Thread: CBP deploys airships on Texas border

CBP deploys airship on South Padre Island


Jason Hoekema
An aerostat tethered balloon floats in the skies Tuesday, October 9, 2018, above Isla Blanca Park on South Padre Island, Texas. (Jason Hoekema/The Brownsville Herald)




Posted: Wednesday, October 10, 2018 9:23 am
By Mark Reagan Staff Writer

Visitors to Isla Blanca Park on South Padre Island last Friday may have noticed an unusual sight: a large, white blimp-type airship.

The airship, or aerostat, belongs to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, which deployed the tethered aerostat at the U.S. Coast Guard Station on South Padre Island late last week.

“ This new aerostat system provides a significant capability for government law enforcement agencies responsible for combating smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal immigration and illegal fishing occurring off the south Texas shoreline,” CBP said in a statement.

“The surveillance capabilities provide situational awareness to (Air and Marine Operations), Border Patrol, Coast Guard and other state/local law enforcement organizations during enforcement operations. This improved situational awareness enhances mission execution, officer safety, and evidence collection for prosecution.”

The statement goes on to assert that the aerostat’s presence will curb the flow of illegal drugs and illegal immigration through South Texas leading to safer and more secure communities.

The aerostat is the first of its kind to operate in Cameron County and brings the total number of aerostats deployed in the Rio Grande Valley to six.

CBP Spokesman Roderick Kise said in an email that Border Patrol operates five land aerostats in Hidalgo and Starr counties. Those aerostats are stationed in Peñitas, Falfurrias, Sullivan City, Rio Grande City and Roma.

While South Padre Island is known throughout the rest of the country and locally as a destination for great beaches, fantastic fishing and fresh sea food, it’s also frequently used by drug traffickers and human smugglers to evade federal authorities. The U.S. Coast Guard also reports regularly encountering illegal Mexican fishing vessels miles off of South Padre Island’s coastline.

Just last month, multiple law enforcement agencies arrested three Tamaulipas men who are accused of unloading approximately 480 pounds of marijuana off of a fishing boat near a popular beach bar on South Padre Island. CBP Marine Interdiction agents intercepted the boat approximately 100 yards north of the jetties, according to federal court documents.

That’s just one of multiple instances of drug trafficking and illegal immigration cited in federal court documents filed this year.

The CBP aerostats were first deployed to the Rio Grande Valley in 2013.

The airships roam approximately 1,000 feet above the ground and are equipped with cameras, which have a range between five and ten miles, according to newspaper archives.

The aerostats are also equipped with infrared technology.
When the Defense Department and CBP announced that the aerostats, at least one of which was used during combat in Afghanistan, authorities sought to assuage privacy concerns.

John Milne, a CBP supervisor, told The Monitor during a press conference in Peñitas in 2013 that the aerostat would not infringe on people’s right to privacy.

“ It’s not different than anything else,” Milne said at the time, referencing other surveillance and security systems. “These cameras cannot look inside people’s windows.”

Rosendo Hinojosa, who, at the time, was chief patrol agent of the Rio Grande Valley Sector, told The Monitor that the aerostat wouldn’t be “used against the citizenry.”

https://www.brownsvilleherald.com/ne...e636569ed.html

We can deploy all the airships and Guard we want but we MUST process them and deport them within 24 hours or it is a WASTE of our money!

We do not want to warehouse them, we do not want to catch and release them in our communities, we do NOT want to keep their UAC's in detention, foster care them OR hand them to illegal family members!

WE WANT THEM TRACKED DOWN, WE WANT THEM APPREHENDED, WE WANT THEM REFUSED ENTRY WITH NO PAPERS, WE WANT THEM SENT BACK SWIFTLY!

THEY HAVE NO RIGHTS TO OUR COURT SYSTEM OR TAXPAYER MONEY!

WE DO NOT WANT ANY "DEAL" ON DACA! WE WANT WORK PERMITS TO EXPIRE AND THEY GO HOME!

GO HOME AND APPLY!

Okay. So where are the people who will run them out of the country or take them into custody? Hiding in the bushes? Eating hot dogs and donuts back at the office? Hey, I'm hungry, I want some hot dogs and donuts.

Originally Posted by Judy

Okay. So where are the people who will run them out of the country or take them into custody? Hiding in the bushes? Eating hot dogs and donuts back at the office? Hey, I'm hungry, I want some hot dogs and donuts.

Yeah, remember the $1 billion virtual fence boondoggle that ended up being cancelled after costly overruns and failure to work? You're right, cameras don't come down and grab folks by the ankle and arrest them.

Border Patrol Agent Patrols South Texas Border on an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) |

TX finest, Border Horse Patrol

File:CBP MRAP in South Texas.jpg

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Border Patrol Agent Patrols South Texas Border on an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) |

Now you're talking. Chase them back into Mexico with those things! Vrrrrrmmm!