Marin County in California will no longer share vehicle information with outside agencies

Marin County will stop sharing driver and resident information with ICE.

This includes data that is collected through its surveillance cameras.

This is according to a legal settlement with the ACLU.

Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reported that Marin County, California has agreed stop sharing information regarding drivers and residents collected through their surveillance cameras with ICE immigration authorities, according to El Mundo and the EFE agency.

The settlement is in response to a legal complaint filed by several community activists in October 2021 asking the Marin Sheriff’s Department to stop sharing information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

WHAT DOES THE COMPLAINT SAY?

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The complaint warned that Marin Sheriff’s Chief Robert Doyle was violating SB64, which restricts California police departments from working with immigration authorities, by sharing data collected by the Automated License Plate Reader cameras.

Although Doyle had pledged to make changes since SB64 took effect in January 2018, the lawsuit asserted that the sheriff continued to “illegally” make license plate information and the location of county drivers available to immigration authorities in Marin, located in northern California.

WHAT DO THE CAMERAS DO?

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The Automated License Plate Reader’s cameras scan tens of thousands of cars a month, recording license plate number, date, time and location. This information can be used to identify and track drivers, revealing where they live and work, when they visit friends or drop off children at school, the ACLU said in a statement.

It added that this data helps immigration authorities track, jail and deport immigrants. Under the agreement, Sheriff Doyle will stop sharing vehicle license plate and location information with agencies outside of California to comply with state law. Filed Under: Marin County Immigration ICE

WHAT DO IMMIGRATION ADVOCATES THINK?

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Vasudha Talla, director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Program, said, «This agreement is a victory for disadvantaged and marginalized people, including immigrants, who have historically been the targets of civil rights abuses through invasive surveillance by the police.”

The United States is currently experiencing a ‘wave’ of migrants entering from many parts of the world, especially from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and some have criticized the Biden administration for not being able to control the border.