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It’s pretty common knowledge that Stellantis, General Motors, and Ford sell vehicles to law enforcement and government agencies. There was some backlash surrounding these sales during the George Floyd and BLM protests, but not much has been said recently about it.
You’ve probably also seen footage of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on social media, including the use of vehicles to assist in apprehending illegal immigrants, anyone who is brown. If you’re in the automotive industry like I am, you probably take notice of the makes and models of vehicles used in these videos.
I’ve seen a lot of vehicles that don’t make sense. Many law enforcement agencies have to buy American-made vehicles or vehicles from an American automaker. Undercover fleets can vary, of course, but some of those vehicles are actually pulled from the repo fleet, like cars used previously by drug dealers.
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I’ve also noticed that ICE is using a lot of new vehicles. And by new, I mean brand-new Ford Expeditions (which haven’t been on sale for too long), and a ton of Jeep Wagoneers. These are not the police-ready vehicles these automakers sell, so where are they coming from?
I finally bit the bullet and decided to find out after this video came across my feed.
NEW: Footage of a US citizen in Chicago being rammed then dragged from her car on her way to work. Abducted, with no warrant, her family couldn’t find her for hours. She was later released with NO CHARGE. A DHS statement said she “violently resisted arrest, injuring two officers”. You decide…
— News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T19:14:05.509Z
💡Do you have information about ICE’s vehicles used in enforcement operations? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me on Signal at chadkirchner.1701, or with another secure communication method.
For all the details, here’s the link to the article in the Chicago Tribune. For some perspective, a Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 weighs around 1.75 American tons. A Jeep Wagoneer has a weight of over 3 tons. The Jeep has nearly twice the mass of the Mercedes, and is being used to ram the driver of the Mercedes off the road and smashing the door on the driver’s side.
If you were a citizen who did that, you’d likely be charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Of course, this person wasn’t here illegally and was later released with no charges.
While not a police chase per sé, it’s another example of how chases can be dangerous, which is a topic covered at length during this week’s Last Week Tonight.
With the increase in the number of vehicles needed, you have to wonder where ICE gets the cars. Well, at least one source is the rental counter at a rental car agency.
I pulled a vehicle history report on the Jeep Wagoneer L used in the video above. It’s a 2024 L Carbide / Series II, and the odometer was only reported at the time of sale. It had 10 miles on the clock.
The registration was renewed on 2/22/204, and the report indicates that it is part of a rental fleet. Which makes sense, because the government is going to go out and spend $75,000+ on a four-wheel drive, long wheelbase luxury SUV to use as a battering ram.
Autocheck history report for the Wagoneer L.
It’s hard to say what the government rate is on the rental, and it’s also hard to say who the government is renting these vehicles from. Enterprise car rental shows the Wagoneer L on its premium SUV offerings, and typically has rental locations away from the airport. I’d assume that’d be preferred, because imagine showing up to the airport from a long trip and not having a car to rent because ICE needed it?
It’s unclear if the government is paying the additional insurance for these vehicles, and the rental company is sending them out to be fixed, or if the government is paying to fix them themselves.
If you’re in the Chicagoland area and know more information, my secure contact information is above.
Not anymore, I’m afraid.
The report also says that the vehicle hasn’t been in an accident, which is now false. I’ll keep tabs on this car and run a new check in a few months or so, when I assume that the rental company has sold the vehicle at auction, to see if the accident was reported.
It’s clear the government needs more vehicles than it can provide on its own, or it’s worried about using official vehicles with government plates, so it rents cars so they have rental plates. Either way, someone is paying for them somewhere, and if you have any experience with the Freedom of Information Act, I’d love to find out about where ICE is renting its fleet and how much it’s paying in damages.