Essential Insights
- The US border surveillance system, known as the “virtual wall,” is flawed, with broken towers and AI failures allowing people to go undetected, leading to deaths that often go unnoticed for weeks or months.
- There has never been a comprehensive government audit of migrant deaths near surveillance towers, despite evidence suggesting many such deaths are unreported or untracked.
- CBP’s efforts to track and assess the effectiveness of surveillance technology and apprehensions are inconsistent, unreliable, and lacking in public transparency, hindering understanding of the virtual wall’s performance.
- Investigating migrant deaths as potential surveillance failures—by checking if they occurred within sight of towers and analyzing whether the system responded—is crucial for exposing flaws and preventing future tragedies.
Perform a Thorough Audit of Deaths and Surveillance Effectiveness
To begin, the US government needs to run a complete audit of deaths near the virtual wall. This will help identify where failures happen most often. Currently, there is no detailed map of all surveillance towers and their status. Without this, it’s hard to understand the bigger picture. A proper audit would track when towers were installed and if they worked well. It would also give a clear count of deaths linked to surveillance gaps. This step is crucial because it can find hidden issues and improve response strategies.
Improve Tracking of Migrant Deaths and System Responses
Next, the agency must fix how it records migrant deaths and responses. Right now, there is no single system gathering all data across agencies. This makes it difficult to get a complete count or learn from past failures. Border Patrol has an internal system, but it often misses cases, especially when bodies aren’t found right away. Establishing a unified and transparent approach will help track deaths better. It will also show whether surveillance technology is truly saving lives or missing people.
Use Technology to Investigate Each Death and Enhance Response
Finally, every new death should be examined to see if the virtual wall played a role. If a person died within sight of a surveillance tower, CBP should check whether the technology detected them and whether agents responded. Currently, there is no consistent process for this. Introducing automatic assessments for each incident can reveal whether cameras or algorithms failed. Preserving footage for these cases can help families and investigators understand what happened. These efforts will improve accountability and make the virtual wall more effective.
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