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EL PASO, Texas – More than half of the active troops deployed at the US-Mexico border are quietly acquitting themselves of the mission assigned to them as "eyes and ears" of the Border Patrol, agents focusing their resources on the constant interventions of migrants.
About 3,900 servicemen and National Guard soldiers are still deployed at the southern border in early June. About 1,200 of the 2,000 army and navy troops working in the four border states are on the front lines of action. These troops use more than 150 vans equipped with ultramodern mobile surveillance systems, scanning day and night up to 25 miles away, looking for smuggling or human trafficking activities.
"We are here at the request of CBP and make no mistake, customs and border protection are in the lead. We are in favor and we really see it as a force multiplier for them, "Brig. General Walter Duzzny, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the North American Army, told reporters at a mountain summit meeting in the desert on Thursday morning. "We are the eyes and ears of these MSC positions along the southwestern border allowing them to carry out their mission."
Surveillance systems are spread across the US-Mexico border.
(Anna Giaritelli / Washington Examiner)
The soldiers have difficult tasks to perform because border police officers are supposed to do so because agents have been arrested in the field to apprehend illegal passers-by and treat them at local police stations where they are detained prior to arrest. 39, be transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Agent Julian. Najera, assigned to the Santa Teresa station of the border patrol of El Paso sector.
"If we were not there with these vehicles, they would not be," said Colonel Catherine Wilkinson, spokesman for the US military.
Mobile surveillance began in February, four months after the White House initially sent 5,200 troops on active duty at the border to complete the work of the National Guard. Duzzny said Thursday that the Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California-based mobile surveillance operation has led to more than 13,000 arrests of illegal cross-border workers and the seizure of 3,000 pounds of marijuana in four months.
The El Paso region of the Border Patrol, where the project information meeting was held, has 10 units to use for monitoring. The remaining systems are located in the other eight border patrol areas along the US-Mexico border.
Soldiers and Marines must complete a 40-hour training program prior to their assignment, which also includes the use of Ford F-150 trucks from the Customs and Border Protection Branch. Truck staff members work in 10-hour, 24-hour, seven-day-a-week teams.
The El Paso region of the Border Patrol, where the project information meeting was held, has 10 units to use for monitoring.
(Anna Giaritelli / Washington Examiner)
The Customs and Border Protection Department determines where each truck is assigned and changes locations every other day.
"These sites are strategic sites for observing known approaches to our border," Duzzny said.
Najera said two companies, Flir and Telephonics, manufacture the systems used on all trucks in the country. Day cameras can represent color images and night cameras use infrared lenses.
Daniel Aguilar is an army soldier and works in the El Paso area, where he holds cameras. He said it was not always possible to say how many people there are in a group or whether an image is a big animal or a person.
"If we see suspicious activity, we immediately call an officer from the border patrol nearby," said Aguilar.
Troops carry side arms to defend themselves. Aguilar stated that he never needed to use it and was not threatened. Law enforcement officers are not more than 15 minutes away and answer every call from outposts of the MSC in accordance with Customs and Border Protection standards.
Ford F-150 trucks, owned by Customs and Border Protection, are managed by two members of the military services, in teams of 10 hours, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(Anna Giaritelli / Washington Examiner)
Another MSC operator, Dale Galloway, an army staff sergeant, said he calls the border patrol every 15 minutes because he often sees groups of people illegally cross Mexico to go to the United States.
The mission was funded until September and Duzzny said the two agencies regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the mission. Border Patrol officers said that they could not comment on the continuation of the 2020 exercise, starting in October, and that it would be incumbent upon customs officials and customs officials. Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security in Washington.
"I am a veteran of three rounds of combat and have seen soldiers and navies perform many missions in many different places, but I am just as proud of what our soldiers are doing here and of the impact they have on a day. today, "said Duzzny, a 29-year-old member of the military.
Other Title 10 forces, or active duty deployments, provide air, technical, medical, and military support at the border.
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