They aren’t just upset over rounding up illegal alien criminals, they’re also upset that all that government money isn’t coming their way so they can skim it off
Companies are making big bucks from immigration crackdowns
The exhibition hall of the annual Border Security Expo (BSE), held this month in Phoenix, Arizona, looked more like the set of a dystopian science-fiction film. Surveillance towers flashed brightly. Drones buzzed overhead. One company demonstrated a robotic dog designed to patrol borders. Another showed off a thermal camera that can detect movement kilometres away. On stage Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s “border czar”, praised the technology firms in attendance for helping to build “the most secure border in history”.
As the bustling trade fair demonstrated, the business of immigration enforcement is booming. Right-wing populists—and incumbents seeking to fend them off—are spending more on monitoring borders, tracking down those who have entered the country illegally, then detaining and deporting them. In America, Congress has approved roughly $170bn in cumulative additional funding for immigration enforcement until 2029. Even the European Union is ratcheting up spending. That is benefiting not only incumbent outsourcers, but also a wave of startups hoping to bring new technologies to the industry.
Border control is an area of particular interest for newcomers. Much of that business has tended to flow to large defence contractors and established security firms. Yet agencies across America and Europe have been simplifying procurement rules and running pilot programmes to allow new products to be tested and deployed more quickly, luring in startups.
As a result, what was once a labour-intensive system of patrol agents, radios and vehicles is turning into a digital-surveillance network. Governments increasingly rely on drones, radars, heat-detecting cameras and the like to monitor vast swathes of territory in real time. Such technologies reduce risks for agents and free them up for higher-value work, according to Steven Willoughby, an official at America’s Department of Homeland Security. Instead of relying on agents scouring remote terrain, authorities can now monitor deserts and coastlines from centralised command centres.
Well, awesome sauce! But, the one thing I would say is that I hope people are keeping an eye on the money and how it is being spent. And can’t rail about waste, graft, and fraud for all those Democrats and not worry about it for this. Any, let’s see, misspending by government is bad.
Much of the new tech being used at borders was originally developed for warfare. Anduril, a drone-maker that recently raised $5bn at a $61bn valuation, has a $363m contract with the US Border Patrol for autonomous surveillance systems. Shield AI, a rival, has won a $198m contract with the US Coast Guard, and is also deploying its drones on European borders. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the controversial agency that tracks down illegal immigrants already in America, has come to rely on software provided by Palantir, a data-analytics firm embedded in the Pentagon.
We need to do all this stuff because of things like this
Brookline Police decline ICE detainer for illegal immigrant tied to ‘safety concern’
The Brookline Police Department said it followed department policy in declining to cooperate with ICE after arresting an illegal immigrant later involved in a “public safety concern” during his apprehension by federal agents.
Chief Jennifer Paster in a Friday letter informed residents that local police arrested illegal immigrant Edual Ulloa, 25, on Tuesday following a traffic stop. He was charged with possession of a forged license plate, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, failure to stop for police, traffic offenses, and an outstanding warrant out of Natick District Court.
“The individual was processed through the normal criminal justice process and later released on bail,” Paster wrote.
“Prior to the individual’s release, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents provided the Brookline Police Department with an immigration detainer. In compliance with Brookline Police policy the individual was advised of the notice and a copy was placed into his property,” Paster continued in the letter posted to the department’s Facebook page.
All that and they still wouldn’t give him up to ICE. And then they wonder why they get surges into their towns.
Read: Huh: Democrats Upset Over Companies Making Money Off Stopping Illegal Immigration »
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