Virginia surveillance network tapped thousands of times for immigration cases

September 24, 2025 Kunle Falayi

A Flock camera on South Main Street in Bridgwater, Virginia, captures the comings and goings of traffic. The town has five strategically placed Flock cameras. They capture images of nearly 60,000 vehicles every month. *Photo by Christopher Tyree // VCIJ*

As federal immigration enforcement accelerated, police agencies outside of Virginia searched the Commonwealth’s network of Flock Safety cameras thousands of times over a 12-month period, according to an exclusive analysis by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.

Who combed Virginia’s Flock surveillance data for immigration enforcement? Search here.

September 24, 2025 Kunle Falayi

A Flock automatic license plate reading camera overlooks Colley Avenue in Norfolk, Va. on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. A federal lawsuit argues the city's 172 Flock cameras are an unconstitutional violation of privacy. *File Photo:* *Cianna Morales/WHRO News*

Surveillance network data obtained by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO shows how widely outside law enforcement agencies searched Flock Safety systems in Virginia for immigration-related offenses.

VCIJ at WHRO’s analysis of network data from Flock Safety’s Automatic License Plate Reader systems in Virginia was queried by more than 4,000 agencies across the U.S. About 3,000 of the searches conducted by those agencies appear related to immigration enforcement. – despite local agencies promising not to share or use the data for that purpose.

One sleepy Virginia town. Nearly 7 million hits on its surveillance network.

September 16, 2025 Kunle Falayi

Thousands of Flock Safety surveillance cameras captured Virginia travelers in a small Shenandoah Valley town with an unblinking eye. Their data was shared and searched around the country millions of times.

Trump policies threaten Virginia’s clean energy gains

September 10, 2025 Guest User

Greg Meade, who directs TNC’s overarching Cumberland Forest Project, visits the Knott Hollow site in Dickenson County, Virginia, last December. TerraForm Power has the solar lease option, but the development timeline is uncertain because of permitting issues. *Photo by Elizabeth McGowan // VCIJ*

The state’s milestone Clean Economy Act spurred impressive growth in renewable power. Now, that future is at risk.

ICE arrests in Virginia soar under Trump crackdowns

September 8, 2025 Kunle Falayi

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement assisted by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, apprehended three illegally present aliens during a routine enforcement operation in Arlington, Feb. 11, 2025. *Source// US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.*

The Trump administration's enforcement has targeted thousands of foreign nationals - most from Central and South America and without criminal records.

In Virginia’s coalfields, renewable projects hit a new roadblock – Trump

September 3, 2025 Guest User

The Nature Conservancy is partnering with Charlottesville-based TerraForm Power to build a 10-megawatt solar array on a reclaimed surface mine near Pound in Wise County, Va. Wildcats Solar, scheduled to go online within two years, would be the first solar project to rise on TNC’s 253,000-acre, tri-state Cumberland Forest Project.

Renewable energy developers planned dozens of projects on property owned by The Nature Conservancy. Then President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1, upending an unprecedented effort to revitalize Appalachia.