CBP Has Improved Southwest Border Technology, but Significant Challenges Remain

In response to Executive Order 13767, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has implemented an array of new tools and technologies that have enhanced Border Patrol’s surveillance capabilities and efficiency along the southwest border. However, these upgrades are incomplete as CBP has deployed about 28 percent of the surveillance and subterranean technology solutions planned, even after receiving more than $700 million in funding since fiscal year 2017. Shifting priorities, construction delays, a lack of available technology solutions, and funding constraints hindered CBP’s planned deployments. Consequently, most southwest Border Patrol sectors still rely predominantly on obsolete systems and infrastructure with limited capabilities.