A 28-mile stretch of the U.S. border seems to have become our government’s latest “shiny object” — distracting both lawmakers and citizens from the underlying immigration issue. The stretch of land in the Southwest has been the testing ground for a virtual fence intended to improve border security while reducing personnel.
The project, which was developed by Boeing Co., has been aptly named Project 28. Specialized surveillance systems were created using both radar and cameras atop 98-foot towers.
Lawmakers have been talking up the new technology as a big step in the fight against illegal immigration, but there have been enough technical glitches to undermine the project’s credibility.
The high-tech border protection plan began with a $20 million budget, but since then its funding has increased significantly. When fundamental problems were found with technology, the U.S. granted Boeing another $64 million to fix the fence’s shortcomings.
The electronic fence has a range of issues. Boeing has had a difficult time correlating the camera images with radar, and rain has blurred the surveillance systems. In some cases, the cameras have made it difficult to distinguish among shrubbery, trees and humans.
But instead of ending the flawed program, the Department of Homeland Security increased the project’s cash flow.
Maybe lawmakers were hoping small changes could be made to fix the virtual fence, or maybe they were just backing what could have been an advanced piece of technology.
Either way, a large amount of money has been poured into a pilot project that likely will not be extended any farther along the border.
If the electronic border patrol had worked, it would have looked good for both campaign advertising and political résumés. Unfortunately the idea worked much better on paper than it did along Arizona’s border.
Part of the issue could have been the border patrol’s handling of the 28-mile stretch of land. When the electronic fence was added, which would allow the number of border patrol agents in the area to decrease, fewer people were on hand to oversee operations.
Surveillance towers were built but left unmanned. The new technology was supposed to do the work.
But with electronic glitches, the virtual fence could not keep a tight watch over the border. Since personnel were removed from the area, Project 28 turned out to be a blemish on the reputation of U.S.-Mexico border security.
Adding — rather than depleting — personnel along the border might have been a more successful use of the additional $64 million. The boost of personnel would have heightened the security already in place, created jobs and saved politicians some embarrassment when their grand plan didn’t work out.
If lawmakers hadn’t been so distracted by the glitz of a virtual fence, maybe they would have found a more practical solution.
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