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WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security is considering the use of unmanned drones along U.S. borders to find illegal immigrants, but a citizen group is beating the agency to the punch.The group, American Border Patrol, purchased and equipped three large model airplanes with cameras and night vision systems and began using them for patrols last week. It has set up radio sensors along a stretch of the Texas-Arizona border to help guide the drones."We're ready to go," said Glenn Spencer, who leads and largely finances the Sierra Vista, Ariz., group. "We'll be out there flying along the border, sending...

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security is considering the use of unmanned drones along U.S. borders to find illegal immigrants, but a citizen group is beating them to the punch.The group, American Border Patrol, has bought and souped up three large model airplanes with cameras and night vision equipment and will begin patrolling in two weeks. It has also set up radio sensors along a stretch of the Texas-Arizona border to help guide the drones."We're ready to go," said Glenn Spencer, who leads and mostly finances the group in Sierra Vista, Ariz.The group's goal is to eventually monitor the...

Unmanned Planes May Patrol Border Government Officials Consider Drones For Remote Surveillance POSTED: 10:57 a.m. PDT June 13, 2003 SAN DIEGO -- The effort to stop illegal immigration between the United States and Mexico may soon include small, unmanned planes called drones. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security are considering whether to use drones to patrol portions of the California-Mexico border. But some immigrant advocates say the drones will only endanger more lives by driving people into even more remote parts of the desert. From NBC San Diego The drones look like model planes and operate on two AA...

(Temporary Link) WASHINGTON -- The Homeland Security Department is considering the use of unmanned aircraft to track drug smugglers, illegal immigrants and terrorists along the porous U.S. border with Mexico, a top official told a Senate panel Tuesday. "There's a lot of interest in this," Robert Bonner, commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, told the homeland security subcommittee. "I think there's potential there." With no human on board, Predators and other remote-controlled aircraft can watch over a potential target for 24 hours or more and fly for hundreds of miles. The aircraft can carry cameras, sensors, communications...