CBP commissioner outlines technology for border security strategy
Building a fence across the U.S.-Mexico border has become one of the top concerns for Ralph Basham, who will be directing those efforts as the new commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.
“The approach here… is about looking at what types of technology we can use down there to build a smart border,” he told The Associated Press on Oct. 27 — the day President Bush signed a bill authorizing the construction of the 700-mile fence.
“I can’t sit here and guarantee you that every sensor, every camera, every light, every fence is, in fact, going to be the appropriate item,” he continues. “The 28 miles that we are currently going to be working on (in Arizona) is an opportunity for us to see what is the best kind of technology that we can depend upon.”
Basham says that there will be different kinds of fencing in different areas — depending on the terrain. “If the fence is in an urban area, it could be a different type of fence than perhaps a rural or a remote area. You can’t just build a fence. I mean, if you build a 10-foot fence, you go buy an 11-foot ladder,” he says.
When asked what the biggest terrorism-related threat is at the border, Basham says CPB should be ready for anything. “I don’t know that I can say specifically where the greatest threat is,” he says. “I think that we have to interdict every piece of contraband, every illegal alien that tries to get in here, whether they come by air, by land or by sea. The terrorists come back. They look for the weaknesses. They look for the vulnerabilities. You cannot predict where the attack is going to come from, so you have to be prepared for it to come from anywhere.”
