Texas congressman pushes for more drones on U.S.-Mexico border

Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, sits on the House subcommittee for global counter-terrorism. So he is well-placed to achieve his goal of expanding the role of surveillance drones along the U.S.-Mexico border.

I’ve written before in this space about how Customs and Border Protection (which runs the Border Patrol) already has deployed unarmed drones along the border with Mexico as well as the northern border with Canada and southeastern offshore areas. So far, the agency operates six drones.

I’ve also written about how Latin American governments, including cartel-plagued Mexico, have been mirroring U.S. experiments with surveillance drones in counter-drug applications.

On a conference call with reporters about border security yesterday, Rep. Cuellar touted drones (also known as UAVs or unmanned aerial vehicles) as one of a set of workable and cost-effective solution for high-tech border security. “We’ve been pushing for a drone for the Texas border and other areas,” he said.

Currently, Customs and Border Protection or CBP stations three “Predator B” UAVs in Arizona. Rep. Cuellar seems to be asking for a more robust fleet of drones all along the 2,000-plus mile border with Mexico and more attention to Texas.

“I support more funding for UAVs on the border,” Rep. Cuellar said on the call, organized by the Center for American Progress to highlight its new report on the failures to date of implementing high-tech border security solutions and the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

Rep. Cuellar added that he has asked the Department of Homeland Security, of which CBP is part, for its master plans regarding UAVs and border security along all land and maritime borders.

Below is a video on the Air Force’s MQ-9 drone. The CBP “Predator B” is an unarmed version of this aircraft.