ICE has side-door access to Flock camera data in 80,000 jurisdictions nationwide — including 4 cameras in Price County. No warrant required. No notification. Here’s what the investigative records reveal.
Quick Answer: ICE accesses Flock camera data through a side-door program that doesn’t require warrants. 80,000 jurisdictions participate, including rural Wisconsin.
ICE has side-door access to Flock camera data in 80,000 jurisdictions nationwide — including 4 cameras in Price County. No warrant required. No notification. Here’s what the investigative records reveal about how federal immigration enforcement uses local surveillance.
Quick Answer: ICE accesses Flock camera data through a “side-door” program that doesn’t require warrants. 80,000 jurisdictions participate, including rural Wisconsin. Here’s what the records show about federal surveillance through local ALPR systems.
More than 4,000 times, local police departments across America have run license plate lookups on behalf of ICE. The searches used Flock Safety’s nationwide camera network, the same system that watches over Price County’s four ALPR cameras. ICE doesn’t have a contract with Flock. They don’t need one.
TLDR: ICE doesn’t have direct access to Flock cameras, but federal agents ask local police to run lookups for them, creating “side-door” access to a database of 150 million daily vehicle scans. Price County’s Flock cameras feed into this same network, and Wisconsin residents have no way to know if their plate data has been queried by federal immigration authorities. MASK6
MASK7
MASK8 What Flock Says About ICE” the company states. They emphasize that communities control federal data access, that sharing with federal agencies is disabled by default, and that ICE does not have direct access to Flock cameras, systems, or data.” MASK23
MASK24 What This Means for Price County MASK25
MASK26 Price County has four Flock ALPR cameras, two in Phillips and two in Park Falls, plus two unbranded ALPR cameras on Highway 8 east of Prentice. The Price County Sheriff’s Office controls the data from these cameras. When the county board voted on August 15, 2024 to ”
” there was no public hearing and no discussion of data sharing policies. MASK27
MASK28 **The same cameras that track a lost vehicle or flag a stolen car can also be queried by any law enforcement agency on the Flock platform.** Price County’s cameras feed into a nationwide database of over 150 million daily vehicle scans. If ICE asks the Price County Sheriff’s Office to run a lookup, nothing in Wisconsin law prevents it. MASK29
MASK30 We don’t know if ICE has ever requested Flock lookups from the Price County Sheriff’s Office. The 404 Media data was not broken down by county or agency. We do know that the Sheriff’s Office did not respond to our follow-up request about Flock camera data sharing policies. Sheriff’s office staff member Anee Meyer told us she “**Flock does have federal customers, including National Parks, Veterans Affairs hospitals, and military bases.** These federal installations can establish one-on-one sharing relationships with other law enforcement agencies on the Flock platform, but only where applicable laws allow it and communities explicitly opt in.” for our records request about ARPA funding and Flock camera data. MASK31
MASK32 Wisconsin’s Legal Gap MASK33
MASK34 Wisconsin has no state law specifically regulating ALPR data sharing with federal agencies. The state’s open records law covers how government agencies handle public records, but it doesn’t address whether local police can run database queries for federal immigration enforcement. MASK35
MASK36 Other states have taken action. California’s SB 241 restricts how law enforcement can share ALPR data with out-of-state and federal agencies. Virginia’s legislature debated similar restrictions. **Wisconsin has no equivalent law on the books.** MASK37
MASK38 The Wisconsin communities that have ended Flock contracts, including Verona and others reported by Wisconsin Watch and WPR, did so over privacy concerns, not specific data sharing incidents. No Wisconsin municipality has publicly disclosed whether ICE has requested Flock lookups from their police departments. MASK39
MASK40 How to Find Out If Your Data Was Shared MASK41
MASK42 If you want to know whether ICE has queried Flock data from cameras in your area, you have two options: MASK43
MASK44 MASK45 1. File a public records request with your local sheriff or police department. MASK46 Ask specifically for: ”
” Wisconsin’s public records law (Wis. Stat. § 19.35) requires agencies to respond to such requests, though response times vary. MASK47
MASK48 MASK49 2. Check the Flock platform’s data sharing settings. MASK50 If your local law enforcement agency allows it, you can ask what data sharing settings are enabled on their Flock account, including whether nationwide lookup is turned on and whether any federal agencies have sharing relationships. MASK51
MASK52 Price County Fun has filed public records requests with the Price County Sheriff’s Office regarding Flock camera funding and data policies. We have not yet received a response. We will update this article when we do. MASK53
MASK54 What the Carpenter Ruling Suggests MASK55
MASK56 In Carpenter v. United States (2018), the Supreme Court ruled that warrantless access to cell-site location information constitutes a Fourth Amendment search. The 5-4 decision established that prolonged digital surveillance of a person’s movements requires a warrant, even if individual data points are collected from third parties. MASK57
MASK58 Legal scholars at Washington University Law Review have argued that ALPR networks create the same kind of comprehensive movement tracking that triggered Carpenter’s protections. A federal judge in Norfolk, Virginia disagreed, ruling that Flock cameras take “By default, federal agencies are excluded from statewide and national lookup queries. Flock’s blog frames this as a privacy protection. The reality, according to data obtained by researchers and reviewed by 404 Media, tells a different story.” rather than continuous tracking. **The legal question remains unresolved at the appellate level, and no court has ruled on it in Wisconsin.** MASK59
MASK60 For now, Price County residents’ license plates are scanned, stored, and potentially queried by federal agencies without a warrant. The county board approved it with a single motion. No public hearing was held. MASK61
MASK62 FAQ MASK63
MASK64
MASK65 MASK66 Does ICE have access to Flock cameras in Wisconsin? MASK67 MASK68
MASK69 ICE does not have a direct contract with Flock Safety. However, 404 Media reporting shows ICE asks local police to run Flock lookups on their behalf, creating ”
” access. Over 4,000 such lookups have been documented nationally. It is unknown whether ICE has requested lookups from Wisconsin agencies specifically. MASK70
MASK71
MASK72
MASK73 MASK74 Can Price County Sheriff share Flock data with federal agencies? MASK75 MASK76
MASK77 Yes. Wisconsin has no state law prohibiting local law enforcement from running Flock lookups at the request of federal agencies. Flock’s default settings exclude federal agencies from nationwide lookup, but individual agencies can opt in to sharing relationships. MASK78
MASK79
MASK80 MASK81 How can I find out if my license plate was scanned? MASK82 MASK83
MASK84 File a public records request with your local law enforcement agency asking for any ALPR/Flock data associated with your vehicle. Wisconsin’s public records law (Wis. Stat. § 19.35) gives you the right to request government records, though law enforcement may redact certain information. MASK85
MASK86
MASK87
MASK88 MASK89 Did Price County know about ICE data sharing when they approved Flock cameras? MASK90 MASK91
MASK92 The August 15, 2024 county board motion to “The Side-Door: How ICE Actually Gets Flock Data MASK17
MASK18 In May 2025, 404 Media reported that ICE agents have been asking state and local law enforcement offices to search Flock cameras on their behalf. **More than 4,000 nation and statewide lookups have been conducted at the behest of the federal government for immigration purposes**, giving federal law enforcement side-door access to a tool that it does not have a formal contract for. MASK19
MASK20 When a local police department runs a Flock lookup, they can search not only their own cameras but also those in other states or nationwide. ICE exploits this capability by requesting that local police run searches for them. The data, obtained by researchers who asked to remain anonymous to avoid potential retaliation, shows lookups conducted ”
” as well as informal favors to federal law enforcement. MASK21
MASK22 The Immigration Policy Tracking Project documented the policy in detail: “Flock Safety’s own blog addresses the ICE question directly. “No. Flock does not work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the company states. They emphasize that communities control federal data access, that sharing with federal agencies is disabled by default, and that ICE does not have direct access to Flock cameras, systems, or data.” MASK23
MASK24 What This Means for Price County MASK25
MASK26 Price County has four Flock ALPR cameras, two in Phillips and two in Park Falls, plus two unbranded ALPR cameras on Highway 8 east of Prentice. The Price County Sheriff’s Office controls the data from these cameras. When the county board voted on August 15, 2024 to ”
” there was no public hearing and no discussion of data sharing policies. MASK27
MASK28 **The same cameras that track a lost vehicle or flag a stolen car can also be queried by any law enforcement agency on the Flock platform.** Price County’s cameras feed into a nationwide database of over 150 million daily vehicle scans. If ICE asks the Price County Sheriff’s Office to run a lookup, nothing in Wisconsin law prevents it. MASK29
MASK30 We don’t know if ICE has ever requested Flock lookups from the Price County Sheriff’s Office. The 404 Media data was not broken down by county or agency. We do know that the Sheriff’s Office did not respond to our follow-up request about Flock camera data sharing policies. Sheriff’s office staff member Anee Meyer told us she “**Flock does have federal customers, including National Parks, Veterans Affairs hospitals, and military bases.** These federal installations can establish one-on-one sharing relationships with other law enforcement agencies on the Flock platform, but only where applicable laws allow it and communities explicitly opt in.” for our records request about ARPA funding and Flock camera data. MASK31
MASK32 Wisconsin’s Legal Gap MASK33
MASK34 Wisconsin has no state law specifically regulating ALPR data sharing with federal agencies. The state’s open records law covers how government agencies handle public records, but it doesn’t address whether local police can run database queries for federal immigration enforcement. MASK35
MASK36 Other states have taken action. California’s SB 241 restricts how law enforcement can share ALPR data with out-of-state and federal agencies. Virginia’s legislature debated similar restrictions. **Wisconsin has no equivalent law on the books.** MASK37
MASK38 The Wisconsin communities that have ended Flock contracts, including Verona and others reported by Wisconsin Watch and WPR, did so over privacy concerns, not specific data sharing incidents. No Wisconsin municipality has publicly disclosed whether ICE has requested Flock lookups from their police departments. MASK39
MASK40 How to Find Out If Your Data Was Shared MASK41
MASK42 If you want to know whether ICE has queried Flock data from cameras in your area, you have two options: MASK43
MASK44 MASK45 1. File a public records request with your local sheriff or police department. MASK46 Ask specifically for: ”
” Wisconsin’s public records law (Wis. Stat. § 19.35) requires agencies to respond to such requests, though response times vary. MASK47
MASK48 MASK49 2. Check the Flock platform’s data sharing settings. MASK50 If your local law enforcement agency allows it, you can ask what data sharing settings are enabled on their Flock account, including whether nationwide lookup is turned on and whether any federal agencies have sharing relationships. MASK51
MASK52 Price County Fun has filed public records requests with the Price County Sheriff’s Office regarding Flock camera funding and data policies. We have not yet received a response. We will update this article when we do. MASK53
MASK54 What the Carpenter Ruling Suggests MASK55
MASK56 In Carpenter v. United States (2018), the Supreme Court ruled that warrantless access to cell-site location information constitutes a Fourth Amendment search. The 5-4 decision established that prolonged digital surveillance of a person’s movements requires a warrant, even if individual data points are collected from third parties. MASK57
MASK58 Legal scholars at Washington University Law Review have argued that ALPR networks create the same kind of comprehensive movement tracking that triggered Carpenter’s protections. A federal judge in Norfolk, Virginia disagreed, ruling that Flock cameras take “By default, federal agencies are excluded from statewide and national lookup queries. Flock’s blog frames this as a privacy protection. The reality, according to data obtained by researchers and reviewed by 404 Media, tells a different story.” rather than continuous tracking. **The legal question remains unresolved at the appellate level, and no court has ruled on it in Wisconsin.** MASK59
MASK60 For now, Price County residents’ license plates are scanned, stored, and potentially queried by federal agencies without a warrant. The county board approved it with a single motion. No public hearing was held. MASK61
MASK62 FAQ MASK63
MASK64
MASK65 MASK66 Does ICE have access to Flock cameras in Wisconsin? MASK67 MASK68
MASK69 ICE does not have a direct contract with Flock Safety. However, 404 Media reporting shows ICE asks local police to run Flock lookups on their behalf, creating ”
” access. Over 4,000 such lookups have been documented nationally. It is unknown whether ICE has requested lookups from Wisconsin agencies specifically. MASK70
MASK71
MASK72
MASK73 MASK74 Can Price County Sheriff share Flock data with federal agencies? MASK75 MASK76
MASK77 Yes. Wisconsin has no state law prohibiting local law enforcement from running Flock lookups at the request of federal agencies. Flock’s default settings exclude federal agencies from nationwide lookup, but individual agencies can opt in to sharing relationships. MASK78
MASK79
MASK80 MASK81 How can I find out if my license plate was scanned? MASK82 MASK83
MASK84 File a public records request with your local law enforcement agency asking for any ALPR/Flock data associated with your vehicle. Wisconsin’s public records law (Wis. Stat. § 19.35) gives you the right to request government records, though law enforcement may redact certain information. MASK85
MASK86
MASK87
MASK88 MASK89 Did Price County know about ICE data sharing when they approved Flock cameras? MASK90 MASK91
MASK92 The August 15, 2024 county board motion to “The Side-Door: How ICE Actually Gets Flock Data MASK17
MASK18 In May 2025, 404 Media reported that ICE agents have been asking state and local law enforcement offices to search Flock cameras on their behalf. **More than 4,000 nation and statewide lookups have been conducted at the behest of the federal government for immigration purposes**, giving federal law enforcement side-door access to a tool that it does not have a formal contract for. MASK19
MASK20 When a local police department runs a Flock lookup, they can search not only their own cameras but also those in other states or nationwide. ICE exploits this capability by requesting that local police run searches for them. The data, obtained by researchers who asked to remain anonymous to avoid potential retaliation, shows lookups conducted “at the behest of the federal government” as well as informal favors to federal law enforcement. MASK21
MASK22 The Immigration Policy Tracking Project documented the policy in detail: “ICE agents do not have an official contract with Flock, the company providing the AI-powered automatic license-plate-reader (ALPR) system, but according to data reviewed by 404 Media, ICE officials have asked state/local law enforcement offices to search Flock cameras on their behalf.” MASK23
MASK24 What This Means for Price County MASK25
MASK26 Price County has four Flock ALPR cameras, two in Phillips and two in Park Falls, plus two unbranded ALPR cameras on Highway 8 east of Prentice. The Price County Sheriff’s Office controls the data from these cameras. When the county board voted on August 15, 2024 to “reallocate 2024 debt proceeds for the purchase of Flock cameras for the Sheriff’s Office,” there was no public hearing and no discussion of data sharing policies. MASK27
MASK28 **The same cameras that track a lost vehicle or flag a stolen car can also be queried by any law enforcement agency on the Flock platform.** Price County’s cameras feed into a nationwide database of over 150 million daily vehicle scans. If ICE asks the Price County Sheriff’s Office to run a lookup, nothing in Wisconsin law prevents it. MASK29
MASK30 We don’t know if ICE has ever requested Flock lookups from the Price County Sheriff’s Office. The 404 Media data was not broken down by county or agency. We do know that the Sheriff’s Office did not respond to our follow-up request about Flock camera data sharing policies. Sheriff’s office staff member Anee Meyer told us she “cannot give an estimated timeline” for our records request about ARPA funding and Flock camera data. MASK31
MASK32 Wisconsin’s Legal Gap MASK33
MASK34 Wisconsin has no state law specifically regulating ALPR data sharing with federal agencies. The state’s open records law covers how government agencies handle public records, but it doesn’t address whether local police can run database queries for federal immigration enforcement. MASK35
MASK36 Other states have taken action. California’s SB 241 restricts how law enforcement can share ALPR data with out-of-state and federal agencies. Virginia’s legislature debated similar restrictions. **Wisconsin has no equivalent law on the books.** MASK37
MASK38 The Wisconsin communities that have ended Flock contracts, including Verona and others reported by Wisconsin Watch and WPR, did so over privacy concerns, not specific data sharing incidents. No Wisconsin municipality has publicly disclosed whether ICE has requested Flock lookups from their police departments. MASK39
MASK40 How to Find Out If Your Data Was Shared MASK41
MASK42 If you want to know whether ICE has queried Flock data from cameras in your area, you have two options: MASK43
MASK44 MASK45 1. File a public records request with your local sheriff or police department. MASK46 Ask specifically for: “Any requests from federal agencies, including but not limited to ICE, CBP, and ATF, to query or search ALPR/Flock camera data, and any responses to such requests, from January 2024 to present.” Wisconsin’s public records law (Wis. Stat. § 19.35) requires agencies to respond to such requests, though response times vary. MASK47
MASK48 MASK49 2. Check the Flock platform’s data sharing settings. MASK50 If your local law enforcement agency allows it, you can ask what data sharing settings are enabled on their Flock account, including whether nationwide lookup is turned on and whether any federal agencies have sharing relationships. MASK51
MASK52 Price County Fun has filed public records requests with the Price County Sheriff’s Office regarding Flock camera funding and data policies. We have not yet received a response. We will update this article when we do. MASK53
MASK54 What the Carpenter Ruling Suggests MASK55
MASK56 In Carpenter v. United States (2018), the Supreme Court ruled that warrantless access to cell-site location information constitutes a Fourth Amendment search. The 5-4 decision established that prolonged digital surveillance of a person’s movements requires a warrant, even if individual data points are collected from third parties. MASK57
MASK58 Legal scholars at Washington University Law Review have argued that ALPR networks create the same kind of comprehensive movement tracking that triggered Carpenter’s protections. A federal judge in Norfolk, Virginia disagreed, ruling that Flock cameras take “discrete pictures at different locations” rather than continuous tracking. **The legal question remains unresolved at the appellate level, and no court has ruled on it in Wisconsin.** MASK59
MASK60 For now, Price County residents’ license plates are scanned, stored, and potentially queried by federal agencies without a warrant. The county board approved it with a single motion. No public hearing was held. MASK61
MASK62 FAQ MASK63
MASK64
MASK65 MASK66 Does ICE have access to Flock cameras in Wisconsin? MASK67 MASK68
MASK69 ICE does not have a direct contract with Flock Safety. However, 404 Media reporting shows ICE asks local police to run Flock lookups on their behalf, creating “side-door” access. Over 4,000 such lookups have been documented nationally. It is unknown whether ICE has requested lookups from Wisconsin agencies specifically. MASK70
MASK71
MASK72
MASK73 MASK74 Can Price County Sheriff share Flock data with federal agencies? MASK75 MASK76
MASK77 Yes. Wisconsin has no state law prohibiting local law enforcement from running Flock lookups at the request of federal agencies. Flock’s default settings exclude federal agencies from nationwide lookup, but individual agencies can opt in to sharing relationships. MASK78
MASK79
MASK80 MASK81 How can I find out if my license plate was scanned? MASK82 MASK83
MASK84 File a public records request with your local law enforcement agency asking for any ALPR/Flock data associated with your vehicle. Wisconsin’s public records law (Wis. Stat. § 19.35) gives you the right to request government records, though law enforcement may redact certain information. MASK85
MASK86
MASK87
MASK88 MASK89 Did Price County know about ICE data sharing when they approved Flock cameras? MASK90 MASK91
MASK92 The August 15, 2024 county board motion to “reallocate 2024 debt proceeds for the purchase of Flock cameras” did not include any discussion of data sharing policies. No public hearing was held on the surveillance program.