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Emigration and immigration

Trump's Tax Bill Fuels Vast Expansion of Surveillance on US-Mexico Border

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

As part of the recent tax bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will receive a significant injection of $165bn in additional funding over the next four years. A report by Just Futures Law reveals that $6bn of this spending will be allocated to border technology, including surveillance, marking a substantial expansion of the US government's efforts to monitor and control the US-Mexico border.

Key Takeaways:

  • The OBBA provides $165bn in additional funding to the DHS over four years, with $6bn allocated for border technology, including surveillance.
  • Firms such as Palantir, Anduril, and Clearview AI are set to benefit from the increased funding, with Palantir's contract to build the ImmigrationOS platform expected to see a significant boost.
  • Biometric systems, border surveillance towers, and social media surveillance are all receiving increased funding, with the CBP seeking $140m for the construction of more than 200 new surveillance towers along the border.
  • The expansion of surveillance on the US-Mexico border is part of a broader effort to monitor and control the border, with issues of civil liberties and privacy concerns raised by experts.
  • The funding is set to benefit private prison corporations such as the GEO Group and Core Civic, as well as surveillance firms like Palantir and Anduril.

Statistics:

  • $165bn: The total amount of additional funding provided to the DHS over four years through the OBBA.
  • $6bn: The amount allocated for border technology, including surveillance, as part of the OBBA.
  • $673m: The amount allocated for biometric systems, including facial recognition and biometric data collection.
  • $140m: The amount requested by CBP for the construction of more than 200 new surveillance towers along the border.
  • 900: The total number of surveillance towers expected to be up by September 2026.
  • $36.7m: The total value of contracts awarded by CBP to Sentrillion since the start of 2024 for facial recognition services.
  • $1.2m: The value of the contract awarded by CBP to Fivecast Onyx for social media surveillance software.

Sources:

  • Just Futures Law report, 2024
  • PBAAA: One Big Beautiful Bill Act
  • US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Palantir
  • Anduril
  • Clearview AI
  • The GEO Group
  • Core Civic
  • Sentrillion
  • Fivecast Onyx

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