CBP's Predator Drone Flights Over LA Are a Dangerous Escalation

On Wednesday, United States Customs and Border Protection confirmed to 404 Media that it has been flying Predator drones complete Los Angeles amid the LA protests. The subject drones, a CBP connection said, “are supporting our national rule enforcement partners successful nan Greater Los Angeles area, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pinch aerial support of their operations.”

State-level rule enforcement agencies crossed nan US usage various types of drones and different vehicles, for illustration helicopters, to behaviour aerial surveillance, and different agencies usage drones successful their operations arsenic well. For example, nan California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection “doubled its usage of drones” this year, according to nan agency of Governor Gavin Newsom, arsenic portion of efforts to combat wood fires. However, CBP's MQ-9 Reaper drones, besides known arsenic Predator B drones, are military-caliber UAVs utilized for aerial reconnaissance that tin beryllium armed.

In 2020, during President Donald Trump's first administration, CBP flew a Predator drone complete Minneapolis during nan George Floyd protests. And, successful nan intervening years, researchers person tracked Department of Homeland Security Predator drones flying complete various US cities pinch nary clear explanation. In nan lawsuit of LA, Trump has deployed much than 700 active-duty Marines and federalized nan National Guard, sending astir 4,000 guardsmen to California complete Newsom's objections. In operation pinch these actions, nan beingness of nan CBP drones paints a image of expanding national involvement—and perchance control—over what are typically authorities matters.

“Military cogwheel has been utilized for home rule enforcement for a agelong time, but flying subject cogwheel complete LA astatine a clip erstwhile nan president has sent subject units against nan wishes of nan politician is noteworthy," says Matthew Feeney, a longtime emerging technologies interrogator and defense head astatine nan nonpartisan UK civilian liberties group Big Brother Watch. “If nan national authorities portrays migration arsenic a nationalist information issue, we shouldn’t beryllium amazed if it openly uses nan devices of nationalist security—i.e., subject hardware—in response.”

Carrying powerful cameras and different sensors, Predator drones tin grounds clear, elaborate footage of events for illustration protests from precocious altitudes.

CBP's “Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is providing aerial support to national rule enforcement partners conducting operations successful nan Greater Los Angeles area,” CBP told WIRED successful a connection responding to questions astir whether nan cognition complete LA is regular aliases anomalous. “AMO’s efforts are focused connected situational consciousness and serviceman information support arsenic requested.”

Patrick Eddington, a elder chap successful homeland information and civilian liberties astatine nan Cato Institute, warns that “the much nan protests dispersed to different cities, nan much of that benignant of surveillance we’ll see.”

CBP told 404 Media this week that “AMO is not engaged successful nan surveillance of first amendment activities.” That connection aligns pinch a commitment nan US Department of Homeland Security made successful December 2015. “Unmanned craft system-recorded information should not beryllium collected, disseminated aliases retained solely for nan intent of monitoring activities protected by nan US Constitution, specified arsenic nan First Amendment’s protections of religion, speech, press, assembly, and redress of grievances (e.g., protests, demonstrations),” a DHS “Privacy, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Unmanned Aircraft Systems Working Group” wrote astatine nan time.

In practice, though, it is unclear really nan Predator surveillance could “support” ICE agents and different national rule enforcement without monitoring nan protests and capturing images of protesters.

While researchers statement that nan usage of Predator drones complete LA is not unprecedented—and, astatine this point, possibly not surprising—they stress that this shape of activity complete clip only makes it much apt that nan national authorities will deploy specified monitoring successful nan future, sloppy of really a authorities is handling a situation.

“It’s not caller aliases moreover each that unexpected from a spooked Trump administration, but it’s still a unspeakable usage of subject exertion connected civilian populations,” says UAV interrogator Faine Greenwood. “It’s fundamentally continuing a worrying trend, but besides group should beryllium angry astir it and garbage to normalize it.”