PHOENIX (AP) — The drawdown of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border should be stopped or alternative border security improvements provided because of problems with a high-tech “virtual fence” project, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said Wednesday.
|
|
“Common sense dictates that the drawdown should stop, and that a continued National Guard presence should be maintained,” Napolitano wrote in the letter released Wednesday by her office. “If, indeed, the drawdown continues, it is prudent to ask: what other steps will the department take to shore up border security in lieu of the ‘virtual fence?’”
A Chertoff spokesman did not immediately return calls for comment late Wednesday.
Project 28 is part of a national plan to secure the U.S.-Mexico border with physical barriers and high-tech detection capabilities.
Chertoff announced final approval of the fence last month. The government plans to extend the fence to other areas of the Arizona border, as well as to sections of Texas as early as this summer.
Last year, the government withheld some of Boeing’s payments for the system because technology the company used in the test project did not work properly. Boeing also was late in delivering the final product. Because of this, the department received a $2 million credit from the company to go toward maintenance and logistical support of the system, according to Homeland Security officials.
The government paid Boeing $15 million of its initial $20 million contract before determining that there were glitches in the test project. The department gave a conditional acceptance in December.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said last week that the virtual fence works and has helped capture 2,200 illegal immigrants since December.
She said the agency has been forthcoming about the technological deficiencies identified last year, and that’s why acceptance of the project was delayed until last month.
Comments
Frank Lee wrote on Mar 22, 2008 11:42 PM:
Texan123 wrote on Mar 20, 2008 1:02 PM: