Texas lawmaker says blimp surveillance program could return with improved technology

SEATTLE - U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in the Southwest border could get improved aerial surveillance equipment to monitor unlawful immigration, a Texas lawmaker said.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), told Border Report that the current aerostat program could be acquiring up to a dozen newer model of the surveillance blimp systems that can be used along the entire border. The news comes just hours after the Department of Homeland Security announced the ending of such a program citing lack of funding.

The federal government has been using aerostatic surveillance balloons in the Southwest border since 2013. As of 2022, about 18 such systems had been deployed throughout the border. But nowadays, only nine aerostats continue to be deployed with no plans to decommission any of them with funding drying up.

The current units used by agents along the U.S.-Mexico border were used by the military during the war in Afghanistan, but according to Cuellar, there are newer ones that the agency can share with DHS to improve and facilitate operations in the area.

Although Cuellar is confident Border Patrol agents could receive new equipment in the near future, negotiations between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of CBP and the U.S. Border Patrol, just started, and it remains unclear whether DHS will be asked for payment or even has the funds necessary for Fiscal Year 2025, since the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee has already voted on spending for the agency for the upcoming fiscal year.

"The Department of Defense has some newer aerostats that they're willing to transfer," Cuellar told Border Report on Sept. 3.

Although aerial surveillance blimps can cover up to 75 miles, the devices are costly and cannot fly in bad weather. According to Cuellar, the monthly operational cost for one unit can reach $400,000. Due to the high costs of aerostats, DHS opted to end the program in various cities across the border.

"I'm a big believer of aerostats, because, you know, you can cover, you know, depending on the equipment, radar can cover 75 miles," Cuellar said. "Cameras can cover 25 miles. So depending on the equipment you have there, they can be very effective. 'Problem is that they are subject to weather," he added.

Because of the high maintenance cost related to aerostats, DHS has opted to add more cameras and mobile surveillance devices across the border, as they are less expensive to operate.

Earlier this year, a report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) found that CBP was planning to "drastically expand its surveillance capabilities with new towers, artificial intelligence, drones, and even four-legged robots."

Apart from the aerostatic surveillance balloons, EFF uncovered an "industry briefing" showing that CBP's plans include creating 336 Integrated Surveillance Towers as well as implementing Unmanned Ground Vehicles, autonomous or remotely controlled four-legged real time surveillance robots intended to be "force multipliers in remote and hard-to-reach stretches of the border," according to EFF's report.

. Last month, CBP officials revealed that a new aerostat is set to be deployed near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, an area that has seen more than 140 migrant deaths since Oct. 1.