The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today applauded the City of Santa Cruz for being the first city in California to terminate its contract with Flock Safety, an automated license plate reader company, over serious data privacy and civil liberties concerns.
SEE: Santa Cruz the First in California to Terminate Its Contract With Flock Safety
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the Santa Cruz city council voted 6-1 to end the city’s contract after reports that license plate data collected by the city had been accessed by out-of-state agencies. The vote comes amid an escalating federal immigration enforcement crackdown—including incidents of deadly force—raising urgent concerns that local surveillance data can be accessed and used by ICE to identify, track, and detain community members—including in ways that undermine California privacy safeguards.
The decision follows months of sustained community advocacy and public concern over surveillance technologies and unchecked data sharing. Advocates warned that automated license plate reader systems can enable broad location tracking and data-sharing in ways that undermine privacy, erode trust, and make immigrant communities less safe.
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Policy Coordinator Musa Tariq said:
“Santa Cruz recognized that surveillance tools like automated license plate readers can be weaponized against immigrant communities. At a time when federal authorities are actively targeting immigrants, cities must ensure they are not contributing data that can be used to surveil, detain, or separate families.”
The organization thanked Mayor Fred Keeley and the councilmembers who voted to terminate the contract, noting the mayor’s early opposition to the agreement and his public acknowledgment that the threat to civil liberties outweighed any claimed benefit of the technology.
It also emphasized that Santa Cruz’s decision sets a critical example for cities across California. Local governments have both the authority and responsibility to ensure that public safety tools are not used to facilitate deportation, profiling, or mass surveillance.
CAIR-SFBA congratulates the City of Santa Cruz and its residents for this principled action and urges other municipalities to follow Santa Cruz’s example by rejecting surveillance technologies that jeopardize privacy, civil rights, and the safety of immigrant communities.
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-SFBA Communications Manager Lorrie Adam, 408.498.5779, [email protected]