A Bay Area technology company’s partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is costing it beaucoup bucks in city contracts.
Alameda has rejected a $500,000 agreement with Vigilant Solutions for the installation of 13 automatic licensed plate readers at various locations around Alameda. The reason? A contract announced between ICE and Vigilant Solutions last month that allows immigration authorities to use the company’s data to help track people in the U.S. illegally.
The agreement raised concerns that Alameda would be funneling information to ICE for use in deportations if it were to approve the cameras.
The federal agency stated that it was using Vigilant Solutions’ license plate readers in place of local police cooperation. The federal agency said that it was signing the contract because agents were going to have to use other methods to get what they need regarding intelligence on undocumented individuals. This is because many California cities declared themselves sanctuary cities, and last fall Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law (SB 54) that places limits on local police agencies from cooperating with ICE.
The ACLU, which already opposes automatic license plate readers on privacy grounds, praised Alameda’s decision. It is asking any other cities doing work with the company to consider severing ties as well.
If your local police department is one of Vigilant’s 3,000 law enforcement customers, ICE may be able to access data about you and your neighbors. Law enforcement can drill down into the data to build a detailed picture of your private life, including where you work, where you live, when you go to the doctor, and what political demonstrations you attend. ICE’s public documentation says it intends to use this data to help “identify, arrest, and remove aliens from the United States.”
Alameda is a progressive city neighboring Oakland and the San Francisco Bay. It has been opposed to the Trump Administration’s crackdown on immigration and formally declared itself a sanctuary city in January of 2017.