How to Identify Automated License Plate Readers at the U.S.-Mexico Border

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and scores of state and local law enforcement agencies have installed a massive dragnet of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in the US-Mexico borderlands. All land ports of entry have ALPR systems that collect all vehicles entering and exiting the country. They typically look like this: Most interior checkpoints, which are anywhere from a few miles to more than 60 from the border, are also equipped with ALPR systems operated by CBP."

"However, the DEA operates a parallel system at most interior checkpoints in southern border states. When it comes to checkpoints, here's the rule of thumb: If you're traveling away from the border, you are typically being captured by a CBP/Border Patrol system (Border Patrol is a sub-agency of CBP). If you're traveling toward the border, it is most likely a DEA system. Again, if you're traveling towards the border and you pass a checkpoint, you're often captured by parallel DEA systems set up on the opposite side of the road."

"Here is a typical DEA system that you will find installed near existing Border Patrol checkpoints: These are typically made by a different vendor, Selex ES, which also includes the brands ELSAG and Leonardo. Covert ALPR As you drive along border highways, law enforcement agencies have disguised cameras in order to capture your movements. The exact number of covert ALPRs at the border is unknown, but to date we have identified approximately 100 sites."

Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are widely deployed across the US-Mexico borderlands by CBP, DEA, and numerous state and local law enforcement agencies. All land ports of entry collect license plate data from every vehicle entering and exiting. Interior checkpoints, from a few miles to over sixty miles from the border, often host CBP systems, while the DEA operates parallel systems at many of those checkpoints and on approaches toward the border. DEA systems are commonly provided by Selex ES, including ELSAG and Leonardo brands. Dozens of covert, disguised ALPR sites also monitor border highways, with roughly one hundred identified locations.

Read at Electronic Frontier Foundation