Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Update on SBINet and the Arivaca Tower

The Arivaca Tower, part of the Secure Border Initiative or SBINet is getting some attention from U.S. national media. The New York Times , U.S. News and World Report and Washington Technology all have recent in-depth stories.

The launch of the high-tech virtual fence along Arizona's border with Mexico has been delayed due to technical problems. According to an Arizona Republic article:

Boeing has installed all nine portable 98-foot towers, cameras, radar and ground sensors. It has fitted 50 patrol vehicles with computer links. Mobile and central command bases have also been linked to the network. The idea is to give front-line agents and commanders up-to-the-second pictures of all the activity in their areas.But the cameras and sensors convey inconsistent information. Software glitches and integrating all the information have proved challenging.
Today the U.S. Senate voted to revive an immigration bill, supported by both Arizona's senators, that would tighten border security, create a temporary guest worker program and grant immediate legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States.

For background information, read my earlier posts about the Arivaca Tower.