Reporter’s Notebook: Observations and Photos from the Border Security Expo
DHS secretary Kristi Noem explaining what's to come in an address to border industry representatives: “We can go in, take you out of your home, and deport you out of this country.”
On Tuesday, Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem approached the podium to a standing ovation at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Arizona. As the afternoon keynote speaker, she marked the first time a DHS secretary had addressed the expo in its 18-year history. Before Noem took the stage, the expo’s advisory board chair, Carla Provost, announced that this was the largest Border Security Expo ever. Although Provost says this every year, I couldn’t help but agree as I looked across the packed ballroom.
Noem spent the first few minutes stumping and differentiating herself and the new administration from Biden’s. This was par for the course. Other Trump officials, like “border czar” Thomas Homan, did the same throughout the expo. Noem highlighted a “94 percent decrease” in border encounters, emphasizing that the government was “extremely close” to achieving “operational control of the border.” She asked that all law enforcement stand up—particularly ICE, CBP, and Coast Guard—so the audience could give them a round of applause after four years of the “trainwreck and poor leadership of Joe Biden leading this country.” She strategically deployed the term “invasion,” as one might expect. Then, when the self-congratulation ended, her speech took a turn as she shifted focus, recognizing that her main audience was not her usual one.
It was this shift that I paid particular attention to. The packed audience, a sea of suits, consisted mainly of industry representatives from the border sector, which appeared to be thriving (as it had, despite Noem’s words, during the Biden administration). I have been attending this expo regularly since 2012 and have found that these moments—when it transitions into a conversation between government and industry—offer tremendous insight into how border and immigration enforcement will look in the coming year. While speakers often indulge in narrative spin, the whole enterprise ultimately depends on funding, budgets, and profit.
Here, based on Noem’s words, I will offer some initial observations into this dynamic, which I hope to flesh out more with a longer article in the coming weeks. But first it’s best to start with photos and notes from some of the companies, whose representatives filled the ballroom and exhibition hall, showcasing their technologies and products in force. According to Provost, more than 225 companies participated this year. And as Noem laid out her list of Trump administration border successes, she also credited the companies for their important role.
A Border Patrol agent examines “situational awareness” technology at the booth of the Swiss company Fotokite. There were plenty of other agents roaming the floor that had products ranging from surveillance towers and biometric systems, to rifles and insta-latrines.
At the booth for the UK company QinetiQ, I spoke with a vendor about the company’s unmanned ground vehicle. The largest model (see pic above) resembles a drone scope truck, while other versions include one small enough to throw, along with others equipped with mechanical pincers and x-ray capabilities for bomb disposal. The vendor, friendly and personable, noted that while the larger tower was the obvious border sell, the bomb-disposal drone could also be used at the border. Although he mentioned that there weren’t many bomb incidents there, he had heard of a few cases. I’ve never heard of any.
I always make it a point to take a surveillance selfie. In this case the company was Clear Align, which specializes in AI and surveillance systems. “We have been the border security leader for over 30 years in 21 countries,” their bio states in the Border Security Expo pamphlet.
The Border needs guns, so it was no surprise to see arms manufacturers, including Wisconsin-based Henry Repeating Arms.
Vidisco is an Israeli company specializing in digital X-rays. The friendly vendor mentioned that the company is “working everywhere” on borders, except here in the United States. So they’re hoping for a contract.
When I approached the booth for Matthews Environmental Solutions, the vendors weren’t available, but I snapped a picture anyway. I visited because a Border Chronicle reader had told me that this company provides cremation services. Here, it was promoting its waste-incineration system, illustrating the variety of products that are showcased at the expo.
As in previous years, there was a robotic dog on display, this time from FirstNet built by AT&T, which claims to operate a “network built with and for first responders—including law enforcement officers like you.” Verizon Frontline was also present, but the company did not have its version of the robodog, unlike last year in El Paso.
I also spoke with an enthusiastic vendor from the company UI Path (no photo, sorry). He explained that his company focuses on administrative automation. When I didn’t quite grasp his meaning, he brought up a topic frequently discussed at the expo: software designed to reduce tedious tasks, allowing agents to spend more time in the field. “We are totally aligned with DOGE,” he said, emphasizing efficiency. When I asked if the company was trying to sell its software to the Border Patrol, he replied that it already had.
When Noem transitioned to a more direct conversation with industry, she reiterated a point made earlier by Homan: that any work not involving “badges and guns” should be contracted out.
Noem’s discussion of the new technologies needed on the border, ports of entry, and—she stressed—the interior, indicated that the trend of more border contracts will continue as it has for several years. She mentioned biometrics and DNA testing, two emerging subindustries, and increased sharing between agencies of data and information.
She then focused on the CBP One app, which people used to request asylum hearings during the Biden administration but was canceled on January 20. Noem recounted a story about how she asked the federal government how long it would take to develop a new app, and was told “about six months.” She said they went to Elon, and within 24 hours, he had developed the what they call CBP Home app. While people can no longer request hearings—a point Noem didn’t mention—the app gave people a means to formally “self-deport.” The app says, “if you are here illegally, now go home.” But, she reassured, it will also help you buy a plane ticket. Noem stated that for the first time since World War II the United States is enforcing the Alien Registration Act that requires that people who are in the country without authorization for 30 days must register with the federal government. If you don’t do that, she stressed, “we can go in, take you out of your home, and deport you out of this country.” That threat from the podium coincided with the Trump administration’s announcement that anyone who entered the U.S. through the CBP One app during the Biden administration must leave “immediately” or face deportation, as DropSite News reported. “Over 900,000 people used the app,” the outlet said, “between January 2023 and December 2024.” Noem also mentioned the administration’s enforcement of the Alien Enemies Act, noting that it would “deport the worst of the worst.” The sustained applause throughout her keynote indicated the industry’s approval. We are putting this operation “on steroids,” she stressed.
Noem announced plans to construct “hundreds of miles of walls,” with the first 89 miles already “fully funded.” Throughout the expo, other speakers and panelists noted that the wall serves not only as a barrier but also as a medium for technology, especially “smart” sensor systems.
Noem concluded her address with a captivating story about a conversation she had with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, emphasizing how the U.S. has begun deporting people to CECOT, the Salvadoran mega prison, that can hold 40,000 people. She recounted Bukele’s epiphany during a visit to the United States, before he became president. One might expect such an epiphany to arise from a natural wonder like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, or Niagara Falls, but it occurred in a Target store. Noem described how Bukele observed the 10 checkout lanes bustling with happy consumers and noted the five self-checkout lanes. “What an amazing country,” Bukele remarked. He contrasted this with his own country, plagued by gangs that kill, rob, and steal. He said, “I want to go home to El Salvador and change my country into what America is.” This context seemed to motivate the decision to keep U.S. deportees in the mega prison who Noem called “terrorists”. Bukele assured her that “they will face the consequences for what they’ve done.” When she asked how they maintain order with “80 to 90 individuals in a cell,” Bukele replied with a single word: “discipline.”
This story is rich with meaning, highlighting the ongoing externalization of the U.S. border, which has been underway for several decades, and will continue under Trump. It also underscores a broader concept: the U.S. government’s active pursuit of alliances with authoritarian governments, contributing to a world order of border enforcement using the most severe punitive measures. With this, evidently, not only can box stores like Target maintain its revenues and happy consumers, but the border industry will also make its bag. At least that was the feeling in the room. When Noem finished, there was another rousing, sustained, and standing ovation.
Thanks Todd for this alarming yet entertaining report from the ominous Border Security Expo. The symbiosis of governmental authoritarianism and corporate profiteering is so blatant...I admire your ability to attend these conventions and talk to the vendors with a straight face!
Makes me want to gag.