Posted on 11/07/2013 2:44:42 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
The nation's federal border protection agency announced this week it will begin using more military-owned equipment for surveillance along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.
The new equipment, set up at three locations, will include large balloon-like devices called “aerostats” that contain sensor equipment for viewing activity along the border. The sensor equipment is similar to what the Border Patrol already uses but will give the agency a greater viewing area so they can track drug traffickers and undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.’s southern border.
The announcement of the border balloons comes on top of recent announcements by CBP officials that they will be stepping border security and their monitoring tactics.
A July report obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit revealed the agency has considered adding weapons to its Predator drones that currently serve as the agency's eyes in the sky on the lookout for undocumented immigrants and drug trafficking coming across the border.
A section of the heavily redacted 107-page report that deals with the equipment mounted on the drones states that “Additional payload upgrades could include expendables or non-lethal weapons designed to immobilize [targets of interest].”
The federal border agency downplayed the report, saying it has no plans as of now to arm its drones, adding that current missions focus solely on surveillance and reporting illegal activity.
(Excerpt) Read more at latino.foxnews.com ...
in order to ensure they are registered to vote...
We’ve had one at Fort Huachuca, Arizonna for a long long time.
“Spy Blimps In South Texas”
Looks like Krispy Kreme paid a visit to Texas after Obama =)
This is a good way to get a more accurate count of the illegals coming across the border.
How Un-PC of the author...
It should be “undocumented pharmacists” and undocumented immigrants.
We don't want several thousand drug dealers marching on Washington demanding their rights because we are using an outdated term to describe them.
Yeah those blimps would act as a deterrent to border crossings if they didn’t say “Welcome to California!” on them.../s
why bother... i mean it's not like we would try and stop them from crossing the border or something even if we saw them coming
i fly by one of these in the Florida Keys
looking for them drugs and illegals.
And waaaayy up in the sky
Non-lethal?
I think BP Agent Brian Terry has something to say about that—or he would if he didn’t go up against fully armed rip-crews and he was directed to use non-lethal shotgun rounds.
they’ve been using blimps, ballons and tehtered camera’s for over 20 years.
tehered
Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...
Thank you! Fat fingers and Crown Royal Black is not the best combination.
There’s no question.
If you like your silly notions of self-reliance, you will be able to keep your silly notions of self-reliance. Period.
No one will take them away. No matter what.
Not that the blimps couldn’t shot down with “Fast and Furious” weapons. Nah ...that would never happen.
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