Local lawmakers in Texas are responding to recent reports that some law enforcement agencies are using automated license plate reader technology to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions.
Last week, The Barbed Wire delved into data first reported by 404 Media and found that at least five law enforcement agencies across Texas have conducted at least 180 immigration related searches using Flock, which provides license plate reader technology to thousands of communities across the nation.
That same week, Austin city manager T.C. Broadnax withdrew a vote to renew the city’s contract with Flock after community members and leaders urged the city to end the program during a city council work session that included Austin Police Department leaders.
“Austin should not be participating in Trump’s mass surveillance programs,” Councilman Mike Seigel told KUT Austin. “We have evidence that ICE is actively collaborating with Flock, and ICE essentially has side door access to Flock’s cameras and data sets and that data is being used to enforce ICE actions.”
A city audit of the program found that 75 million scans resulted in 165 arrests, 133 prosecutions and one missing person found. The audit did not find that information was being shared for immigration purposes, but recent data sent to council members showed that 10%-20% of license plate searches in the database did not include a clear reason or case number, in violation of rules laid out in a city ordinance.
“We are concerned about privacy and civil liberties and the increasing surveillance infrastructure that records our every movement and shares our social patterns with public and private actors,” Siegel told The Barbed Wire. “Whether you’re a union member on a picket line, a human rights advocate at a campus protest, an immigrant parent getting your kids from school, or a person seeking healthcare in another state, all of us have an interest in building real checks and balances for the tech surveillance complex.”
Siegel added: “We are happy to end Flock’s contract with the City of Austin. And at the same time, we’re aware that we’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg, and it will take a broad movement to restore the privacy and rights we all expect.”
This isn’t necessarily the end for Flock in Austin. KUT reported that city leaders say the program could come back to council in the future. Time will tell.
In San Marcos, the city council voted down a proposed expansion of Flock cameras in the city following a flurry of critical testimony from residents, civil rights advocates and city leaders.
Council Member Amanda Rodriguez, who voted against the proposal, expressed concerns regarding lacking transparency and safeguards, and noted that there have been no audits of how the San Marcos Police Department is using Flock data despite a 2022 policy mandating audits.
“We don’t even know how this technology is being used,” Rodriguez told CBS Austin. “And we’re being asked as a council to make an ill-informed decision to expand it.”
Rodrigiuez also said that the San Marcos Police Department currently shares Flock data with over 600 law enforcement agencies, including the Houston Police Department, which The Barbed Wire found has provided data to ICE.
San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge said that the department has never received a request from ICE, and that only police can access the data, but that didn’t assuage broader concerns from both citizens and council members regarding the vast data sharing that Flock facilitates between law enforcement agencies. There are 19 Flock cameras still operating in San Marcos.
“It’s not SMPD,” said San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson, who voted against the expansion. “It’s about how our data is used by others.”
Community leaders in Dallas have also expressed concerns regarding the Dallas Police Department and sharing Flock data with ICE.
“If ICE wants to use Flock, then they can secure their own contract,” Brandon Friedman, a member of the Dallas Police Oversight Board, told The Barbed Wire. “The Dallas Police Department has enough on its plate and doesn’t need to be doing ICE’s job. As for the department’s use of Flock in general, I’m not convinced there are enough safeguards currently in place.”
Friedman continued: “Dallas residents want the police to solve serious crimes and Flock can facilitate that. But at what cost? You’re going to be living in a lightly regulated, or unregulated, surveillance state for the benefit of maybe solving a few crimes a year. I’m not convinced the citizens of Dallas want that.”
One Dallas councilmember, when reached by text message, said they were “furious at this.” Another council member, when reached by text, expressed their surprise at the news that Dallas Police had used Flock to support ICE enforcement activities, saying “no way” and that they would have to “ask what’s going on” before giving a comment on the record. Mayor Eric Johnson did not respond to requests for comment.
“City policy is to not stop or detain anyone due to their immigration status,” Councilman Chad West told The Barbed Wire. “This is the first I am hearing about the possibility of the possible misuse of Flock, and I plan to talk to my colleagues to request a briefing from the Dallas Police Department on the matter to ensure our priorities are in line with the type of policing that we have been accustomed to and proud of over the years.”
Dallas expanded its Flock camera network earlier this year, and the new Dallas chief of police, Daniel Comeaux, has provided mixed messages regarding his stance on collaborating with federal agencies in immigration enforcement actions.
In a recent Fox 4 interview, Comeaux said, “If we come in contact with anyone that doesn’t have status, we will call the proper federal agency and let them handle it.”
In a subsequent interview with WFAA, Comeaux said, “We’re going to do the right thing, we’re going to do our jobs. And we will not be searching for immigrants. We have no special programs where we’re searching for immigrants.”
In a statement previously shared with The Barbed Wire, the Dallas Police Department said its policy is that the agency does not enforce immigration law, but did not respond to The Barbed Wire’s request for clarification regarding the 17 Flock searches that officers made in 2025 for the purpose of supporting ICE removal operations. City Manager Kim Tolbert provided the same statement.
Flock has responded to the cancelled contracts in statements arguing that it preserves searches in its audit trails and that it is up to local municipalities to decide how to use their technology.
In contrast to the critical approach of other local lawmakers, Hutto Mayor Mike Synder recently posted on Facebook that the city will continue to invest in Flock camera technology.
“Hutto WILL CONTINUE to invest in technology to help catch ANYONE who messes around in our city,” Synder wrote. “I personally believe in the technology that Flock cameras provide. I have concerns about how the information is used. Hutto has safeguards in place. As an elected official, I think it is our responsibility to ensure that the safeguards are kept.”