Illinois officials have warned federal immigration agents that tampering with or swapping licence plates is against state law and will not be tolerated. The warning comes after a viral video showed an officer bragging that his vehicle's plates were changed every day.
On Wednesday, Illinois secretary of state Alexi Giannoulias introduced a new initiative called the 'Plate Watch' hotline, encouraging residents to report cases where law enforcement vehicles appear to use invalid or altered plates to evade identification during federal immigration raids.
In a video statement, Giannoulias said: 'Swapping out Illinois licence plates on Illinois-registered vehicles is illegal and as secretary of state, I have zero tolerance for this type of illegal activity. We are investigating these allegations as we speak.'
Under Illinois state law, penalties for displaying an unauthorised licence plate, or obscuring or modifying plates in any way, include fines and potential jail time. The secretary of state's office also has the authority to suspend or revoke the vehicle's registration.
Earlier this month, a US district judge ordered federal immigration officers in the Chicago area to wear body cameras following repeated use of pepper balls, smoke grenades and teargas against protesters and local police. Several states are now moving to block immigration officers from hiding their identities, with California passing a bill to ban masks for most law enforcement officers during operations.
