Government deploys new technology at the border to deal with smugglers

The U.S. government has deployed a new x-ray machine to improve its ability to catch drivers attempting to smuggle illicit cargo into the country through a South Texas route.

According to Border Report, the multi-energy portal (MEP) is already operative at the I-35 checkpoint north of Laredo. It can scan 150 or more trailers, a significant improvement compared to the few that agents can inspect manually.

Agents operate several checkpoints between 20 to 40 miles from the border as a second line of enforcement to check for potential vehicles that managed to get through with illicit cargo.

The new machine generates images that CBP personnel can see on their computers as trucks pass through the portal. The agency says the technology does not pose any danger to people or merchandise.

"CBP employs a multi-layered enforcement strategy to stop illegal activity, including narcotics smugglings at our border," said Customs and Border Patrol in a statement. "CBP continues to utilize all of its available resources, including non-intrusive technology, to stop these dangerous drugs from entering our communities."

The government has put its main focus on reducing the amount of people crossing through the border, especially following a series of executive actions by the Biden administration in recent weeks.

Different reports have shown that figures have effectively dropped, in many cases below the daily threshold of 2,500 set by the government to reject asylum-seekers. In the first three weeks since the measure was announced, the number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border unlawfully dropped by more than 40 percent.

In San Diego, figures dropped by more than 50%, according to Enrique Lucero, director of the Migrant Affairs Office in Tijuana. "We went from 8,303 unlawful crossings per week to 3,696," he told Border Report.

Overall, deportations and expulsions under the Biden administration are reaching heights that haven't been seen in more than a decade. Concretely, the Biden administration has seen nearly 4.4 million repatriations, the most in any single presidential term since George W. Bush, who had 5 million repatriations in his second term.