The 14th Annual Border Security Expo (BSE) ran from 11-12 March in San Antonio, Texas. While DSJ had attended past BSE events and this one appeared to be at about half strength based on Coronavirus fears, BSE organizers said in opening comments that the show featured 1100 attendees including more than 250 federal, state, and local government officials from some 14 countries.
Border security issues, including treatment of migrants and construction of the Border Wall System are prominent in the news and they were front-and-center at this year’s BSE. Protesters made their voices heard outside the event venue and senior CBP and BSE officials addressed directly the salient political issues.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner Robert Perez, BSE’s Opening Keynote, told the audience that the Trump Administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols or MPP — which makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings — was “absolutely a critical piece to mitigate an unprecedented humanitarian crisis last year.”
New U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott made clear that the U.S. Government does not intend to retreat in its approach: “We’re going to do everything we can to ensure that catch and release is not reinstated. And that’s the bottom line for every single pathway: Making sure they have due process, they get heard but they can’t exploit the system through catch and release. It’s not going to be pretty,” Scott said.
DSJ’s coverage of the event featured the following articles and exclusive interviews:
134 exhibitors from industry and customer communities included the following:
- All Traffic Solutions showcased how its highly mobile, easily deployable, cloud-connected technology can be combined with a variety of class-leading automatic license plate recognition solutions.
- Astrophysics Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced security solutions featured their industry-unique Multi-View CT (MVCT) cargo screening system and their advanced vehicle scanning machines.
- Echodyne exhibited its MESA Radar Technology
- Persistent Systems, LLC exhibited its new, streamlined, tower-mounted Integrated Antenna Series for law enforcement
- UVeye unveiled its Industry-First Vehicle Threat-Detection Technology will show how its newest artificial intelligence technology can ID threats on totally new, unscanned cars and trucks.
Friday, 13 March saw some the BSE’s exhibitors and attendees take the show outside to the Bandera Gun Club (Bandera, Texas) for the 5th Annual Sharpshooter Classic and Demo Day for product demonstrations and live shooting competition.
