LIST: CA Cities Give ICE License Plate Information

CALIFORNIA -- The Trump administration is following through on its promise to crack down on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement now have access to license plate reader information from cities across the country.

However, a report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation revealed that at least 14 California cities had been sharing that information with the federal agency for years.

News reports last week revealed that the federal agency struck a deal with Livermore-based Vigilant Solution to obtain license plate reader information. In a statement to CNN, an ICE spokesperson said the information would be a "tool in support of its investigations." The news sparked outrage among immigrant rights activists who are raising privacy concerns.

Access to a license plate database apparently isn't unusual in some California cities. The Electronic Frontier Foundation published a report Monday revealing that the following police departments have already provided access to ICE:

• Anaheim Police Department
• Antioch Police Department
• Bakersfield Police Department
• Chino Police Department
• Fontana Police Department
• Fountain Valley Police Department
• Glendora Police Department
• Hawthorne Police Department
• Montebello Police Department
• Orange Police Department
• Sacramento Police Department
• San Diego Police Department
• Simi Valley Police Department
• Tulare Police Department

"ICE agents have also obtained direct access to this data through user accounts provided by local law enforcement," a statement from the Electronic Frontier Foundation reads. "For example, an ICE officer obtained access through the Long Beach Police Department’s system in November 2016 and ran 278 license plate searches over nine months. Two CBP officers further conducted 578 plate searches through Long Beach’s system during that same period."

--Photo via Immigration and Customs Enforcement