Border Patrol is operating secretive predictive policing units called Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams (PITT) that analyze Americans’ financial activity and share that intelligence with local police to direct traffic stops, according to an investigation by 404 Media.
The units have been identified in at least two sectors: the Spokane Sector in Washington, which covers the U.S.-Canada border, and the Laredo Sector in Texas, which covers the U.S.-Mexico border. According to 404 Media’s reporting, Border Patrol analyzes data from “law enforcement-sensitive databases” to identify potential targets, then shares that analysis with local law enforcement who conduct stops based on other pretexts.
In one documented case, Border Patrol Agent Matthew Phelps, assigned to the Spokane Sector PITT, reviewed what he described as “information contained within law enforcement-sensitive systems suggesting financial activity patterns commonly associated with illicit narcotics activity” for driver Kyle William Olson. Phelps shared this intelligence with Montana Highway Patrol Sergeant James Beck, who then pulled Olson over for an obstructed license plate. Olson was subsequently charged with a DUI and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
According to police reports and bodycam footage reviewed by 404 Media, Beck told Olson the license plate obstruction was “our reason for stopping you,” though the DHS document later revealed the stop was based on Border Patrol’s financial analysis.
Customs and Border Protection declined to specify what financial data it monitors or whether it obtained warrants. A CBP spokesperson said in an email that “U.S. Border Patrol uses intelligence-informed analysis and planning to support national security operations” and that efforts are “conducted consistent with applicable law, policy, privacy protections, and oversight requirements.” The agency cited operational security concerns when declining to discuss specific analytical methods or data sources.
Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the Security and Surveillance Project at the Center For Democracy & Technology, told 404 Media that “genuine probable cause cannot be synthetically generated” and that Border Patrol appears to be “using parallel construction to cloak the reason behind its car stops in secrecy.”
The finding builds on an Associated Press investigation from the previous year that found Border Patrol was using automatic license plate readers as part of the same predictive policing program. Another case involved driver Alek Schott, pulled over in 2022 on Interstate 35 by a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy; authorities found nothing after searching his vehicle. Documents in that case revealed a law enforcement patch reading “Laredo Sector Tech Ops PITT,” indicating a predictive policing unit in that sector as well.
Border Patrol operates 20 sectors according to CBP’s website. CBP declined to answer whether other sectors also operate Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams.
Key facts
- Border Patrol runs Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams (PITT) in at least two sectors that analyze Americans’ financial activity
- The units share intelligence with local police who then conduct traffic stops based on minor traffic violations as pretexts
- In one case, Border Patrol’s financial analysis of driver Kyle Olson led to a traffic stop for an obstructed license plate, resulting in DUI and drug possession charges
- CBP declined to specify what financial data it monitors or whether warrants are obtained
- Border Patrol operates 20 sectors; CBP would not confirm if other sectors have similar units