Thread: Texas Gov. Perry asks feds for drones to patrol border

Texas Gov. Perry asks feds for drones to patrol border
By Gary Reese
Florida Insider

February 8, 2010 —

Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry says unarmed, unmanned Predator drone aircraft should be used to patrol the Texas-Mexico border for illegal immigration and drug-trade activity. Perry, in a tough re-election fight this year, has asked the federal government for one Predator. Predators are now in use along the Arizona-Mexico border. Republican US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, running for governor against Perry, called the idea a “boondoggle.â€

They use them on the Canadian border, why NOT on the border where they are most needed?

Feb 09, 2010

Texas Gov. Perry requests Predator drones for border with Mexico

09:52 AM

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, campaigning for re-election, has called on the Defense Department to deploy unarmed Predator drones to the Texas border to provide security and collect "real-time" data, The Dallas Morning News reports.

Perry, seeking a third full-term as governor, faces Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the GOP primary March 2.

Law enforcement officers are frequently "outgunned and understaffed and do not have resources" to do their jobs, Perry said in explaining his request for drones. "The federal government has been an abject failure at sealing our international border."

The newspaper said officers from the U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customs already use three Predator B, or unmanned aerial vehicles, at the Arizona border for remote-control surveillance of drug and migrant smuggling.

A fourth Predator aircraft is expected to arrive this summer and will be stationed in Corpus Christi, The News says.
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