Technology Aiding Illegal Immigrants
Innovations in technology have helped illegal immigrants get an upper hand in the back and forth cat and mouse game of crossing the border into the United States. Technology has enabled "cybercoyotes" as they call them, to guide hopeful illegal immigrants across the border into the United States of America in hopes of finding a better life. Some immigrants pay thousands of dollars to these "cybercoyotes" whom stand on mountains and guide the illegal immigrants by text messages across the border. "Aiding the process are numerous spotters, who monitor the southern Arizona desert from lookout points and help steer the migrants, as well as drug shipments, away from the authorities."
These "cybercoyotes" have resorted to this tactic because it has become extremely dangerous to be caught smuggling people into the states, with increasing sentences. Scared of being put into jail or facing steep fines, they have turned to technology to help them evade the border patrol and bring their customers safely into the United States of America. "Mobile phones are ubiquitous in Mexico; many migrants consider them essential when crossing, right up there with sturdy shoes and jugs of water."
Using technology to help save illegal immigrants cross the border is also being considered. A cellphone GPS app that tells illegal immigrants where the closest water station is, could save many lives of people that have become lost during their crossing. "The ACLU and Mexico's National Commission on Human rights estimate as many as 5,600 people have died trying to cross the border in the last 15 years." When smugglers abandon the immigrants that pay them to guide them through the desert, or cellphone batteries die, many illegal immigrants die from dehydration when they cannot find any water. This cellphone app seeks to reduce the number of deaths when crossing the border.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/us/09coyotes.html?_r=1&ref=us
Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2009/12/cellphone-gps-app-could-help-undocumented-workers-cross-border/1
Trial Run of Iris Scanner Identification System at U.S.-Mexico Border
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security implemented a preliminary two-week test of iris-scanning electronics at the U.S.-Mexico border patrol station in McAllen, Texas last winter.
Prior to administering the test, DHS clientele had not appealed for utilization of the identification technical alloy as an increased security development.
The dry run was simply a procedure of “operational feasibility” according to DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa. Stationing the scanners would require advances in database software that have yet to be discovered.
The privacy impact assessment for the Iris and Face Technology Demonstration and Evaluation, claims the DHS Science and Technology committee supported the trial run with financial backing from the US-VISIT program and the national programs and protection board. The names of the three corporations supplying the DHS with the equipment were withheld.
Immigration was the subject of the exhibition; the scanners assisted in classifying and handling illegal aliens.
High-resolution images of the irises are the foundation for identity recognition used in the technology. The picture of the individual’s eye is then processed and documented. However, the DHS claims all information obtained during the McAllen study was in disconnect of any federal storage system and was stored in a separate and secure database.
The risk of civil liberties violations is heightened as the Federal government continues to prospect new technologies in enhancing border surveillance at the Mexico perimeter. The McAllen study and other surveillance projects have come under fire from the American Civil Liberties Union and other committees concerned with privacy.
California’s neighboring margin and it’s proximity to Mexico continues to motivate the DHS to push the limit line in an effort to tighten it’s hold on the number of crossers.
This border defense operative follows the recent collapse of the SBInet program. The “virtual fence” outlining the southern tip of the nation pulled on Congress’ purse strings and utilized machinery ill-suited for the terrain and environmental landscape.
California’s neighboring margin and it’s proximity to Mexico continues to motivate the DHS to push the limit line in an effort to tighten it’s hold on the number of crossers.
Source: DHS Testing Iris Scanners At U.S. Border TECHWEB September 13, 2010 Monday 1:30 PM GMT
