he Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) The United States is introducing automatic license plate readers, a technology that expands vehicle tracking capabilities. system known as ALPR English acronym, large database Contains location and movement information for millions of cars in the country.
Immigration Law Resource Institute (ILRC) has warned about this tool Increased risk of indiscriminate surveillance It can be used to identify and detain people with irregular immigration status.
This technology is also applied in police stations and law enforcement agencies Years of fighting crimegives ICE access to information from multiple local agencies, expanding its territorial and operational reach.
of automatic license plate reader (ALPR) is a camera that captures images of vehicles and records precise data about the time, location, and route traveled. This information is stored in a database that includes your name, address, date of birth, criminal history, etc. According to the Immigration Law Resources Institute (ILRC), ICE uses these records to locate and arrest immigrants for deportation purposes.
In 2018, ICE hired in the following areas: Thomson Reuters to access learning databaseoriginally developed by Vigilant Solutions. The system is home to over 5 billion records, with over 150 million records added every month.
DHS and its agencies have “requested Thomson Reuters to assist with the investigation,” Thomson Reuters said on its website. terrorist activitiesnational and public security cases, drug trafficking; organized crime and cross-border gang activities,” the company of a well-known news agency revealed. Does not carry out surveillance duties And CLEAR software.”Not designed to conduct large-scale illegal immigration investigations We will not deport illegal immigrants or non-citizens. ”
However, the ILRC warned in 2021 that ICE officers could search through the CLEAR platform for information collected by police departments and civilian sources in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
The ILRC’s main concern in 2021 is that ICE does not always act within official channels. ICE informally requests information from local law enforcement agencies This is to avoid internal oversight regulations. ” These practices allow agents to track not only the target, but also the migrant’s relatives and contacts, the institute said.
However, the U.S. Congress website states that “federal law does not regulate or prohibit specific tools or technologies, such as automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) systems, used by federal law enforcement agencies to assist in investigations.”
In any case, the country’s highest legislative body has made it clear that there are policies that affect its use. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provides “guidance for federal law enforcement agencies regarding the use of race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity data. This guidance specifies the types of information that may and may not be used in law enforcement or intelligence operations, including when automated systems or artificial intelligence (AI) are involved.”
Civil society organizations and immigrant rights activists are demanding transparency and developing strategies to limit the use of ALPR. The first step, according to the ILRC, is to request public information about local contracts and policies regulating this technology.
of Federal and state laws This allows citizens to submit formal requests to find out how many cameras are operating in their community, what data is being stored, and with whom it is being shared.
The institute also fosters collaboration among activists, lawyers, and organizations working on immigration and privacy issues. These networks are looking for Promote local laws mandating data destruction After a certain period of time, it limits interactions with federal agencies and prohibits the use of information for immigration purposes or in cases where surveillance abuse is demonstrated.
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