Customs and Border Protection is flying surveillance drones over the Los Angeles protests, the agency confirmed in a statement on Thursday. The drones in question are MQ-9 Predators, some models of which are equipped with technology that would enable high-altitude surveillance. In a statement to 404 Media, which first reported the presence of the drones, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the drones were deployed to support “our federal law enforcement partners in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with aerial support of their operations”. Ice conducts raids and arrests, activity that has ramped up under Donald Trump’s administration and against which protesters in Los Angeles have been demonstrating.
CBP also said in a statement that its air and marine operations were “not engaged in the surveillance of first amendment activities”, but that they are “providing officer safety surveillance when requested by officers”.
