Thread: Cell phone to help illegal aliens could launch by summer

Cell phone to help illegal aliens could launch by summer

UC San Diego professors say technical hurdles remain

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com
Saturday, December 26, 2009 9:00 pm

SAN DIEGO ---- Two UC San Diego professors working on a controversial cell phone tool that could help guide illegal immigrants safely across the border say they want to deploy the devices as soon as next summer.

Hundreds of people die each year attempting to cross the border illegally, primarily due to heat exhaustion and dehydration, say civil rights groups and authorities on both sides of the border.

UC San Diego professor Ricardo Dominguez and his partner in the project said they hope to give people cell phones they can use in an emergency to prevent deaths.

"That is our goal: distribution and use by summer," said Dominguez, a professor of visual arts.

But technical and logistical hurdles remain, the professors say.

They have to identify safe locations where people can go for help, said UC San Diego professor Brett Stalbaum, who also is working on the project. They have to make the cell phone tool easy to use for people who don't speak English, and they have to work with others to teach people how to use the device.

Some critics have questioned whether the project is legal or whether it would work. Others say the tool would encourage more people to illegally enter the country and possibly put people's lives in danger.

"There is a legitimate humanitarian concern for those who attempt to cross the border without knowledge of the terrain and seasonal climate," said Joe Kasper, a spokesman for Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-El Cajon. "But the best way to address this problem is to prevent illegal (border crossing), not encourage more of it."

Dominguez said the cell phone tool, which he calls the Transborder Immigrant Tool, won't encourage more people to come to the U.S. illegally because there are stronger forces pulling them here, such as work and family.

Moreover, there are misconceptions about the technology and what it is capable of doing, Stalbaum said. The cell phone tool will not map out the best route across the border from Mexico to the United States, he said; there are better devices people can buy in retail stores for that.

"The people that are against this technology are better off protesting in front of Walmart," Stalbaum said.

The cell phone tool can help point people in the direction they need to go to find water, or even a U.S. Border Patrol station, if someone needs help. The cell phone application is similar to the one found in Global Positioning or GPS devices people have in their cars, but it is much simpler.

It is intentionally simple because the professors want to keep the cost of the device, which they plan to distribute for free, as low as possible, Stalbaum said.

A GPS device can cost $100 or more. The cell phones used as prototypes for their tool, including used Motorola i425 and i455 phones, cost less than $30, Stalbaum said.

But there are drawbacks to keeping costs low, Stalbaum said. The cell phones must be updated manually with information, including coordinates to water stations and other "safety points," which could be any number of locations, such as a Border Patrol station, a clinic or a church.

A cell phone that has outdated information can actually create more problems for lost migrants, Stalbaum said. For example, it can lead people to a water station that is no longer there.

In a recent demonstration of the device at the UC San Diego campus, Stalbaum said the GPS-enabled phone can pick up satellite signals that can tell a person where he or she is.

It also can tell the person in which direction to walk and the distance to a predetermined safety point.

On the phone's screen, the device looks much like a compass with a needle pointing toward the safety point. But the battery lasts only about two hours when the GPS is enabled, which means it should only be used in an emergency, Stalbaum said.

For the project, Dominguez said he has received about $15,000 in grants from foundations, including a $5,000 award from the U.S. Mexico Foundation for Culture, which promotes cultural understanding between the two countries.

Dominguez said he plans to coordinate with nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups and religious congregations that help migrants. He said he also plans to discuss the project with groups that place water in the desert to plot the locations and feed them into the phones.

John Hunter, who founded the Water Stations project in 2000, said he had not heard of Dominguez or the project until he read about it in the newspaper. Hunter said he questioned whether the project was simply an academic experiment.

"If they wanted to make it happen, they could have contacted the people with the water stations," Hunter said.

From March to October, Hunter's nonprofit group installs and maintains about 150 water stations along the border in the Anza Borrego and Imperial Valley deserts.

Although he is skeptical about the project, Hunter, the uncle of the congressman and brother of former Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, said he supports Dominguez's effort if it works.

"I think if they are going to save lives, I am all for it," he said.

For more information, visit www.walkingtools.net.

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.

http://nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/ ... 481f8.html

And the people of California are paying their salaries. Disgusting.

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

And the people of California are paying their salaries. Disgusting.

They get paid to teach college courses. CA. has no control over what they do in their off hours.

Foundations are paying for their research work.

For the project, Dominguez said he has received about $15,000 in grants from foundations, including a $5,000 award from the U.S. Mexico Foundation for Culture, which promotes cultural understanding between the two countries.

Wait until some illegal aliens using their phone dies and they get sued by every relative the dead person ever had.

Any way to find out what foundations? Would be interesting to know what traitors are supporting these tech geniuses aiding and abetting.

Originally Posted by vortex

Any way to find out what foundations? Would be interesting to know what traitors are supporting these tech geniuses aiding and abetting.

One is real easy.

$5,000 award from the U.S. Mexico Foundation for Culture,
which promotes cultural understanding between the two countries.

U S - Mexico Foundation For Culture Inc

This is a description of a US tax-exempt organization, based on IRS records.

EIN 20659543
IRS approved on 200308
Last filed 200712

Contact % Grant Herrmann Schwartz & Klinger
Address 675 Third Ave Ste 1200
New York, NY 10017-0000

Filing month 12
Assets $9,005
Income $1
Revenue $
Category Charitable Organization
Classification Private Independent Foundations
Filing 990 - Not required to file(all other)
Filing 990-PF return
Foundation Private operating foundation (other)
Affiliation Independent
Exemption Unconditional Exemption
Organization Corporation

Contributions are deductible.

U S - Mexico Foundation For Culture Inc
( watchdog.net )

U S - Mexico Foundation For Culture Inc. This is a description of a US tax-exempt organization, ... Foundation, Private operating foundation (other) ...

watchdog.net/ein/20659543/u-s--mexico-foundation-for-culture-inc - Cached

And AHnold is asking for more fed funds!

This story is now in the USA TODAY.

You can post a comment at this link:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... s-border/1

As soon as the Border Patrol catches the first person with one of these phone and confiscates it as evidence they can use it to see what routes they send people on and then just sit there and wait for them instead of having to search for them.