Border Patrol is monitoring drivers, detaining those with 'suspicious' patterns
3 days ago
- #Border Patrol
- #privacy
- #surveillance
- The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious.
- A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on their travel routes.
- Drivers are often pulled over for minor infractions like speeding or window tint violations, then aggressively questioned and searched without knowing they were flagged by surveillance.
- The program, initially aimed at border-related illegal activities, has expanded into the country's interior, monitoring daily actions of ordinary Americans.
- Border Patrol collaborates with other agencies, including the DEA and local law enforcement, to gather data from license plate readers nationwide.
- The program raises constitutional concerns, with legal scholars questioning the mass surveillance under the Fourth Amendment.
- Examples include drivers being stopped based on 'suspicious' travel patterns, with some cases leading to arrests without finding contraband.
- Border Patrol uses covert license plate readers disguised as traffic safety equipment, and the program's details are often hidden from public records.
- The agency has access to private sector license plate reader data and has integrated local law enforcement's systems into its surveillance network.
- The program has led to increased encounters between Border Patrol and the general public, with many innocent drivers caught in the dragnet.