Short answer? Yes — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has the capability to track vehicles through various surveillance technologies and data-sharing arrangements. This is primarily done using automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and associated databases, often without requiring a warrant for initial queries. Below, I’ll outline the key methods and tools ICE employs based on publicly reported information.
Primary Tracking Methods
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
These are high-speed cameras mounted on roads, bridges, police vehicles, toll plazas, or private properties like parking lots. They capture images of license plates along with the vehicle’s location, date, and time. The data is uploaded to centralized databases, allowing searches to reconstruct a vehicle’s travel history and patterns.
-
- ICE accesses this data to locate individuals for immigration enforcement, such as identifying where a vehicle associated with a target, their family, or associates has been spotted.
- Data retention varies but can span years, with databases growing by hundreds of millions of records monthly from law enforcement and commercial sources across the U.S.
Mobile Companion App
This is a real-time tool used by ICE officers in the field. Officers can scan a license plate using their phone’s camera, instantly retrieving the vehicle’s historical locations, ownership details, and linked personal information (e.g., driver’s license data, credit reports, voter registration, marriage records).
-
- The app integrates with Motorola Solutions’ network (via its acquisition of Vigilant Solutions) and Thomson Reuters’ CLEAR platform, drawing from a database of billions of ALPR records.
- It can analyze patterns to predict where a vehicle might go next and identify “convoy” vehicles (those frequently traveling with the target).
- Officers can also add new scans to the database on the go.
Indirect Access via Local Law Enforcement
Even without direct contracts for some systems (e.g., Flock Safety’s ALPR network), ICE often requests local or state police to run queries on their behalf. This has been documented in areas like California, Illinois, and Georgia, effectively giving ICE access to nationwide data from small-town cameras marketed for crime-solving.
Key Contracts and Data Sources
Vigilant Solutions (Motorola Solutions) — Provides access to over 5 billion records; ICE has query-based access since at least 2017. Adds 150-200 million new scans monthly from public and private cameras.
Thomson Reuters (CLEAR platform) — Provides data integration, access, and has multi-million-dollar contracts (e.g., $6.1 million through 2020, renewed/expanded) that link ALPR data to personal records; also supports the Mobile Companion app.
Flock Safety — Local ALPR networks — has no direct ICE contract, but local agencies share data; used in thousands of queries for immigration purposes.
Limitations and Concerns
Legal and Privacy Issues
While ICE uses this for enforcement, critics argue it enables mass surveillance, potentially violating privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment for long-term tracking. It’s often deployed more in immigrant, low-income, or communities of color, raising equity concerns.
Scope
Tracking focuses on immigration-related investigations but can extend to associates (e.g., via “convoy” analysis). Not all vehicles are constantly monitored, but widespread camera networks make it feasible in many areas.
Countermeasures
Some communities and states have pushed back, like limiting data retention or banning sharing with ICE, but federal access persists through commercial channels.
Immigration enforcement capabilities have expanded under recent administrations, with reports of increased use in 2025.
sourced — dhs.gov — biometricupdate.com
 has the capability to track vehicles through various surveillance technologies){kind=link}