Curated from Deeplinks — Here’s what matters right now:
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. In many cases, the agencies have gone out of their way to disguise the cameras from public view. And the problem is only going to get worse: as recently as July 2025, CBP put out a solicitation to purchase 100 more covert trail cameras with license plate-capture ability. Last month, the Associated Press published an in-depth investigation into how agencies have deployed these systems and exploited this data to target drivers. But what do these cameras look like? Here's a guide to identifying ALPR systems when you're driving the open road along the border. Special thanks to researcher Dugan Meyer and AZ Mirror's Jerod MacDonald-Evoy. All images by EFF and Meyer were taken within the last three years. ALPR at Checkpoints and Land Ports of Entry All land ports of entry have ALPR systems that collect all vehicles entering and exiting the country. They typically look like this: ALPR systems at the Eagle Pass International Bridge Port of Entry. Source: EFF 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. Here's a representative example of a CBP checkpoint camera system: ALPR system at the Border Patrol checkpoint near Uvalde, Texas. Source: EFF At a typical port of entry or checkpoint, each vehicle lane will have an ALPR system. We've even seen border patrol checkpoints that were temporarily closed continue to funnel people through these ALPR lanes, even though there was no one on hand to vet drivers face-to-face. According CBP's Privacy Impact Assessments (2017, 2020), CBP keeps this data for 15 years, but generally agents can only search the most recent five years worth of data. The scanners were previously made by a company called Perceptics which was infamously hacked, leading to a breach of driver data. The systems have since been "modernized" (i.e. replaced) by SAIC. Here's a close up of the new systems: Frontal ALPR camera at the checkpoint near Uvalde, Texas. Source: EFF In 2024, the DEA announced plans to integrate port of entry ALPRs into its National License Plate Reader Program (NLPRP), which the agency says is a network of both DEA systems and external law enforcement ALPR systems that it uses to investigate crimes such as drug trafficking and bulk cash smuggling. Again, if you're traveling towards the border and you pass a checkpoint,
Next step: Keep your day-to-day compliant and secure—find privacy-forward devices that help you stay protected.
Original reporting: Deeplinks