In a test area near Sasabe , Arizona , a 28 - mi section of the virtual boundary line fence is set to go live . Developed by Boeing as part of a $ 70 million contract , the mental testing fence , dubbed Project 28 , will use a compounding of strong-arm fencing material and " unseeable technology " [ generator : NPR ] .

This test section of the virtual fencing is part of the largerSecure Border Initiative , designed to stop smugglers andillegal migrantsalong the United States ' delimitation with Mexicoand Canada . The Project 28 localisation was chosen in part because it ’s an area that has been riddle with smugglers .

To work up its fencing , Boeing has used fencing , vehicle barrier , radio detection and ranging , artificial satellite phones , computer - equipped border control vehicles , underground detector , 98 - metrical foot magniloquent towers with high-pitched - poweredcameras(includinginfraredcameras ) and remote-controlled aery fomite . The tugboat - climb cameras are passing powerful ; they have a range of more than 10 mi and the ability to settle if someone is fortify from nautical mile aside .

Some parts of Project 28 have few or no visible measures in place , by and large because it would be airy to progress a physical fencing there , either because of monetary value or harsh terrain . However , the plane section without visible fencing material are reported to still be monitored by camera , radar , underground sensors , Border Patrol factor and other technologies .

Next , we ’ll s­ee how these various technology work together to make a virtual moulding fence .

Virtual Border Fence Technology

So how can a " practical " fence work ? Whenever a suspicious person or potentially illegal activity is detected near one of the fence ’s component , that data transmits to the Border Patrol offices in Tucson and Sells , Arizona . federal agent in those offices notify federal agent in the field . The precise coordinates look onlaptopsthat the agent have in their vehicles . Images , coordinates , radarscans and all other data are combined to make a Common Operating Picture .

Usingaerialphotos of the border area , Boeing attempted to figure out how long it takes someone illegally crossing the border to " coalesce into " nearby urban areas [ Source : NPR ] . Physical fencing has been built at those spots , rather than along the accurate border . The area leading up to that demarcation line will be closely supervise by the virtual fence .

The practical fencing system is supposed to be capable to operate at all times of day and in all type of atmospheric condition . The hope is that it will significantly improve boundary line security measures and allow a compliment to the physical fencing and Border Patrol personnel already in place . In the coming calendar month and years , more security measures bar are presuppose to go online . Boeing has present a plan for 1,800 towers like those used in Project 28 , to be placed along the United States ' borders with Mexico and Canada . The U.S. governing plan to hire 6,000 unexampled Border Patrol agents by 2008 . Until those new broker are in plaza , 6,000National Guardmembers are at the border , help with patrols , installing security scheme and take aim Border Patrol agents .

In all , the virtual moulding fencing seems like a very impressive project , a way of using cutting off - edge technology to better monitor America ’s monumental borders . The intended advantage of the practical mete fence is that it offer more flexibility than a stringently physical fencing . But the labor has also received a significant amount of criticism . In the next segment , we ’ll look at some of the controversy surrounding the practical border fencing .

Criticisms of the Virtual Border Fence

Many people , including residents of margin towns , environmental activist , privacy advocates and government watchdog groups , have raise concerns about the fence ’s impact on the surround , economic activity , tourism and privateness .

Some critic question the engineering behind the virtual fence . For example , cows have set it off . A implicated rancher also told the Associated Press that a politics official had indicated that the tower ’s warning horn could go off automatically if anything – human or animal – gets too close [ origin : St. Louis Tribune ] .

It ’s also unclear how much the full virtual fence will be . company contend for border surety contracts have said it ’s a $ 2 billion declaration over six years . But the costs of past border fences , such as the one in development since 1994 along parts of the California - Mexico border , have skyrocketed beyond initial estimates . The price of the unexampled , perfect virtual fencing could be as much as $ 30 billion .

Privacy remain a concern for occupier of towns near the virtual fence . Many resident of these communities love their secluded living conditions . pass their extremely long range and propinquity to some Ithiel Town , the tug - mountedcamerascould be used to look into secret homes and businesses . The administration says they wo n’t be used for that purpose , but privacy advocates and local occupant are concerned . Besides the television camera , underground sensor , helicoptersand Border Patrol vehicles could go away margin town residents feeling like they ’re under unvarying surveillance .

The soil along the Arizona - Mexico border contains important migratory itinerary for animals and several interior parks . The virtual fence ’s towers , vehicles and eggbeater could disturb beast in the sphere . Questions have been raised about whether the utilisation ofradarwill adversely affectbatsandhoneybees . The physical portions of the fence are set up to legislate through areas frequented by uncommon animal such as theocelot .

But illegalimmigrationexacts its own toll on the environment . Large amounts of litter and waste are strewn along migratory routes . trucker and off - route vehicles cut up illegal roads through canyons and hillsides , break up the lifelike habitats of local animals.­

Beyond privacy and environmental concerns , there ’s the question of whether the way of living for the great unwashed living along the U.S.-Mexico border will change . We ’ll search at this in the next section .

Life along the U.S.-Mexico Border

So how might a edge fencing affect the citizenry living on either side of it ? Parts of the physical border fence are planned for territorial dominion that is aboriginal American tribal country . Increased traffic , Border Patrol agents andNational Guardsmenhas already been a source of complaint for some ranchers . The 98 - fundament column in stead on the periphery of Town represent a potential eyesore , and their word of advice temptress could drive away holidaymaker from some of the nearby ranches that also serve as secluded vacation spots .

The Rio Grande Valley provides an important case study for this public debate . In the valley , the cities of McAllen , Texas , and Reynoso , Mexico , are separate by the Rio Grande . However , many residents of the towns simply consider McAllen and Reynoso to be one town with a river flow down the middle [ Source : NPR ] . The pop the question fence would severalize these cities and has created an shout among local residents . Some mass work in one metropolis and inhabit in another , crossing the borderline daily . Families on one side of the border have congener on the other . The area also calculate importantly on its agricultural economy and on tourism . Over the last 30 years , $ 100 million has been expend restitute rude habitats in the area . Even a practical fence with tug , vehicles andradarstations could cleave this cross - border residential district in two and trouble the oeuvre that has been done to recompense the river ’s ecosystem .

However , border fence advocates point to the human cost of illegalimmigration . Since 1994 , more than 3,000 people have kick the bucket attempt to queer the molding into southern Arizona . A better secured and more vigilantly - monitor border may avail to lay aside the lives of migrants lost in this unforgiving landscape .

Because of the many concern that have been raised , some town have held meetings with Boeing officials and spokesperson of the Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security . Congressional representatives have introduced legislating designed to answer to the concern of their constituent , while other groups have filedlawsuitsin court .

We ’ve discussed some of the headache about the encroachment of the forcible and practical border fence and the costs require , but will it work ? Read on to line up out .

Effectiveness of the Virtual Border Fence

Tracking the effectiveness of border security measures is a difficult task . Does the figure of arrests of illegalimmigrantsand drug traffickers indicate achiever ? If there arefewerarrests , does that think masses are being deterred by the fence or simply finding another elbow room around ? If there aremorearrests , does that mean more people are slipping into the country unnoticed or that enforcement has improved ? These are interrogation that commentator , politicians and law enforcement officials bear on to ponder .

What ’s beyond dispute is that the virtual border fence use top - of - the - line technology . Some facet of the practical fencing have been used before along the California - Mexico mete and in Iraq and Afghanistan , but never before have so many diverse technologies come together to patrol one delimitation . Will that give law enforcement the upper hand , or will a meshwork of up to 1,800 towers , each with its own set of cameras , radars and other devices , flood out the understaffed Border Patrol ? Again , answering these questions will take time . But critics point to preceding cause at boosting border security in which 1000000000 of dollars have been doled out , frequently with unsatisfying final result . The fence along parts of the California - Mexico mete is still bare after 13 years of construction and is far over budget . In other type , contracts were awarded only to havecamerasnot installed , legion false alarms and anincreaserather than a decrease in illegal traffic . On April 25 , 2007 , the Border Patrol ’s solePredator 2drone , a $ 6.5 million remote-controlled aerial vehicle frequently used by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan , crashed in Arizona after only seven calendar month of use .

borderline security system is an issue that many Americans handle strongly about . Proponents of virtual and strong-arm fencing decimal point not only to the need to minify illegalmigranttraffic but also to concerns about drug smuggling and terrorism . On December 14 , 1999 , Ahmed Ressam was stopped and arrested near a Canadian border crossing . He was on his way to Los Angeles to set about to botch up Los Angeles International Airport as part of the " Millennium Plot . " Border security advocates adduce this foiled terrorist performance as evidence that better border security go beyond stemming illegal in-migration .

For more information about the practical border fence and other related topics , check out the links on the next page .

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