A La Opinión article covers the inefficiency of using high-tech tools to patrol the border. The article cites an analysis by the TransBorder Project at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for International Policy which says that the cost of, for example, remotely-piloted unmanned planes (or “drones”) is too high for the return on investment.
“As far as we can estimate, each pound of drugs costs about $70,000 to confiscate, and each undocumented immigrant (costs) $7,800,” Tomás Custer, a CIP analyst, told La Opinión. “But on the other hand, there’s no evidence showing what people are talking about when they say that we’ve improved border security. Right now what we see is that they’re apprehending poor immigrants and confiscating primarily marijuana.”
