Border Patrolling Drones in Texas

The Houston Chronicle announced drones will be placed along the border of Texas and Mexico. This report comes in wake of increased human smuggling. The capabilities of the drones are numerous, according to David Gasho, head of operations for the drones at the CBP's drone base. He stated:

"The drone's radar can penetrate clouds, see a vehicle under a tarp or detect a breach in the border fence. A group of drug smugglers that used to take Border Patrol agents a whole day to track can now be rounded up in a matter of minutes, with a second group tracked within the hour." [1]

Comment: These drones, in the opinion of this author, could be useful for assisting the Border Patrol in catching those who are crossing the border illegally. Combining both human intelligence and the intel picked up by these drones may help in increasing the number of illegals caught and decrease violence along the border.

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[1] http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7192354.html