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Surveillance technology used by various law enforcement sit on a tower at the border wall, July 28, 2025, in Douglas, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
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Army soldiers look at the border wall next to a surveillance vehicle during the visit to the U.S. and Mexico border by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Sunland Park, N.M., Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
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Concertina wire lines the interior of a border wall separating Tijuana, Mexico, from the United States, June 4, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
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Migrants walk past large buoys being used as a floating border barrier on the Rio Grande, Aug. 1, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
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Surveillance technology used by various law enforcement sit on a tower at the border wall, July 28, 2025, in Douglas, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
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Surveillance technology used by various law enforcement sit on a tower at the border wall, July 28, 2025, in Douglas, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
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2 of 4 |
Army soldiers look at the border wall next to a surveillance vehicle during the visit to the U.S. and Mexico border by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Sunland Park, N.M., Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
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2 of 4
Army soldiers look at the border wall next to a surveillance vehicle during the visit to the U.S. and Mexico border by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Sunland Park, N.M., Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
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Concertina wire lines the interior of a border wall separating Tijuana, Mexico, from the United States, June 4, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
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3 of 4
Concertina wire lines the interior of a border wall separating Tijuana, Mexico, from the United States, June 4, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
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Migrants walk past large buoys being used as a floating border barrier on the Rio Grande, Aug. 1, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
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Migrants walk past large buoys being used as a floating border barrier on the Rio Grande, Aug. 1, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
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For decades, all that separated the U.S. from Mexico was barbed wire.
Now, after a massive infusion of cash from Congress, Trump’s administration is swiftly building what it’s dubbed a “smart wall,” a combination of 30-foot-tall (9-meter-tall) steel fencing and an array of sophisticated technology like sensors, cameras and towers allowing Border Patrol to surveil the territory.
The wall is under heavy scrutiny for the billions of dollars being dedicated to it when border crossings are at their lowest in decades. Critics say the U.S. is militarizing the border as it increasingly deploys sophisticated surveillance technology to the area, impacting local communities.
“We are seeing a massive expansion of surveillance and surveillance technology across the borderlands,” said Ricky Garza, border policy counsel at the Southern Border Communities Coalition, an advocacy group. “The wall in all its forms is harmful to communities.”
Officials say the technology is complementary to the physical wall and frees up agents for other tasks.
“It’s a smart wall. It’s not just a barrier,” Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said during recent congressional testimony.