Seattle City Council District 5 candidate Nilu Jenks is calling on state and city leaders to block federal immigration agents from accessing Washington driver’s license and vehicle data without a judge’s warrant.
Her proposal follows an Oct. 13 report from the University of Washington Center for Human Rights that documented 356 immigration arrests between Aug. 1, 2025, and Oct. 13, 2026, that followed federal searches of state licensing data. Researchers said the actual number is likely higher because they can confirm only arrests reported to them.
The searches ran through Nlets, a national law enforcement network administered in Washington by the State Patrol through its ACCESS system, according to the report.
“Washington made immigrant families a promise: get a license, drive legally, and your information is safe,” Jenks said. “More than 350 confirmed cases later, that promise is broken.”
Jenks also warned that the searches could put immigrant communities at risk of racial profiling.
“In District 5, ‘target rich’ is a polite way of saying racial profiling,” she said. “It means agents deciding who looks deportable by the color of their skin and the work truck they drive: the roofer outside a hardware store on Aurora, the landscaping crew in Maple Leaf, the dad dropping his kids at school in Lake City… Nobody should have to wonder whether it’s safe to drive because of how they look, and no state database should help put a target on their backs.”
Although Washington has blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement logins, federal agents have continued accessing data through other accounts. Researchers linked 38 federal logins to searches preceding immigration arrests as of Oct. 9.
New York requires a judge’s warrant before immigration agencies can obtain driver data and makes violations a felony. Washington has no equivalent requirement, the report said.
Jenks outlined a four-part plan: push for a state warrant law, urge the governor to block all immigration enforcement logins, expand oversight of Seattle police use of state databases, and protect the city’s rapid-response and legal-defense programs for families affected by immigration arrests.
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