Rio Grande Valley Sector (O-16) Deployment Analysis Location: El Calaboz/El Ranchito, Texas – 2.45 Miles of rural Area Key Issues/Constraints:
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Unincorporated rural area
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Population of El Calaboz/El Ranchito, Texas: 2,100.
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Population of La Brigada, Tamaulipas, Mexico: small rural community unknown population
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Routes of ingress into La Brigada, Tamaulipas, Mexico from Matamoros, Mexico to the interior of the U.S. are well established and heavily used.
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Homes and businesses in El Calaboz/El Ranchito, Texas are within a few feet of the border.
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Homes and businesses in La Brigada, Tamaulipas are located within a few miles of the U.S. border.
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Unimproved farm roads on the Mexican side and paved streets in the U.S. side facilitate lateral movement of the criminal element.
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Illegal entrants can mix in with the general population in El Ranchito, Texas due to its close proximity to the U.S./Mexico border.
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The areas south of the proposed fence are primarily farmland, dense brush and vegetation. Fencing is needed due to the proximity of the communities of El Calaboz and El Ranchito to the Rio Grande River. The balance between Border Patrol’s response time and the illegal entrant’s vulnerable time is greatly in favor of the illegal entrants. This situation creates enforcement vulnerability for agents charged with gaining operational control of the border. The proposed fence would deter an attempted illegal entrant by creating a significant mental and physical obstacle.
Nature of the Threat:
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Daily activity in the 2.45 mile segment equates to 1-2 apprehensions per shift, but this zone has the most Other Than Mexicans (OTM) apprehensions in the Harlingen station.
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Despite the fact that agents are able to detect entries, the number of entrants and their ability to assimilate into the general population, has a dissipating impact on enforcement efforts.
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This zone experiences sustained narcotics smuggling trends.
FY07, this area produced 7 narcotics loads yielding a total of 870 pounds of marijuana.
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FY08 YTD narcotics seizures in the same area total 4 separate seizures yielding a total of 666 pounds of marijuana.
Alternatives Analysis:
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Baseline –
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Sensors
– Provide the capability for agents to detect and tract entries (via seismic activity). Rural areas permit the deployment of standard ground sensors.
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Some areas near residential neighborhoods immediately southwest and southeast of the populated area will support sensors, but require an immediate response to confront activity prior to assimilation into the surrounding environment (generally less than three minutes).
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Although the initial cost for the fence would be somewhat higher, the fence would provide the required persistent impedance necessary to deter and/or apprehend illegal entrants, while sensors would only provide detection and tracking capabilities. The quick access to residences and routes of egress by illegal entrants allows little response time for Border Patrol Agents.
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Cameras
– Cameras will provide the initial visual detection of persons entering the United States.
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The effectiveness of a camera is limited by the surrounding terrain, such as trees, brush, ravines and buildings.
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Mobile Surveillance Systems (MSS--Radar)
- MSS units provide Border Patrol the ability to track the movement of people in wide open areas. MSS units are mobile and positions can be changed as needed (based on terrain features). The initial cost and operational costs for a three year period for the 2.45 mile segment of pedestrian fence would be $11,843,000.
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Border Patrol Agents
– Border Patrol Agents are capable of detecting entries, identifying and classifying the threat, and responding to intrusions. In numbers, Border Patrol Agents would have a deterring effect for potential entrants.
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The three year deployment of personnel to serve as a “front line” would certainly decay the level of morale within the workforce. This front line would basically be static positions, which has shown negative effects for recruitment and sustainment of agents in the past.
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The “front line” that the agents would essentially be creating, could potentially be compromised when an entrant or a group of entrants make
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