WASHINGTON — The fate of the once-touted virtual fence designed to protect the Southwest border along Mexico is in doubt.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Tuesday that she was freezing additional funding and work on the uncompleted virtual fence that was supposed to stretch across 2,000 miles of border. She has ordered an assessment of the problem-plagued project that to date has cost the government $1.1 billion.
“Not only do we have an obligation to secure our borders, we have a responsibility to do so in the most cost effective way possible,” Napolitano said in a statement posted on the agency’s website.
“The system of sensors and cameras along the Southwest border known as SBInet has been plagued with cost overruns and missed deadlines.
“Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security will redeploy $50 million of Recovery Act funding originally allocated for the SBInet Block 1 to other tested, commercially available security technology along the Southwest border, including mobile surveillance, thermal imaging devices, ultra-light detection, backscatter units, mobile radios, cameras and laptops for pursuit vehicles, and remote video surveillance system enhancements.”
To read more on the virtual fence go to AOL News.
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