Article snippet: Tech companies are increasingly bullish on building a "smart wall," which would incorporate new technologies to beef up security on the southern border. Many firms see a potential windfall with both Democrats and Republicans floating the idea of tech improvements as an alternative to President Trump's call for a steel barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats have said they would back as much as $5.7 billion for a smart wall. Trump himself discussed the idea when announcing the deal to end the recent government shutdown. "The walls we are building are not medieval walls. They are smart walls designed to meet the needs of frontline border agents," the president said last Friday. Trump's critics, though, noted he had first dismissed the idea when it was proposed by Democrats. The tech and defense industries have long pushed for technology to be a centerpiece of efforts to secure the border. Now they see new momentum for the idea as a bicameral, bipartisan group of lawmakers seek to hash out a border deal to avoid a second shutdown. "We cannot focus on archaic solutions in order to address this very modern problem," Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), one of the conferees, said during the group's first meeting on Wednesday. "Technology works for securing the border." Some of the technologies floated include drones to surveil areas border agents cannot easily see, biometrics to check people entering the U.S. with their IDs, and sensors that detect people moving across ... Link to the full article to read more