() Five new high-tech surveillance camera towers are being rolled out in the U.S. Border Patrol’s Del Rio, Texas, sector, which will allow agents to spot migrant “gotaways” who have previously eluded federal immigration officers’ line of sight after entering the United States illegally.
White House border czar Tom Homan has boasted that the number of gotaways has dropped significantly since President Donald Trump took office in January. However, Border Patrol agents assigned to work in the Del Rio sector say the real concern is the unknown of what they can’t detect.
Although the sector’s acting chief, Desi De Leon, told that the number of “gotaways” is limited to single figures each day in Del Rio, the camera system will assist the agency in moving closer to achieving the goal of dropping that number to zero.
The region has seen illegal migrant crossings drop to less than 500 a day after the area, which includes Eagle Pass, was among the most heavily trafficked areas along the U.S.-Mexico border in previous years.
The camera system feeds live video footage to Border Patrol agents, and if and when a migrant crosses the border illegally, the system sends real-time alerts to agents. But officials said that the presence of the towers will also serve as a deterrent to those considering trying to enter the United States illegally. The towers will replace those that have not been in use.
“It’s a multilayered system we have personnel technology and tactical infrastructure,” De Leon told on Wednesday. “So we layer all of our assets according to where our gaps are or where we want the (migrant) activity to go.”
Meanwhile, in the neighboring Big Bend Sector, officials are rolling out what federal immigration officers call “mission-critical upgrades” that will improve the technology being used to monitor migrant activity in a region known for its rugged and remote terrain.
However, despite the addition of the cameras, Texas lawmakers saw that resources like the new cameras may not be enough to stop Mexican drug cartels from operating along the border.
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told that until Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum does more to stop smuggling humans and trafficking drugs across the border, military action by U.S. troops will be needed to assist with immigration enforcement.
Mexican officials have pushed back against the possible presence of American troops south of the border, but Gonzales says officials may not have a choice. The threat of sending troops in comes after 26 high-level drug traffickers, including some from the Sinaloa cartel, were extradited to Mexico on Tuesday.
Gonzales said more needs to happen.
reported this week that the cartels have shifted their focus to making profits from the trafficking of fentanyl and cocaine since illegal border crossings have dropped so significantly under Trump. The cartels have also continued to target American drivers to transport migrants once they enter the country illegally.
“We need the Mexican government to do its job and make sure their country is safe, so our country is safe,” Gonzales told . “When it is not, it creates a lot of chaos and forces us to get involved.”
