On May 11th, I was with a group of people under the Paso del Norte Bridge in Cidad Juarez, Mexico. While attending the 16th Annual Border Security Expo, I suddenly realized that it wasn't enough to cross the bridge to get back to El Paso, Texas. To make matters worse, three hours before Section 42 expired, the Trump administration accelerated the pandemic immigration policy. The media went into a frenzy over it, creating doomsday scenarios like the New York Post's claim that "troops" were moving toward the border.
As I was looking for these coins, a woman came up to me and pulled out 35 coins from her small purse, that's the price. - And he gave the rest to me. He did that to the rest of our team. When I took a 20 peso bill out of my wallet to pay him, he gripped her hand tightly and refused to take the money.
I've lived, written, and traveled in Latin America for more than two decades, and while what's happening on that historic border is in many ways at odds with the hype it creates, I'm not entirely surprised by this kind of generosity. the moment After Joe Biden takes office in 2021, pressure on the administration to repeal Section 42 has intensified. Now it was finally going to happen, and hell was on the horizon.
But at an El Paso trade show that brought together top executives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Border and Immigration Services and private enterprise, I learned that such a change has been in the works for years, and don't… surprise! - It is expected that the operating companies will get high profits.
Viewing the end of episode 42 through the lens of a growing advanced industrial complex is instructive. Border Patrol and industry officials continue to insist that there is a world of "cartels," "dissidents" and "criminals" across the border, which is definitely the woman who made me change. I have heard many warnings that if the United States relaxes its guard, even briefly, a domestic "border rush" will ensue.
But later, when I stood in this exhibition hall, I realized that there is another type of surgery that was not discussed there and in the media. And I don't just mean the additional National Guard members and other forces that the Biden administration and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have sent to the same border. Increased budgets and increased contracts with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ISA) ensure that these border regions remain among the most heavily militarized and policed areas. Places on the planet Earth.
Robo-dogs at the exhibition This morning I found myself at the Ghost Robotics booth. There sat a salesman, and across from him was a chrome robotic dog on a nauseating green carpet. Behind it, a large sign reads, "Robots that know the world." He explained to his clients that the robot dog can run at a speed of up to nine kilometers per hour. Persistent Systems, which says it's about "connecting soldiers, sensors, unmanned systems and cameras into a dynamic network," said a vendor at a nearby booth wasn't impressed. (By the way, there were only two companies out of about 200 in this huge exhibition hall.) When he says, "I'll take my dog anytime," he means a living, breathing dog.
The host of Ghost Robotics answered passionately. "We don't change dogs."
All around us, well-dressed businessmen, uniformed Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement officers roamed the streets, looking at the portable tweezers, Tasers, Glock pistols and facial and iris scanners that are part of the border industry. Two decades of prosperity..
In fact, walking through this showroom was like stepping into life in a science fiction novel or our future frontier in a crystal ball. A banner for Israel Aerospace Industries floats from the roof, hailing the company as "a place where courage meets technology." On the ground, the company demonstrated a powerful Megapop surveillance camera.
The motto of Tower Solutions, a company that sells bulletproof vests, was on the ground (or I mean GD): "Speed, Power, Stability, High." Armored Republic, which sells body armor, displayed its religious sentiments by displaying a banner reading "There is no king in the Republic but Christ." But the border's new darling Anduril, with 11 CBP contracts starting in 2018, may not exactly anchor the future of law enforcement with its tagline of "border security autonomy." Autonomous watchtowers, autonomous drones, and autonomous robot dogs were supposed to be post-Title 42 modern day, and the showroom was a crystal ball for this time.
Reflecting on the reaction of the ghostly robot-man, the permanent systems salesman pointed to his robot dog and said:
The seller, Ghost Robotics, replied: "We already do." Is he referring to robot dog weaponry or an explosion of human personality? I had no idea.
Budget growth Hours earlier, DHS Director General Eric Hayson confirmed to industry officials that the agency has "the largest overall budget in its 20-year history." A former Silicon Valley software engineer and Google program manager, he came to Washington in 2014 to work in the Obama White House. The following year, he created a digital services team at DHS and has "never looked back." There was no TPLF boasting or exaggeration in its technocratic language. He addressed social justice based on numbers and budgets (including mentioning a plan to hire more women and assurances that privacy issues will be taken very seriously no matter what invasive surveillance technology DHS develops).
The $2.98 billion portion of the DHS budget from CBP/ICA was not only the highest in surveillance history, but also a $3 billion jump from 2022, including $2.7 billion for new "along the southwest border" for achievements. In other words, the quick move abroad was a clear budget.
For context, when Donald Trump took office in 2017, the CBP/ICE budget was $21.2 billion. It will grow to $25.4 billion by 2020. In other words, it took the Biden administration four years to accomplish what it did in one year. The most recent such jump was from $9.4 billion in 2005 to $12.4 billion in 2007 as part of the Secure Fence Act, which built nearly 650 miles of walls and barriers, including funding for major projects like SBInet, which the goal is to build a virtual wall along. border (special thanks to the Boeing Corporation), as well as the Border Patrol's largest hiring wave ever, 8,000 officers over three years.
But if that means $3 billion between 2005 and 2007, what does it mean in 2023 and beyond? So the "big beautiful wall" of the Trump era is gone. Hayson focused on the Department of Homeland Security, which created an artificial intelligence task force. Technocrat Hyson spoke to an industry audience about harnessing "the power of AI to transform the department's mission," telling the industry audience: The first smartphones.
This robot dog in front of me perfectly illustrates the edge state of 2023 and the trends associated with it. After all, according to the seller, it can be controlled by an agent up to 33 miles away and even make decisions on its own thanks to AI. Thank you.
The seller showed me a video of how well such a dog works when attached. It uses artificial intelligence technology to detect images of people. A red circle appeared on the screen of the tablet the officer was holding. I mean, I asked him if a dog can think.
I remembered how the chat box of Bing, Microsoft's AI-powered search engine, confessed its love to New York Times reporter Kevin Russ. The salesperson told me that someone using a controller like an Xbox could target a human within range of the dog. "But," he assured, "in the end, it's the person who pulls the trigger."
Title 42 raise In Mexico, on my way to where the Rio Grande River flows between the two countries, I encountered a small number of refugees camped by the side of the road. They light a fire next to them and fill it with burnt wood and cook it on a pan. A pregnant Colombian woman told me that they were feeding other migrants who were passing through. "Ah," I said, "so you sell food?" No, he answered, they released him. They had previously camped for months near the Ciudad Juárez refugee detention center, where a massive fire killed 40 people in March. Here they come to the border. And they were still waiting, hoping that they would ask for asylum.
Behind them I saw a 20 foot boundary wall with a rope wrapped around the top. A heavily militarized border was nothing new. After all, El Paso's construction began 30 years ago in 1993 with Operation Hold the Line. Humvee in Desert Cam sits under a wall on the US side, while several figures (Border Patrol?, National Guard?) stand in front of the wall. The edge of the Rio Grande screams at the Mexican Federal Police on the other bank.
Armageddon, also known as Section 42, was running out of time as I crossed the bridge and headed for El Paso. There were also several blue-uniformed CBP officers and several jeeps carrying Border Patrol agents in camouflage uniforms. They were all well armed as they prepared to go into battle.
At the Border Security Expo, Heizen noted that fear of the Section 42 storm has led to a stronger border, which is hard to imagine. The 2,500 troops already present were joined by 1,500 National Guardsmen, as well as another 2,000 private security personnel and more than 1,000 volunteers from other agencies. In fact, he said, they kept everything under control, regardless of the media.
In another "Border State" headline, Border Patrol agent Raul Ortiz joked that he wanted to discuss his golf game, only to confirm it because "like any other American, political pundits and reporters run when we bring up the subject. " 42 Will the sky fall or not? We treat people the way we always have in my 32-year career.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the mandate for Section 8, the Section 42 enforcement program that is now returning, "has significant consequences for illegal immigration, including entry bans for at least five years and possible criminal prosecution." Repeat offenders. Illegal logging attempt. The Biden administration also plans to aggressively expand the process, including implementing a plan to beef up law enforcement in the Darien Pass, south of the border between Colombia and Panama. US troops may also be stationed there to do the job. And oft note. At the event, US officials signaled the need for help, particularly from the business world.
Biden distracts Trump. Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security 20 years ago, CBP has awarded 113,276 contracts to private companies (yes, you read that right), an average of 5,664 contracts per year, 16 per day. In the 15 years since 2008, the amount spent on these contracts amounted to 72.6 billion dollars, and these numbers have only increased since Joe Biden entered the White House.
The 4,465 contracts awarded by CBP and ICE this year (worth $4.1 billion) beat the 2022 record of $7.5 billion. That means the Biden administration could become the largest contractor for border security.
Recently , New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman suggested that President Biden "get out of Trump" and do everything possible to secure the border like never before;
The president has received three times more campaign donations than Trump in 2020 from high-profile companies focused on technology rather than building a wall (not surprisingly) since his first days in office. And unlike the previous president's Section 42, it won't end the politics of contracts, campaign contributions and lobbying that continue to add to the border budget. no way.
On everything and nothing On the morning of May 12, I was with Border Patrol Agent Gabriela Sanchez near El Paso, where the Texas, New Mexico, and Chihuahua borders meet. Title 42 expired last night and I asked him what he had. He replied that the borders are normal. they regularly tell us that something big and possibly terrible is going to happen, and then nothing happens.
And he was right, the "flow" of migrants crossing the border has indeed slowed, and yet somehow things continue to look more dire. In fact, about 100 meters from where we were standing, we saw a man cross the international border alone into the United States for his morning walk. Thirty seconds later, a car drove by on the gravel. For a moment I thought that it was a coincidence that it was not an official border guard car.
Then I noticed an icon with the American and Mexican flags next to it. The car braked next to the man. A rotund figure in a gray uniform jumped up and ran towards him as he raised his hand. At that moment, the Border Guard van stopped on the green line. I was surprised, though I shouldn't have been after this revelation of border security, to learn that the first arrest came from a security company, a private security company. (Remember Hayson said an additional 2,000 private security guards were hired for "the operation").
Honestly, this scene couldn't be more down to earth. You can see him on any May 12th in those years. This limitation, incidentally, includes the constant violence that is an integral part of the modern border system, argues geographer Rhys Jones in his book Violent Borders. refugees and the right to resettlement . Days after Title 42 was repealed, an 8-year-old Honduran girl died in Border Patrol custody and a Tahona O'Adham man was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent. In April, the remains of 11 frontiersmen were found alone in the desert of Pima County, Arizona (where you can't take enough water with you for this long crossing).
After Donald Trump, everything has officially changed at the border, but nothing has changed in reality. Although everything happens, nothing surprising happens. And as Hayson said at this Frontier Expo, while the 2023 Frontier's record budget is big, it could go "even further" into the stratosphere in 2024.
In other words, at the border we are forever on the edge of everything, and nothing.
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