Reinforced walls and detection technology: The ‘smart wall’ the US is building on the border

The US government is expanding and diversifying the border wall with Mexico, now referred to as a 'smart wall'. The project includes constructing new 32-ft-high steel bollard walls, transforming water barriers, building roads, improving lighting, and installing high-tech detection tools such as infrared cameras and motion sensors. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is monitoring the area and has added an interactive map to its website to track construction progress. The types of physical border barriers currently in place include steel bollard walls, old pedestrian fences, and concrete retaining walls with steel bollards. In some areas, such as National Parks, technology will be used instead of physical barriers to avoid negatively impacting wildlife and ecological balance. The construction has already caused controversy, including damaging a sacred site for the Kumiai people on Cuchumá Hill in Baja California.