Border Patrol secretly monitors millions of Americans using hidden cameras and algorithm
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is running a secret mass surveillance program that monitors millions of American drivers using hidden license plate cameras and a secret algorithm that flags “suspicious” travel patterns — even for people driving hundreds of miles from any international border. The covert network extends deep into America’s heartland, tracking residents of Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Houston through cameras disguised as traffic cones, orange barrels, and electrical boxes along highways. The system feeds data into an algorithm that determines which routes and travel patterns seem suspicious, then Border Patrol tips off local police who pull drivers over using pretexts like tinted windows or dangling air fresheners.
The agency refuses to explain how its surveillance system actually works, telling the Associated Press only that it uses the technology to “identify threats and disrupt criminal networks” while citing “national security reasons” for keeping operational details secret.
Former officials revealed the program flags drivers for behavior like taking quick trips near the border, driving rental cars, or using certain routes — criteria that has ensnared countless innocent Americans. Delivery driver Lorenzo Gutierrez Lugo was arrested for money laundering simply for carrying customer cash payments, while Houston businessman Alek Schott endured an hour-long roadside search after making an overnight work trip. Both cases were eventually dropped after finding no contraband. “I didn’t know it was illegal to drive in Texas,” Schott said.
Border Patrol has positioned cameras more than 120 miles beyond the Mexican border — exceeding its traditional 100-mile jurisdiction — and instructs local governments to withhold public records that might expose program details.
One former official claimed an 85% success rate in finding contraband, though another official in a different sector said he knew of no successful interdictions based solely on license plate patterns, suggesting the dragnet catches far more innocent people than criminals.
in the words of a man much wiser than myself:
> i'm sure the questioning in those circumstances is typically brief, and those individuals may promptly go free
thank you justice kavanaugh
And where is the outrage? The people who complain about a surveillance state? The ones who would want the deep state to know your name address and phone number, all while having cell phones, driver’s licenses and amazon accounts? Soon enough we will learn that they will happily use this system to prosecute people who travel for medical procedures.