Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

U.S. Vigilantes Test Drones on Mexican Border (Hold muh taco salad alert)
Reuters | 13 May, 2003

Posted on 05/13/2003 6:30:47 PM PDT by Happy2BMe

Reuters
Tuesday, May 13, 2003; 7:40 PM

By Deborah Tedford

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - An Arizona vigilante group is testing homemade "drone" reconnaissance planes on the U.S.-Mexican border to monitor illegal immigrants entering the United States in lonely desert areas.

Glenn Spencer, head of the American Border Patrol vigilante group, said on Tuesday the group has been testing two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for about a month and plans to have a fleet making passes over the border by early July.

"We want to show how the application of this technology can solve the border problem," Spencer told Reuters.

Police and residents say they are aware of the drones, similar to unmanned U.S. military aircraft used in Iraq.

Hundreds of thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants cross the border in search of work every year. Three vigilante groups, some of them armed, have sprung up in Arizona in the last three years to monitor the border and hand over any illegal immigrants they find to U.S. Border Patrol agents.

The groups say U.S. authorities allow too many Mexicans to flout U.S. immigration law. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, some have also said unrestricted immigration poses an unacceptable security risk.

Area residents say the drones invade their privacy and foster poor cross-border relations.

"The Mexican populations along the border are indignant," said Miguel Escobar, a Mexican Foreign Ministry official based in Arizona.

Ray Borane, mayor of the border town of Douglas, Ariz., said the group's activities are racist.

"BORDER HAWK"

The vigilantes say they plan to outfit each UAV with a global positioning device to pinpoint migrants, and then forward hose coordinates to the Border Patrol.

Dubbed the Border Hawk, the $5,000 drone has a wingspan of 5-1/2 feet and flies at an altitude of 300-400 feet -- under the 500 feet mandated for aircraft that need certification by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The craft are made by members of the vigilante group with experience in electronics, Spencer said.

Mario Villarreal, spokesman for the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection in Washington, said: "We appreciate the community's efforts in notifying us of suspicious activities... We encourage them to call the Border Patrol or law enforcement but those efforts should be within the law."

He refused to comment directly on the vigilantes or their planned use of drones.


TOPICS: Front Page News; Mexico; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: border; domesticdrones; drones; dronesabp; dronesbp; dronesus; mexico; vigilantes
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-28 last
To: All
go check out http://www.rcuniverse.com

BTW, my name is also there in the giant scale engines/conversions forums.
21 posted on 05/13/2003 8:50:09 PM PDT by Daniel Ramsey
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Daniel Ramsey
now it just needs some napalm tanks
22 posted on 05/13/2003 9:00:23 PM PDT by AlextheWise1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Happy2BMe
The vigilantes say they plan to outfit each UAV with a global positioning device to pinpoint migrants, and then forward hose coordinates to the Border Patrol.

Great...the border patrol shows up with a WATER BUCKET, MAP, COMPASS and a pat on the back. (Thats IF the border patrol shows at all).
23 posted on 05/13/2003 10:40:50 PM PDT by hdrider (wife of hdrider)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: hdrider
I can't speak for California, but here in Arizona the Border Patro does show up 95% of the time. The other 5% is when they have flat out run out of agents and transport.

(However, if you want to criticize and lynch their management, Ill bring the rope.)

Their search and rescue team operates in an area God gave to Satan for special punishments. Remember the desert scenes in Star Wars? Part were filmed in Tunisia on the edge of the Sahara desert -- the rest right around Yuma, Arizona.
24 posted on 05/13/2003 11:07:52 PM PDT by JackelopeBreeder ("Push to test." < Click! > "Release to detonate." Oops...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Happy2BMe
Area residents say the drones invade their privacy and foster poor cross-border relations.

Uh, just which 'area' residents is Reuters talking about? The Mexican border-flouting coyotes, by chance???

"The Mexican populations along the border are indignant," said Miguel Escobar, a Mexican Foreign Ministry official based in Arizona.

Again, which SIDE of the border is indignant? And, ahem, what about the 'American populations', and don't 'border relations' require two sides views being taken into account...where is the 'American' side???

Ray Borane, mayor of the border town of Douglas, Ariz., said the group's activities are racist.

Is this guy even a real citizen?? And if so, can we say he calls Al Gore his President? And if the 'activity' of defending a border is 'racist' is he then calling Mexican Nationals some particular RACE???! And evidently he is inherently calling the INS racist as well. Sounds to me like he might have the rascism problem...

25 posted on 05/14/2003 10:17:44 AM PDT by Paul Ross (From the State Looking Forward to Global Warming! Let's Drown France!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Happy2BMe
bump
26 posted on 05/14/2003 2:03:23 PM PDT by kimosabe31
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kimosabe31; Happy2BMe
Now why would I get the suspicion that some of our more electronically-talented FReepers were busy recently? LOL! Great job, whoever started this ball rolling!
27 posted on 05/14/2003 2:12:11 PM PDT by alwaysconservative ("All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Spiff
"she thinks YOU should think that the ABP is a bunch of vigilantes."

And that is where she failed.  Not only with me, but with anyone that is familiar with the issue. It was a negative move on her part because   those in the area know that ABP members are not vigilantes.  That eventuality seems to have been lost on her as she is residing and writing out of that area.  The ABP members she is calling vigilantes are mostly prior military that know their rights, the boundaries of the law, are fed up with the fed not making good on their own laws and are doing something about it.  There are others doing the same here in Texas and went to jail over it, but that issue is probably rooted in corruption of local LEA.

Too bad Ms. Deborah Tedford can't comment on the dirty cops, it would be much more interesting.

28 posted on 05/15/2003 9:12:04 PM PDT by TLI (Continuing the sporting tradition of " Lights ON ! How many roaches can be stomped? ")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-28 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson