Minnesota officials warn federal agents that swapping license plates ‘will not be tolerated’

State officials sent a formal warning to the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday in response to reports of federal agents illegally meddling with Minnesota-issued license plates on unmarked vehicles.

The cease-and-desist letter from Driver and Vehicle Services Director Pong Xiong describes allegations of DHS agents swapping license plates between vehicles and placing identical license plates on two separate vehicles.

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“The above-described conduct violates Minnesota law and will not be tolerated,” Xiong wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “To be clear, Minnesota law prohibits anyone, including the driver of an unmarked law enforcement vehicle, from displaying a Minnesota license plate other than the license plate assigned to that vehicle by DVS.”

If federal agents don’t abide by Minnesota law, DVS could reconsider federal agents’ access to Minnesota’s undercover license plate program.

“Historically, DHS has used this program to protect the anonymity of law enforcement personnel
performing sensitive work in Minnesota while adhering to state law and providing a mechanism for
accountability in the event an unmarked vehicle is misused,” Xiong wrote.

Further violations could result in DVS revoking their vehicle registrations and seizing their license plates, the DVS director warned.

Read the full letter from DVS below.

Gov. Tim Walz also addressed the alleged conduct by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during a news conference on Tuesday.

“These guys are doing what criminals do: They’re putting license plates on vehicles they’re not registered to. They’re renting vehicles and putting on fake plates,” Walz said, adding that such a practice makes it more difficult for local and state law enforcement to know whether a vehicle is involved in official duties.

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5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to DHS and ICE for comment and is awaiting a response.

This isn’t the first time federal immigration agents have gotten in hot water with state officials over alleged license plate violations.

Earlier this month, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced that his office had revoked a rental car’s license plate when investigators found ICE agents swapped its plates. He also issued a warning to all rental car companies that they can be held liable if federal agents are caught tampering with the license plates assigned to their vehicles.