A Customs and Border Protection AI surveillance tower has been operating near Del Mar's beach since 2021, installed to detect boats carrying migrants and drugs about 30 miles north of the Mexican border.
The tower's existence gained national attention through a New York Times investigation published Oct. 22. The Times found that CBP operates at least 350 AI-powered surveillance towers along the border, and that more than 1 million people in the United States and Mexico live in areas within their view.
Dave Maass, investigations director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group tracking the towers, told CBS 8 that the data collected is "getting kept and fed into private companies" to train algorithms. Maass said the EFF has documented towers "as far inland as Del Mar."
The EFF identified the Del Mar tower as one of at least two CBP installations along the California coastline. In San Diego County, roughly two dozen autonomous towers line the boundary from the Pacific coast to Rancho del Campo, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in April.
All towers share the same core technology: panoramic radar, powerful day and night cameras, an onboard AI computing unit and data antennas, the Times reported. CBP says the towers are not equipped with facial recognition software.
In CBP's privacy guidelines, the agency says it can share surveillance footage with local, state and federal law enforcement, the Times reported. The agency also acknowledges that people near the border cannot "opt out" of being surveilled.
Hilton Beckham, assistant commissioner of public affairs at CBP, said in a statement to the Times that the towers were "essential to border security."
The Del Mar tower's exact location and whether the city entered into any agreement with CBP for the installation remain unclear from public records. The tower's specific model, viewing range and operational parameters have not been disclosed.
The Trump administration has secured more than $1 billion to build 1,500 new towers, with plans for coastal areas, the Times reported. CBP also secured a lease in San Clemente for another coastal tower, but those plans are on hold after residents and elected officials pushed back.
