As the Biden administration revamped security technology at the US-Mexico border, officials became aware of a serious threat to national security in the form of the Mexican government’s purchase of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Chinese scanning equipment for its checkpoints.
U.S. officials fear that scanners may give China access to troves of information about goods entering the United States. In addition, the equipment is not considered reliable according to US quality standards and could inhibit common efforts to stop the trafficking of chemical precursors, synthetic drugs, money, firearms, and ordnance.
