CBP faces scrutiny over border surveillance failures

CBP’s virtual wall along the US-Mexico border has failed to prevent some migrant deaths near advanced surveillance towers. Cases include people who passed through areas monitored by AI-enabled systems, died nearby and remained undiscovered for weeks or months, raising concerns about broken equipment, missed detections and alerts that did not prompt a response.

The failures point to the need for a comprehensive audit of deaths near border surveillance infrastructure. In 2024 alone, more than 18 people died near towers in one small stretch of desert near New Mexico state representative Sarah Silva’s district. Existing public mapping remains incomplete, with researchers analyzing nearly 600 towers while the government says 800 operate today, making the tally of more than 1,050 deaths near towers an undercount.

CBP also faces pressure to improve how it tracks migrant deaths, rescues and the role of technology in apprehensions. Border Patrol’s internal death-tracking system has faced repeated criticism for missing cases, while GAO reviews found gaps in measuring whether prevention programs reduce deaths. New deaths near towers could be automatically checked against CBP’s surveillance database so footage is preserved before deletion after 30 days and investigators can determine whether cameras missed people or agents failed to respond.