1. wh i te pa p e r
Border Security:
The Other Story
Common tactics to circumvent illegal border crossing, and
effective deterrents of law enforcement to combat them
by Jake Lahmann
Vice President of Technology
Supercircuits, Inc.
Issued May 3, 2011
When border security comes to mind, people typically think
of long lines at border crossing stations, fence lines, and the
reported apprehension of illegal immigrants. Although those
quintessential images accurately depict daily life at the border,
they certainly don’t tell the whole story.
Page 1 of 5
Supercircuits
11000 N. MoPac Expressway #300
Austin, Texas 78759
1-800-335-9777 Trusted Video Security Solutions since 1989
© Copyright 2011 Supercircuits, Inc www.supercircuits.com

2. During the 1990s in the San Diego area, a morning A traditional method but an increasingly risky one
southbound commute toward the border routinely for smugglers, concealing contraband and illegal
met with the sight of hundreds of illegal aliens passengers is still par for the course. To mitigate
walking north. Today, a person taking the same the risk, smugglers are continuously changing how
commute would be hard-pressed to see any illegal and where they place the contraband. Smugglers
foot traffic. are placing migrants in unimaginable locations,
such as engine compartments, dashboards or faux
Border SeCurity FenCe walls of tractor trailers. Narcotics are typically con-
Along with the cealed in these areas, too, but they also are stored
increased number in anything from car tires and fuel tanks to under-
of agents, the carriage components.
60- mile stretch of
near-impervious tunnels
border fence has Another way
dramatically cartels are circum-
stemmed the flow of illegal traffic into the San venting border
Diego area. security efforts is
No doubt, the successes in the San Diego area tunneling. From
should be celebrated, and many residents, no fiscal 2008 to 2009,
longer tackling the large influx, are doing just that. the number of
However, this same success has caused both the tunnels crossing the border increased 62 percent,
bad and good guys to change their tactics. It has according to the Department of Justice. No solid
prompted smugglers to operate in fewer, more- estimates exist to determine the value of these
remote areas, use violence and engage in more tunnels to the cartels, but it’s clear that they provide
elaborate strategies. easy entrance to the United States for thousands of
undocumented immigrants and millions of dollars
On Dec. 14, 2010, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian in smuggled narcotics.
Terry was killed in southern Arizona by five armed
bandits. According to agency statistics, Terry was By sea
the third agent killed in the line of duty this past A scenario once common only to southern Florida,
year; 34 have been killed in the past 15 years. abandoned boats are now popping up on the
Terry was assigned to a specialized unit of the CBP shoreline of southern California. In other cases
to counter cartel-related smuggling operations where the boats are being recovered, people are
of people and drugs, and bandit activity where taking U.S. boats across the border under the guise
criminal elements are taking advantage of migrants of fishing trips only to leave the boat with cartel
and smugglers alike. So, both Terry’s mission and members and then later meet it with its cargo at a
passing at the hands of bandits are an icon of the California boat ramp.
evolving and violent aspects of the border. Below
are examples of smuggling activities on the rise. interior foot traffic
Another improvement for border security is inte-
Vehicle concealments rior border checks on major thoroughfares.
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Supercircuits
11000 N. MoPac Expressway #300
Austin, Texas 78759
1-800-335-9777 Trusted Video Security Solutions since 1989
© Copyright 2011 Supercircuits, Inc www.supercircuits.com

3. These checkpoints are proving successful at nab- cartels will simply threaten violence against a
bing loads of contraband. However, crafty smug- person’s family members to gain their service.
glers are unloading migrants at predetermined As with mob operations, members of cartels are
drop-off locations just prior to the checkpoints. not released from service and continually operate
The migrants then travel on foot to a pickup point with the knowledge
for retrieval by the smugglers. that they or their
Bribes and blackmail family members will
be killed for leaving.
In much the same way intelligence agents operated
during the Cold War, cartels do their homework Gaps exploited
by identifying proper agents responsible for key Just 37 miles east
points of entry. They later seek out how they might of San Diego is
bribe or even blackmail the agents for cooperation. the Carrizo Gorge Railway, which runs north and
Similar to the cartels, an inside asset means easy south and handles both passenger trains and cargo
traveling for the cartels. crossing to and from Mexico. The railway’s border
intelligence crossing is accomplished via a tunnel. To allow for
normal passage of trains, this tunnel is unsecured,
In addition to securing and using inside informa- which makes for an easy point of entry for the
tion, some cartel members’ sole function is to smugglers.
gather intelligence on border security operations.
Some forms of intelligence-gathering can be as Carrizo tunnel
simple as monitoring points of entry and feed- On the southern side of the fence, this tunnel is
ing to smugglers real-time information about the considered property of the local controlling cartel,
best lanes to use. Others include diligent efforts which guards the tunnel with armed members to
to identify undercover vehicles, habits and agency keep out competing cartels. Migrants wishing to
capabilities. make passage must first seek permission and pay a
fee.
Staging houses
The cartel’s use of the Carrizo Gorge tunnel in-
Once inside the border, smugglers will stage both cludes foot traffic as well as “rail speeders” that al-
contraband and migrants. The smugglers’ preferred low for deep and quick interior penetration. These
buildings are normal, everyday houses in quiet rail speeders are constructed using material such as
neighborhoods. bed frames, lawn tractor wheels and engines. Rail
Kidnapping and threats speeders can operate to speeds beyond 50 mph and
as they launch at night leave little opportunity for
Especially in southern Arizona, cartels are kidnap- border security agents to know the passage oc-
ping people at rates estimated as high as one per curred or apprehend them. The use of rail speeders
day. Cartels are using victims for the purpose of de- is yet another sign of how innovative and deter-
manding straight cash payments from relatives and mined smugglers are in finding alternate means to
also for conscripting the relatives’ service in smug- traffic their goods.
gling operations. Sometimes, in lieu of kidnapping,
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Supercircuits
11000 N. MoPac Expressway #300
Austin, Texas 78759
1-800-335-9777 Trusted Video Security Solutions since 1989
© Copyright 2011 Supercircuits, Inc www.supercircuits.com

4. the reSPonSe Marine operations
Given the progression in the smugglers’ tactics, In addition to intercepting the illegal flow of un-
agencies tasked with securing the border are evolv- documented migrants and narcotics, CBP plays a
ing as well. vital role in providing a strong defense against ter-
No longer are agencies limited to uniformed of- rorism. The agency employs 250 vessels from 80 lo-
ficers creating a visible deterrent and a reactionary cations throughout the world. In 2009, it increased
force. Agencies are developing unique attributes investments by establishing 11 new marine units.
and taking the best of notes from other law en- SWAt operations
forcement agencies and the military.
CBP has continued to increase its tactical capabili-
investigations ties through its SWAT team known as BORTAC,
A little-known but more notable change in recent which has been in existence since the 1980s.
years is the increased use of investigation teams. BORTAC team members fulfill the role of a typi-
These teams are conducting interdiction and denial cal SWAT team by conducting raids and providing
activities similar to the way the DEA fights drug specialized assistance to mass disturbances. With
rings and the FBI undermines organized criminal their specialized training and many members hav-
elements. ing experience in military special operations, the
teams also are used for long-duration field surveil-
Seeking to eradicate cartel assets and other large lance and enforcement of critical traffic zones.
illegal enterprises in the interior, CBP has formed
investigative branches such as the Smuggling Politically speaking, it’s probably safe to say that no
Interdiction Group. Operations include undercover one has the answer. Will border fence construction
missions, monitoring interstate traffic, locating continue? Will additional agents and vital fund-
drop-off points and stage houses, and stemming ing be added? Will there be a relaxed immigration
the flow of southbound cash and weapons. policy?
What is clear is that no matter the course, there
Airborne operations will be a continued drive toward using technology-
In 2005, CBP commissioned the Office of Air and borne force multiplication tools that drive costs
Marine, which included 260 aircraft. Today, the down and increase the flow of information and
OAM operates 290 unique aircraft modified not response.
only to meet the security needs but also for the
medical aid of injured migrants in remote areas. thermal
Taking benefits of airborne enforcement one step Already seeing use in
further, CBP is now using one of the military’s border security operations,
favorite tools, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). thermal imaging devices
The UAV is delivering the benefits of force mul- will likely experience an
tiplication with long loiter capability, stealthy even greater use. In recent
operation and high-end thermal imaging. CBP is years, the cost of thermal
operating seven UAVs, and trends indicate future imaging technology has
purchases. dropped significantly, while
costs for resolution, optics,
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Supercircuits
11000 N. MoPac Expressway #300
Austin, Texas 78759
1-800-335-9777 Trusted Video Security Solutions since 1989
© Copyright 2011 Supercircuits, Inc www.supercircuits.com

5. storage features and durability have increased. Just During the recent decade, several border surveil-
a few years ago, handheld imagers retailed at lance initiatives and projects did not live out their
$11,000 per unit, but today they’re available for full potential. One of the weak areas in an initiative
nearly half that price. of that scale is developing and maintaining a reli-
able, standalone wireless network.
thermal imager
Also during the recent decade, commercially avail-
A single handheld imager in the hands of an agent able wireless infrastructure has become prolific,
tremendously shifts the odds of spotting smug- secure and reliable.
glers. Unlike other technologies, handheld imag-
ers do not require that the target move in order to Additionally, wireless networks have transformed
detect it. A target under view of a thermal device from simply carrying voice to now providing data
puts off a far greater heat signature than normal for mobile computing.
environments do, leaving little chance of successful Law enforcement across the country is quickly em-
concealment. bracing the ease of access to commercial wireless
In many environments, thermal imagers are so networks. It allows even small enforcement teams
sensitive that fleeing suspects’ footprints and dis- to deploy surveillance platforms both overtly and
carded contraband are plainly visible. covertly to monitor in real-time from anywhere.
It’s a tough job allowing the flow of legitimate traf-
intelligent video surveillance fic while keeping the border secure, being in the
The mere presence political crosshairs and keeping pace with evolv-
of surveillance ing targets. It is necessary for readers to become
cameras delivers informed about the increasing needs of border se-
force multiplica- curity and how they might lend assistance through
tion on its own by ideas and technology.
allowing one After all, everyone is affected by border security,
person to monitor whether they know it or not.
multiple sites quickly. However, progressive busi-
nesses and institutions worldwide are now harness-
ing the power of video analytics, which seems to be
a viable tool for border security operations.
Unlike traditional sensing devices, video analyt-
ics devices are able to discern between benign and
nefarious activity using programmed thresholds.
Such devices have already proven invaluable in
Israeli border operations.
With analytic devices in place, agents’ attention can
be devoted to alarms, rather than serving as the
detector.
Wireless infrastructure
Page 5 of 5
Supercircuits
11000 N. MoPac Expressway #300
Austin, Texas 78759
1-800-335-9777 Trusted Video Security Solutions since 1989
© Copyright 2011 Supercircuits, Inc www.supercircuits.com