With a pilot program to begin operation after training finishes next week, SBInet will be testing for one to two months along the Arizona Border near Tuscon. BTA will continue monitoring the success of SBInet and “Project 28,” reporting details as they become available.
New border protection system to start operation within days - Federal Times
Tucson Border Patrol agents on Thursday began learning how to use a network of cameras, sensors and other devices intended to secure the border against illegal crossers, the contractor in charge of the SBInet program said. A pilot program to put the new system into operation will begin after training concludes this week, said Jerry McElwee, the SBInet program manager for Boeing Corp., at a Thursday hearing of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on border, maritime and global counterterrorism. Boeing won the SBInet contract in September. Read the full article…
For Residents of Arizona Border Town, Towers Are Unwelcome Eyes in the Sky - Washington Post
ARIVACA, Ariz. — The document arrived at the library one sleepy Saturday morning, without warning and without explanation. The librarian recalled that the messenger simply said: “This is sensitive. It turned out to be much more than that to this quirky desert community of 2,500 residents, who learned from an environmental assessment study that they were in the cross hairs of the Bush administration’s high-tech plan to use a “virtual fence” to stop illegal immigration. Read the full article…
Lawmakers wary as Secure Border Initiative nears launch - Government Executive
House lawmakers on Thursday questioned how the Homeland Security Department’s massive Secure Border Initiative program will operate, especially if Congress passes an immigration bill that encourages a huge influx of illegal immigrants into the country.House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said during a hearing that the first phase of the program, dubbed SBInet, will become operational on June 13. He said on that date Congress will begin to discern whether the program is worth its cost. Read the full article…
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