Senators Tour Valley Border
Reported by Romeo Cantu

A U.S. Senate leader says today's fly-over of the Texas-Mexico border helps him better understand the need for more security.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist joined U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Border Patrol-led tour of a 25-mile long stretch of the Rio Grande.

The Blackhawk helicopter flew low enough for those on board to see tracks from illegal immigrants who'd recently crossed the river to slip into Texas.

“We had a wonderful tour of the border,� Hutchison said. “We went up to Rio Grande City in the helicopter and we were able to really track the river and see the tracks ourselves of illegal immigration.�

The lawmakers also saw recently apprehended immigrants and loads of marijuana in a lockup at a Customs site in Rio Grande City.

Hutchison said that there is a need for more agents, technology and funding to secure the borders.

“There's no question that the 1,500 new border patrol agents that are in the Appropriations Bill that will be signed next week will be great help and we certainly want that here, especially the technology that is included in the bill,� she said.

Frist says seeing the river, the footprints, and what he called the "humanity itself" of illegal immigration firsthand -- has left an impression.

Some of the high-tech equipment that will be used on the front lines of the border includes special ground sensors.

“What I became more sensitized to was the technology that is both necessary that we made a good first step with that in this bill we made a good next step with, but we've got a long way to go,� Frist said.

And this was why Border Patrol Chief Lynne Underdown said these visits are an important step for the Valley.

“We wanted to highlight to him that with the right tools, we can increase our operational control of this border in a really substantial way,� Underdown said.

Hutchison is sponsoring a bill to allow local law enforcement agencies to arrest illegal immigrants.

However, there is already some strong opposition to the bill from local law enforcement.

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