Link: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/explosion-surveillance-towers-coming-us-borders-costing-over-1-billion

A new report from the Government Accounting Office reveals that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to nearly triple the number of surveillance towers along U.S. borders, from the current 830 to 2,300 by 2034.

DHS expects to expend $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for this dangerous expansion of a surveillance network indiscriminately trained on towns, school playgrounds, backyards, and vehicles—threatening the privacy and civil liberties of everyone in the border regions.

Well, TBF: after Trump has made the entire world hate Americans, revealed how weak we are with his failing attempt to distract from the Epstein files via a war on Iran, and killed enough immigrants to encourage some of their loved ones to seek revenge... Well, yeah, we're gonna need to watch our asses.

And here I thought the concept of turning Manhattan into a giant prison (see Escape from New York) was absurd. Give Trump credit for managing to turn the entire country into one.

These aren't to keep an eye on people sneaking in, they're to catch people escaping out.

I wonder what a shotgun loaded with birdshot would do to one of these million dollar pieces of equipment.

Put a tin foil hat on it and see how well it works.

I wish the word explosion in that title was literal 💥🤭

Ooo free solar panels

Claim solar panels we are already paid for

Their magazine on the subject is quite fascinating. Especially the ALPRs disguised as traffic cones (page 33), and trail cameras in trees, surroundings, trash, and even signs and posts (page 35 and 36) are as interesting as they are creepy...

Every time someone says »it’s just the border,« the surveillance footprint quietly grows. Infrastructure built for one purpose has a remarkable habit of finding new ones. A billion dollars buys a lot of cameras, and history suggests the mission rarely stays as narrow as the sales pitch. 🤨

"The border" is the 200-miles zone?

Edit: 100 miles.

According to Mother Jones and a bunch of other sources you can find, 60% of Americans live within a 100-mile border zone. That includes 37 states covered partially. 10 states have 100% of their population covered!

If 200 miles, IDK, but gotta be waaaay more than 60%.