By Marisa Taylor and Jeffrey Dastin
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration has directed two intelligence agencies to train their satellite surveillance capabilities on the U.S.-Mexico border region as part of a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration and drug cartels.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which are part of the Department of Defense, oversee spy satellites and analyze imagery for the Pentagon and other intelligence organizations.
Their engagement, coupled with troop deployments, shows increasing militarization of the southern border, where President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency.
Reuters could not determine whether the effort, which has not been previously reported, would gather imagery of U.S. territory.
Asked by Reuters about their roles in border surveillance, the NGA said it had created a task force to coordinate its “support to the U.S. border mission,” while the NRO said it was partnering with the intelligence community and Pentagon “to secure U.S. borders.”
Their participation is in response to sweeping executive actions by Trump aimed at stopping unauthorized border trafficking and crossings, as well as deporting those in the United States illegally – estimated to be up to 14 million people.
The White House and Defense Department did not respond to a request for comment. Trump made immigration enforcement a central part of his campaign that catapulted him to the presidency on Jan. 20.
While the government has deployed artificial intelligence and drone surveillance at the border for years, the latest initiative seeks to expand the use of military capabilities generally built for conflict overseas.
The government could use AI to identify objects or persons of interest by sifting through satellite images and other data feeds, much like the Defense Department can do on the battlefield, said two sources familiar with the initiative.
Though Reuters could not determine the exact scope of this effort, the new focus on the border could force the administration to grapple with safeguards against collecting intelligence on Americans, three experts said.
While laws generally restrict U.S. spy agencies from surveilling citizens and other legal residents, they allow immigration authorities to conduct physical searches “within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States.” Regulations have defined this as 100 air miles from the border – an area including cities such as San Diego and El Paso.
“If they follow the law, these agencies should only collect on the other side of the border in foreign territory,” said Paul Rosenzweig, a lawyer who specializes in national security and privacy law. “But how they implement that, and if they do, are legitimate oversight questions.”
A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the government’s lead unit for integrating spy efforts, told Reuters that all intelligence activities are “legal and authorized” and conducted “in a manner that protects the civil liberties and privacy of U.S. persons.”
The NGA and NRO declined to detail what they are collecting and whether such surveillance could include U.S. territory, citing the need to protect operational details. The NGA works on a wide array of efforts including mapping features of the Earth and informing commanders of the exact location of U.S. forces and adversaries.
Reuters could not ascertain whether any other U.S. intelligence agencies would be involved in the effort. The Central Intelligence Agency has no role in domestic immigration enforcement. “Once foreign criminals are inside the United States, they are not within the purview of the CIA,” a third source said.
‘DIGITAL WALL’
The Trump administration has elevated border security in its ranking of national intelligence priorities, allowing the government to direct more resources to it, one of the sources said.
In a separate annual threat assessment released Tuesday, the U.S. intelligence community ranked transnational criminals such as drug-trafficking organizations among top national security threats – listed above those posed by North Korea, Iran and other foreign adversaries.
In addition, the National Security Council, an interagency group that advises the president on a range of defense and foreign policy matters, has received daily briefings on immigration detentions numbers, including the arrest of unaccompanied children, according to internal government documents reviewed by Reuters.
Multiple defense contractors – new and legacy ones alike – are in talks with various government agencies to aid the border-security work, building on existing deals they have, said the two sources aware of the initiative.
The contractors’ work would require navigating legal boundaries, including creating security policies to prevent unlawful checks on Americans, the sources said.
Industry software also could connect sensor towers to satellite and drone video feeds showing at-risk areas, and then AI could flag leads to authorities, these sources said.
A “digital wall” to augment the border’s physical one would be the goal, said one of the sources.
For instance, data analytics provider Palantir powers the so-called Maven Smart System for the Pentagon, via contracts it won last year valued at about $580 million. Maven pulls together data and uses AI to speed up target identification for intelligence analysts. Palantir has long worked with the Department of Homeland Security as well.
Anduril, a defense tech startup, designs sensor towers and related software. Last fall, the company announced it had deployed 300 autonomous versions of these towers for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, detecting and tracking objects of interest through radar and other technology.
In recent months, Palantir, Anduril, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and other newer contractors have discussed a consortium to jointly bid for U.S. defense deals and outcompete the Beltway’s legacy players, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Palantir and Anduril spokespeople declined to comment. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting By Marisa Taylor and Jeffrey Dastin; Editing by Kenneth Li and Michael Learmonth)
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