Radar Shows More Illegal Border Crossers Avoid Apprehension Than Are Caught

A story in the Los Angeles Times reports that a sophisticated airborne radar system being used along the border has found that more individuals trying to cross the border illegally elude Border Patrol agents than what has been traditionally thought. According to the story, between Oct. 1, 2012 and Jan. 17, 2013, the radar helped Border Patrol detain 1,874 people, but another 1,962 people were able to elude capture.This report is in contrast to a Governmental Accountability report from 2011 that found that Border Patrol caught 64% of all illegal border crossers.The system being deployed along the border is called Vadar. It’s a radar carried by a drone that was previously used in Afghanistan to seek out terrorists. The radar is able to detect and track individuals on foot from five miles in the air.”It’s a match made in heaven for border security,” a former U.S. law enforcement official told the Los Angeles Times. “The rank-and-file guys are afraid it will make them look bad.”Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), would like to see Vadar used more along the border.”That is the kind of technology we would like to see all across the border,” Rep. McCaul said. “You can’t measure what you can’t see. There is an awful lot we’re not seeing.”For more information, see the Los Angeles Times.