Phoenix played host to the Border Security Expo last week. The event describes itself as “the largest and longest-standing event of its kind designed specifically for federal, state and local law enforcement and private industry professionals affiliated with border security.”
Todd Miller, a journalist at The Border Chronicle, was at the expo to check it out and joined The Show to discuss what the Border Security Expo is.
Full conversation
MARK BRODIE: So what exactly is the Border Security Expo?
TODD MILLER: So the Border Security Expo is an annual event that brings together the private sector, private companies that are selling things to the Department of Homeland Security, particularly the agencies of customs and border protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Thus, products, mainly technologies for border and immigration enforcement.
And this event, I believe, has been going on for about 18 years, and it generally brings in high brass from CBP and ICE. There's a conference element to it. And in this conference element, there's a conversation that takes place between this aspect of the U.S. government and industry.
BRODIE: So when we hear policy makers talking about using technology on the border, these are the folks who are making that technology that the U.S. government will buy to use?
MILLER: Exactly and in fact, this year, I believe it was, it was the largest attended Border Security Expo in its 18 years. And I believe, if I remember correctly, there were more companies than ever before, about 225 and those companies that come and, if there's two parts of it, there's a conference area and there's this exhibition hall, and many of the companies will set up booths and display their products.
And you'll see a lot of products that you actually do see on the border, you'll see scope trucks, for example. And scope trucks are the trucks that have mounted cameras on their back that kind of extend and can see, you know, great distances in the desert, for example. And you'll see biometric systems, and you'll see all kinds of in the last few years, you see the robotic dogs and other what they call UGB, or unmanned ground vehicles, or different robotics.
You also see rifles and there's ... So it's not just technology. There's a whole seat covers, for example, there's a whole array of products that are sold, but yes, you get these are the companies that either have contracts, or are vying for contracts with either CBP or ICE or sometimes sheriff's departments as well.
BRODIE: What were some of the products that really stood out to you when you walked around the exhibition hall?
MILLER: It's always amazing to me to walk into the exhibition hall, in a way, it's almost like walking into a science, science fiction novel, because you see, you know different robots, for example, like the robotic dog, it's always sort of, it's fascinating and jarring at the same time to look down and see this trotting robot that has an antenna for for a tail, right? That in a way, and it trots around. And just that's an easy example. There's all kinds of other things.
You look all around and you'll see these tall towers, or these gigantic all-terrain trucks or other drones, you'll see medium-sized drones, which they can, they can fly in the exhibition hall, hovering above everything. Or you'll look up and see an aerostat, which is like a surveillance, surveillance balloon.
And it, it really does seem like, OK, you know, some of this stuff 15 years ago, you'd never think would even be possible, right, for anywhere? No need to know, but on the border. But here it is, and so it has this feel of a science fiction novel, and sort of a crystal ball, right? A crystal ball in the sense that, OK, I'm in here, and I'm sort of seeing a lot of things that you see, like the surveillance towers, for example, are actually already on the border.
But then you're also seeing what is being imagined for the future of the border all concentrated into one small space. I mean, it's a big space. It's an exhibition all but small space, relatively speaking to the 2,000-miles U.S.-Mexico border, for example.
BRODIE: What did you hear from some of the vendors? I mean, I would imagine that for some of them, you mentioned, this is a place where they come to vie for contracts. Given the Trump administration's focus on border security, I would imagine that they are feeling like there might be potentially more contracts to be had more money to be made here?
MILLER: I would imagine. So there definitely was that feeling in the conference, in the conference, when industry was speaking to different people from different companies, the Trump administration is still young. I guess you could say, like three months ago, it's still, you know, remain. Some things remain to be seen, but there does seem to be a sort of optimism there. It also needs to be said. There were many contracts given out in the past administration, the Biden administration as well.
But the overall vibe, because at this expo, I mean, for the first time, you had the Secretary of Homeland Security speaking, for example, Kristi Noem was a keynote speaker, and you had the border czar, Thomas Homan as well, speaking at the event. And that and those and those speakers, it seemed to bring in this feeling that things have at least this is how it was expressed. Things have changed. Things are going on the up and up. And we're, you know, industry, we are going to need you, and we're going to need you more, and we're going to need you to do all these different things on the border to help border enforcement more. And that was in the conference.
And in the actual exhibition hall, it's different, because the vendors themselves are often just employees of the company. And there, there's a sort of variability of, maybe you'd say ideology, I guess. And many, many vendors are just, you know, like any sort of sales people, it's like a salesperson selling their product. They're often super friendly, they know extensive information down to the granular details about their products. But a lot of times, they don't necessarily go into the broader political arc.
And I didn't, I had, you know, I had a couple vendors, like one vendor who already had a contract with Customs and Border Protection. He told me he was a vendor for a software company, and there was a lot of talk about Customs and Border Protection and ICE, you know, cutting down on their administrative needs. And a lot of it is done through automation. So this is a software automation, and he expressed that they're all on board on the efficiency that the administration is after. They are all on board with DOGE, right? That's the DOGE, the Elon Musk ...
BRODIE: Department of Government Efficiency.
MILLER: Yeah, and that they had already had a contract with CBP, and they thought now was a good opportunity for them to get more contracts.
