The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide through a surveillance program that identifies individuals with “suspicious” travel patterns, according to an investigation. The program, which began a decade ago to combat illegal border activities and human trafficking, has expanded over the past five years, leveraging partnerships with federal agencies, private companies, and local law enforcement.

The initiative involves collecting license plate data from vehicles on public roads, with federal agents potentially alerting local authorities to act on flagged individuals. The Border Patrol’s efforts have grown through collaborations with the Drug Enforcement Administration, private firms, and federally funded law enforcement programs, including Texas agencies using facial recognition to identify drivers.

This expansion reflects a broader transformation of U.S. Customs and Border Protection into a domestic intelligence operation, with the agency seeking over $2.7 billion in funding under the Trump administration to enhance surveillance systems. The program’s integration of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies has created a mass surveillance network focused on cars, raising constitutional concerns among legal scholars.

Courts have increasingly recognized that large-scale surveillance technology capturing everyone at all times may violate the Fourth Amendment, according to law professor Andrew Ferguson. Nicole Ozer of the Center for Constitutional Democracy warned that such systems do not enhance community safety, emphasizing the collection of extensive data on individuals’ movements and associations.