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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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Glitches Delay 'Virtual' Border Fence 3 Years

Unmanned "fence' failed to perform in 28-mile pilot program

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(Newser) – Plans to build a high-tech "virtual fence" along the US-Mexico border have been set back at least 3 years after serious problems emerged in the pilot project, the Washington Post reports. The 28-mile fence south of Tuscon, which included unmanned surveillance towers equipped with radar linked to computers, didn't function as planned. Boeing-installed commercial software wasn't powerful enough to process the data to detect illegal crossings, and had to be replaced.

One insider attributed the failures to White House officials who rushed into the project for political reasons without properly consulting the Border Patrol. Officials "basically took equipment, put it out there without any testing," the source said. The administration announced in 2006 that the US would spend $.7.6 billion to secure all 2,000 miles of border by 2011, but it now estimates that it will have only 100 miles of virtual fence finished by then.

A man stands in the middle of the border fence dividing Mexico and the U.S. on the beach area of the city of Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
A man stands in the middle of the border fence dividing Mexico and the U.S. on the beach area of the city of Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)   (Associated Press)
A U.S. Border Patrol agent leans on an electronic camera tower that monitors the Rio Grande River at the U.S-Mexico border from Laredo, Texas, Saturday, June 2, 2007. Congressional lawmakers are working on an immigration bill that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants and beef up border security....
A U.S. Border Patrol agent leans on an electronic camera tower that monitors the Rio Grande River at the U.S-Mexico border from Laredo, Texas, Saturday, June 2, 2007. Congressional lawmakers are working...   (Associated Press)
A U.S border patrol vehicle rides along the fence at the U.S-Mexican border near Naco, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
A U.S border patrol vehicle rides along the fence at the U.S-Mexican border near Naco, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)   (Associated Press)
Members of Grupo Beta, a Mexican federal migrant-protection unit, look for migrants next to the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Nogales, Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
Members of Grupo Beta, a Mexican federal migrant-protection unit, look for migrants next to the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Nogales, Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)   (Associated Press)
The U.S.-Mexico border fence is seen near Naco, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
The U.S.-Mexico border fence is seen near Naco, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)   (Associated Press)
A United States Border Patrol vehicle cruises between the long primary and secondary fence line in San Diego, Wednesday Dec. 12, 2007. A source said that a pilot project to build a high-tech 'virtual fence' along the border didn't work as planned because there hadn't been enough consultation with Border...
A United States Border Patrol vehicle cruises between the long primary and secondary fence line in San Diego, Wednesday Dec. 12, 2007. A source said that a pilot project to build a high-tech 'virtual...   (Associated Press)
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