Successful Security Measures Cut to Make Room for Border Wall

Successful Security Measures Cut to Make Room for Border Wall

The Trump administration is cutting or delaying funding for proven security measures in lieu of funding the Border Wall.

President Donald Trump promised the American people a wall on the border of the United States and Mexico and that is just what the American people are going to get. The most difficult part of this campaign promise, however, is funding.

Under a spending plan submitted last week to Congress, the wall, which would span nearly 900 miles across the southern border, could cost $18 billion over the next 10 years. The cost is more than half of the $33 billion spending blueprint for border security over the next decade.

The New York Times reported that the Trump administration would cut or delay funding for proven security measures that officials and experts deem more effective than building a wall, such as custom agents, radar technology, border surveillance, canine units and patrol boats, in its upcoming spending plan to curb illegal immigration.

The reallocation of funds help to fund the border wall, but eliminate critical funding for border security programs or shifts money from them, threatening to leave holes in the country's border security program. For example, in a document viewed by The New York Times, the spending budget cuts money included for a remote video surveillance system in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, an area known for high numbers of border crossings and drug smuggling. The system is composed of infrared cameras mounted on poles, towers and buildings.

The document notes that the surveillance system is important, but said its funding requests were lowered "to offset the costs of presidential priorities not funding in the D.H.S. request."

The most alarming thing in the proposed budget is the absence of funds to support hiring new customs officers. Experts told The New York Times that not hiring any additional agents could potentially have the most impact on border security, the agents form the most crucial line of defense against smugglers and terrorist threats.

Security experts believe focusing on a wall rather than security measures that have proven to be successful ignores the constantly evolving nature of threats at the border, including terrorism, immigration and drug trafficking.

“A wall is the single most expensive thing you can do in terms of trying to secure the border, and not necessarily the most effective on its own,” said Doris Meissner, who was the top immigration official during the Clinton administration, in the NYT article. “If you want to be strategic about it, you want to invest in technologies and programs that can stop threats well before they can actually get to the border.”

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Just as Expected

    GSX produced a wonderful tradeshow earlier this week. Monday was surprisingly strong in the morning, and the afternoon wasn’t bad at all. That’s Monday’s results and asking attendees to travel on Sunday. Just a quick hint, no one wants to give up their weekend to travel and set up an exhibit booth. I’m just saying. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • NOLA: The Crescent City

    Twenty years later we finds ourselves in New Orleans. Twenty years ago the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina forced exhibitors and attendees to look elsewhere for tradeshow floor space. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • Nothing Artificial About this Intelligence

    I have been looking forward to this year’s GSX show in New Orleans, the Cresent City, or if you prefer The Big Easy. It seems like quite a while since we’ve been here. Twenty years ago, ASIS, as it was known then was literally washed out of the city by someone known as Katrina. It is a good thing to come back to NOLA. Read Now

  • From Monitors to Mission Control

    Security Operations Centers (SOC) were once defined by rows of static monitors, each displaying a single feed with operators quietly watching for issues. That model has become obsolete. Incidents evolve too quickly, data comes from multiple locations, and decisions must be made in seconds—not minutes. Read Now

  • New Gas Monkey Garage Venue Uses AI-Enhanced Video Technology

    Gas Monkey Garage, the automotive custom shop and entertainment brand founded by Richard Rawlings of Fast N’ Loud TV fame, has opened a vibrant new restaurant and bar in South Dakota, equipped with advanced, AI-enhanced video tech from IDIS Americas. Read Now

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.