal, obligó a evacuar el jueves a más de 600 personas.
Primer día “optimista” en Francia
En la vecina Francia, el jueves fue el primer día “un poco optimista” desde que se originó la semana pasada un megaincendio que destruyó cerca de 240 viviendas en el suroeste del país.
“Es el primer día un poco optimista, ya que tenemos la impresión de que estamos volviendo al camino de una vida normal y de que las cosas empiezan a mejorar claramente”, dijo a la prensa la prefecta del departamento de Gironda, Sophie Brocas.
Leé también: Nueva reacción de Lula tras los insultos de Milei: “Ustedes vieron la payasada que hizo aquí”
Tras una ligera lluvia matutina, el servicio regional de bomberos también se mostró “razonablemente optimista”, ya que el fuego no se extendió más allá de las 42.000 hectáreas desde el fin de semana, si bien se mantienen “seis focos activos”.
El peor incendio forestal en Francia desde 1949 obligó a evacuar a más de 220.000 personas de esta región turística cercana a la ciudad de Burdeos, en plena temporada alta de verano.
Actualmente, más de la mitad de los evacuados pudieron regresar a sus hogares, entre ellos 84.000 que fueron autorizados este jueves.
“Es el inicio del fin del fuego, pero es el comienzo de la crisis”, advirtió Nina Rosazza, administradora de una metalúrgica en Andernos-les-Bains, quien acudió como voluntaria a la zona en el bosque devastado de Lanton.
“Turísticamente, ecológicamente, visualmente, es una catástrofe a largo plazo”, resume.
Aunque no hubo pérdidas humanas, los rescatistas viven con la “obsesión” de encontrar animales muertos, mientras gatos, gallinas, perros y conejos deambulan por las localidades evacuadas.
Incendios más pequeños afectaban a otras partes del sur de Francia, incluido uno declarado la noche del miércoles en Brignoles, que obligó a George Clooney y su familia a abandonar su propiedad.
“Días difíciles” en Grecia
Aunque la atención actual se centra en Europa occidental, la Unión Europea advirtió que las condiciones propicias para incendios se extenderán hacia el centro del continente en los próximos días.
En la isla griega de Creta, 8000 personas fueron evacuadas la noche del miércoles ante los incendios declarados durante la jornada y avivados por fuertes vientos cambiantes, que causaron la muerte de dos bomberos.
Un tercero falleció combatiendo las llamas cerca del puerto de Gitión, en el Peloponeso, mientras el primer ministro griego advirtió que se avecinan “días difíciles”.
En la vecina Turquía, los bomberos intentaban extinguir al menos 115 fuegos activos, especialmente en las provincias de Antalya y Mugla, en la turística Riviera Turca, y en la costa de los Dardanelos (oeste).
No obstante, las autoridades indicaron que 110 estaban completamente bajo control.También en Portugal, cerca de 800 bomberos combatían un incendio forestal en la localidad norteña de Valpaços, que causó cinco heridos, según el servicio de protección civil.
También Inglaterra fue afectada por incendios.
Los bomberos luchan este jueves “en condiciones difíciles” contra un incendio en Suffolk, en el este del país, que arrasó un centenar de hectáreas y obligó a algunos habitantes y turistas a evacuar.
El fuego, que se propaga en una zona costera al sur del municipio de Dunwich, se declaró el miércoles y fue catalogado como “incidente grave” por las autoridades.
“El incendio se extiende por unas 100 hectáreas, por lo que 18 vehículos de bomberos y medios de refuerzo están en el lugar”, indicó el jueves el consejo local de Suffolk.
(Con información de AFP)
Europa, Incendios
INTERNACIONAL
White House blasts Spanish government as thousands of migrants surge from Morocco, emergency request denied
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The White House bashed Spain’s left-wing government after the border between Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta and Morocco collapsed Thursday.
«President Trump has long warned Europe what would happen if they continue to implement far-left, globalist policies – including enabling mass migration. Spain and other countries who have adopted this destructive philosophy should immediately reverse course or risk their own demise,» White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Fox News in a statement.
Ceuta’s president formally requested a national emergency declaration Thursday after more than 2,000 migrants crossed the border from Morocco in the past 10 days, as videos showed chaotic scenes of migrants pouring into the Spanish territory.
Video shows hordes of apparently military-aged men smiling and posing for cameras, some carrying swimming flippers, and sprinting through the streets as authorities struggle to corral the unruly masses.
TRUMP CRITICIZES SPAIN AMID IRAN, NATO RIFT AS PM SANCHEZ FACES QUESTIONS OVER POLITICAL MOTIVES
Migrants run and cheer as they cross on foot into the North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, after swimming over from the Moroccan side and overwhelming police at the city’s breakwater, according to Spain’s Guardia Civil, in Ceuta, Spain, July 30, 2026. (FARO TV via Reuters)
Other footage shows crowds of migrants emerging from the sea, climbing up onto Ceuta’s rocky shores and working their way around border fences.
Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas formally requested that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declare a national emergency to help respond to the border crisis, Spanish media outlets reported. Madrid, however, denied the request.
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«The declaration of a national emergency is part of the state civil protection regulations, which do not consider migratory flows as a risk to the National Civil Protection System, nor do they establish special plans, basic guidelines, or specific civil protection instruments for their management. Therefore, it is not possible to activate this mechanism, as requested by the president of the Government of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas,» Spain’s Ministry of the Interior said in a statement, according to Spanish outlet El Pais.
Ceuta’s government, in their request for a national emergency declaration, noted that immigration from Moroco is always a problem for the Spanish enclave, but claimed the last 10 days represented a peak «of particular intensity.» That peak has seen more than 2,000 migrants cross the border in the past 10 days, Ceuta officials said, according to El Pais.
Spanish and Moroccan maritime patrols, supported by Spain’s Maritime Rescue service, conduct rescue operations off the southern coast of Ceuta after a sharp increase in migrant arrivals to the Spanish enclave in North Africa. (Antonio Sempere / JNA Press/Sipa USA)
«The Government of Spain is fully committed to providing an immediate response to the situation in Ceuta. We are mobilizing all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normalcy as soon as possible,» Sánchez wrote in a Thursday post on X.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FORCED A FALSE CHOICE ON AMERICANS ABOUT IMMIGRATION
Sánchez has faced considerable backlash from his country’s conservatives for his policies on immigration, with many arguing that Spain’s policy of guaranteeing social services to minors who illegally enter the country incentivizes mass migration.
Migrants cross on foot into the North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco by attempting to swim, according to Spain’s Guardia Civil, near the border with Ceuta, in Fnideq, Morocco, July 30, 2026, in this still image obtained by Reuters (Reuters)
«When they cross the border as minors, you cannot send them back to Morocco,» Javier Negre, a conservative Spanish journalist and owner of La Derecha Diario and UHN Plus, told Fox News Digital.
«The Spanish state has to take care of them and pay money to NGOs to care for these minors until they turn 18,» he continued.
«It’s proof that Europe and Spain are on the verge of becoming a failed continent because of the future policies and promotion of this illegal invasion under Pedro Sánchez,» Negre criticized.
Sánchez, for his part, has claimed that accepting migrants is necessary to keep Spain’s economy alive, arguing the country’s low birth rates necessitate accepting immigrants.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a statement at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
«The West needs people. Currently, few of its countries have a rising population growth rate. Unless they embrace migration, they will experience a sharp demographic decline that will prevent them from keeping their economies and public services afloat. Their gross domestic product will stagnate. Their public healthcare and pension systems will suffer. Neither AI nor robots will be able to prevent this outcome… The only option to avoid decline is to integrate migrants in the most orderly and effective way possible,» Sánchez wrote in a February op-ed in The New York Times.
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Fox News Digital contacted the offices of Sánchez and Vivas for further comment.
Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report.
illegal immigrants, border security, spain, world, europe, africa
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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he will be opening up an investigation into former National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr. Anthony Fauci following Fauci’s explosive decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment right and not answer any questions during a congressional hearing Wednesday.
«Fauci’s lack of candor to Congress is unbelievable. My office is launching an investigation into Dr. Fauci. It’s past time we get the truth of what happened during COVID,» Uthmeier wrote in a Wednesday post on X.
Uthmeier further expanded on his decision in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.
FAUCI PLEADS FIFTH WITH ‘ZERO LEGAL JUSTIFICATION’ AS CRITICS ERUPT AND DEMAND CONTEMPT CHARGES
James Uthmeier spoke at the National Conservative Convention on Sept. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
«In light of recent reports exposed by Senator Rand Paul, we will investigate any and all potential violations of Florida law involving Anthony Fauci,» Uthmeier told Fox News Digital.
«Our inquiry will focus on what Fauci knew, when he knew it, and how he misled the American people. We will examine the physical and monetary harms to Floridians that may have resulted from his deceptions and determine whether his conduct exposes him to liability under state law,» Uthmeier’s statement concluded.
Uthmeier cited revelations published by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., which revealed internal notes Fauci wrote on government computers during his time at NIAID.
FAUCI’S NEWLY RELEASED COVID DIARIES REVEAL BIZARRE FIXATION ON FAME AS PANDEMIC DEATHS MOUNTED
Former NIH Director Anthony Fauci listens during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on July 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Fauci declined to answer questions, asserting his Fifth Amendment right. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The internal notes, which Paul and others have taken to referring to as Fauci’s «diary,» suggest Fauci appeared to publicly overstate the death rate from COVID-19 compared to what he wrote privately.
«[Former CDC Director] Tom Frieden called me this AM and we discussed various aspects of the outbreak,» Fauci wrote on Feb. 8, 2020.
«He and I are on the same page in thinking tht [sic] this is acting like a bad influenza in its transmissibility and that the denominator is much greater than 34,867 (above) making the case fatality rate (CFR) more like 0.2-0.3 % rather than 2.0%,» Fauci’s entry concluded.
However, a month later, in congressional testimony to the House Oversight Committee on March 11, 2020, Fauci pegged the mortality rate at 1%.
«I think if you count all the cases of minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic infection, that probably brings the mortality rate down to somewhere around one percent, which means it is 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu,» he testified.
Anthony Fauci declined to testify in a Senate committee hearing on his role in the US response to COVID-19, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights. (Left (Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images), Right (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images))
When called to testify on the revelations before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Fauci exercised his Fifth Amendment right and refused to answer legislators’ questions 111 times.
Uthmeier is not the only Republican to take aim at the former COVID czar Fauci in light of the revelations.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Wednesday that Fauci should be held in congressional contempt for refusing to answer questions despite receiving a presidential pardon.
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«I think Anthony Fauci has had contempt for Congress and contempt for the American people for decades,» he said. «His diary shows that he deliberately lied to the American people over and over and over again,» Cruz said.
Paul, for his part, said his committee will vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt next week.
investigations, anthony fauci, politics, florida, trending news
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