Smart border wall, not a 3rd century solution

We have driverless vehicles and facial recognition software. Yet we continue to debate the efficacy of a third century solution to secure our southern border.

The American people have every right to be frustrated. The federal government should have secured our borders by now. The tools to do so have existed for some time in the private sector. I used many of them when I worked for a private intelligence firm after nearly a decade of service in the CIA.

While a physical barrier can be effective in urban areas, each sector of the border faces unique geographical, cultural and technological challenges that would be best addressed with a flexible approach. Of the 650 miles of existing border fencing, hundreds are in need of repair because criminal organizations have cut through, dug under or plowed over it repeatedly. The drug cartels are using more modern technology than we are to breach our border, so why would we double down on an outdated tool?

What we need is a “Smart Wall.” It would use sensor, radar and surveillance technologies to detect and track incursions across our border so we can deploy efficiently our most important resource, the men and women of Border Patrol, to perform the most difficult task — interdiction. Most of this process can be done with computer vision, artificial intelligence and machine- learning, allowing our Border Patrol agents to focus exclusively on stopping individuals and contraband from crossing our border illegally.

The recent horrific human smuggling tragedy in my hometown of San Antonio is a stark reminder that nine major criminal organizations operating in Mexico have zero regard for human life. A physical wall would not have prevented the Zeta cartel from smuggling some of those people across the river on rafts. A Smart Wall could have detected the crossing and followed the individuals until they were safely apprehended by agents.

Based on this administration’s budget, each mile of physical wall would cost $ 24.5 million. According to leading technology entrepreneurs, utilizing off- the- shelf technology to build a Smart Wall would bring the cost per mile down to less than $ 500,000. With proven tracking technology and state- of- the- art drones, we could have a more secure border at a fraction of the cost — and it could be fully operational within a year.

I introduced the Secure Miles with All Resources and Technology ( SMART) Act to ensure that we adopt the most effective and fiscally responsible strategy on our southern border. Under my bill, the Department of Homeland Security would be required to deploy the most practical border security technologies available. And before constructing expensive physical barriers, the DHS secretary would have to justify the expense to Congress.

We can spend tens of billions of dollars on an outdated solution and years fighting eminent domain lawsuits, or we can deal with this most pressing national security challenge faster, more efficiently and cost- effectively.