How Flock Cameras Help Lead ICE to Illegal Immigrants

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has found a roundabout way to legally surveil and track select illegal immigrant drivers through the use of Flock’s license plate camera readers.

Although ICE is barred by the billion-dollar tech company from obtaining contracts to use Flock’s videos and databases, the agency has signed cooperative agreements with state and local law enforcement in more than 2,300 jurisdictions nationwide, according to ICE. Part of that cooperation can include local or state police pulling footage and data from Flock and then sharing it with ICE.

A former senior ICE official familiar with the agency’s use of cameras said the cooperation with local and state police who willingly share Flock data began before President Donald Trump took office last year, but has grown since then, as more police departments enter into contracts with Flock and formal agreements to assist ICE.

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Flock is an Atlanta-based company that manufactures license plate-reading cameras and databases. The systems are sold to local and state police, as well as some federal agencies, but not ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

More than 5,000 law enforcement agencies across 6,000 communities use Flock, according to the company’s website.

The company’s automated license plate readers are installed along roads and intersections throughout communities nationwide. The solar-powered cameras scan every vehicle that passes by, taking information such as the license plate number.

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ICE and CBP initially participated in pilot programs with Flock, but ultimately did not have contracts with the company as of August. That means federal police must have connections with state and local law enforcement who are willing to access the Flock system on their behalf.

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The system is used by state and local police to assist ICE and CBP when they are looking to arrest an illegal immigrant driver, but need help determining his driving patterns in order to make a plan for where to interdict him. Police assisting federal immigration officers must note their reason for the search, such as using terms such as “ICE,” “immigration,” or “ICE warrant.”

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