Construction on virtual fence nears, aimed at keeping drug runners and illegal immigrants out of the country
Tucson, AZ(AP) — The federal government is nearly ready to begin construction on the latest version of an electronic border fence aimed at keeping illegal immigrants and drug runners out of the country.
The Department of Homeland Security says the sensors, cameras and communication towers that make up the fence will be built along vast desert areas of southern Arizona.
Plans call for two projects. The first is a grid of 17 towers along 23 miles of border near Sasabe, and a grid of 12 towers along 30 miles of border in southwestern Arizona south of Ajo.
ADVERTISEMENT
Both will feature a new operating system which has been undergoing testing since last summer.
Critics of an earlier electronic gatekeeper questioned the millions of tax dollars and time spent on a system that so far hasn't worked.
Some of the criticism is warranted, said Mark Borkowski, executive director of the Secure Border Initiative Program.
The earlier virtual fence project used off-the-shelf technology, strung it together and expected it to work, Borkowski said.
But Borkowski added that people must realize there has been important behind-the-scenes development work that will soon produce real results.
"Some of these investments are foundational investments that don't show something that you can give people a picture of," said Borkowski.
"While I am looking at what the expense is and whether it's reasonable, I happen to think that (criticism) might be a bit overstated because it's always hard to quantify and defend the things that you can't hold in your hand," he said.
Federal officials have provided a projected start date of March 20, said Mike Hawkes, manager at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, where five of the towers will be located.
A second virtual fence project, called "Ajo-1," calls for a grid of six sensor towers and six communications towers, 200 ground sensors and improvements on 20 miles of access roads along 30 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border in southwestern Arizona.
The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, an area often trampled on by illegal immigrants and drug smugglers, will have six or seven of the towers, said monument Superintendent Lee Baiza.
The fixed towers will range in height from 40 to 120 feet, with most at 80 feet.
They will have cameras and sensors attached to them that are better suited for the border environment and an overhauled communication system that will use microwaves rather than satellites, Borkowski said.
Not everyone is buying into the project during stressful economic times.
"To keep economic migrants out of the United States, wouldn't $400 million be better spent elsewhere such as doing economic development in Mexico"? said Christopher Bronk, a research fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.
"It's difficult not to calculate what else the money could have been used for," Bronk said.
___
Information from: Arizona Daily Star, www.azstarnet.com