High-tech ideas for border

U.S. is asking private companies for help in stopping illegal traffic

By Bruce V. Bigelow
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Photo by NELVIN CEPEDA / Union-Tribune
May 18, 2006

After years of fitful attempts, the Bush administration appears to be getting serious about improving security along America's famously porous borders.

The Department of Homeland Security is asking private industry for ideas for a comprehensive strategy to upgrade the technology used to detect and prevent illegal traffic across U.S. borders.

The request for proposals, which was issued by the department earlier this year, is part of the broader Secure Border Initiative that President Bush outlined in his address to the nation Monday evening.

The goal for the program, known as SBInet, is extraordinarily ambitious.

It calls for using computer networks, ground sensors, robotic aircraft, satellite imaging and other technologies to link together the hodgepodge of federal, state and local entities that operate with varying authority along the borders with Mexico and Canada.

The idea is to create a “virtual fence” that can detect border intrusions, enable different agencies to share information, and provide a command-and-control ability to interdict illegal crossings.