Vigilant Solutions (Motorola Solutions) — License Plate Reader Network for ICE
Vigilant Solutions operates the largest commercial automated license plate reader (ALPR) network and database in the United States. The company was acquired by Motorola Solutions in January 2019 (through VaaS International Holdings). ICE accesses Vigilant’s ALPR database to track vehicles associated with enforcement targets.
How the ALPR Network Works
Vigilant’s database aggregates billions of license plate location records from two sources:
- Commercial ALPR cameras – mounted on repo vehicles, parking enforcement vehicles, and toll systems that constantly scan and record license plates with location and timestamp
- Law enforcement ALPR cameras – participating police agencies share their plate reader data into Vigilant’s database
When ICE queries a plate, the system returns every time and location that plate has been scanned – effectively reconstructing a vehicle’s movement history without a warrant.
ICE Contracts
- ICE holds a $22.8 million contract for access to the license plate reader database, running through 2026
- In 2025, ICE issued a purchase order to Motorola Solutions for four mobile license plate reader units (~$95,500) to support Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) – indicating ICE is deploying its own ALPR hardware, not just accessing the shared database
Integration with Other Systems
License plate reader data from Vigilant feeds into Palantir’s systems and is also accessible through Thomson Reuters CLEAR, creating multiple pathways for ICE to query vehicle location data.
Scope of Surveillance
The ALPR database scans and stores plate reads from vehicles regardless of whether they are associated with any investigation. The system captures billions of records annually from everyday driving – toll roads, parking lots, neighborhood streets – creating a mass surveillance database of vehicle movements across the country.