Denver Shuts Car Theft Tracking System to Prevent ICE Deportations

The left-wing Denver city council voted unanimously to shutter its anti-theft aut0 license plate tracking system because ICE could use the data to deport illegals.

In May, the council voted against renewing the $666,000 contract with Flock that was launched about a year ago. The camera system monitors the area around 70 Denver intersections and was set up to screen for car theft.

The system, which reportedly scans 2 million cars per month, has already resulted in the recovery of 170 stolen cars and 300 arrests. The camera data has also helped the Denver Police Department (DPD) to investigate hit-and-runs and murder cases, according to the Denver Post.

Despite the relative success of the system, the city council is worried that the data is available for use by a large number of law enforcement agencies — not just the DPD. They fear that the data will be used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track illegals and to apprehend and deport them.

Critics accuse the city council of being more concerned about shielding illegal aliens than they are about serving their citizens, putting the welfare of illegals above the safety of the city’s residents. But Councilman Kevin Flynn, for one, is undeterred by the criticism.

“We know that it can help solve crime,” Flynn said. “But I think since maybe Jan. 20 of this year, those concerns are greatly heightened and have a new reality about them.”

Council member Sarah Parady also strongly supported the goal of protecting illegals above all else.

“We’re living in an era where just this last week, actually an executive order came out instructing the Department of Justice and the FBI to look for reasons to prosecute local elected officials and activists who they believe are quote, unquote, obstructing ice enforcement,” Parady said. “This kind of surveillance technology is a gift if you have that kind of ill intent, and the federal government has that ill intent right now.”

The extremist mayor of the city, a Democrat, also supported ending the contract despite the system’s benefits to tamping down crime.

“We acknowledge that today’s environment is much different than when the pilot began in early 2024, and there are new community concerns surrounding this technology,” Mayor Mike Johnston’s office said.

Denver Police Sgt. Todd Erickson, however, praised the results of the Flock camera system.

“This Flock has been a great tool for all of us,” Sgt. Erickson said in April. “It is a wonderful tool not only for us but for the victims.”

First Assistant District Attorney Matthew Kirsch also added that the system has “been really invaluable to helping us build cases both related to auto theft and more broadly.”

The Flock system will continue until the end of its current contract in February.

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