Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Tuesday evening that more technology should be deployed for border security rather than adding to the 700 miles of wall and fencing that already exists along portions of the nation’s southwest border with Mexico.
One of the hallmarks of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for greater border security is to build more walls along the southwest border although he hasn’t quantified how much more wall is needed. Trump has also said additional technology needs to be a component of enhanced border security.
Johnson, in an interview forum with David Ignatius, the foreign affairs columnist with the Washington Post, said “the answer is not necessarily more walls. If you talk to border security experts, they will tell you more surveillance, more technology, more equipment, more aerial surveillance, more aerostats, so that we can monitor migration patterns as they shift.”
Under the administration of former President George W. Bush, the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection agency initiated an electronic surveillance program for the southwest border called the Secure Border Initiative Network, or SBINet. The SBINet program, which was deployed in two border sectors in Arizona, was to consist of a series of fixed surveillance towers along the southwest, and potentially northern, border.
However, that program was terminated during President Barack Obama’s first term in office due to cost overruns and delays. Instead, the administration decided on a more tailored approach to border security technology that included different kinds of fixed surveillance towers, various mobile surveillance systems, and other equipment for Border Patrol officers.
Both the Bush and Obama administrations also backed the use of unmanned aircraft systems to bolster border security. Manned aircraft surveillance have been part of CBP’s operational assets for decades as have tethered aerostats equipped with sensor technology.
Johnson indicated that adding more walls along the southwest border may not be all that effective in stopping illegal migration or drug trafficking.
Referring to his predecessor, Janet Napolitano, Johnson said she “used to say ‘build a 10-foot wall and I’ll show you an 11-foot ladder that someone is going to build’ or a tunnel. I’ve actually seen these guys blow a hole through a steel wall in Arizona.”
DHS has invested in tunnel detection research and development but so far hasn’t found technology to solve this problem.
Johnson said that the existing wall is in places where such infrastructure makes sense, which is in urban areas. He pointed out that the Rio Grande river valley, desert and mountains also make up a portion of America’s nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico.