Building America’s Trust Act would amp up privacy concerns at the border

Enlarge / A US Customs and Border Protection officer checks identifications as people cross into the United States from Mexico on September 23, 2016 in San Ysidro, California. (credit: John Moore / Getty Images News)

If a new Senate Republican border security bill is passed as currently drafted, it would dramatically increase the amount of surveillance technologies used against immigrants and, in some cases, American citizens traveling to and from the United States.

The bill, known as the "Building America's Trust Act," is authored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.). It aims for a "long-term border security and interior enforcement strategy," according to its summary. However, the senators have yet to formally introduce the text of the bill.

So Ars is going to do it for them: we received an advance copy of the bill's text from an anonymous source, and we are publishing it here before it has been formally introduced in the Senate. Ars repeatedly contacted the offices of all six senators who are listed as co-sponsors for comment-none made anyone available.

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