The Border Patrol is tracking millions of American drivers in an attempt to identify and detain those whose driving patterns seem suspicious, report Byron Tau and Garance Burke of the Associated Press.
They report the operation involves scans of license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles it deems suspicious. Drivers are then pulled over and questioned by federal agents.
This operation is a part of a larger effort by Border Patrol to enhance surveillance, not just of the borders but of the larger American community. "Under the Trump administration’s heightened immigration enforcement efforts, CBP is now poised to get more than $2.7 billion to build out border surveillance systems such as the license plate reader program by layering in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies," Tau and Burke report.
"[They are] engaging in dragnet surveillance of Americans on the streets, on the highways, in their cities, in their communities. These surveillance systems do not make communities safer," said Nicole Ozer, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Democracy at UC Law San Francisco.
Meanwhile, California could lose 61,000 truck drivers under Trump administration restrictions on immigrants operating large vehicles, reports Adam Echelman of CalMatters.
The new regulations prevent refugees, asylum seekers and people with Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) from holding commercial trucking licenses.
Welcome to Friday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s VP of Strategic Communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Masooma Amin, Jillian Clark, Nicci Mattey and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
CROSSINGS DOWN — The border corridor between San Diego and Tijuana has changed significantly within the past year, as migrant crossings are down nearly 90%, reports Daniel Trotta of Reuters. One example of this transformation is in hospital trauma wards. "When we were at the height of the border wall crisis, receiving so many patients, I must admit, it was hard for all of us," said Dr. Vishal Bansal of Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego.
SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILES — A federal judge ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to resume considering granting protection from deportation for immigrant youth who have been given Special Immigrant Juvenile status, reports Valerie Gonzalez of Associated Press. The program, which USCIS rescinded in June, affects young people abused, neglected or abandoned by parents or guardians. The decision requires the government to carry out the program while litigation over the rescission plays out.
LONG WAIT — In South Florida and across the country, DACA recipients remain in legal limbo, reports Anthony Cruz of WLRN. "When DACA came out, everything changed," said recipient Murilo Alves, reflecting on his family’s experience. "My brother, my sister, they were able to work legally. I got the learner's permit. I felt like I could at least be on par with my friends. That was the first time I felt like, 'Okay, things are getting better.'"
NEW GUIDELINES — The State Department’s new visa guidelines, which allow applicants to be rejected if they have certain medical conditions, are "unnecessary and impractical," immigration attorney Raul A. Reyes writes in a Newsweek op-ed. "There is no sound basis for these guidelines, except to limit legal immigration," Reyes writes. " ... [They give] officials more reasons to deny visas to people who are trying to come here legally — rather than supporting lawful pathways to entry."
P.S. With tens of thousands of students missing school in North Carolina amid immigration enforcement this week, a cadre of "volunteers, neighbors, and parents" turned out to welcome students in Durham, Celeste Gracia and Sharryse Piggott of WUNC report.
