The Barbed Wire expands on a story by 404 Media about how police departments around the state (and other states) are cooperating with ICE by using AI-powered license plate reading "searches."
This key graf explains why local cop shops are involved:
Earlier this week, the independent online outlet reported that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has tapped into a nationwide AI-enabled camera network with the help of local law enforcement agencies. Their findings are based on data obtained by activists via a public records request to an Illinois Police Department for search logs from police departments around the country that have contracts with Flock, a surveillance company that provides automatic license plate reader technology to government agencies. ICE does not have a contract with Flock, which 404 Media noted as an indication that the federal department is using local agencies as side-door access to the tool.
There you go.
A sidebar graphic notes that Dallas PD and Houston PD, much more so, are leading participants. These are supposed to be "librul" cities at least somewhat supportive of immigrant rights, but with ConservaDem John Whitmire running Houston, this is not a real surprise. Anyway, there's the hypocrisy with the two big-city PDs.
OK, the constitutionality?
The Flock database lookups are typically done without a warrant or court order, a practice that an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice argues is unconstitutional and violates the Fourth Amendment.
The rise of privately run surveillance camera networks like Flock, and the data sharing practices they facilitate between law enforcement agencies, has raised concerns among lawmakers regarding lack of oversight.
There you go.
Then, another worry here in Tex-ass:
Another recent story from 404 Media punctuates the point and demonstrates that it’s not just a matter of immigration. The outlet reported that a sheriff in Johnson County ran a Flock search for a woman who they said self-administered an abortion, citing concerns from her family about her safety. Last summer, Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a judge to strike down a rule that protects the privacy of pregnant people who travel across state lines to get abortions. Several Texas counties also have tried to ban travel out of state for abortion, which is illegal in Texas. If such bans become law, there’s little to stop law enforcement agencies from using license plate readers to track and charge abortion seekers.
And that's why any PD participating in this has blood on its hands.
Give the whole thing a read.
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