Civilians patrolling 100 border acres near San Pedro
CLAUDINE LoMONACO
Published: 05.03.2007
A southern Arizona civilian patrol group is expanding onto 100 acres along the U.S.-Mexico border near the San Pedro River.
American Border Patrol founder Glenn Spencer formerly ran the group's high-tech surveillance operations from an adjacent 4-acre plot of land a quarter-mile from the border.
"Now we'll have a half a mile directly on the border," he said. "We've got a lot of drug vehicles coming through here, but we're putting a stop to it."
The volunteer group uses cameras, ground sensors, and unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor and report border activity to federal authorities.
Spencer will kick off the expansion Friday night at his ranch in Hereford, near Naco, with a $50-a-seat cookout and fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R- Colo., who is running for president on an anti-illegal immigration platform. About 200 people are expected to attend.
Attendees will be shown a high-definition display of the group's surveillance cameras at work, along with its unmanned aerial vehicles, Spencer said.
Spencer said he didn't expect much trouble from drug traffickers in response the stepped-up surveillance.
"They just shoot at each other," he said. "They don't shoot at Americans. They know that would be the end of it."

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