SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is taking decisive action against what his office describes as a public safety risk: the practice of federal officials exchanging or altering vehicle license plates to circumvent detection.

Giannoulias has issued notifications to 19 national rental car agencies, including Enterprise, Hertz, Budget, and Alamo, emphasizing that Illinois law prohibits switching or modifying license plates assigned to a vehicle. These companies may face accountability if their vehicles are involved in such activities.

This initiative comes after an investigation confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had swapped plates on a rental vehicle during a recent operation in the Chicago area. In response, Giannoulias’s office promptly annulled the plate, rendering the vehicle illegal to operate.