The state of Florida, which leads the country in partnerships with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is using a nationwide surveillance network of over 40,000 automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras present in over 5,000 communities across the United States to aid in immigration-related arrests.
Public records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel reveal that the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) utilized Flock Safety ALPR camera data over 250 times between March 13 and May 5 (averaging about 32 times per week) for immigration-stated purposes. These searches spiked during "Operation Tidal Wave," a highly publicized, first-of-its-kind partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement targeting undocumented individuals that led to the arrest of 1,120 people in Florida—37 percent of whom had no previous criminal arrests or convictions.
Flock's camera network uses AI to provide real-time alerts of a license plate's and, by extension, a driver's, location across the United States. The 24/7 surveillance is marketed to cities, businesses, schools, and law enforcement agencies as a way to deter crime, solve crimes such as carjackings, and find missing persons. Even though the company's policies prohibit the cameras from being used for immigration enforcement, a Flock representative told Vice in 2021 that if it were legal in a state, Flock would not be in a position to stop, or encourage, the state from using the technology for immigration-related purposes.
