Predator drone cleared to fly border in September
An unmanned aerial vehicle will patrol the state’s 1,200-mile border with Mexico and its coastal areas beginning Sept. 1, members of the state’s congressional delegation announced Wednesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the surveillance aircraft to combat drug cartels and human trafficking in Texas after determining the remotely operated aircraft posed no significant safety concerns to heavy air traffic in the state, said U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched the domestic UAV program in 2005 to support law enforcement in policing illegal cross-border activity, but none of the six Predator B drones conducted operations in Texas until earlier this month.
Because Texas accounts for most of the nation’s 1,954-mile border with Mexico, Cuellar said, getting the unmanned aircraft into the state’s skies is critical to any border security strategy.
“These eyes in the skies will be able to find activity along the border and quickly divert personnel to those areas,” Cuellar said. “It’s a smarter view of moving our resources around because you can see it with a bird’s-eye view of the sky.”
CBP began flying a remotely piloted aircraft based in Arizona over a portion of West Texas earlier this month after waiting since 2008 for approval.
The certificate of authorization approved by the FAA on Wednesday will allow CBP to proceed with plans to start operating the unmanned aircraft in September from the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi.
The FAA’s announcement comes only a month after Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, Cuellar and other members of the state’s border delegation asked FAA Administrator Randolph Babbitt to expedite his agency’s approval of the aircraft.
The FAA needs to implement a system that recognizes the growing significance of unmanned aerial vehicles to homeland security and national defense, Cornyn said in a statement.
CBP officials say the Predator B drones, which can stay in the air for up to 20 hours, provide critical intelligence information from attached cameras, sensors and radar systems to forces on the ground.
Since 2005, Predator Bs supporting border security initiatives have assisted in the apprehension of more than 4,000 undocumented immigrants and the seizure of more than 15,000 pounds of marijuana.
Only one Predator B drone will initially operate out of Corpus Christi, but Cuellar said others could eventually be approved for flight.
More than $37 million to support two new UAVs was included in President Barack Obama’s request for $600 million to secure the Southwest border and fight drug trafficking.
The White House’s request also includes $360 million to beef up the number of U.S. Border Patrol and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents along the border, and an additional $200 million for the U.S. Department of Justice to support Mexican law enforcement, grow the number of federal attorneys and immigration judges and expand the ranks of federal law enforcement officers in the region.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a speech Wednesday in Washington, D.C., that her department has committed a mix of manpower, technology and infrastructure to crack down on border-related smuggling and other crimes.
The UAVs are part of a comprehensive border security strategy, said Napolitano, who also called for a “Southwest Border Law Enforcement Compact” that allows police officers from across the nation to be detailed to border law enforcement agencies.
“These types of flights aren’t useful everywhere, but in some places they are part of the right mix of infrastructure, manpower and technology that can improve border security,” she said. “This is the case for parts of the Texas border, and we plan to move forward with using this technology there.”
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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.
