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The Trump administration has directed two intelligence agencies to focus their satellite surveillance efforts on the US-Mexico border as part of a broader initiative to tackle illegal immigration and drug trafficking, Reuters reported on Thursday. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), both under the Department of Defense, have been tasked with monitoring the border region using advanced military-grade satellite technologies, the report said.
These agencies, which oversee spy satellites and process imagery for the Pentagon and other intelligence bodies, will provide surveillance support alongside the deployment of additional military personnel.
Sources familiar with the move told Reuters that the government is looking to use artificial intelligence to process satellite images and identify potential objects or individuals of interest with efficiency; similar to how the Pentagon uses such technology in military operations abroad.
The NGA and NRO both confirmed their involvement to the news agency, with the NGA revealing that it has created a task force to coordinate its “support to the US border mission” and the NRO stating its collaboration with the intelligence community and the Pentagon “to secure US borders”.
The agencies, however, did not disclose the specific details of the surveillance or whether the move would involve imagery of US territory.
The move raises questions about privacy and legal boundaries as the new focus on the border “could force the administration to grapple with safeguards against collecting intelligence on Americans”, the report stated, citing three experts.
According to the report, American laws generally restrict domestic surveillance by intelligence agencies, but they allow immigration authorities to conduct searches up to 100 miles from the US border, encompassing major cities such as San Diego and El Paso.
The renewed focus on border security comes as US intelligence has elevated the threat posed by transnational criminal organisations, such as drug cartels, making them a key priority in national security assessments.
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