DHS Seeks Large Buy of Border Security Technology.

The Department of Homeland Security is requesting more than $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2019 for "high priority" investments in border security equipment and infrastructure to thwart illegal border crossings.

About $ 1.6 billion would go toward new border walls; $183 million for aircraft and other aviation assets; $149 million for border patrol stations, vehicles and radios; $ 182 million for surveillance technology such as towers, radars, cameras and other sensors; $107 million for road improvements; and $44 million to recapitalize "non-intrusive" inspection equipment at ports of entry, according to a DHS fact sheet.

"These funds are in addition to the 2018 budget request of $2.6 billion for these activities, as well as an additional $15.56 billion the administration is seeking in 2018 for border security as a result of the congressional [budget] caps deal" that would allow for increased discretionary spending, it said.

Lawmakers and the White House are pushing for a bipartisan deal on immigration which could shape future spending. As of press time, an agreement has yet to be reached.

The Trump administration's plans, if implemented, would be a boon for contractors, analysts said.

"There is a huge industry in the United States that will stand to benefit from the government contracts that are being dispensed in order to fund this huge expansion in border security," David Bier, an immigration and border technology expert at the Cato Institute, said in a podcast.

That includes companies that produce drones...

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