AP: Border Patrol nationwide license-plate surveillance program
An Associated Press investigation finds the U.S. Border Patrol is using a nationwide network of license plate readers and a predictive algorithm to flag “suspicious” driving patterns, prompting local police stops that can lead to searches and arrests. CBP confirmed LPR use and said activities are governed by policy and federal law, asserting the Border Patrol can operate anywhere in the U.S.; the program, started about a decade ago to fight border‑related smuggling, has expanded over the past five years and now draws on DEA, private and local databases, with some readers disguised along highways.
Border Security and Surveillance
Civil Liberties and Policing
📌 Key Facts
- AP cites interviews with eight former officials and thousands of pages of court and government records.
- CBP says Border Patrol may operate anywhere in the U.S. and defends LPR use as within legal and policy limits.
- Readers are deployed along southern and northern borders; some devices are concealed (e.g., traffic cones on AZ Highway 85 near Gila Bend); Texas documents show requests for facial recognition.