As I see it
Glenn Spencer -- February 23, 2008

Begging the Question - How Good is the System?

"I have personally witnessed the value of this system, and I have spoken directly to the Border Patrol agents ... who have seen it produce actual results, in terms of identifying and allowing the apprehension of people who were illegally smuggling across the border," Chertoff said.

Secretary Chertoff has accepted the virtual border fence based on a personal observation and comments by Border Patrol Agents. This is hardly the way to a secure border. I would have rather heard him say, "We have tested this system on a 28-miles segment of the border over a two-month period and it detected, tracked and aided in the apprehension of 90% of border crossers."

American Border Patrol has a powerful thermal camera on its ranch in Arizona. It has been used to spot illegal aliens and drug smugglers. In one case, a large group border intruders were spotted and reported to the Border Patrol. As seen in this video (Virtual Fence Fails), as the Border Patrol approached, they "quailed." That is, they ran. While we can't say they all escaped, surely some did. But we should not be using this kind of anecdotal evidence to judge a system's performance.

As we have stated from the outset, and as a Senate committee confirmed, the Department of Homeland Security never established performance criteria for the virtual fence. The American people want their borders secured. For decades our government has promised to do it, but failed to deliver. Are we seeing yet another example of this betrayal? I say, yes.

It is long past time that someone or some groups establish a reliable, independent means of assessing our border security. It should be free from government political manipulation.