Flock cameras are making their way to the RGV!

Our Take

The Rio Grande Valley has spent decades as a testing ground for surveillance technology, thanks to its proximity to the border and the federal money that flows toward "security" infrastructure there. So it's no surprise Flock Safety found fertile ground. What Trucha RGV and the Texas Civil Rights Project are flagging matters: local police departments are adopting ALPR networks with little public debate, and residents are being logged, tracked, and profiled without ever being told it's happening, let alone why.

In a region where immigration enforcement, local police, and federal agencies already share data more freely than most Americans realize, a camera network that logs every vehicle's movements isn't just a privacy inconvenience — it's a tool that can be repurposed far beyond the traffic-safety pitch Flock sales reps give city councils. Once that data exists, it doesn't stay contained to the original justification, and communities along the border have less room for error than most when it comes to who gets access to their movements.

Credit to Trucha RGV for localizing a story that too often gets treated as an abstract national trend. If you want to see whether Flock has landed near you, check our camera map, and if you're ready to push back at a city council meeting, our take-action guide has the tools to get started.