A congressional representative just proposed killing America’s border tower program

The proposed bill comes days after an MIT Technology Review investigation revealed that over 1,050 people have died within the advertised range of surveillance towers.

Delia Ramirez, a Democratic US representative from Illinois, has announced a plan to introduce new legislation to terminate the surveillance tower program along the US southern border.

The announcement comes just days after publication of an MIT Technology Review investigation, “Dying on Camera,” in which we looked at deaths along the border that took place close to one or more of these towers. MIT Technology Review found that nearly one in four deaths we analyzed between 2015 and early 2026 occurred within their advertised range. We also showed that the Department of Homeland Security does not keep track of these deaths or other metrics on the towers’ success or failure.