Border Patrol Using License Plate Algorithms to Flag 'Suspicious' Americans Far From the Border: Report

The U.S. Border Patrol is using a nationwide network of license plate readers and predictive algorithms to identify and flag "suspicious" drivers far from the border, leading to traffic stops, searches and arrests of people who are not accused of any specific crime, according to a sprawling Associated Press investigation.

The program relies on cameras that scan and store license plate data and software that evaluates where vehicles came from, where they are going and which routes they take. When the system flags a car, Border Patrol agents can ask local police to make what are known as "whisper," "intel" or "wall" stops, often on pretextual grounds such as speeding, a minor equipment violation or window tint.

Drivers are then questioned and searched without being told they were targeted based on travel patterns, as AP reports. One trucking company driver, Lorenzo Gutierrez Lugo, was pulled over in Kingsville, Texas, after Border Patrol tipped off local police that his truck might contain contraband.Officers found no drugs but arrested him on suspicion of money laundering because he was carrying cash collected from customers. No charges were filed, and prosecutors later dropped efforts to seize the money, vehicle and trailer.

"We did everything right and had nothing to hide," said his employer, Luis Barrios, who said he spent about $20,000 in legal fees.

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The AP found that Border Patrol's camera network extends along the southern and northern borders and into metropolitan areas such as Phoenix and Detroit. Many cameras are hidden inside traffic barrels or roadside equipment. Documents show the agency also taps plate reader systems run by the Drug Enforcement Administration, private vendors and local police funded through federal Stonegarden grants.

Separately, the Department of Homeland Security has finalized a rule authorizing Customs and Border Protection to photograph and track all non-U.S. citizens entering or leaving the country, expanding the government's biometric surveillance system. The rule, which takes effect December 26, allows CBP to deploy facial-recognition cameras at airports, seaports, land crossings and "any other point of departure," with images of non-citizens stored for up to 75 years in DHS databases.

Though the biometric rule formally applies to foreign nationals, the cameras do not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens in real time, and CBP says U.S. citizens may opt out.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said its surveillance systems are used to "identify threats and disrupt criminal networks" and are governed by "federal law and constitutional protections." The agency added that Border Patrol, although primarily active within 100 miles of the border, is legally allowed "to operate anywhere in the United States."

Legal scholars say the scale of these programs raise constitutional concerns. Andrew Ferguson, a law professor at George Washington University, told AP that courts are beginning to recognize that "large-scale surveillance technology that's capturing everyone and everywhere at every time" may conflict with Fourth Amendment protections.

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