Source: https://theintercept.com/2019/08/25/border-patrol-israel-elbit-surveillance/
Publisher: The Intercept
Date Published: August 25, 2019
Relevant To: Border/immigration surveillance vendor tracking; protest surveillance pattern research
Verification Status: Verified
Notes: CBP contracted Israeli military firm Elbit Systems ($26M+) to build 10 surveillance towers on the Tohono O’odham reservation, part of 55+ towers already built in southern Arizona using Elbit’s TORCH system originally developed for the Israel Defense Forces. Documents CBP’s use of border surveillance towers/drones against political protesters (San Diego wall-prototype protest, Standing Rock/DAPL), and Elbit’s own 2016 offer of its GroundEye persistent-surveillance system to police monitoring DAPL protesters. Older (2019) but foundational for understanding vendor mission-creep from border to protest surveillance — same pattern now seen with Flock and data center protests.