Thousands of ICE employees can access license plate reader data, emails show
Immigration and Customs Enforcement allows thousands of employees to access a controversial license plate database with questionable legal safeguards in place to prevent abuse, the American Civil Liberties Union said today as it published thousands of pages of agency documents.
The documents, which were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit and include emails as well as internal ICE policies, detail the agency’s access to a massive private database that civil liberties advocates have criticized as unduly invasive. The database, run by a company called Vigilant Solutions, allows law enforcement to track cars against previously compiled license plate data, giving police a way to closely monitor the movement of vehicles.
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