Border drones backed by Rep. Miller called a big waste of tax dollars

This is not good news for Congresswoman Candice Miller.
A Homeland Security Department report blistered the Border Patrol drone program, calling it an overly expensive, ineffective effort that should not be expanded.
Miller, chair of the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Protection, has served as a chief advocate of a $443 million plan to expand the program. In fact, the Harrison Township Republican has repeatedly proposed the use of unmanned drones along the Great Lakes borders, with their headquarters at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

But the Homeland Security inspector general's report released today concluded that the drones have not improved border security and the Customs and Border Protection program is plagued by cost overruns.
According to the National Journal, John Roth, the DHS inspector general, said the $443 million plan to expand the eight-year-old initiative should be scrapped.

"Notwithstanding the significant investment, we see no evidence that the drones contribute to a more secure border, and there is no reason to invest additional taxpayer funds at this time," the report said. "CBP could put the $443 million it plans to spend to expand the program to better use by investing in alternatives, such as manned aircraft and ground surveillance assets."

Only a small fraction of immigrants crossing the border illegally are detained due to the use of border drones, the report concluded. In the Tucson, Ariz., border area, less than 2 percent of the 121,000 apprehensions.
The National Journal reported that border drones are primarily used along just 170 miles of the Arizona and Texas borders, despite expectations that the effort would span the entirety of the Southwest border.


The audit was particularly critical of the camera-equipped surveillance technology's cost of $12,255 per flight hour, which greatly exceeded previous estimates of $2,468 an hour. ENT                           

But the overall cost effectiveness is likely even worse, but the CBP has not maintained performance benchmarks. The CBP's lack of specific metrics on border security, a frequent criticism leveled by Miller, means that "Congress and the public may be unaware of all the resources committed to this program."

This is the second time the unmanned aerial vehicle program has come under internal criticism. Last year, the Government Accountability Office found CBP drones were being improperly used at times for purposes beyond immigration enforcement.