Border Woes Don’t Stop Just Because Washington Stops SBInet

Jena McNeill / March 18, 2010

Secretary Napolitano just announced that she would be halting SBInet until she could complete her review of the program. SBInet- inaccurately nicknamed the ‘virtual fence’ is actually a system of cameras and sensors at the border to help border patrol agents catch illegal border-crossers. Thus far, the program has been initially deployed at two areas along the border, but Napolitano’s decision would halt future funding until the completion of her program assessment.

Undoubtedly- taxpayers demand that dollars are spent wisely—and Congress as well as DHS have every responsibility to make sure this is occurring. There is no doubt that SBInet has experienced delays in implementation. But the need for this type of technology is so very apparent at the southern border as drugs, people and guns flow across it and violence increases just over the Rio Grande. As Heritage’s James Carafano pointed out “earlier this month the Texas Department of Public Safety urged ‘spring breakers’ to avoid border towns,“ and the State Department has shut down its consular office in Reynosa because “gun battles in that border town were just too commonplace.” (more…)