Thread: Eyes of Texas to be on border

June 2, 2006, 4:17PM
Eyes of Texas to be on border
Impatient with feds, Perry says state will install Web cameras public can view

By JOHN W. GONZALEZ and R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

SAN ANTONIO - Irked by what he called federal "inaction" on border security, Gov. Rick Perry unveiled state plans to install hundreds of video surveillance cameras along the Rio Grande to allow anyone with Internet access to witness and report suspicious activity as it occurs.

"I look at this as no different than the neighborhood watches that we've had in our communities for years and years," the governor said Thursday.

In making the announcement, Perry sought to distance himself from President Bush on the immigration controversy and align himself instead with delegates to the Texas Republican Convention, which begins today amid anger about the president's handling of the issue.

"Enforcing the border is the federal government's responsibility, but Texas will not wait for them to act," Perry said. "A stronger border is what the American people want. And it's what our security demands. And that is what Texas is going to deliver."

Perry said he'll tap $5 million from his office's funds to establish the "Virtual Border Watch Program" throughout the state's 1,200-mile frontage on the Rio Grande.

"With the voluntary participation of private landowners, the state will begin posting hundreds of surveillance cameras along the criminal hotspots and common routes used to enter this country," Perry said. No timetable was given.

Toll-free number
Perry said the cameras will cover stretches of farms and ranches on the border where "criminal activity is known to occur." But they will not be trained on any neighborhoods.

The video will be available on the Web in real time and cameras will have night vision capability. People who witness suspicious actions, including crossings, will be able to call a toll-free number to report it to the authorities.

"We will make the video feed available to state, local and federal law enforcement agencies so that they can respond swiftly and appropriately," Perry said.

Perry also is expected to focus on the border today as he gives the keynote speech to the state GOP convention here.

Perry's chief political adviser, Dave Carney, said the governor is not so much chiding Bush on the issue as the whole appearance of inaction by the president and Congress.

"When you are president, everything is your fault, but this is a Washington-wide issue, a bipartisan issue," Carney said.

Security briefing planned
Also today, Perry's chief of homeland security, Steve McCraw, is scheduled to give convention delegates a closed-door briefing at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on how the governor is trying to stem the tide of illegal immigration and cross-border violence prompted by drug wars in Nuevo Laredo.

Though new immigration legislation is moving slowly through Congress, many conservatives are angry that Bush has not pushed for tougher sanctions on those living and working in the U.S. illegally.

State GOP convention officials have been working on a new, stronger party platform plank on immigration. Platform Committee Chairman Kirk Overbey declined to release details of the plank Thursday.

In addition to the camera plan, Perry said he will pump $20 million more into Operation Rio Grande, a program that helps local border-area law enforcement agencies increase patrols and buy high-tech equipment. Perry said he will seek even more funding for the initiative in 2007.

"I will ask the Legislature in the next session to authorize $100 million to sustain Operation Rio Grande until the federal government fulfills its responsibility of securing our border," Perry said.

If approved, the appropriation would increase by 1,000 the number of state, county and local law enforcement officers near the border, he said.

Guard troops gearing up

The move comes as the Pentagon prepares to deploy about 6,000 National Guard troops to bolster U.S. Border Patrol operations. But Perry said he was disappointed that homeland defense funding for Texas recently was cut 31 percent despite intelligence that "al-Qaida views the southern border as a prime point of entry" into the U.S.

More than a dozen law officers stood behind the governor as he laid out his initiative Thursday at a Texas Department of Public Safety office. One of them, Webb County Sheriff Rick Flores, called the steps a good start.

"He's on the same page with the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition. A virtual wall is something we've been talking about because the Texas-Mexican border is very unique," Flores said.

The camera plan could work well in his county, which includes Laredo, Flores said. Most of the land fronting the Rio Grande is in private hands, "so it's difficult to come in and say, 'We're going to build a wall on your property.' Ranchers depend on the water for their cattle or irrigation. It's more complicated than what people think — or what the bureaucrats in Washington think," he said.

john.gonzalez@chron.com

r.g.ratcliffe@chron.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 21778.html

I really like the plan of American Citizens manning the cameras and calling in suspicious activity. That is a really cool idea.