Border Patrol Flags ‘Suspicious’ Travel

According to The Associated Press, the U.S. Border Patrol is secretly monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in order to discover and jail individuals whose travel patterns it considers suspect. People have been stopped, searched, and in certain cases arrested as a consequence of the predictive intelligence program. Vehicles deemed suspect are flagged by an algorithm based on their origin, destination, and route, while a network of cameras analyzes and logs license plate information.

Local law enforcement may then be flagged by federal agents. Drivers are abruptly pulled over, frequently for reasons like speeding, failing to signal, having the improper window tint, or even having a dangling air freshener obstructing their vision. Without even realizing that the roads they traveled put them on the radar of police enforcement, they are then violently questioned and searched. Instead of just focusing on wanted suspects, the Border Patrol has constructed a monitoring system that extends into the heart of the nation and can keep an eye on regular Americans’ daily activities and connections for irregularities.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s countrywide license plate scanners, private businesses, and an expanding number of local law enforcement initiatives supported by federal subsidies have all contributed to the Border Patrol’s recent expansion in authority. According to records, Texas law enforcement agencies have requested that Border Patrol identify drivers using face recognition technology. Driving on wilderness roads, renting a car, or making brief journeys to the border region are just a few of the reasons why the Border Patrol stops individuals.

The agency has established its own standards for what behaviors should be considered suspicious or connected to drug or human trafficking. In addition to keeping an eye on drivers passing close to the U.S.-Canada border, the agency’s network of cameras now spans the southern border in Texas, Arizona, and California.