Surveillance at El Centro Protest

Participants at the No Borders Camp experienced a heavy dose of surveillance from authorities. Cameras were constantly pointed at campers. Some participants chose to disguise their identity at all times by wearing all black or covering their face with a bandanna, some while in close presence with the border patrol or during demonstrations and some not at all.

During one interaction with border patrol agents, I heard an agent claim (this is a paraphrase), "It's not like we're not trying to identify everyone's who's here." The comment stood out because no one in the interaction had up to that point said anything about cameras or the use of surveillance.

It also seems that the cameras were used as a method of intimidation and to assert control over the situation. This is easy to believe when considering other tactics being implemented by agents. These included attempts to search cars at the roadblocks set up around the camp, constantly changing the rules at these roadblocks depending on the agent on duty, and the constant display of "less leathal" weapons such as pepper spray guns, mace and wooden and metal batons.

These photos were all taken on Friday, November 9, during the demonstration at the ICE detention facility in El Centro. Surveillance efforts were heightened and not just conducted by border patrol, but also by local police and detention center staff.