DHS Implementing McCaul Proposal to Use DOD Technology on Border

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Homeland Security confirmed it is incorporating Department of Defense technology along the Southwest border with Mexico. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) suggested the consideration of such technology last spring after he and Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) were given a hands-on demonstration near Laredo.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Borkowski in the Customs and Border Protection Office of Technology, told Congressman McCaul the long range infrared sensor technology called the "Agents Portable Surveilance Systems" (APSS), will first be put to use in Arizona, but not yet in Texas.

"We are in fact in this plan intending to procure those as part of the Arizona deployment," Borkowski testified during today's Border and Maritime Subcommittee hearing. "We are in fact procuring them through an Army vehicle. So yes we did take advantage of what we learned from (the April 2010 demonstration). We did incorporate it into the operational assessment, the border patrol did, and we do intend to procure those systems."

Congressman McCaul has long supported the use of DOD technology on the US-Mexico border. The technology has already been proven to work in war zones on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Further, it is more readily available than past proposals and will save taxpayers money since there would be no duplicative research and development costs.

However, under DHS's current plan the technology would not be completely implemented along the Southwest border until 2021-2026.

"That's a long time. You're talking 10-15 years," said Rep. McCaul. "It took us a decade to put a man on the moon and yet we're talking about camera surveillance, that kind of technology that quite honestly the Department of Defense has already manufactured through R&D at the taxpayer expense. I don't understand why this takes so long and you have a crisis going on down there. Everyone knows it. Why can't we ramp up this process?"

Borkowski described the technology as mobile. He testified DHS will have to prioritize initial locations and respond elsewhere on a needs basis. "If there's a movement of traffic somewhere else that requires us to deploy somewhere else we can shift our plan to adapt to that," he said.

Rep. McCaul challenged Borkowski to move the project more expeditiously. "If I have to go home and tell my constituents it's not going to be until 2026 that this border is secure, they're just not gonna accept that message and I think they're right in not accepting that."