Virtual fence necessary to monitor border
Comments 3 | Recommend 1
May 13, 2009 - 10:34 PM

Although more than 600 miles of fencing have been built along the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years, much of the border remains open.

The reality is that fencing some 2,000 miles of border and trying to monitor and maintain it is a monumental and probably impossible task - at least if you are talking about physical barriers.

Fencing tends to work best in more populated areas, but in more remote areas there are logistical and terrain issues that can make it impractical.

That is why work was started this week on a "virtual" fence that will eventually stretch along not only the U.S.-Mexico border but also along our nation's border with Canada, which currently only has minimal monitoring.

The first virtual fence work is in Arizona.

The virtual fence overcomes some of the difficulties of installing physical fencing. It uses an array of electrical sensors mounted on tall towers in remote areas to detect border activity. Border agents monitor the cameras and other detection equipment so they can respond to intrusions.

A lot of the physical fencing has proved especially effective against vehicle crossings and has dramatically reduced the number of illegal crossers in some areas, like ours. But individuals can still successfully penetrate the fences. That is why drug smugglers, for example, have switched to people carrying drugs across in backpacks.

The virtual fence sensors could help in better detecting these individual crossings in remote areas.

Some doubt the reliability of the virtual fence, however. There were reports of problems and cost overruns with a prototype version tested here in Arizona. But Homeland Security officials say the new virtual fence has been improved.

It is likely this will be a "work in progress." As time passes, ways will be found to improve the equipment so it does a better job and border agents will find better ways to use it.

Even the imperfect prototype, which is still in use, has had some success. A Border Patrol spokesman said there had been more than 5,000 arrests from virtual sightings since September 2007 when the fence was activated.

The reality is that some type of virtual monitoring of the borders, whether with this system or an improved one, is inevitable. A physical barrier system alone is simply impractical.



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