|
Friend,
In July 2023, S.T.O.P. sounded the alarm on the threat of interstate surveillance of Americans seeking reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare through automated license plate readers. Last month, these concerns became a terrifying reality when one local Fort Worth police officer searched more than 83,000 license plates nationwide to track a Texas woman crossing state lines to find abortion care.
This overreach of local law enforcement is a “pending Constitutional crisis,” challenging the sovereignty of pro-choice states. Crucially, this crisis is enabled by traffic enforcement cameras, which are being deployed to carry out Trump’s far-right agenda. Led by the tech company Flock, ALPR cameras have been installed in over 5,000 communities nationwide, giving law enforcement an unprecedented ability to track individuals' movement.
In addition to abortion surveillance, Flock’s license plate readers are also facilitating the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans, with ICE using the software to perform immigration related lookups. Despite conducting 4,000 such lookups, the federal government has no formal contract with Flock, thereby infringing people’s freedom of movement through below-board “informal” favors.
It's time to put the brakes on automated license plate readers. When every turn we take is tracked, it creates a potent tool for law enforcement to target political activists, religious groups, immigrants, and anyone seeking reproductive or gender-affirming healthcare. Progressive lawmakers must act now to shift this creeping authoritarianism into reverse.
|
