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xvxvx
I assume every vehicle has been tracked for decades now. Remember when they simplified the design of license plates to make them easier for cameras to read? Why they feel the need to hide it though.
JuniperMesos
Probably to deter vandalism of the kind that a number of other people in this thread are talking about doing.
fzeroracer
> “If you’re not doing anything illegal, why worry about it?” said long-time Jacumba resident Allen Stanks, 70.

Glad to see they dug out the most intelligent person to react to this information. It's also incredibly funny because the opposite should also apply to the government; if they're not doing anything illegal then they should have no need to hide their local surveillance network inside of abandoned trailers or other items. Just another reason to toss on the pile for dismantling CBP.

RankingMember
I swear editors intentionally go with the dumbest takes to get rage engagement.
blahyawnblah
I don't like it but I can kind of understand hiding it. People change their behavior if it's obvious.
floren
Well, there's a reminder to donate to the EFF again!
josefritzishere
I've heard those trailers contain 15 lbs of copper wire each.
RajT88
Scrap metal and sellable parts as well. Most likely a SIM card you can get a bunch of free internet out of too.
burnt-resistor
Tell all of the meth heads and junkies in town, these trailers will disappear faster than Stephen Miller can utter a racist epithet.
ting0
What are the odds Palantir have something to do with this.
dmix
In Canada all the police cars seem to have automated license plate readers these days.

This article explains there was a 2016 law where California won't share local police plate reader data with the feds, so they made a deal in 2024 where Caltrans (dept of transportation) will let Border Patrol pay for it themselves on roads near border crossing like San Diego County.

inigyou
Is it illegal to put big cardboard boxes weighed down with rocks in front of these cameras? Asking for a friend.
inigyou
I hope to operate one of these networks. Maybe I should apply to Y Combinator. Do they take applications that are too similar to previous applicants?
mannyv
There's no expectation of privacy in public areas. That's been the law of the land now for a long time.
cestith
There’s a difference between happening to be captured on camera if there’s a camera in a public place and having a government agency identify and track you and your vehicle across hundreds of miles of travel.
GarnetFloride
Had an amateur radio friend tell me about a time he found something transmitting interference that looked like a pole mounted transformer but it was upside down and not connected to anything. He reported it to the FCC and it vanished in a couple of days.
ASalazarMX
Isn't this the expected outcome when someone reports a device that interferes with communications? They find the owner and the device is fixed or removed.
nielsbot
> “If you’re not doing anything illegal, why worry about it?” said long-time Jacumba resident Allen Stanks, 70.

I wonder if Mr Stanks has curtains on his windows… After all, if you’ve got nothing to hide…

_slih
california blocked sharing police ALPR data with the feds. so border patrol built their own network on state highway infrastructure instead. the workaround is always simpler than the law it routes around.