Federal Agents Used Flock License-Plate Cameras for Immigration Enforcement
Twin Falls Police Department discovered that federal and state law enforcement agencies had conducted hundreds of immigration-related searches on its automatic license-plate reader (ALPR) network without authorization, prompting the department to tighten access controls to the system roughly a month after the searches were first detected.
The searches began in early May when Indiana State Police queried the Flock ALPR network at 1:42 p.m. on May 3, listing “Immigration (civil/administrative)” as the reason for the search. That single query triggered access to hundreds of ALPR systems nationwide, including Twin Falls Police Department’s network. Law enforcement records show that between March and June 2026, outside agencies—including Lawrenceville Police in Georgia, Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, Fish and Wildlife Commission personnel in Florida, and others—conducted at least 631 immigration-related searches targeting Twin Falls ALPR data.
The searches violated both Idaho Code 49-1432, which restricts ALPR queries to investigations of felony and misdemeanor crimes, traffic accidents, and searches for missing or endangered persons, and Twin Falls Police Department’s own internal policies prohibiting the use of the system for immigration enforcement purposes.
Decades-Old Local Policy on Immigration Work
Twin Falls Police Department has maintained a policy against involvement in immigration investigations for more than 30 years. The department also negotiated specific terms with Flock, the company that operates the license-plate reader network, to prohibit “immigration enforcement” queries from its ALPR systems. Despite these restrictions, the national network architecture allowed outside agencies to search Twin Falls data without the department’s knowledge or consent.
Once the searches came to light, Twin Falls Police responded by changing its national network sharing settings approximately one month after the initial May search. The modification prevented outside agencies from accessing or searching the Twin Falls ALPR system, essentially closing the door that had been left open on the shared network.
Department Clarifies Data Access and Community Values
Lieutenant Steven Gassert of Twin Falls Police Department said the immigration searches did not result in actual data pulls from Twin Falls systems, though the searches themselves had been conducted. He emphasized that the department wanted to balance respect for community views on immigration with the legitimate use of modern technology for public safety.
“We want to make sure that we are being respectful of our citizens’ views and opinions on this, while still seeing the importance of technology when it comes to modern policing in our community,” Gassert told the Idaho Capital Sun.
Jessica Clements of Idaho Falls Police Department, speaking to the value of shared ALPR networks for law enforcement, noted that notification systems allow agencies to be alerted when individuals with outstanding warrants or known public safety threats enter their jurisdictions.
The Flock ALPR system operates as a network of cameras installed at fixed locations and on patrol vehicles, capturing license-plate data in real time and storing it in a searchable database. Participating agencies can query the network based on specific search parameters. The Twin Falls Police Department’s discovery of the immigration searches highlighted a significant gap between local policy intent and the technical architecture of the national network—a gap that has now been closed for the Twin Falls system.
What Comes Next
Twin Falls Police Department’s network isolation from the national Flock system means the department will no longer receive automated alerts from outside agencies querying its data. The restriction protects local ALPR data from uses that conflict with Idaho law and departmental policy, but may also limit interagency coordination on criminal suspects and missing persons. The department’s decision reflects a commitment to its long-standing position on immigration enforcement while maintaining the tool’s utility for core law enforcement functions within Twin Falls County.