Bloomington has always prided itself on being a welcoming, thoughtful community — one that values safety and civil liberties. That’s why hundreds of residents gathered outside City Hall in the snow, asking our city to reconsider its contract with Flock Safety and the surveillance system it brings into our neighborhoods.

Flock’s automated license plate readers don’t just capture license plates. They can identify vehicles by color, stickers, or even objects in the truck bed. Once that data exists, it doesn’t stay local. It becomes part of a nationwide network that thousands of agencies can search, often with vague justifications like “suspect.” Even when local departments act in good faith, the system itself creates pathways for misuse.

Bloomington officials have said the city does not work with ICE, and Flock says it does not share data directly with federal immigration agencies. But indirect access remains possible when other agencies that do cooperate with ICE are part of the same network. This is not hypothetical — it has already happened in other states. For immigrant families in Bloomington, that risk alone is enough to create fear, silence, and harm.

Public safety should never come at the cost of community trust. Surveillance that makes neighbors afraid to drive to work, attend school events, or seek help from police ultimately makes everyone less safe. Tools that cannot be meaningfully controlled once data leaves local hands are incompatible with Bloomington’s values.

We call on Mayor Kerry Thomson and the Bloomington City Council to take a clear stand: end the City of Bloomington’s contract with Flock Safety and commit to public safety strategies that do not expose residents to mass surveillance or potential immigration enforcement.

Bloomington can choose safety and dignity. We can protect residents from violence without building systems that can be weaponized against our own community members.