San Diego's "virtual border wall"
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Rancher Albert Miller walks by an autonomous surveillance tower near his property in Valentine, Texas. Photo: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The U.S. government is building a "virtual border wall" of hundreds of surveillance towers — some using artificial intelligence — to reduce drug smuggling and unauthorized migration, as Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
Why it matters: A record number of people have entered the U.S. through the southern border this year, resulting in multiple crises and exacerbating U.S. Customs and Border Protection staffing shortages. But the new surveillance technology is giving rise to civil liberties concerns, digital watchdogs say.
Details: Although there have been surveillance towers at the border for several years, CBP says the new autonomous towers better detect abnormal activity.
- The U.S. has installed about 300 surveillance towers of different types from the California coast to the tip of Texas, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that monitors civil liberties in the digital world.
- The nonprofit mapped the surveillance towers along the border in remote and highly populated areas.
Zoom in: San Diego County is home to nearly 50 surveillance towers along the border, from Friendship Park to the Jacumba Hot Springs area.
- CBP has another autonomous surveillance tower near Del Mar Dog Beach.
Zoom out: CBP officials have praised the technology as an asset, and it's garnered bipartisan support.
How they work: Autonomous surveillance towers use 360-degree pan radars and sensors to scan for miles.
- Vendors say the towers' AI software distinguishes people from animals, and towers can be programmed not to surveil certain areas, like homes on private ranches.
Between the lines: Six years ago, the U.S. Government Accountability Office faulted the Border Patrol's surveillance tech for data quality and effectiveness.
What they're saying: "They are better than a wall or just having officers patrolling on horseback," Jorge Guajardo, a partner at Dentons Global Advisors, tells Axios.
Yes, but: It's unclear if the surveillance towers close to the border are monitoring people in Mexico, Dave Maass, Electronic Frontier Foundation's director of investigations, tells Axios.
- "How often are they just looking at people who live there or go hiking out there?"
What to watch: CBP officials say more towers are coming.