If you’re driving down California’s southern border, there’s a chance that a trailer or construction barrel you passed has a hidden camera in it operated by the federal government.
As CalMatters’ Wendy Fry and Khari Johnson explain, in the last few months of former President Joe Biden’s term, California granted permits to federal agencies, including Border Patrol, to place license plate readers on state highways. These readers capture license plate numbers, the make and model of vehicles, the state the vehicle is registered in and information about where and when images were taken.
More than 40 readers have been uncovered in Southern California so far. Proponents of law enforcement’s use of the devices argue that it helps combat drug and human trafficking, or help locate missing people. But the cameras are drawing concern among humanitarian aid workers, who say the readers could be used against them as they help supply migrants along the border with water and food.
During President Donald Trump’s first administration, federal officials prosecuted and charged volunteers from a humanitarian group working in the Arizona desert for felony harboring, though some convictions were later overturned.
- James Cordero, water drop coordinator for the humanitarian group Al Otro Lado: “I’m worried about a lot of our volunteers that come out. I don’t want them to have to deal with any of the nonsense of being tracked or being pulled over and questioned.”
Privacy and civil liberties advocates say the cameras are an overreach of federal surveillance. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based advocacy organization, argues that the cameras bypass privacy protections laid out under a 2016 state law.
- Dave Maass, EFF’s director of investigations: “(Agencies) claim they might be looking for smugglers or they might be looking for cartel members, but that’s not who they’re collecting data on. (The program) is primarily collecting data on people who live in the region.”
Caring for Californians: Why do some people struggle to get adequate childcare, healthcare and eldercare in a state that has so many resources? Read expert insights on the policy changes that can lead to better care at all age levels in the latest Knowledge Hub report from our partners at the UC Berkeley Possibility Lab.
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Classroom AI gone wrong
CalMatters’ Khari also reports on a disturbing incident that highlights the shortcomings of a recently updated state guideline for educators on the “safe and effective use of artificial intelligence.”
Fourth graders at a Los Angeles elementary school class were assigned in December to draw or use an AI tool to make a book cover about Pippi Longstocking. One parent, Jody Hughes, said his daughter tried designing a cover using Adobe Express for Education on her school-issued Chromebook. But the software produced sexualized imagery of women from the daughter’s written prompts.
The guidelines by the state’s Board of Education urge “critical thinking” when it comes to using AI, but are light on details. Nor does it offer teachers and parents a clear way to opt out of using the technology, underscoring what critics say is a “sense of inevitability” around AI adoption.
- Hughes: “These tech companies are making things marketed to kids that are not fully tested. I don’t know where to draw the line but elementary school is too young because it can get real nasty real fast.”
Likely voters: Tax billionaires, stop ICE
A survey polling nearly 1,050 likely voters in California has found that the governor’s race is still anyone’s game and that a majority of respondents support the proposed billionaires tax.
The Public Policy Institute of California on Wednesday released the results of its latest statewide survey, which was conducted in February. Of the dozen or so candidates running for governor, five received at least 10% support from respondents: Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, and Democrats Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell and Tom Steyer. Fifty-nine percent also support levying a one-time, 5% wealth tax on California billionaires.
Respondents still cite the economy as the top issue for California. As state budget negotiations continue, 55% of likely voters prefer to “pay lower taxes and have a state government that provides fewer services,” though among Democrats, only 35% held this view.
Regarding the federal administration, 52% oppose the $1 trillion cut from Medicaid in Trump’s sweeping budget bill. Nearly three-fourths (73%) also disapprove of the job ICE is doing and 61% say ICE is making communities less safe.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: With the primary election just a little over three months away, it’s crunch time for gubernatorial candidates to either demonstrate their potential to climb into the upper ranks, or fold their tents.
Arbitrators have a financial incentive to rule in favor of HMOs, leading to a rigged system that could include endless delays, privacy violations and destruction of evidence, writes Stephen Martinez, founder of the Patients’ Equity Coalition.
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