A border technology conference this week in San Diego brought together local public officials and federal immigration agencies to meet with dozens of AI, defense and surveillance technology companies.
Happening for the third time, the Border Technology Summit, which was closed to local press, comes months after Congress approved more than $170 billion in new funding for immigration enforcement, including about $6.2 billion set aside for border surveillance and AI technologies, among other provisions.
The conference gives tech and defense industries a private audience of government officials now supercharged with funding and eager to find technological solutions to what they see as the biggest threats on the border…