Illinois state officials have given national rental car companies official notice that immigration enforcement agents using their vehicles are not allowed to swap the rental’s assigned license plates for other plates to disguise the vehicles, and if they do, the rental car companies could be held liable.
According to documents obtained by NBC News via the Freedom of Information Act, the Illinois secretary of state’s office sent letters to at least 19 national car rental car headquarters stating that they had received public complaints of immigration agents switching license plates on rented vehicles during the time that Operation Midway Blitz, an extensive government deportation operation, was active in the Chicago area.
The letters were sent to Alamo, Enterprise, Budget, Hertz, Ace and other vehicle rental companies. They did not respond to requests for comment.
The office’s review of more than 600 public complaints alleging the practice has so far led to one license plate revocation, according to another letter obtained via the FOIA. That revocation was of a license plate belonging to a 2026 Chevy Tahoe that had been rented by immigration agents, according to a statement from the Illinois secretary of state. The rental company targeted in the Nov. 10 letter, EAN Holdings LLC., which is the parent company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car and other brands, can request a hearing to challenge the decision. A company representative did not respond to a request for comment.
The Illinois secretary of state sent the Department of Homeland Security a cease and desist letter in October, addressed to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons, citing “multiple reports of federal ICE agents illegally swapping out the license plates displayed on vehicles that are registered in the State of Illinois.”
“These violations carry penalties that include fines and potential jail time, and the Secretary of State’s Office has the authority to suspend or revoke Illinois license plates that are misused in this way,” the letter to Lyons stated.
DHS issued a statement in response to questions from NBC News about using rental cars as part of immigration operations and allegations of swapping license plates.
“Our operators comply with federal law and, consistent with the Supremacy Clause, endeavor to comply with state law except where doing so could compromise or interfere with the federal mission and operations,” the DHS statement said. “Federal motor vehicle management regulations account for the officer safety, public safety, and mission needs associated with federal investigative and law enforcement duties. Our agents risk their lives every day arresting the worst of the worst criminals from Chicago’s streets to protect the public and stop rampant crime. The Illinois Secretary of State should be thanking them.”
Immigration officials have repeatedly said they have been targeted by activists, who they say at times follow their vehicles then verbally harass them, honk horns or blow whistles to alert others as agents attempt to carry out deportation actions. DHS has said that immigration agents are “facing a 1000% increase in assaults against them.” The agency has not provided statistics or details behind that finding.
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At the same time, the letters raise questions over the extent to which federal agencies are using rental cars to assist in carrying out government immigration operations. They come amid public complaints that the massive deportation operation ordered by President Donald Trump lacks transparency; carried out by agents shrouded with masks, driving in unmarked vehicles and potentially with disguised license plates.
The issue involving using rental cars for deportation also arose in August, when Penske Truck Rental issued a statement saying it did not authorize the use of their trucks for a deportation operation in Los Angeles and that its cargo area was not meant to transport people. At the time, DHS said it conducted a “targeted raid” that ultimately “resulted in the arrest of 16 illegal aliens from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua.”
It is the latest clash between state and federal government entities as intensive immigration operations expand through the nation. After Chicago, Border Patrol agents moved on to North Carolina and are expected next in New Orleans.
The cease and desist letter follows the launch of “Plate Watch” in Illinois, a hotline urging the public to report instances in which law enforcement vehicles are not carrying valid license plates, including when the plate IDs are partially shrouded or entirely missing. When Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched the effort in October, he pointed to a social media video in which it appears an immigration officer is seen telling an individual to take all the photos they wanted of a specific truck’s license plates because they swapped them out every day anyway.
“We made it clear to federal agents and rental-car companies that swapping or altering license plates to avoid detection is illegal — period. When our investigation uncovered ICE agents switching plates between vehicles, we immediately revoked the plate, making the car illegal to drive,” Giannoulias said in a statement to NBC News. “The message is simple: when it comes to public safety and protecting our communities, no one is above the law. I urge residents to continue reporting these incidents to the Plate Watch hotline.”
The letters from the Illinois secretary of state demanded the companies warn all their customers that the practice of changing license plates on a vehicle was a violation of state law and noted the companies would be held accountable.
A Giannoulias aide said that as intensified immigration enforcement has played out in recent weeks, the secretary of state’s office received reports from anonymous callers alleging varying violations: a different license plate on the front of the vehicle than in the back, no license plates on either the front or the back, plates that are partially masked, or the same vehicle carrying a different license plate from one day to the next.
“Given the above notice, the Illinois Secretary of State demands that your entity notify and prohibit your customers from swapping, or otherwise altering, license plates on Illinois registered vehicles in violation of Illinois law,” the letters state.
As in the letter to Lyons, the companies were also warned that any violations carry fines and potential jail time, in addition to suspending or revoking Illinois license plates.