American drones have been snooping on friends and foes in Afghanistan and Iraq. They may soon be keeping tabs on the Mexican border, if certain congressmen have their way.
"High tech, including drones, is precisely where we should be going," Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) told the Arizona Republic.
After testing drones in south Texas during the late 1990s, Border Patrol officials decided against using them. But Asa Hutchinson, the nation's top border security official in Homeland Security, told Congress last month, "I think that we have to revisit some of this technology since September 11th and see if it has greater application."
Mario Villareal, a spokesman for the Bureau of Customs and Border, said Border Patrol agents are using drones for specific investigations along the northern and southwestern borders.
Last summer, agents teamed up with the Drug Enforcement Administration and local law enforcement agencies in Idaho to break up a drug-smuggling ring that involved undocumented immigrants crossing the border from Canada. A drone operated by the U.S. Marine Corps was used to do surveillance work.
(via UV Online)
