Washington Approves Virtual Fence In Arizona

Washington, DC (AHN) - Washington approved on Thursday the installation of radars and surveillance camera along a 28-mile zone to serve as virtual fence for Arizona. Technology will be provided by Boeing Company.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the project, which starts summer, will later cover other portions of Arizona's boundaries and parts of Texas.

The virtual fence seeks to close land connecting Mexico and the mainland in a national effort to curb illegal immigration and drug smuggling. To date, the federal government had placed 295 miles of virtual and real fences in various states.

The high technology has allowed the Tucson command center, located 70 miles away from the border, to detect the presence of around a hundred people near the national border. Thirty-eight of the 100 tried, but were not successful in crossing the virtual fence, while the rest slipped back to Mexico.

The system's radar, sensory device and cameras can distinguish people from animals even from a distance of 10 miles. It can calculate group size and indicate if the border crossers carry backpacks that may have forbidden items.

The U.S. government has so far paid Boeing $15 million out of a partial $20 million contract.

The border fence has its critics. Environmentalists warned the installation of 7 miles of fence on Arizona's east and 4 miles along the Colorado River may threaten animals on the endangered list because the fences may prevent the creatures from moving across for new habitats.

A class action lawsuit is pending in Texas, filed by property owners along the Rio Grande, in an attempt to block the state from seizing their property to build the national border.