- The U.S. Border Patrol operates a secretive predictive intelligence system using LPRs to monitor millions of American drivers nationwide.
- The LPR network has expanded far beyond border regions into interior cities like Chicago and Detroit, aggregating data from the DEA and private vendors.
- The agency uses minor traffic violations as pretexts for “whisper stops” based on algorithmic suspicion, leading to the detention of innocent travelers.
- Legal experts argue this mass surveillance, which tracks detailed “patterns of life,” raises serious constitutional questions regarding the Fourth Amendment.
The U.S. Border Patrol is operating a secretive predictive intelligence program that monitors millions of American drivers across the nation using an extensive network of license-plate readers (LPRs). This system utilizes an algorithm to flag vehicles whose routes, origins, or destinations are deemed “suspicious” for potential drug or human trafficking, resulting in stops, searches, and sometimes detentions.
The surveillance network, once focused strictly on policing the nation’s boundaries, has expanded far into the interior, impacting major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles, often surpassing the agency’s traditional 100-mile border jurisdiction. This network aggregates data from internal Border Patrol cameras (often covertly disguised), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and third-party private companies like Flock Safety.
The investigation uncovered instances of federal agents requesting local police perform “whisper stops,” using minor traffic violations as pretexts to aggressively question and search drivers based solely on LPR intelligence. Innocent travelers, including a delivery truck driver, were detained and faced significant legal costs based on suspicion generated by their travel history.
Legal scholars and privacy experts are raising concerns that this continuous, large-scale surveillance, which collects detailed “patterns of life” on ordinary citizens, may violate constitutional protections under the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches. Former officials confirmed the agency has actively concealed details of the LPR program, disguising cameras along public roads and attempting to keep LPR intelligence out of court records.
