Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said federal agents who tamper with license plates are not above the law and could face fines or jail time.
by Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinois
CHICAGO - As state officials continue seeking ways to counter aggressive immigration enforcement activity under President Donald Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” state Rep. Margaret Croke has drawn ire online for an email sharing details about ICE vehicles. Recent posts by right-wing accounts including Libs of TikTok and Donald Trump For President on Facebook have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to review an email they say was sent by comptroller candidate Croke to “dox” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A screenshot of the email sent by Croke, D-Chicago, to constituents on Oct. 24 includes a “List of ICE Vehicles Seen Today,” including car makes, models and blacked out license plate numbers.
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Jerry Norwicki
State Rep. Margaret Croke talks to reporters outside the Illinois State Board of Elections building in Springfield on Monday, Oct. 27, as she waits to file her petitions to run for comptroller.State Rep. Margaret Croke talks to reporters outside the Illinois State Board of Elections building in Springfield on Monday, Oct. 27, as she waits to file her petitions to run for comptroller.
The screenshot also lists contact information for reporting ICE activity and connecting with other resources through the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights hotline. “Just as we have witnessed in neighborhoods across our city, ICE is conducting their unlawful and undemocratic actions in the 12th House district, including the very block I reside on,” the screenshot reads. It further encouraged people to record ICE detentions or use of force, as well as to run errands on behalf of individuals who are afraid to leave their homes due to ICE presence. Capitol News Illinois confirmed that the email came from Croke’s office. A post on Croke’s Instagram shared some of the same language regarding ICE activity, hotlines and “Know Your Rights” resources but without the list of vehicles. “I'm just doing what I think is right for my district,” Croke said in an interview with Capitol News Illinois. “I'm always going to keep fighting for my district. I'm always going to make sure that I'm doing the right thing, and I believe I'm on the right side of history.” Another state legislator, Rep. Hoan Huynh, D-Chicago, recently said U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents pulled a gun on him after acting on a tip about ICE activity in Chicago’s Northwest Side. Huynh said he was in the area to educate residents about their rights. He said agents immediately surrounded and harassed him. One of the agents pointed a gun at him, he said, though it was not caught on the cellphone footage he shared.
Recording government officials when they are performing their duties in public is protected by the First Amendment
According to the Illinois Civil Liability for Doxing Act, doxing refers to intentionally publishing another person’s personally identifiable information without consent and with the intent to harm or harass with reckless disregard for the person’s safety. Publishing information to report conduct “reasonably believed to be unlawful” is not considered doxing under the law. Croke’s office sent the email out after recent actions by Gov. JB Pritzker and Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias to create official channels for the public to report and document ICE activity they say is unlawful. Recording government officials when they are performing their duties in public is protected by the First Amendment, according to Edwin Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at the ACLU of Illinois. Attempts to criminalize such expression, Yohnka said, raise serious constitutional concerns. “Government accountability is a cornerstone of democracy,” Yohnka said. “Photographs and videos — including those capturing license plates or identifying details of federal agents — can be vital tools for transparency and for families trying to locate detained loved ones.”
The Department is actively tracking these targeted assaults against our law enforcement and will hold offenders accountable
Posts online sharing the screenshot claimed that the Department of Homeland Security had referred the case to the DOJ for review, citing DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a post on X. “Heinous. We will prosecute those who dox ICE law enforcement to the fullest extent of the law — State Rep Croke is no exception,” says the quote attributed to McLaughlin. DHS confirmed the statement was made by McLaughlin. Anthony Coley, who heads DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs, says the Department is tracking cases such as this and issued a warning to public officials involved. “The Department is actively tracking these targeted assaults against our law enforcement and will hold offenders accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Coley said. “Any official encouraging reckless behavior should think twice before inciting further violence and putting federal agents in harm’s way.”
License plate hotline
The calls for charges against Croke came the same week as Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said federal agents may be subject to legal penalties for modifying and hiding state-issued license plates. Giannoulias called on the public to help identify potential violations by making reports to a new “Plate Watch Hotline.”
Photo Illustration courtesy Capitol News Illinois
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announces a new Plate Watch Hotline in a YouTube video, in which an ICE agent apparently says, “You can record all you want. We change the plates out every day.”
The move follows public accounts and past reporting that federal immigration agents have been driving unmarked cars and vehicles without proper license plates. “Swapping out Illinois license plates on Illinois registered vehicles is illegal,” Giannoulias said in a video posted to YouTube. “As secretary of state, I have zero tolerance for this type of illegal activity.” With the exception of motorcycles, trailers and some trucks, Illinois law requires all licensed vehicles to display two plates, on the front and back of the vehicle. Giannoulias said his office was actively investigating alleged violations, including a video circulated on social media that appears to show an ICE officer saying, “You can record all you want. We change the plates out every day.” Penalties for putting a license plate on a vehicle other than the one to which it was issued, obscuring or otherwise modifying plates include fines or potential jail time, according to a news release issued with the hotline announcement video.
The office also said it has the authority to suspend or revoke the vehicles’ license plates. “Flipping license plates or altering them in any way to avoid detection is strictly prohibited in Illinois,” Giannoulias said. “No one, including a federal agent, is above the law.” Individuals seeking to make reports of license plate violations can contact the Secretary of State’s Plate Watch Hotline at (312) 814-1730 or email platewatch@ilsos.gov.
ICE accountability actions
The day after Giannoulias’ announcement, Pritzker signed an executive order forming a commission to document and investigate misconduct by federal agents. State officials argue these steps are necessary to hold federal agents accountable after U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and ICE officials told U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis earlier this month that no agents had been disciplined for use of force while applying aggressive crowd control tactics on protesters. Ellis extended a temporary restraining order earlier this month prohibiting immigration agents from using those tactics, including the use of chemical irritants, until Nov. 6. A group of journalists and activists that sought the restraining order filed a notice to Ellis on Oct. 23 accusing Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino of violating the restraining order. The notice alleges that Bovino that morning threw a tear gas canister “without justification” at protesters in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. The filing cites video footage of the incident livestreamed on Facebook. A federal judge last week ordered Bovino to testify in person about the incident in federal court on Tuesday. In an interview with CBS News, Bovino defended the use of force at the Broadview facility, accusing protesters of attacking federal agents and calling agents’ actions “exemplary.” “If someone strays into a pepper ball, then that’s on them,” Bovino said. “Don’t protest and don’t trespass.”
• Maggie Dougherty is a freelance reporter covering the Chicago area.
• Capitol News Illinois reporter Ben Szalinski contributed reporting to this story.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
