• Investigation reveals algorithm flags vehicles based on travel routes and destinations.
• Cameras hidden in highway equipment track drivers far beyond traditional border zones.
• Lawmakers raise Fourth Amendment concerns over warrantless surveillance network.

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide through a secretive surveillance program that identifies and detains people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious. An Associated Press investigation has revealed the predictive intelligence program uses hidden cameras and algorithms to track ordinary citizens well beyond the nation’s borders.

How Border Patrol Monitors Drivers

The Border Patrol driver surveillance program relies on a network of cameras that scan and record license plate information across American highways. An algorithm then flags vehicles based on where they originated, their destination, and which route they traveled. Federal agents may alert local law enforcement when the system identifies suspicious patterns, leading to traffic stops for minor infractions like speeding, improper window tint, or even a dangling air freshener.

Freedom-Loving Beachwear by Red Beach Nation - Save 10% With Code RVM10

Drivers pulled over in these stops often have no idea their travel routes triggered the encounter. The program has resulted in searches and arrests, with cameras frequently disguised as construction barrels, traffic cones, and other roadside safety equipment to avoid detection.

Surveillance Expands Beyond Border Zones

What began roughly a decade ago as a tool to combat drug and human trafficking near U.S. boundaries has transformed into a mass surveillance network reaching deep into the American interior. Cameras have been deployed near major metropolitan areas including Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Houston—far beyond the agency’s traditional 100-mile border jurisdiction.

The Border Patrol has grown more powerful through collaborations with other agencies, drawing data from license plate readers operated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, private companies, and local law enforcement funded through federal grants. Texas agencies have even requested facial recognition technology to identify drivers, according to documents reviewed by the AP.

“They are collecting mass amounts of information about who people are, where they go, what they do, and who they know—engaging in dragnet surveillance of Americans on the streets, on the highways, in their cities, in their communities.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE THE DUPREE REPORT

Nicole Ozer, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Democracy at UC Law San Francisco, expressed alarm at the investigation’s findings.

Lawmakers Demand Answers

Several Democratic lawmakers have raised constitutional concerns about the program’s legality. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts sent a letter to Customs and Border Protection calling it an “invasive surveillance network” that poses serious threats to privacy and civil liberties. He compared the surveillance to techniques used by authoritarian regimes like China.

Representative Dan Goldman questioned how tracking Americans based on algorithms rather than warrants or evidence could be consistent with Fourth Amendment protections. Senator Mark Warner echoed those concerns, stating Americans should not have to worry that holiday travel might make them targets for law enforcement.

CBP Defends Surveillance Practices

U.S. Customs and Border Protection defended its license plate reader program, stating it operates under a “stringent, multi-layered policy framework” governed by federal law and constitutional protections. The agency declined to provide specific operational details, citing national security.

Under current immigration enforcement efforts, CBP is poised to receive more than $2.7 billion to expand border surveillance systems by incorporating artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Legal scholars warn that courts are beginning to recognize such large-scale tracking as potentially unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment.

Should Americans be concerned about government surveillance of their daily travel patterns?

Freedom-Loving Beachwear by Red Beach Nation - Save 10% With Code RVM10