Overview
- AP found CBP and Border Patrol use license‑plate readers, drones and concealed cameras to track routes and feed a decade‑old algorithm that flags “anomalous” trips toward border areas.
- The network extends more than 190 kilometers inland, with equipment in cities such as Phoenix and Detroit and temporary access to over 1,600 private readers across 22 states.
- Alerts are passed to local police who make stops for minor traffic infractions as pretexts for searches, according to records and leaked group chats with agents and sheriffs.
- CBP says the tools help identify threats and dismantle criminal networks and asserts authority to operate anywhere in the United States under a multilayered legal framework.
- Documented stops of innocent drivers, including cases in Texas that yielded no contraband and led to dropped charges and litigation, have intensified civil‑liberties concerns.