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Twin Cities suburbs ban immigration searches on license plate cameras

Jul 21, 2026 · Fridley, MN

Multiple Twin Cities suburbs, including Fridley and Hopkins, restricted access to license plate reader data after a Star Tribune investigation revealed law enforcement agencies conducted hundreds of immigration-related searches on camera footage. The cities implemented stricter protocols to prevent use of the data for civil immigration enforcement, which violated the intended purpose of the surveillance infrastructure. The restrictions followed federal immigration enforcement operations that used license plate readers as a 'backdoor' for immigration enforcement without community consent.

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