Alert Memorandum: PBS Allowed the Use of a Drone from a Prohibited Source to Photograph Construction at a Land Port of Entry in San Luis, Arizona

The purpose of this memorandum is to notify the PBS Commissioner about an issue that warrants immediate attention. During the survey phase of our Oversight of PBS’s Projects Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Audit of PBS Pacific Rim Region’s Award and Administration of the San Luis Land Port of Entry Expansion and Modernization Project, we learned that the project’s construction contractor has frequently taken aerial photographs to document construction progress. In doing so, the construction contractor has used a drone manufactured by a company that the U.S. Department of Defense has identified as a “Chinese military company” and potential threat to national security.