SAN CLEMENTE, CA — On Tuesday April 28, residents of San Clemente will hold a town hall meeting to respond to the City Council's January 2026 decision to allow U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to deploy an Anduril surveillance tower on a ridge above the beachside town for up to twenty years for a one-time $10 rental fee. The town hall meeting will feature remarks by San Clemente City Council Member Mark Enmeier, Oakland Privacy Research Director Mike Katz-Lacabe, and Bill Kreutinger, among others. Sergio Farias, City Council member for District 1 in the neighboring town of San Juan Capistrano, Michael Villar, City Council member for District 5 in the neighboring town of Dana Point are expected in attendance, as well as the offices of State Senator Catherine Blakespear, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, Congressional representative Mike Levin, Congressional representative Dave Min and State Senatorial Candidate Chris Duncan. Event Details: Tuesday April 28th at 6:00pm at San Clemente Community Center - Fireside Room 100 N. Calle Seville San Clemente, CA 92672 The San Clemente Anduril tower is believed to be the first deployment of an Anduril surveillance tower in a densely populated area not located directly on the US-Mexico border. According to materials presented at the San Clemente City Council, Customs and Border Patrol has ownership of the equipment with no access for local law enforcement, no data retention, data use or datasharing limits are in effect, all information collected will be shared with ICE, and language in the contract allows for tracking and monitoring throughout residential areas while pursuing "smugglers". Similar surveillance towers deployed along the US-Mexico border have been outfitted with artificial intelligence analytics, machine learning and advanced technologies including radar, electro-optical and thermal sensors, and recognition software. Oakland Privacy's advocacy director Tracy Rosenberg comments: The planned deployment of an Anduril tower along a heavily used Orange County coastline 75 miles from the border demonstrates that the militarization of the border region is rapidly moving northwards and across the entire state. ###
About Oakland Privacy Oakland Privacy is a citizens coalition that works statewide to defend the right to privacy and enhance public transparency and oversight over the use of surveillance techniques and equipment. To learn more, visit https://oaklandprivacy.org | 