Get the Flock Out of Texas

Our Take

The Texas Civil Rights Project's "Get the Flock Out of Texas" video puts a plain, human face on a problem we've been tracking for a while: these camera networks don't just log plates, they network them into alert systems that can flag a car tied to an immigration record and summon police in real time. That's a massive expansion of what a routine drive down the street can trigger, and it happens without a warrant, without a judge, and often without the driver ever knowing a camera clocked them.

What makes this especially galling is the mission creep. Flock systems get sold to city councils as tools for solving carjackings and Amber Alerts, not as infrastructure for immigration enforcement. Once that network exists, though, nothing stops it from being queried for purposes voters never approved and departments rarely disclose. TCRP is right to call out the cost, too, both the taxpayer dollars funding it and the human cost of families torn apart over a database match.

If you want to see whether this kind of camera is already watching your commute, check our camera map, and if you're ready to push back at the local level, our take-action page has concrete steps for showing up at city council and demanding answers.