Plan for border cameras stalls on lack of funding
Texas had an ambitious plan for what it called a “virtual border watch,” with an estimated cost of $5 million; the state legislators have just passed a $312 billion budget, with no money for the project
More than a year ago Governor Rick Perry of Texas announced ambitious plans for a “virtual border watch” in Texas, but the project has stalled because of a lack of funding. Perry announced plans for the camera project, the first of its kind sponsored by a state government, in the summer of 2006 during his re-election campaign, making it a centerpiece of his plan to combat illegal immigration. The Houston Chronicle’s Susan Carroll quotes Perry, a Republican, as saying in June 2006 that “Enforcing the border is the federal government’s responsibility, but Texas will not wait for them to act. A stronger border is what the American people want. And it’s what our security demands. And that is what Texas is going to deliver.”
The state did not deliver exactly as promised. Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for Perry, said the governor is still committed to the border camera project and is looking for funding. When the project was announced, Perry’s office estimated it would cost about $5 million. Cesinger said Perry is considering tapping into federal homeland security grant money, if possible. The Legislature approved a $312 billion budget this year, but did not include an earmark for the cameras. Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Houston Democrat, said securing the border is a federal responsibility, not the state’s. “Cameras can be effective, but they’re largely symbolic,” Coleman said. “This is a federal responsibility, and it’s beyond our ability (as a state) to control. You don’t want to take political posturing and turn it into public policy,” he added.
Perry said last summer that the virtual border site would be up in about a month and allow Internet users to monitor live camera images of the Texas-Mexico border and report suspicious activity to authorities. In November, the governor’s office announced a trial run for the Web site. The Internet site had technical problems early on, but seemed to be popular. The web page displayed about a half-dozen cameras, which were placed primarily on private land identified as “hot spots” for illegal crossings. The site operated for less than a month. In that time more than 220,000 people registered to view the camera images and clicked on individual cameras nearly 28 million times, according to the project Web site. State officials received more than 13,000 e-mails from across the country, which helped lead to the arrests of at least 10 illegal immigrants and a load of drugs and a smuggling attempt. The pilot project ended 30 November.
