Congresswoman Pou Introduces Ban on ICE Vehicle Abuses

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Nellie Pou (D-NJ-09) today introduced legislation that would prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from obscuring or removing their license plates. The Protecting License-plate Access for Transparency and Enforcement Act, or PLATE Act, responds to pervasive behavior by masked ICE agents manipulating their vehicle plates to hide their identities from public scrutiny. 

Last week, Congresswoman Pou called on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to explain why ICE agents are systematically manipulating and hiding vehicle license plates to mask their work and identities. 

“I write to express grave concerns over recent reports that federal law enforcement agents operating under the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, have been evading state transportation laws by removing, exchanging, or misusing license plates,” Congresswoman Pou formally wrote to Noem, calling out “the agency’s blatant disregard for the rule of law.”

Each U.S. state and territory dictates how vehicles must be registered and display license plates. Illinois law requires all persons operating a vehicle to have a registered license plate and prohibits manipulating any evidence of vehicle registration. New York law similarly prohibits obscuring, concealing, or distorting license plates on vehicles. In California, license plates must be securely fastened to the vehicle the plates are issued to, mounted in an upright position, and maintained in a condition that is clearly legible at all times. 

DHS has also previously established its own guidelines for displaying license plates. Under its Asset and Facilities Management Guidelines, DHS has required that “[a]ll ICE-owned, or leased motor vehicles must display DHS or GSA plates unless exempted.”  

As a member of the Homeland Security panel, Congresswoman Pou has been a long-running critic of Noem’s leadership. On October 14, 2025, Pou led 11 members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation calling on Noem to restore federal security grant funding that is being slashed by the Trump administration by nearly 50 percent. On January 26, 2026, Congresswoman Pou signed on to a letter demanding that Secretary Noem answer questions about deaths under CBP and ICE custody. 

At an oversight hearing on May 14, 2025, Pou confronted Noem, telling her, “You are actually breaking the law.” On January 28, 2026, Pou called for Noem’s removal, either by firing or by impeachment.

###