459. One Border After Another (ft. Gaby Del Valle)

459. One Border After Another (ft. Gaby Del Valle)

From This Machine Kills by This Machine Kills

May 29, 2026 · 1h 13m

About this episode

The episode features a discussion with Gaby Del Valle about border security technology and the ideological underpinnings of immigration politics.

We chat with Gaby Del Valle—policy reporter at the Verge—about her excursion to the Border Security Expo, the new hardware and software being sold to fight the endless battle at the border, and how the border has now expanded to encompass everywhere and everybody. Plus we discuss Gaby’s research into the white supremacist ideologies of eugenicist environmentalism that have motivated immigration politics for a very long time. ••• The Border is Everywhere https://www.theverge.com/report/928726/border-security-expo-cbp-ice-dhs-surveillance ••• Trump is Waging a Silent War on Legal Immigration https://www.theverge.com/policy/932865/trump-legal-immigration-denaturalizations-uscis Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite ••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble ••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

People in this episode

Hosts: Jathan Sadowski, Edward Ongweso Jr.

Guest: Gaby Del Valle

Topics covered

  • border security
  • immigration politics
  • eugenicist environmentalism
  • surveillance technology
  • white supremacist ideologies

Keywords

  • border security
  • immigration
  • surveillance
  • eugenics
  • white supremacy
  • technology
  • policy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: the Verge, CBP, ICE, DHS, TMK

Books & works: The Mechanic and the Luddite

More episodes of This Machine Kills

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the This Machine Kills podcast page.