The Garden City Telegram

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Virtual flop

Published 3/8/2010 in Commentary : Editorial

Comprehensive immigration reform remains the best way to fix a broken system.

Such a multifaceted strategy to counter an influx of illegal immigrants would involve more stringent border control along with a realistic path to citizenship for some 12 million undocumented immigrants already here in America.

But a frustrating lack of progress in one area could block that possibility.

A recent report revealed significant problems surrounding an effort to build a high-tech, "virtual fence" of cameras, ground sensors and radar to secure nearly the entire Mexican border.

The Bush administration launched the project, estimated to cost several billion dollars, to further secure the border against illegal immigrants, drug smugglers and other intruders — essentially another layer of protection to augment efforts by Border Patrol agents and real fences already in place.

The system was designed to let a small number of dispatchers watch the border on a computer monitor, zoom in with cameras to see people crossing, and decide whether to send Border Patrol agents to the scene.

But the project has been stalled by many technical glitches, such as a satellite communication system taking too long to relay information to a command center. A 2011 goal to finish the virtual fence has slipped to 2014, and even that's not certain.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has been slow to move on new policy to address illegal immigration. The president and key U.S. senators plan to meet this week to discuss the issue.

As they do, they'll address a situation that has seen the influx of immigrants slow as the recession sapped jobs from the economy.

They'll also have to acknowledge that the economy will rebound and again depend more on foreign workers, meaning comprehensive immigration reform must be a priority.

And enhanced border security has to be a component.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, noting the nation can't wait 10 years for better border security, ordered a reassessment of the virtual fence project needed to determine its fate — which should foster more realistic options.

That's encouraging. An obvious failure on that front won't get the nation any closer to the comprehensive immigration reform it needs.

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