Mexico-US Border: A Tale of Two States

After the ‘build the wall’ years of the Trump administration, the US is now coming to terms with the fact that it’s not only people but also goods and services that want to cross the Mexico-US border: as these two examples from Texas and Arizona demonstrate.

In Texas, the government is guarding the potential border crossing routes with solar-powered ‘autonomous surveillance towers’ that use thermal imaging, cameras and radar to feed an artificial intelligence system that can determine whether a moving object is an animal, vehicle or person, and beam its location coordinates to US Border Patrol agents.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has deployed about 175 of the towers along the southern border so far, part of a five-year deal with Anduril, a California-based security and defence contractor specialising in artificial intelligence systems. CBP officials say the Anduril system is the most advanced surveillance technology they have ever placed along the border, calling it a ‘force multiplier’ that allows the agency to detect and intercept more illegal entries without increased staffing.

The system – which employs machine learning to improve its ability to differentiate between, say, a truck or a person – is not without its critics.

Dinesh McCoy, a staff attorney with Just Futures Law, which tracks CBP technology programs, said the towers are ‘part of a larger militarisation of the border’.

‘There’s been a lot of talk about how surveillance is a more humane alternative to a wall, but what we know is that when these technologies are placed on the border, they end up forcing people to take even more dangerous routes through the desert,’ McCoy said. ‘There is an increased correlation between this technology and more deaths, as desperate people try to find ways into the country.’

Two states to the west of Texas, Arizona has a very different border story to tell. The emphasis here is not on preventing illegal immigration but in job creation and trade development.

The US General Services Administration has announced it will receive $3.4 billion to modernise ports of entry at the nation’s northern and southern borders and, of this, more than $500 million in improvements are coming to at least three US ports of entry in Arizona.

The San Luis I Port of Entry, the busiest in the state for non-commercial traffic, will receive more than $115 million to complete phase 2 of the ongoing expansion work. More than $200 million will go into the construction of a new port of entry in Douglas while the current port, Raul Hector Castro Port, will be modernised and expanded at a similar cost.

The improvements will upgrade border security, as several ports of entry will be equipped with high-end technology to counter trafficking efforts.

Infrastructure improvements are also critical for international trade and cross- border economies, with an economic assessment finding that the project could create 20 sustainable jobs and add an additional $20 million per year to the Douglas economy alone.

US CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said this is a ‘once-in-a- generation investment’ that not only will enhance the agency’s security mission and officers’ ability to screen vehicles and individuals but will also ‘facilitate the economic development and growth in the border communities.’