President Joe Biden largely halted construction on his predecessor’s border wall, which Democrats decried as inhumane. But he never stopped the Department of Homeland Security from using the border as a testing ground for dystopian military and surveillance technologies — including, most recently, headless robot dogs.
This month, DHS pitched the robot dogs as fun, futuristic versions of “man’s best friend,” meant to help Border Patrol agents navigate rough terrain and other threats. Critics argue that they look like the human-hunting ones in the Netflix series “Black Mirror,” and that they’d frighten families seeking refuge in this country. The company that makes them, Ghost Robotics, has showcased similar robot dogs equipped with firearms.
Whether you think these canines are creepy or cute, the fact is that the deployment of surveillance technologies at the border — including sensors, drones and camera-equipped towers — has historically pushed people seeking work or asylum in the U.S. into more dangerous remote crossing routes, where thousands have died.
