GAO: Technology can help secure Southwest border

Outfitting checkpoints on the U.S.-Mexico border with more technology could help stem the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The Border Patrol checkpoints also would benefit from more personnel to monitor technology, the report (GAO-09-824) stated. The goal of the checkpoints is to drive aliens and smugglers away from established border crossings and toward rural areas, where they stand out more and are easier to apprehend. The report noted that whenever a specific checkpoint received additional resources or personnel, officials typically would see a spike in the number of seizures and apprehensions, followed by a gradual decline as smugglers and criminals looked for a less secure point of entry into the United States.

Officials from the Yuma, Ariz., Border Patrol sector attributed a 73 percent increase in the number of drug seizures from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008 to improved use of technology such as ground sensors, license plate readers and video surveillance cameras. Tucson sector checkpoints reported a 28 percent increase in apprehensions of illegal aliens from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008, which officials attributed to maintaining nearly full-time operations during 2008.

But criminals also have deployed technology that makes them more difficult to capture. According to the report, smugglers backed by organized crime often use sophisticated surveillance and communications technologies to keep tabs on the Border Patrol.

"Tucson sector Border Patrol officials and the assistant special agent in charge from [the Drug Enforcement Administration's] Tucson district office explained that smugglers of humans and drugs, often sponsored by organized crime, store loads of people or drugs in 'stash houses' after illegally crossing the border until transit routes are clear. As soon as a checkpoint is closed, the people or drugs in the stash houses are moved through the checkpoint," the report noted.

Another challenge is that checkpoints don't always have technological resources available on a continuous basis, according to GAO. Border Patrol officials told the watchdog agency that resources are allocated based on checkpoints' proximity to populated areas and the extent of illegal activity in the area.

"Officials said that checkpoints may have lower priority than other Border Patrol activities to receive new technology, and older equipment may be less reliable and less available for continuous operation, particularly at tactical checkpoints," the report stated "For example, the four cameras being used at the I-19 checkpoint are not connected to commercial power and are therefore vulnerable to generator and microwave transmitter issues, according to sector officials."

The report also noted that some checkpoints with video cameras do not have the necessary personnel to monitor them. GAO recommended that Border Patrol make the technology available on a continuous basis and ensure that there is sufficient staff to monitor the cameras and sensors. Border Patrol officials responded that they are working to give checkpoints more resources.