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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has decided to award Boeing contracts for the construction of two sections of a high-tech fence to be built along the border with Mexico in Arizona, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Monday. The two fence sections would be an "operational configuration" of a much-criticized 28-mile (45-km) section of "virtual fence" built by Boeing and tested earlier, Chertoff told a news conference. He said the fence would include fixed towers, with radar sensors, remote control cameras, ground sensors and software linking border agents to give them a "common operating picture" of...

TUCSON, Ariz. - The government is scrapping a $20 million prototype of its highly touted "virtual fence" on the Arizona-Mexico border because the system is failing to adequately alert border patrol agents to illegal crossings, officials said. The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced his approval of the fence built by The Boeing Co. The fence consists of nine electronic surveillance towers along a 28-mile section of border southwest of Tucson. Boeing is to replace the so-called Project 28 prototype with a series of towers equipped with communications systems, new cameras and new radar...

TUCSON, Arizona (AP) -- The government is scrapping a $20 million prototype of its highly touted "virtual fence" on the Arizona-Mexico border because the system is failing to adequately alert border patrol agents to illegal crossings, officials said. The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced his approval of the fence built by The Boeing Co. The fence consists of nine electronic surveillance towers along a 28-mile section of border southwest of Tucson. Boeing is to replace the so-called Project 28 prototype with a series of towers equipped with communications systems, cameras and radar capability,...

Officials say the government will replace its highly touted "virtual fence" on the Arizona-Mexico border with new towers, radars, cameras and computer software. They're scrapping the brand-new $20 million system because it doesn't work sufficiently.Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff officially signed off on the program just two months ago.But with the decision, Customs and Border Protection officials are acknowledging that the program to detect illegal immigrants doesn't work well enough to keep or to continue tweaking.Critics say the system is highly flawed, but officials say it's only a demonstration project.

The Bush administration plans to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and bypass environmental laws hindering the building of 670 miles of fence along the border with Mexico and finish the section authorized by Congress by the end of this year. Federal officials said the administration will invoke two legal waivers sanctioned by Congress to overcome obstacles holding up construction in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, the Associated Press reported. Officials have said the "virtual fence" along a 28-mile section of the border in Arizona has been delayed by technical problems, and opposition from landowners along the border has...

When Woodrow Wilson went to Congress to ask for a declaration of war in 1917, the U.S. Army was ranked 17th in the world, behind Portugal. On Armistice Day, 19 months later, there were 2 million doughboys in France, where they had helped to break the back of Gen. Ludendorff's theretofore invincible army in its final offensive, and 2 million more in the United States ready to march on Berlin. No other nation could have done that. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, FDR demanded that a disarmed America "build 50,000 planes" -- a seemingly impossible number, but one...

The U.S. homeland security chief vowed to install more high-tech equipment along the border with Mexico and said on Wednesday the first section of "virtual fence" was working despite problems and delays."The system is now functionally working ... it does add value," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told a hearing of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. "We need to take it to the next level, and that is what we are in the process of doing."Chertoff announced in February that a $21 million, 28-mile virtual fence of sensing towers and advanced communications built by Boeing Co. and dubbed "Project...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has called a "virtual fence" meant to secure Arizona's border against illegal immigration a "disgrace." The Arizona senator told reporters in Phoenix on Monday that not enough research had been done on the 28-mile array of radars and surveillance cameras. McCain says it is a failed effort. The virtual fence near Sasabe, Ariz., is part of a national plan to secure the U.S.-Mexico border with physical barriers and high-tech detection capabilities. Arizona Senator and Presidential hopeful John McCain calls virtual border fence in Arizona a 'disgrace' (Ralph Freso, Tribune)

'Virtual Fence' Along Border To Be Delayed U.S. Retooling High-Tech Barrier After 28-Mile Pilot Project Fails By Spencer S. Hsu Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, February 28, 2008; A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/27/AR2008022703747_pf.html The Bush administration has scaled back plans to quickly build a "virtual fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border, delaying completion of the first phase of the project by at least three years and shifting away from a network of tower-mounted sensors and surveillance gear, federal officials said yesterday. Technical problems discovered in a 28-mile pilot project south of Tucson prompted the change in plans, Department of Homeland Security officials and congressional...

EL PASO, Texas -- The 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border includes a virtual fence made up of a network of cameras, sensors, enhanced communications and upgraded vehicles. The sophisticated equipment is supposed to work as the extra eyes and ears for Border Patrol agents monitoring the open desert. But the first 28 miles of the high-tech virtual fence went up in Arizona, and has seen its share of glitches. T.J. Bonner with the National Border Patrol Council said glitches include a radar that confused raindrops for undocumented immigrants. He said, "One officer reported that he saw a...

In just two months, Texas' latest border crackdown has practically wiped out cross-border crime in Hidalgo County, Gov. Rick Perry said Monday in San Antonio. Speaking on the opening day of the weeklong Texas Homeland Security Conference at the Convention Center, Perry touted the success of "Operation Border Star," an effort backed by a $110 million infusion from a state law passed this year. The effort, involving an unannounced, massive "surge" of local, state and federal officers for weeks at a time in border areas known for heavy traffic in drug and human smuggling, is a continuation of similar crackdowns...

BLUFFTON -- Sun City Hilton Head residents got face time with Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Friday morning, and while his talking points focused primarily on the economy, Sun City attendees seemed most interested in his immigration policy. Illegal immigration, Giuliani said, needs to be stopped "right at the border." He supports building a fence along America's 2,000-mile border with Mexico and said he would use technology -- cameras as well as heat and motion detection equipment -- to "change behavior" and encourage people to come into the country legally instead. "Legal immigration is good for us," he said....

MISSION, Texas (AP) — Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani pushed the idea of a "virtual" rather than a real fence along much of the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday, an issue that's controversial in the Rio Grande Valley where many people oppose construction of a physical fence to stop illegal immigration. The former New York mayor said that while a physical fence is needed in some places, most of the border should be policed with high-tech monitoring. He toured the border Monday along the southernmost tip of Texas with state and local officials. "And frankly, the virtual fence is more valuable...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Defense contractor Boeing Co. has told the government it believes it has solved most of the problems that have delayed use of the first section of a high-tech “virtual fence” along the nation's borders for months. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, however, said they'll wait until acceptance testing now set for late October is done before passing judgment. The 28-mile section of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Arizona is the first of thousands of miles planned on the nation's southern and northern borders. Boeing personnel who briefed federal officials “sounded real optimistic” about the...

Because of a continuing software glitch, the first high-tech “virtual fence” at the nation's borders remains unused, three months after its scheduled debut. Nine 98-foot towers laden with radar, sensors and sophisticated cameras have been built across 28 miles close to the Arizona-Mexico border near Sasabe, southwest of Tucson, in an area heavily trafficked by illegal immigrant and drug smugglers. The towers, each a few miles apart, are intended to deter or detect border-crossers and potential terrorists and to enhance the ability of Border Patrol agents to catch them. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said more testing is expected by...

DHS Secure Border Initiative Delayed Thursday June 21, 4:38 pm ET By Dan Caterinicchia, AP Business Writer Lawmakers Ask DHS Secretary About Delay in Multibillion-Dollar Secure Border Initiative WASHINGTON (AP) -- Technical issues are delaying the first leg of a multibillion-dollar project to build a high-tech fence along the nation's southern border to reduce illegal entry, the government said Thursday. Some lawmakers are questioning why Boeing Co., the lead contractor, and staff at the Department of Homeland Security waited until a day after a hearing earlier this month to update Congress on the status of the "virtual fence's" initial phase....

ARIVACA, Arizona (Reuters) - A pilot project to place a high-tech network of surveillance towers along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border has met boisterous opposition in this Arizona town, where some residents call it "Big Brother." The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is installing a network of nine towers with ground radar and night vision cameras to monitor a 28-mile (45-km) stretch of border near Arivaca, southwest of Tucson. It is the first trial for the communications and technology arm of the government's Secure Border Initiative announced in 2005. Dubbed "SBInet," authorities say it will be extended across...

Virtual Fence = Virtual Corruption? Speaker Pelosi's post-Hastings fallback choice to head the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, voted against building the 700 mile border fence. He prefers a system of video surveillance cameras, apparently. And gee, it seems that his daughter works for a firm that won a government contract to provide such surveillance services! What's more, according to WaPo's John Mintz (who broke the story) the firm did a really bad job. TPM Muckraker summarizes:

WASHINGTON - No sooner did Congress authorize construction of a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexico border last week than lawmakers rushed to approve separate legislation that ensures it will never be built, at least not as advertised, according to Republican lawmakers and immigration experts. GOP leaders have singled out the fence as one of the primary accomplishments of the recently completed session. Many lawmakers plan to highlight their $1.2 billion down payment on its construction as they campaign in the weeks before the midterm elections. But shortly before recessing late Friday, the House and Senate gave the Bush administration leeway...

During a campaign swing through Arizona, President Bush plans to sign a bill that could bring hundreds of miles of fencing to the busiest illegal entry point on the U.S.-Mexico border. The signing will be another move in Bush's get-tough approach to illegal immigration and will come in the state that has been the illegal entry hot spot for several years and the center of much of the debate over secure borders. Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano was expected to be present for the bill signing Wednesday at the Camelback Inn in Paradise Valley. The ceremony will follow a breakfast fundraiser...

Why a 'Virtual Fence' Is a Virtual Farce by Colin Hanna Posted Mar 22, 2006 The latest threat to building an effective border security system is the claim that, thanks to technology, we no longer need to build a physical fence -- we can secure the border with a "virtual fence" instead. Like many techno-come-ons, this one sounds good at first. Who doesn’t want to use the latest technology? But when you get past the sizzle, it turns out that there’s no steak. The so-­called high-tech solutions proposed do not constitute a substitute for a physical barrier; they are merely...

WASHINGTON -- The head of the Department of Homeland Security thinks the government can be as successful against illegal immigration as it has been with organized crime. Michael Chertoff said it wasn't long ago that organized crime was considered an overwhelming problem. But he said with the smart use of resources, organized crime is just a shadow of what it was. Chertoff thinks a wise approach along the Mexican border would be creation of a "virtual fence." He also favors more detention centers so illegal immigrants don't have to be freed before they can be deported, because there's no place...

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has proposed that, instead of a real fence protecting our southern border, we should use a "virtual fence". More perspective.