Lawmakers Fight for More Eyes Above Texas-Mexico Border

Reported by: Oscar Adame
Last Update: 8:04 am

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two congressional lawmakers from Texas are working to put more eyes in the sky above the Texas-Mexico border. They want more aerial surveillance for the region.

There are currently four UAVs, or unmanned aerial systems, assigned to the southern border. Three are based in Arizona, and most recently, one now based in Corpus Christi is classified as a maritime unit.

The bill directs the Army, National Guard and the Air National Guard to design and build a hangar on the southwest border that would house UAVs. The high-tech systems would support the National Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement.

Lawmakers say that while Arizona shares less than 400 miles of border with Mexico, Texas has about three times the area to cover.

Congressmen Henry Cuellar and Michael McCaul sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano urging the agency to station the two UAVs requested in Texas.

The two UAVs on order per the appropriations bill are to be delivered at the end of the year. The bill now moves from the House to the Senate.

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