THE BORDER REPORT

So call me superstitious, but honestly, it's as if the borderlands of the Sonoran Desert will not allow a fence to be built. I say that because this time it's the private sector, not the federal government who is at work, trying to erect a 28 mile virtual fence at the foothills of the home of the Desert People. I'toi, the God of the Tohono O'odham Indians lives in the caves of the Baboquivaris, and perhaps the trickster, the Man in the Maze, is at work here, steadfastly stopping the Homeland Security Department from finishing its digital barrier along the Sasabe border. It's gotta be the Trickster, because any other reason doesn't make sense. The government announced plans for the Strategic Border Initiative, SBInet in the government vernacular, last year. The nine towers that made up the system were "experimental" only by the most marvelous of public relations spin. I say that because, myself, I see nothing experimental about video cameras, wi-fi routers and ground sensors. If your nearest Starbucks can get two of the three things down, how hard can this be? Consider the company that was contracted for the job, the Boeing Corporation. A quick glance at their Web site shows their – somewhat justifiable – bragging rights for their designs of jumbo jets and fighter planes. Most recently, Boeing's been looking at private sector space travel. Space travel, guys. We're talking space shuttle tours of the Moon complete with "My grandparents flew through an asteroid belt and all I got was this stupid T-shirt" gimmicks. And they can’t get their video cameras to work? There was some sort of logistical delay last fall when the towers were supposed to be operational. Then another glitch sparked up because the sensors were confusing raindrops with illegal border crossers. Even Homeland Security boss Michael Chertoff has been vague with the plans for Project 28. Last week, he told the Homeland Security Congressional Committee that the fence "looks good," but he's given no date for when the fence will actually start working. Meanwhile, U.S. Border Patrol Union president T.J. Bonner has been busy telling the media that the senors are confusing raindrops for people and that in at least one instance, an agent on the ground tracked 80 illegal migrants past the cameras, unbeknownst to the towers. That didn't stop Homeland Security from dispensing $20 million to Boeing for the towers. You'll forgive my skepticism, but as we all know, we've been sorely disappointed in the past.

-- Michel Marizco