A review of bystander videos and activist reports from Illinois, California, and Washington indicates that federal officers have used vehicles without license plates—or with swapped or altered plates—during immigration arrests in 2025. Officials say exemptions can be lawful in limited circumstances, but state authorities and advocates warn the tactics erode public trust.
According to an NPR investigation, videos circulating on TikTok, Instagram, and the Eyes Up app show officers conducting apparent immigration arrests in multiple states using vehicles that lack rear plates or bear nonstandard identifiers. In one clip shot in September in Chicago, a masked man in a tactical vest sprinted toward a Ford SUV that flashed red and blue lights but showed no rear plate or government markings, as bystanders shouted that “la migra” was present. NPR says it verified locations and dates where possible. (opb.org)
Other examples NPR reviewed include a June video from Washington state of a black Ford SUV with no rear plate driven by a man in police gear, and a July video near Los Angeles showing a blue Nissan parked among enforcement vehicles with a dealer placard reading “Lexus of Valencia” where a plate would normally be. ICE did not confirm whether those vehicles belonged to the agency. (wlrn.org)
A separate October video recorded in Round Lake, Illinois, captured an officer saying, “We change the plates out every day,” while walking near a black Jeep with an Illinois tag. After sharing the clip on October 22, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias warned that “flipping license plates or altering them in any way to avoid detection is strictly prohibited in Illinois,” announcing a Plate Watch hotline and stressing that “no one, including a federal agent, is above the law.” An ICE spokesperson, Mike Alvarez, told NPR the officers in that clip were Border Patrol, a separate agency within DHS. (ilsos.gov)
Alvarez also said ICE officers do not use personal or rental cars for enforcement, and he cited federal rules that allow exemptions from government plates when identification would interfere with investigative or security duties. Federal regulations generally require U.S. government plates to be displayed on the front and rear of government vehicles and prohibit moving plates from one vehicle to another; limited or special exemptions can be granted and, if used, exempted vehicles must comply with state registration laws. ICE fleet guidance states DHS or General Services Administration plates are required unless an exemption is approved through a waiver process. NPR requested all plate-waiver records filed over the past year, but the agency had not produced them before an October 1 federal shutdown paused records communications. (wlrn.org)
In the Los Angeles Harbor area, members of the volunteer Harbor Area Peace Patrol say they have monitored Terminal Island almost daily since June, documenting instances where people removed plates, where the same vehicles appeared on different days with different plates, and where front and rear plates did not match. “We’ve seen that multiple times,” said volunteer Elijah Chiland. “I’ve seen seven or eight different times that a car had a license plate that it didn’t originally have,” added Victor Maldonado. ICE did not respond to questions about those claims. (hppr.org)
Some videos also show vehicles with Mexican markings. In Spokane Valley, Washington, bystanders filmed two masked officers entering a white Jeep with a rear plate from the Mexican state of Tamaulipas; another clip, apparently from Illinois in September, shows a man in a vest labeled “U.S. Border Patrol” getting into a silver Ford Explorer with a large Mexican flag across the hood. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said agents wear masks for safety but disputed that the department is camouflaging identities and declined to confirm specific vehicles. (wypr.org)
Several current and former officials and experts told NPR the tactics complicate oversight. “The agency clearly wants to appear like a ghost,” said Darius Reeves, who served as the Baltimore field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations until earlier this year. David Bier of the Cato Institute said swapping or removing plates “removes the opportunity for accountability” by making it harder to determine who conducted an operation if misconduct is alleged. (wvxu.org)
Multiple federal agencies have taken part in immigration-related arrests this year, including the FBI, ATF, DEA, the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Park Police, sometimes with officers’ attire not matching the markings—or lack thereof—on nearby cars, according to NPR’s reporting. In one Washington, D.C., incident after National Guard deployments, reporters observed officers with mixed agency identifiers detain two migrants; a marked U.S. Park Police vehicle was the only clearly labeled car at the scene. (wypr.org)
As scrutiny grows, Illinois officials say they are investigating potential plate violations and urge residents to report concerns. Advocates add that when vehicles and personnel are hard to identify, people may not know which agency is acting or what rights apply—worsening distrust in law enforcement during already fraught encounters. (ilsos.gov)