U.S. Vigilantes Test Drones on Mexican Border

WashingtonPost.com ^ | Tuesday, May 13, 2003; 7:40 PM | Deborah Tedford

[Reagan is King]

Reuters Tuesday, May 13, 2003; 7:40 PM

By Deborah Tedford

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - An Arizona vigilante group is testing homemade "drone" reconnaissance planes on the U.S.-Mexican border to monitor illegal immigrants entering the United States in lonely desert areas.

Glenn Spencer, head of the American Border Patrol vigilante group, said on Tuesday the group has been testing two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for about a month and plans to have a fleet making passes over the border by early July.

"We want to show how the application of this technology can solve the border problem," Spencer told Reuters.

Police and residents say they are aware of the drones, similar to unmanned U.S. military aircraft used in Iraq.

Hundreds of thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants cross the border in search of work every year. Three vigilante groups, some of them armed, have sprung up in Arizona in the last three years to monitor the border and hand over any illegal immigrants they find to U.S. Border Patrol agents.

The groups say U.S. authorities allow too many Mexicans to flout U.S. immigration law. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, some have also said unrestricted immigration poses an unacceptable security risk.

Area residents say the drones invade their privacy and foster poor cross-border relations.

"The Mexican populations along the border are indignant," said Miguel Escobar, a Mexican Foreign Ministry official based in Arizona.

Ray Borane, mayor of the border town of Douglas, Ariz., said the group's activities are racist.

[Travis McGee]

Plow a 100 meter death strip, and mine it.

[The Coopster]

Whatever, whacko. Enjoy your time with Bubba, when it comes. Or Jose, if you believe in Karma.

[The Coopster]

No, it's not a white flag. It's the unwillingness to enter a pointless debate with an idiot whose best solution is to talk about murder. And "spelling it out" is an overstatement, as I have seen previous posts of yours.

[madfly]

ping

[Major_Risktaker]

LIKE THIS!

[PatrioticAmerican]

Another FReeper made the statement. I borrowed it.

[PatrioticAmerican]

#15 - Bump!

[JackelopeBreeder]

We apparently have a duplicate post on this elsewhere. Minus some of the more violent suggestions...

[The Coopster]

Don't even try to go there. Actually, personal attacks and deflection is more your bag.

I never said there wasn't a problem that needed to be fixed. I only called a fool out who was running his mouth. Period.

Illegal immigration is huge. So was getting rid of Saddam. But you can talk like billy-bad-ass all you want, and it won't accomplish jack. Do something productive. And if your idea of productive is to start killing the invaders, like I said - enjoy your stay in the graybar Hilton.

[DLfromthedesert]

The truth is there is a group called humane Borders that leave water for the illegal entrants. Problem is, by the time they drink the water, it is HOT and does them no good; so in essence, it DOES poison them.

We got more than a few that had to be dialyzed or found dead from dehydration.

[HiJinx]

Actually, ABP already has the Border Hawk operational. It was demonstrated successfully within the last two weeks.

RC airplane, onboard GPS nav, video downlink to satellite transceiver, easily posted to the Internet...

Take it from there...!

[The Coopster]

Well that should make walkingnerd jump for joy.....

I know that this is a problem that is huge, and getting worse all the time. I really feel for the people on the border (I'm in the Midwest, and don't have to be on the frontline). And I don't know what the right answer is - maybe Travis Mcgee's suggestions of a mine strip is close, but still unrealistic. We've got something like 26,000 miles of border in the US. I think maybe drones is something to look into.

[Reagan is King]

More on the drones: (different but related articles)

Border watch takes to the air

Arizona delegation seeks drones for border patrol

[JackelopeBreeder]

Just a few facts about Border Hawk.

The bird is approximately three feet long with a six foot wing span. It has plenty of lift and power and can take off and land in a very short space. If there is at least a moderate breeze, it can be made to hover over a chosen spot just by turning into the wind and adjusting the throttle. It can remain airborne up to 90 minutes with the external tanks mounted.

The payload bay can carry either a standard video camera or an infrared camera for night work.

The video is transmitted instantaneously to the ground terminal and can then be ported directly over to the satellite terminal for live streaming over the internet.

If Glenn ever releases better photos of the bird, that inscription next to the camera port says: SMILE!

[JackelopeBreeder]

Interesting reply. I assume you have as many years in the healthcare field as she does? An expert on desert survival perhaps? Drinking hot water when one is already dehydrated and on the verge of heat stroke is a quick way of pushing the body temperature beyond max and ending up as buzzard food.