Drone Launched to Detect Illegal Immigrants
Officials Hope to Stem Flow From Mexico Into Arizona

INTERNET used to Patrol Border -- Jon Healy, co-founder of the 'TechnoPatriots', adjusts one of the antennas on top of his "mobile command center," a 1983 recreational vehicle in Sierra Vista, Ariz. Self-appointed border-watchers use remotely operated cameras to help catch people sneaking into the country. The cameras represent a high-tech twist on the usual practice of sitting in lawn chairs or pickup trucks close to the border.


Jon Healy uses his laptop to show a view of one of the digital cameras that is watching the U.S. border.

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. (June 25) -- The Border Patrol launched an unmanned drone Friday that uses thermal and night-vision equipment to help agents spot illegal immigrants trying to cross the desert into the United States. The stepped-up surveillance is part of a mission that officials hope will stem the tide of illegal immigrants that has made Arizona the busiest illegal entry point along the 2,000-mile border with Mexico. The Department of Homeland Security, which is funding the program, also plans to test the drones in Northern states, over the Great Lakes and in Puerto Rico, said Robert Smith, head of the Customs and Border Protection's unmanned aerial drone program. The two drones being used in the Arizona project can detect movement from 15 miles away, read a license plate, view a vehicle's occupants and even detect weapons, officials said. Roger Maier, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, confirmed that one of the remotely piloted Hermes 450 drones in the project started flying Friday. Both drones were expected to go into regular use on Monday. They will fly 56 hours a week and can be used over preprogrammed flight paths or be piloted by remote control to check out specific destinations. The drones weigh almost 1,000 pounds, have a 35-foot wingspan and can fly faster than 100 mph. They will patrol at 12,000 to 15,000 feet, and can stay aloft for 20 hours at a time. The overall cost of the mission is estimated to be at least $10 million, with the government spending about $4 million on the drones. Pilots on the ground will remotely control them unless the flight is preprogrammed, with another agent interpreting the images and using global positioning to send agents to respond to what the drones detect. It takes 12 to 18 people to operate the drones and monitor the images they send back, officials said. Immigration Arrests Reviewed The aircraft are a key element of the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to achieve ''operational control'' of the border in Arizona. The drones' mission ends Sept. 30, when it will be assessed to determine the future of drones with the Border Patrol. Border Patrol agents catch hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants trying to cross Arizona's sprawling, cactus-covered deserts each year. The agency had recorded more than 330,000 apprehensions since Oct. 1 in the Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which covers most of the Arizona border. Officials hope the drones will deter immigrants from crossing and will enable agents to better help people in distress. Kat Rodriguez, an organizer for the human rights group Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, said changing U.S. border policy rather than increasing patrols is key to protecting lives. ''It's like throwing an infant in a pool and then jumping in and saving it. You act like the hero in a situation you created,'' she said. The Hermes 450s, which Israel uses to patrol its frontiers, join a number of unmanned aerial vehicles being used in the United States. Remote-controlled planes help gather data for environmental studies and patrol Western skies on wildfire watch. In Alaska, the Coast Guard is also testing a drone this summer for fisheries patrols and other uses. Drones called Predators have also been successful in U.S. military and CIA operations. Missiles fired from Predators have killed al-Qaida operatives in Afghanistan and Yemen.

U.S. Undocumented Population Surges
Illegal Mexicans Account for Bulk of Growth, Says Report
The U.S.-Mexico border is a busy area for federal agents who track illegal immigration. WASHINGTON (March 21) - The nation's undocumented immigrant population surged to 10.3 million last year, spurred largely since 2000 by the arrivals of unauthorized Mexicans in the United States, a report being released Monday says. The population of undocumented residents in the United States increased by about 23 percent from 8.4 million in the four-year period ending last March, according to the analysis of government data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a private research group. That equates to a net increase of roughly 485,000 per year between 2000 and 2004. The estimate was derived by subtracting the number of unauthorized immigrants who leave the United States, die or acquire legal status from the number of new undocumented immigrants that arrive each year. The prospect of better job opportunities in the United States than in their native countries remains a powerful lure for many immigrants, said Pew center director Roberto Suro, pointing to a reason often cited by other researchers. ''The border has been the focus of federal efforts (to cut illegal entry) and has not produced a reduction in flow. Certainly that's an indication of ongoing demand,'' he said. The population is growing at a similar pace as in the late 1990s even though the U.S. economy today isn't as robust, Suro said. Assuming the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country hasn't abated since March 2004, the population is likely near 11 million now.

A group of apprehended illegal aliens (indocumentados) walk to a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle in Nogales, Arizona.

Anti-migrant Initiative 2004 Proposition 200- supported by Ray Barnes -
Protect Arizona Now poll question :
In November, an initiative may be on the ballot called Protect Arizona Now. This initiative would deny state and local social and welfare services to illegal immigrants and require everyone who registers to vote to prove they are U.S. citizens andto provide identification when voting. Would you probably vote for or against this proposition ? The Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act Initiative Petition # I-03-2004

Immigration Debate Moves Beyond Border States
Monday, July 19, 2004 ATLANTA Increased migration of foreign workers to the U.S. has introduced concerns over illegal immigration's impact on jobs and social services concerns once reserved for border states such as Arizona, California and Texas. And President Bush's plan to grant amnesty to some undocumented workers may have moved the issue higher on the public's agenda. Atlanta-based political commentator Dick Williams said he was surprised while attending a GOP rally. "When the subject of immigration came up, the crowd came to life," said Williams. "The crowd was on fire. So, all the candidates in the Republican primary stood up and expressed opposition to President Bush's proposals and called for a more law and order kind of thing." Republican political consultant Mark Rountree says when asking voters to list the most serious problems in their community, illegal immigration rarely comes up. But when asked specifically about the issue, most have strong opinions. "When I'm talking to people, I don't sense them suddenly not supporting Bush because he proposed it," said Rountree. "But it's brought up as an issue and topic of conversation." Appearing tough on immigration plays well with many conservative voters. And after witnessing the trickle-down effect the Sept. 11 attacks (search) had on the entire nation's economy, Americans no longer consider border security an issue for border states alone.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) estimates that in January of 2000 there were 7 million illegal aliens living in the United States, a number that is growing by half a million a year. Thus, the illegal-alien population in 2003 stands at at least 8 million. Included in this estimate are approximately 78,000 illegal aliens from countries who are of special concern in the war on terror. It is important to note that the 500,000 annual increase is the net growth in the illegal-alien population (new illegal immigration minus deaths, legalizations, and out-migration). In 1999 for example, the INS estimates that 968,000 new illegal aliens settled in the U.S. This number was offset by 210,000 illegal aliens who either died or returned home on their own, 63,000 who were removed by the INS, and 183,000 illegal aliens who were given green cards as part of the normal "legal" immigration process. One of the most important findings of the INS report is the intimate link between legal and illegal immigration. The INS estimates that it gave out 1.5 million green cards to illegal aliens in the 1990s.

This was not due to amnesty legislation, but rather reflects how the legal immigration process embraces illegal immigration and encourages it through legal exemptions. According to the INS, only 412,000 illegal aliens were removed during the decade. The Census Bureau has also developed estimates of its own. Their estimate at the time of the 2000 Census suggests that the illegal immigration population was about 8 million. Using this number, it can be concluded that the illegal-alien population grew by almost half a million a year in the 1990s. This conclusion is derived from a draft report given to the House immigration subcommittee by the INS that estimated the illegal population was 3.5 million in 1990. For the illegal population to have reached 8 million by 2000, the net increase had to be 400,000 to 500,000 per year during the 1990s. The two "magnets" which attract illegal aliens are jobs and family connections. The typical Mexican worker earns one-tenth his American counterpart, and numerous American businesses are willing to hire cheap, compliant labor from abroad; such businesses are seldom punished because our country lacks a viable system to verify new hires' work eligibility. In addition, communities of recently arrived legal immigrants help create immigration networks used by illegal aliens and serve as incubators for illegal immigration, providing jobs, housing, and entree to America for illegal-alien relatives and fellow countrymen. The standard response to illegal immigration has been increased border enforcement. And, in fact, such tightening of the border was long overdue. But there has been almost no attention paid to enforcement at worksites within the United States. Nor has there been any recognition that the networks created by high levels of legal immigration contribute to mass illegal immigration.