
Trump's tax bill funds $6bn expansion of US-Mexico border surveillance, report finds
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) will give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – where US immigration agencies are housed – an unprecedented injection of $165bn in additional funding over the next four years. It's welcome news for the surveillance and defense tech industries that have been racing to cash in on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Signed into law on the Fourth of July, the OBBA earmarks more than $6bn of that spending for border technology, including surveillance, according to a new report by the immigration legal defense organization Just Futures Law. Among those standing to benefit are private prison corporations the GEO Group and Core Civic as well as surveillance firms such as Palantir and Anduril. US immigration agencies are seeking more funding for biometric data collection, license plate readers and phone hacking, the Just Futures Law report indicates.
'The spending is not about safety, it's about growing Trump's power through an agency like DHS,' said Laura Rivera, author of the report and senior staff attorney at Just Futures Law. 'I'm questioning why policing at the border should require this level of spending when the Trump administration is saying border crossing is at an all time low.'
Though many of these firms have already seen an increased investment from the federal government and the expansion of existing contracts since the start of the second Trump term, some executives have been banking on the additional funding swelling the budgets of immigration agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). During a recent earnings call, for instance, executives at the Geo Group, which operates detention centers and sells surveillance products, repeatedly assured investors that they expected to see more 'momentum' for their businesses in the second half of the year once the Ice budget was finalized.
Here's what the agencies are asking for, what the OBBA is giving them and who stands to profit the most:
The biggest name among the firms that will see a windfall from the big funding boost to the DHS is Palantir. The data management company was previously awarded $30m in a new contract to build a platform called ImmigrationOS that makes deportations more efficient. As part of the contract, Palantir is reportedly enabling the government to bring together sensitive data on all Americans from the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and the DHS. It's an unprecedented centralization of personal information by the federal government that civil liberties experts argue is a violation of privacy.
The OBBA has allocated $673m to be spent on biometric systems – which collect and identify people based on physical attributes like their face or fingerprints – for ports of entry and exit. In April, for instance, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) put out a request for bids from firms that would help the agency perform real-time facial recognition on people inside vehicles crossing the borders.
CBP previously signed a $16m contract with data broker LexisNexis for various services, including facial recognition. Since the start of 2024, CBP has awarded the little-known facial recognition firm Sentrillion with nine contracts totaling $36.7m. According to its website, the company enables CBP officers to use 'voice and facial recognition from audio and video surveillance systems, as well as biometric fingerprint readers, to verify the identity of citizens'.
Sign up to TechScape
A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives
after newsletter promotion
CBP also has contracts with Clearview AI, which has been deployed at the US-Canada border, according to the Just Futures Law report.
The DHS is also planning to ramp up its use of surveillance towers along the border. Supplied by firms like Peter Thiel-backed Anduril and Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems, these automated surveillance structures are used to record and track who is crossing the border. CBP has asked for $140m for the upcoming fiscal year to construct more than 200 new towers along the border. The agency expects to have more than 900 towers up by September 2026, according to the report.
Ice is looking to ramp up its social media surveillance capabilities with OBBA funding. In a request for information published in June, the agency sought an analytics firm to scour various sources of data including social media, geolocation and license plate reader information, financial information, international travel and crime data. The intention would be for the firm to analyze all of that information together to attempt to predict 'potentially criminal and fraudulent behavior before crime and fraud can materialize', according to the proposal. It's unclear how much funding is set aside for Ice's specific program, but the DHS has already implemented expanded screening procedures for visa applicants, including requiring their social media accounts be set to public. CBP has awarded a $1.2m contract for software developed by a company called Fivecast Onyx to scrape and analyze open source data, including social media.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
David Letterman unleashes fury at CBS for canceling his successor Stephen Colbert
David Letterman has backed his successor Stephen Colbert and suggested CBS canceled The Late Show because he was 'always shooting his mouth off' about Donald Trump. The 78-year-old late-night legend created The Late Show in 1993 after NBC denied him the chance to succeed Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Colbert took over for Letterman in 2015 and took the show in a decidedly more political direction but despite leading in the ratings, a shrinking late-night landscape led CBS to claim losses in the tens of millions of dollars. In his first comment on the show's cancellation, Letterman noted that his show was more about political satire than his version of The Late Show but was still complimentary, calling the decision by CBS 'pure cowardice.' 'I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this, they're going to be embarrassed, because this is gutless,' he told former Late Show producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. Letterman then said that he believed CBS was acting on behalf of Skydance CEO and incoming Paramount CEO David Ellison to make their lives easier after they acquire Paramount, taking away a constant critic of Trump. 'Hey boys, here's what we're gonna do: not only are we gonna get rid of that guy, we're gonna get rid of the entire franchise so you don't have to worry about another guy. It's gone,' Letterman said. The long-time talk show host noted CBS's $16million settlement with the Trump administration over a deceptively edited interview with election rival Kamala Harris, which Colbert had previously mocked as a 'big fat bribe.' He also referred to Ellison as a 'bottom feeder,' saying he should've bought a Dairy Queen instead of a television network. 'Stay out of this business.' He also tore into the accusations that the show lost so much money, with both Gaines and Barclay saying that they had cut budgets to help the network several times when they were at CBS. 'You're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday? I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago, six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money,' he said. Letterman noted that despite the show losing tons of money, they're going to let him stay on the air for the next ten months continuing to lose it. 'That's another huge chunk of money they're gonna lose according to them. I don't think it was money, I think it was all to make sure the Ellisons were solid spending Dad's money,' he said, noting Ellison's father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. He said of the treatment of Colbert: 'They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled.' Letterman echoed Colbert's own joking words from earlier this week when the former Comedy Central comic called himself 'a martyr.' 'For Stephen, I love this: he's a martyr, good for him. If you listen carefully, you can hear them unfolding chairs at the Hall of Fame for his induction,' he joked. Ultimately, he said he envies the position Colbert is now in with his liberal viewers. 'I only wish this could've happened to me. This would've been so great for me. Now we've all gotta kiss Stephen Colbert's ring now,' he quipped. The comedian's decade-long run as the host of CBS's late night flagship will end next May, with network insiders suggesting the top-rated show was canceled because it was losing anywhere from $40 to $100million per year. Trump posted a celebration on Truth Social when the news was announced, saying 'I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.' Colbert, who briefly addressed the move the day of its announcement, devoted much of his Monday show to the controversy, eventually uniting with almost every other liberal late-night talk show host in a show of support, as well as Adam Sandler and even Lin-Manuel Miranda. The 61-year-old comic opened after a standing ovation and a lengthy applause from the New York City crowd by saying ' cancel culture has gone too far' and then joked now that the show is ending, he can say whatever he feels. Colbert said sarcastically of Paramount: 'They made one mistake, they left me alive! For the next ten months, the gloves are off!' The Late Show host then referenced Trump's comments, turning to an 'Eloquence Cam' and said: 'How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f*** yourself.' He then referenced Trump stating in the same Truth Social post: 'I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.' Colbert replied: 'Nope, no, no. Absolutely not. Kimmel, I am the martyr. There's only room for one on this cross. And the view is fantastic from up here. I can see your house!' He also said that cancellation meant he could finally admit what he felt about the president. In contrast to his often over-the-top anti-Trump monologues, he dryly, quietly said: 'I don't care for him. Doesn't seem to have the skill set to be president. Just not a good fit, that's all.' He addressed his bosses at CBS - who he said 'have always been great partners' - before talking about Paramount's decision to cancel the show which he took over from David Letterman in 2015. 'How could it be a purely financial decision if The Late Show's is number one in ratings? A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff's parents and spouses.' 'I could see us losing $24 million but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million, oh...' he quipped, naming the amount the company settled with Trump for over his 60 Minutes lawsuit. He went back to bashing Trump and the recent news accusing him of writing a 'bawdy' letter to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. 'I'll have more to say about all this after the commercial break. The only other story is a small one... the president is buddies with a pedophile.' Puck journalist Matthew Belloni revealed Colbert's 'lack of profitability ' Friday, hours after CNN first broke the news that the show was canceled because it was in the red. Belloni outlined how The Late Show - whose cancellation was announced last Thursday - costs $100m a year to produce, with Colbert, 61, getting paid between $15 million and $20 million a year to host. Colbert beats ABC and NBC rivals Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon in the ratings, but that still wasn't enough to save him. Late night shows have slumped in profitability in recent years as viewers shun the format in favor of streaming services or watching content on their phones. Advertiser revenue has slumped sharply even in the last three years, Puck reported, making it harder to pull Colbert's show out of the red. Colbert was reported to be 'not angry, actually' about his cancellation and was chatting with his staff in a 'matter-of-fact' way before Thursday's show, Puck reported. Colbert, who will broadcast his final show in May 2026, was first informed his show was on the chopping block around July 4, it is claimed. Paramount Co-CEO George Cheeks made the decision, Puck reported. He then went on vacation, giving bosses at CBS time to plot behind his back, CNN reported. He moved to share it as quickly as possible so that his staff would not learn of their impending unemployment via leaks to the press. All three major late night hosts - Colbert, Kimmel and Fallon - have become notorious for their regular rants about President Trump, which many viewers have complained are boring and off-putting. But Belloni said he didn't believe the famously anti-MAGA Colbert was axed to appease Donald Trump, who recently won a $15 million payout from CBS after suing them over a 60 Minutes interview with Harris he said was deceptively edited. The axing of Colbert has delighted Trump, who posted about it on his TruthSocial network earlier today. Colbert's ouster could also make it easier for CBS parent company Paramount's efforts to merge with media company Skydance in a deal that must be approved by Trump's Federal Communications Commission. The Late Show launched in 1993 under David Letterman to compete with longtime late night juggernaut The Tonight Show. Colbert took over from Letterman in 2015 after his retirement. More than three decades later, CBS's entry into the late night sphere sits at the top, with second-best Jimmy Kimmel Live! raking in an average of 1.772 million viewers. Colbert, by comparison, collects an average of 2.417 million. Colbert - who once played a conservative character on Comedy Central's satirical late night program The Colbert Report - often aired jokes at the conservative's expense. Trump celebrated the news of the show's cancellation as a result. 'I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,' he wrote in a Friday Truth Social post. 'I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert,' he added, before talking up right-wing Fox News star Greg Gutfeld. '[He's] better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show,' Trump added, referring to Jimmy Fallon.


Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump claims Supreme Court immunity ruling spares Obama from treason case
Donald Trump admitted his own Supreme Court victory granting 'presidential immunity' means its unlikely Barack Obama will be charged with treason over his handling of the 'Russia hoax.' Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a declassified report allegedly implicating Obama and his administration over 2016 election interference that accused Trump of colluding with Moscow. Trump has accused Obama of treason, while Obama issued a statement denying any allegations. Even if Obama were to be in trouble, the Supreme Court ruled in a monumental 2024 decision that the President of the United States has immunity from prosecution for official acts in office, in a case argued by lawyers on Trump's behalf. Trump was asked if 'presidential immunity' would apply to Obama before his trip to Scotland on Friday and the president didn't deny it, going as far as to say he'd done his predecessor a favor. 'He has done criminal acts, no question about it. But he has immunity and it probably helps him a lot. He owes me big. Obama owes me big,' Trump said. The ex-president's team argued in late 2023 that Trump, and any president, must have absolute immunity from prosecution over actions taken while in office or it could impair important decision-making. The 6-3 decision split along the court's ideological lines ensures that Trump will not face another blockbuster trial with the case sent back to a lower court to determine what is considered his 'official' versus 'unofficial' acts. Trump celebrated the decision, writing on Truth Social: 'Big win for our constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American!' A new report released by DNI Gabbard accused Obama of being behind a 'treasonous conspiracy' to fabricate what Trump repeatedly calls the Russia 'hoax' to bring him down. Gabbard made a series of criminal referrals to Pam Bondi's Justice Department and the agency is reportedly considering the request. Obama spoke out about the case via his spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush earlier this week, refuting many of the accusations circling around him. 'The bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,' Rodenbush noted. 'These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio' Rodenbush concluded. Regardless, GOP leadership in both the House and Senate are pursuing investigations into members of the Biden and Obama administrations as they fend off clamoring calls for transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal enveloping the Trump administration. Democrats have portrayed the reintroduction of the "Russian hoax' saga as a way for the Trump Administration to distract from the demands around Epstein. The president fingered Obama for trying to 'head a coup' with acolytes like former FBI Director James Comey and former DNI Director James Clapper doing his dirty work. Trump also called the Steele report, which examined his campaign's ties to Russia, as 'all lies' and a 'fabrication.' The Mueller Report found that while Russia did interfere in the 2016 election, the Trump campaign did not conspire or coordinate with the Russian government, despite at least 140 contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian nationals. Trump was asked earlier this week who the Justice Department should investigate following the report's release for a potential criminal referral. He didn't hesitate to name Obama and top members of his security team. 'It would be President Obama – who started it – and Biden was there with him, and [James] Comey was there, and [James] Clapper, the whole group was there,' Trump responded. At another point, Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi should 'act' on the matter – while also indicating it was at her discretion. 'We have a very competent, very good, very loyal to our country person in Pam Bondi – very respected. And she – it's going to be her decision,' Trump said. Trump repeated calls to prosecute a wide circle of former Democratic officials come after he posted AI-generated video images of Obama being arrested and thrown in jail wearing an orange jumpsuit. Trump accused his rivals of organizing a failed 'coup' in 2016, when he defeated Hillary Clinton and captured the White House. Trump has hammered his rivals for what he calls 'no collusion' ever since the release of the Mueller report, even though Mueller himself never used that phrase.


The Guardian
38 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Dear Keir Starmer, stop cosying up to Donald Trump – or he'll drag Britain down with him
Donald Trump's victory in last November's US presidential election presented Keir Starmer, Britain's Labour prime minister, with a choice – and an opportunity. Either cosy up to a man whose obnoxious, hard-right, ultra-nationalist policies are inimical to UK security and foreign policy interests, economic prosperity and democratic values; or risk a rupture with the US, a longstanding but overbearing ally, and seize the moment to redefine Britain's place in the world, primarily through reintegration in Europe. Starmer made the wrong call – and Britain has paid a heavy price ever since. The cost to national dignity and the public purse will be on painful show this weekend as Trump, pursued by the Epstein scandal and angry protesters, makes an expensively policed, ostensibly private visit to his golf courses in Scotland. On Monday, the prime minister will travel north to kiss the ring. More humiliations loom. In September, Trump will return for an unprecedented second state visit, at Starmer's unctuous behest. At that point, the full, embarrassing extent of Britain's thraldom will be there for all the world to see. Let's be clear. Trump is no friend of Britain's and is, in key respects, a dangerous foe. Efforts to curry favour with this narcissist will ultimately prove futile. Trump always reneges. His unedifying career is littered with broken promises and relationships, personal and political. His only loyalty is to himself. Right now, this wannabe dictator is busy making America not greater but weaker, poorer, less influential and more disliked. Don't let him drag Britain down, too. It's not too late to make the break. US leadership of the western democracies used to be taken for granted. Now it's a problem. Politicians in both Britain's main parties have difficulty accepting this shift. As so often, public opinion is ahead of them. Recent polling by the Pew Research Center found 62% of Britons have no confidence in Trump 'to do the right thing regarding world affairs'. Most of those surveyed in 24 countries viewed him as dangerous, arrogant and dishonest. Thanks to him, the US's international standing is in freefall. Giving Israel a free hand in Gaza is the most egregious example of how Trump's policies conflict with UK interests. Starmer's government has condemned the deliberate killing and starving of civilians. Among the 55% of Britons opposed to Israel's actions, 82% believe they amount to genocide, a YouGov poll found last month. A majority backs additional sanctions. Trump's support for forced relocations, opposition to a two-state solution and close collaboration with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader charged with war crimes, all contradict stated UK policy. Trump bears significant personal responsibility for what Starmer calls the 'unspeakable and indefensible' horror in Gaza. Starmer warned dramatically last month that the UK was in growing danger of military attack following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Britain and other Nato states have steadfastly supported Kyiv. Not so Trump. Since taking office, he has toadied to Vladimir Putin, vilified Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, suspended military supplies and questioned Nato's future. Ignoring proliferation fears, Trump is simultaneously fuelling a nuclear arms race. Now the hapless Starmer has been panicked into buying US jets capable of carrying warheads and, it is claimed, has secretly allowed US-owned nukes back into the UK. This is not the Britain Labour voters want. Trump recently reversed himself on Ukraine, patched things up with Nato and criticised Putin. But he could change his mind again tomorrow. Oblivious to the glaring double standard, he congratulates himself meanwhile on 'obliterating' Iran's nuclear facilities – even though last month's illegal US bombing was only partly successful. Britain rightly favours negotiations with Tehran. It wasn't consulted. Trump's tariff wars pose a direct threat to the UK economy, jobs and living standards. Despite Starmer's deal mitigating their impact, 10% tariffs or higher remain on most US-bound exports. Trump's bullying of Canada, Mexico, Greenland, Panama and others over sovereignty, migration and trade feeds uncertainty. His irrational hostility to the EU may gratify the likes of Nigel Farage (and Putin). But endless rows between important allies do not serve Britain's interests. The advance of hard-right, nationalist-populist parties in Europe and, most recently, in Japan suggests the socially divisive, chauvinist agendas championed by Trump's Maga movement have widening international appeal. That augurs ill for democracy in Britain and the world generally. For the same reason, Trump's assaults on US constitutional rights, notably minority and gender rights, attacks on judges, universities and public institutions, and attempts to suppress independent media scrutiny are ominous. Such toxic behaviour is contagious. Trumpism is the new Covid. Britain needs inoculation. By slashing overseas aid, cutting public service broadcasters such as Voice of America, defunding and ostracising UN agencies, flouting international courts and pretending the climate emergency is illusory, Trump inflicts immense harm on the US's reputation, global influence and soft-power armoury. He is wrecking the rules-based order that Britain views as fundamental. It's a gift to China, Russia and authoritarians everywhere. As Pentagon spending rockets to $1tn annually, his crude message is unmistakeable: might makes right. Brute strength rules. Trump is a disaster for the west and all in the UK who respect progressive democratic values. His second term will evidently be more globally perilous, destructive and destabilising than his first. In support of universal principles established centuries before anyone heard of him, Britain should steer clear of this walking, talking catastrophe. Rather than hug Trump close, Starmer should keep him at arm's length for fear of infection. Don't go to Scotland to see him, Prime Minister. Don't waste your breath. Instead, start planning for the post-special-relationship era. Make the break. It's time. Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator