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Elgin Community College asked Flock Safety to remove six license plate reader cameras after concerns about immigration enforcement and student safety, but the company did not take them down until the contract expired in April 2026. The college said it found no evidence that federal immigration agents had accessed its own camera data; records show immigration-related searches of Flock data at other Illinois campuses.
Elgin Community College says Flock Safety would not remove six license plate reader cameras after the college asked to end their use over concerns about immigrant students’ safety. The cameras came down when the contract expired in April 2026, months after the college’s requests, according to an Open Campus report published Oct. 9.
College President Peggy Heinrich said Elgin asked Flock to cancel the agreement and remove the cameras in October 2025. Within a day, Flock rejected the request, saying it had not breached the contract, Heinrich told Open Campus. In December, the college offered to pay the remaining five months of the agreement if the equipment was removed. Heinrich said the college received no response.
Heinrich said college staff then covered the cameras with black trash bags and zip ties to prevent them from collecting footage. Workers in an unmarked vehicle repeatedly removed the coverings, she said. The back-and-forth continued until the contract expired in April, when Flock removed the cameras. Open Campus reported that Flock did not respond to WBEZ’s request for comment.
The college’s decision followed reports that Flock data in Illinois had been shared with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the September 2025 detention of an Elgin student by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a campus parking lot. Heinrich said the college audited its own data and found no evidence federal immigration agents had accessed it. She said officials sought removal “out of an abundance of caution for our students.”
Campus Cameras and Student Safety
The dispute puts a practical question before colleges using automated license plate readers: can an institution end surveillance that it no longer considers appropriate, and how quickly can the vendor remove the equipment? At Elgin, the college’s stated safety concerns did not lead to immediate removal; the cameras remained until the contract ran its course.
The issue carries particular weight for students who fear that vehicle data could expose their movements or draw unwanted attention from immigration authorities. More than half of Elgin Community College students identify as Latino, according to the report. Heinrich said enrollment dipped after the campus detention and students were afraid to attend class. Those statements describe the college’s experience; the report does not quantify the enrollment change or establish that the cameras caused it.
The dispute also concerns public accountability. If camera data can be searched across a network, a campus’s decision to install equipment may have implications beyond its property. The report’s account shows why colleges and students are asking who can access collected data, under what rules, and what remedies exist when a school seeks to end a contract.
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Illinois Campuses Using Flock
Elgin installed its six Flock cameras in April 2025. The automatic license plate readers use artificial intelligence to record vehicle registration information and features such as a car’s model, dents and bumper stickers. The college originally expected the equipment to help locate stolen vehicles and missing people, Heinrich said.
Public records obtained by surveillance researcher Torin Monahan and WBEZ showed that data from Flock cameras at other Illinois public campuses—including Joliet Junior College, the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign—was searched dozens of times in 2025 in connection with immigration enforcement. In some cases, federal immigration authorities directly accessed college data. The Illinois secretary of state also found that CBP searched Illinois Flock data in violation of state law, according to Open Campus.
The report said Flock cameras remained at five of Illinois’ 12 public universities and four community colleges. At Joliet Junior College, students pass at least one of seven cameras on the way to the main campus. Student Lui Rodriguez, who is Latino, told Open Campus he was shocked to learn of the contract and federal access to campus camera data. The report also noted that about one-third of Joliet students identify as Latino.
“We’re just doing everything we can here to be sure this feels like a safe place for our students to come. We want them to come here and to be able to focus on learning.”
— Peggy Heinrich, president of Elgin Community College
automated license plate recognition system
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Questions About Data Access
It remains unclear exactly how many times immigration authorities searched data from each Illinois campus, what information was returned in those searches, or whether those searches led to action involving students. The report says records show searches connected with immigration enforcement and direct federal access in some cases, but it does not provide a complete account of each search.
For Elgin specifically, Heinrich said an internal audit found no evidence of federal access. The report does not describe the audit’s methods or provide independent confirmation of its scope. It also does not establish that the cameras played any role in the ICE detention of the student at the campus parking lot.
Flock’s reasoning for declining or not answering the college’s requests is known only through Heinrich’s account and the company’s reported initial response that it had not breached the contract. Flock did not respond to WBEZ’s request for comment, according to Open Campus. The article does not detail the contract terms, including the provisions governing early cancellation, equipment ownership or removal.
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Pressure on Other Colleges
The Elgin cameras are down, but the broader dispute continues at Illinois colleges where Flock equipment remains installed. Students and educators are calling on campus leaders to end contracts, while colleges face questions about data access, contract limits and how to respond to concerns from students.
The next developments will depend on whether other institutions review their agreements or request removal, and whether they disclose audits or records about searches of campus data. The report does not identify a specific deadline for action by those colleges or a new statewide policy. Flock’s response to questions about Elgin’s removal dispute also remains outstanding in the source material.
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Key Questions
Why did Elgin Community College want the cameras removed?
The college cited concerns that surveillance could undermine student safety, particularly after reports of Flock data being shared with federal immigration authorities and the September 2025 detention of a student on campus.
Did federal immigration agents access Elgin’s camera data?
Heinrich said the college audited its data and found no evidence that federal immigration agents accessed it. The report does not detail the audit’s methods or independently verify its scope.
When were Elgin’s cameras taken down?
Flock removed the six cameras in April 2026, when the college’s contract expired, according to the Open Campus report.
Are Flock cameras still used at other Illinois colleges?
Yes. The report said cameras remained at five of the state’s 12 public universities and four community colleges, including Joliet Junior College, the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
What is not yet known about the dispute?
The contract’s detailed removal terms, the full scope of searches involving other campuses, and Flock’s response to Elgin’s later requests are not established in the available report.
Source: fediverse
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