U.S. Customs and Border Protection is running a secret mass surveillance program that monitors millions of American drivers using hidden license plate cameras and a secret algorithm that flags "suspicious" travel patterns — even for people driving hundreds of miles from any international border. The covert network extends deep into America's heartland, tracking residents of Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Houston through cameras disguised as traffic cones, orange barrels, and electrical boxes along highways. The system feeds data into an algorithm that determines which routes and travel patterns seem suspicious, then Border Patrol tips off local police who pull drivers over using pretexts like tinted windows or dangling air fresheners.

The agency refuses to explain how its

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